Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rating: Thread Rating: 18 votes, 4.22 average. Display Modes
Old 17-08-2011, 17:29   #856
Registered User
 
Jimske's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Connecticut
Boat: Boatless
Posts: 376
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Good questions and timely in that I am now selling my 31 A-frame. See the classifieds.
Yeah, my opinion is that they are definitely out of date since modern hull design and lightweight materials make much more efficient designs and also tend to withstand the elements better IF maintained. Having spent weeks and sometimes months at a time in my 31 I suspect I could singlehand a 34 just as easily but I may be wrong. A little more room is always welcome. I think a 37 or 40 would be too much boat for me.

However, Jim Brown really hit a homerun with the Searunner and the 31 is no exception. There is an awful lot of space. A lot more than some of the modern designs. For a liveaboard or sometime cruiser that space comes in handy. In my opinion one absolutely necessary amenity is a fully enclosed cockpit. Being able to open up both companion way hatches to add an “extra” room is a real plus. Even allows the cockpit to double as a shower or bathing area.

I’ve seen a couple 31’s that were home built and do sail but the builders were amateurs and these won’t stand the test of time. But if built properly with the appropriate materials and maintained there is no reason why they should not last as long as a fiberglass boat. Mine has a fiberglass skin as do many others which goes a long way in keeping the water out. I think you got to have a real close look by someone who knows what and where to look for rot.

Because I singlehand I generally use the cutter rig with main, yankee and staysail. Easy to drop if need be. With this combination I can basically do half the wind in any wind. The other day, being tired and lazy I flew the main and staysail and was doing 5 knots in 10 knots of wind on a broad reach. My fastest speed with the same combo was 12.8 in 25 knots. (I have never had the chance to use the spinnaker - grrr. oh well.)

I have a bias but still. . . a LOT of bang for the buck!

Jim
Jimske is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 17-08-2011, 17:58   #857
Registered User
 
Roy M's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Southwestern Yacht Club, San Diego, CA
Boat: Searunner 40 trimaran, WILDERNESS
Posts: 3,175
Images: 4
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

I am now 67 years old and still enjoying my Searunner 40. It can be singlehanded (all boats are effectively singlehanded at 3 AM), and my favorite sail is the radial head drifter with a "snuffer". Though, of late, I have been distracted by grabbing some bucks, I am planning on taking off in about a year for some extended South Pac cruising, using 6-8 month circuits from San Diego to French Polynesia to Hawaii to Puget Sound, then back to San Diego. It will allow me to refit, reprovision, keep in touch with family, make some money, and keep my end tie at Southwestern Yacht Club in incredible San Diego Bay. It's the ultimate condominium to come home to.

For the time being, if anyone needs a survey of a local boat, I am available. Rann and several others can attest to my bona fides.
Roy M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-08-2011, 12:04   #858
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 116
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Been reading this forum for many months now and obviously am very partial to Searunners. I have been looking for a quality 34 for a long time and have purchased monohulls in the meantime to be able to sail. With all of that said the question I have is why hasn't someone paid the royalities to Jim and started making a completely fiberglass version of the Searunner with a mold etc. Obviously after each one is constructed, a royalty would be paid to Jim in the form of a builders fee. I would think that as the boats were constucted the overall price would come down somewhat to be affordable to many more people. I understand it is an old design, but I think more importantly it is a proven design in that so many were built and still survive today after so many sea miles under their keel. Any one have any thoughts on this???
wizard1_us is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-08-2011, 12:22   #859
Marine Service Provider
 
xsboats's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: St.Augustine ,Fl., USA
Posts: 204
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

One of the key proponents to the success in the Searunner design is the strength to weight ratio of her component materials. Boats that are built utilizing composite construction [wood/epoxy] have a much higher strength to weight ratio than those of a cored fiberglass laminate. To achieve the rigidity and strength of a Searunner in fiberglass would result in a heavier boat.
xsboats is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-08-2011, 16:05   #860
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 116
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Wouldn't that depend on what the core of the laminate was? Many monohulls that have a wet core of either marine ply or end grained balsa usually replace the core with some type of inert foam, i.e. divinycell foam which is very lightweight and strong when encapsalated between fiberglass. I would have to see some really hard numbers of data as to the s/w ratio of a basic production fiberglass Searunner vs the s/w ratio of a conventional wood/epoxy built Searunner. Now I am not a boat builder, and maybe you are, however I would think that by crafting many panels and glassing them together or building the hulls in one piece and adding the crossmembers that a tremndous amount of weight could be saved, that's just my opinion. I have seen 50'monohulls in the ULDB categories that are astoundingly light and strength to weight ratio is not compromised. The whole thing I was trying to bring out was maybe it might be time with today's technologies and materials that someone could build a Searunner out of all glass, cored or otherwise that would be as good or better in the long run. It's always healthy for sure to have differences of opinions which is how we learn.
wizard1_us is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 18-08-2011, 21:13   #861
Registered User
 
md7a's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: OlyWA
Boat: Searunner 31
Posts: 111
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arthurwg
Howdy,

I'm new to this forum but not to multihulls, as my last boat was a Wharram Tiki 30. I've been away from sailing for a while but am thinking of getting back to it, perhaps in Mexico. I've always admired the Searunner boats as they strike me as "the Land Rover of the sea." But my question is, are they simply out of date? I don't see much new building, especially compared to Wharrams. The Searunners for sale these days look like good value for money compared to newer and more elaborate designs, and I don't really want to live in two hulls anymore. My other questions: I'm thinking of a Searunner 37 or 40, but as I may be by myself much of the time the 40 might be too big, especially as I'm getting up in age (66). I'm also wondering how I would find a surveyor capable of looking at an unconventional boat like the Searunner, especially the condition of the centerboard trunk, etc. Any thoughts would be a great help.
I'll strongly support the endorsement of John Marples as a surveyor and advisor. Can't do much better anywhere.

I would also put in a plug for the Searunner 31 and Searunner 25. They have the significant advantage of removable amas, which means you can shop in a different market than you live in. Lots of work to disassemble a 31, but doable, and both the 31 and the 25 can be trailered on a flatbed with cradle.
__________________
Will S.
md7a is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-08-2011, 08:09   #862
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Duluth,Minnesota
Boat: Lindenberg 26 & Aloha 8.2
Posts: 1,280
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

I think while the Searunners may be percieved to be out of date there are simply no modern alternatives that i am aware of to the better older designs such as the Searunners, Crosses,Tristars etc. The most popular of the modern trimaran,the Farriers are no comparison imho because they are way too performance oriented and simply give away so much to reach that end, we have an F9a locally and while it is a cool boat it does not have the useful space an carrying capacity of the older designs and it seems that anyone producing a new Trimaran these days seems compelled to out perform the Farriers. Back in the 70s Bernard Rhodes sailed his 22ft plywood Trimaran, Klis from the UK to New Zealand, somehow i cant imagine doing that in an F24. My point is the older tris struck a much better balance between weight, displacement, sail area etc producing seaworthy boats with a reasonable turn of speed, typically better than similar sized monos. With cats its another story as most are more cruise oriented and are not neccesarily better performers than monos of the same size but have lots of other advantages of course.
Steve.
Steve.
clockwork orange is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-08-2011, 08:45   #863
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 156
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

I must agree with Steve. I can't find other boats that interest me as much as the Searunners, at least without getting into several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even those boats don't really interest me for some reason. I'm looking for something that has the potential for long voyages in comfort and safety as well as a comfortable liveaboard at the dock. I guess it's the aging hippy in me. I love to travel. Back in the day I drove my Land Rover from London to Mombassa, then by ship to Bombay and road trip back to Paris.
Arthurwg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-08-2011, 20:27   #864
Registered User
 
Jmolan's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Mexico/Alaska/Oregon
Boat: 34' Searunner Tri
Posts: 725
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Hey friends!

I have been out of the loop for a while, and it cheers my heart to see all the new interest in Searunners.

My wife and I have been through a million different scenarios about our life as it is, and have decided the 34' Searunner "Corazon" should go to someone who can use it and appreciate it for all the fine qualities it has.

This decision does not come easy, believe me. I know how rare the good ones are, and how special they are. I know boats, and these are the best combo you can find for a real boat. I feel blessed to have had all the great times we have had with our boat. We will be dealing with elderly parents for the near future. Corazon should not be sitting on a trailer.

The boat is located in San Carlos Sonora Mexico. 6 hours drive south of Tucson. A very together yard, on it's own trailer. They will launch and haul you for $13 last I checked. Cost $100 a month to store it in a very secure, very together yard. We are in the yard, and they are not accepting any new outside Tri's at last check. Having a trailer, and a slot in the yard, is a really big deal!
All Caterpillar equipment in the yard. Look back through this thread for pics. It is an ideal spot to "vacation" the boat if you so desire. You can have them put it in the water and spend any amount of time in the Sea of Cortez, and have them haul it and go home.

I will be in San Carlos in October through January. It is a very boat friendly and gringo friendly town. Do not be put off by the news. It is in very local spots, and far away from San Carlos. I cannot sell it before Oct. I want to be there to hand it over proper.

The boat is listed under the old Searunner website list as "Slick" The builder built 3 Searunners, well....two Searunners and a CC 40. Aircraft grade spruce stringers and marine ply. All built to plan, nutz on. Great carpentry, light, all good joinery....... everything works as Jim and John designed it. Incredible combination of performance, solid stability, thin water capable, room, etc. I believe the 34' is the ultimate Searunner. Fore many reasons, higher armpits, wider beam, deeper main hull, narrower hulls, lighter, easy to handle (I always single hand)

It has a 9.9 HP Yamaha high thrust out board on a custom slide. It works really well, but so often I sail on and off the hook. When I sail into an anchorage, I will have the out board fired up, but use the self steering vane to guide the rudder, and not use the outboard, so easy at 34' length. Did I say I loved this boat? Lots of anchors, and one you will not believe, good for a 70' mono in a storm, all taken apart in the bilge. Along with the para anchor and 600' of rigging all ready to go.

Look back through all the thread and you will see the evolution of the fiber rigging. It is so well established now, it is almost history. I know Colligo Marine just rigged a 60' open boat, huge loads and a 1" back stay. Far and away different and larger than our little 34' cutter. The new rig, brings the boat alive, we lost 45 lbs. aloft with the change to fiber rigging. I can train anyone to splice and have replacements to keep on-board. All rigging and running rigging is lightweight Dynex Dux or better. The boat is new boat with the changes....just incredible all the differences. Light air, lack of hobby horsing, just take a track and goes in light air. Heavy going, not jumping around due to weight aloft. It is light light light....and all the good things that comes
from it!

Two years ago, I did a major overhaul on the outside. I stripped all the fiberglass from the edge of the deck into the cockpit. I had 3 guys professional (Mexican) fill and glass, sand and glass, fill and sand, sand and sand for 3 months. Total rebuild of the decks. every single fitting removed, everything oversize drilled and epoxied, and drilled again and bedded. All new, all re-bedded right, any soft wood (very little replaced. We sanded and filled any dips in the 3 hulls, and shot them with with both primer and top coat
The Baja desert climate is great for all this. Both the paint and the storage. I had two coats of Awlgrip primer, and two coats of Awlgrip top coat done. Looks like liquid plastic now, easy to keep clean. Took 3 months....will last 10 years at least.

That is about it! You can always email me. or PM me. I would like to get $39,000 for the boat. I know there are cheaper boats out there, but none that offer all the convenience, solid construction, finish as Corazon. Take a good look at wehat it will take you in time and money to get a boat to this level. Then add double at least in money and quadruple in time. Ask anyone who has done it. Just the reality of boat preparation.

It is a Gem believe me.
Jmolan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-08-2011, 21:47   #865
Registered User
 
Jmolan's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Mexico/Alaska/Oregon
Boat: 34' Searunner Tri
Posts: 725
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Baja in March and April, as good as it gets!
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	P4250086.jpg
Views:	458
Size:	407.2 KB
ID:	30649   Click image for larger version

Name:	P4270163.jpg
Views:	899
Size:	352.2 KB
ID:	30650  

Click image for larger version

Name:	P4280200.jpg
Views:	383
Size:	387.0 KB
ID:	30651   Click image for larger version

Name:	P4270148.jpg
Views:	480
Size:	399.3 KB
ID:	30652  

Click image for larger version

Name:	honeymooncove.jpeg
Views:	598
Size:	49.0 KB
ID:	30653  
Jmolan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20-08-2011, 09:42   #866
Registered User
 
Jmolan's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Mexico/Alaska/Oregon
Boat: 34' Searunner Tri
Posts: 725
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

I forgot I have a lot of photos here, everyone likes photos! I am sorry many of them are mixed in with my work and life activities. The first two are pure Searunner.

Cruisers & Sailing Forums - Jmolan's Album: 34' Searunner San Carlos Mexico

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-pictures.html Just the photos that say "jmolan"

Synthetic Searunner pictures by jmolan - Photobucket A lot of other boats we rigged with fiber.

Alaska stuff pictures by jmolan - Photobucket older shots, before the makeover.
Jmolan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20-08-2011, 18:28   #867
Registered User
 
Jmolan's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Mexico/Alaska/Oregon
Boat: 34' Searunner Tri
Posts: 725
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Whoa! I just saw 99,999 views! Wow my friends, this is some kind of an amazing thing! These old plywood, home built, trimarans, designed in the 60's and 70's live big still!
All credit goes to Jim Brown and John Marples! Incredible. Think of the trendy junk that are called cruising boats that have come and gone over the years....what was real 40 (or more!) years ago is still real. All the wonderful attributes of the Searunner that were designed for a purpose, not to some marketing survey. I feel very fortunate to have owned and sail two myself, and to have known many other Searunner folks.
I say Hip, Hip, Ho-ray!
Jmolan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21-08-2011, 05:31   #868
Registered User
 
Jimske's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Connecticut
Boat: Boatless
Posts: 376
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jmolan View Post
Baja in March and April, as good as it gets!
WOW! Very nice boat! You obviously spent a lot of time and effort. My 31 is a real solid boat but I mostly just sail her and keep the water out. But you are right in everything you say - can't comment Jim Brown and John Marples enough for their work!

I thought I put an ad in Classified but I didn't see it. So I put it in again. Spread the word all!
At $18,000.00 you can't go wrong if you like these boats!

Thanks - Jim
Jimske is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 22-08-2011, 12:16   #869
Registered User
 
Jmolan's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Mexico/Alaska/Oregon
Boat: 34' Searunner Tri
Posts: 725
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

Thanks Jim, very kind of you to say!


I have had some inquiry's about synthetic rigging for the do it yourself guys (us Searunner guys) I am sure much of this is a repeat. I have not proof read any of this. I can usually answer questions pretty quick if anyone is interested.

Here are a few other threads where we lived out the new rigging revolution. Seems like a long time ago already. We were just breaking ground on Dynex Dux in the sailing world then. Even though I had used for 10 years before this time.
(I just brought home 500' of 1" Dux used but great shape from AK boat. Would be an ultimate mooring, so light it floats or is just neutral with the SS eyes. Breaking strength something like 85 tons. You carry the whole coil on one shoulder....:-)

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...nes-21060.html

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post327763

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tml#post243738

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ons-21574.html

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ner-30407.html

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ing-25520.html
Jmolan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 24-08-2011, 11:29   #870
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 156
Re: Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

One Searunner question comes to mind. If the "master's cabin" is aft, will the master and his mate have to leave the cabin, cross the cockpit and enter the forward cabin to use the head? That seems like a major inconvenience. Are any of these boats fitted with another head aft?
Arthurwg is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
paracelle, Searunner, trimaran

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Searunner 31 Spreaders Siskiyous Multihull Sailboats 2 21-08-2017 20:45
Bahia 46: Now Proud Owners - FP Bahia 46 'Maestro' Kiwikat Fountaine Pajot 24 09-11-2011 20:30
moorings owners program jvrkmarina The Sailor's Confessional 2 06-07-2011 06:45
For Sale: 1975 Searunner Trimaran scotiasailor Classifieds Archive 0 02-07-2011 13:03

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 00:57.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.