Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[longjonsilver]

Lookin really good Roy.

[Cavalier MK2]

Inspirational Roy.

[w32honu]

There is a beautiful custom Marples 40 foot "Fast Cruiser" trimaran for sale. Big sister to the CC-37.

Professional build. Launched new in 2019.

Rumor has it the owner is eager to sell. Quick Google search brings her up on yacht world...

[smj]

Originally Posted by w32honu

There is a beautiful custom Marples 40 foot "Fast Cruiser" trimaran for sale. Big sister to the CC-37.

Professional build. Launched new in 2019.

Rumor has it the owner is eager to sell. Quick Google search brings her up on yacht world...

Pretty tri.

https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/201...uiser-8025291/
Possibly yours?

[longjonsilver]

Rumor has it that the owner has posted on this forum.

[Randy]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

Rumor has it that the owner has posted on this forum.

Rumor has it that the owner isn't motivated to sell.

[Buzzman]

Reckon the asking price gives that away.....lol

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by Buzzman

Reckon the asking price gives that away.....lol

Yes, it wud sell quick for 100k in this market. But remember its basically a NEW boat, and the owner is taking a loss at this price point. Its just that the market for a new (great cruising) design tri is just not there. The market doesn't buy a boat for its great sailing characteristics (like Marples designs) but for its interior and a tri has a cramped interior compared to similarly priced cats. (If ya wanna sail, buy a tri, if ya wanna have a condo on the water, buy a cat)

And remember that a wood boat (which is what the market calls a wood/epoxy composite boat) is considered a rot box by the market. Of course the market considers a balsa cored boat is a FIBERGLASS boat, not withstanding that a constant camber boat is far superior to a balsa cored boat imho. (A break in the epoxy will only wet and rot a layer of the constant camber construction, but will rot the entire balsa core) Delamination is also a big factor in balsa cored boats - and that is not a factor in a CC boat.

(There is a boat for sale at the YC that my friend was trying to get me to buy and i pointed out that there is probably delamination as evidenced by the waves in the hull right at the chainplates - and its a balsa cored boat.)

jn

[catsketcher]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

(If ya wanna sail, buy a tri, if ya wanna have a condo on the water, buy a cat)

jn

Whilst I won't disagree that the majority of cats made now would fit in with your generalisation, of course there are exceptions. I spent 1.5 years designing a really nice (well I think it is anyway) 40ft cedar strip tri, after years of owning a Twiggy and Nugget. It was a cross between a Searunner 40 a Grainger Spoon Bay with the styling of a Jay Kantola/Glennie design. I worked at night for months getting everything just so. Everyone told me I was dumb to want a tri and after years and years of haranguing, I doodled a cat and then built one. (That was a HUGE shift in thinking for me)

The problem for tris is that I could get over double the accommodation for my family without trying AND have a boat that sailed just as fast. Your nice Graingers, Pescotts, Schionnings, Whites, Hughes and Richard Woods cats are great sailers. So the market for tris becomes even smaller as even someone as one eyed as I was can be convinced to go to the dark side. So I built a cat and launched it 22 years ago, it still is a fabulous sailer and has nice accommodation.

That said - if my boat was to be lost - something like the one being sold would be a great boat for the two of us. Really nice boat.

I still miss the slight heel as a gust hits, and the feeling of sitting on the windward ama is gone. A cross sea is not as fun as the cat puts one leg over and then the other, more than the Twiggy did. I liked watching the waves explode on the Twiggy's bow and being able to push the bow into a wave at speed when broad reaching in swells was a hoot. The cat is different, she doesn't bobble at all at anchor, which can be nice. But getting the toilet in the opposite hull from my bed and the galley is pretty cool, drying out without heeling is great and she can still chug to windward like a champ. Better sailing on a tri, mm maybe, but certainly different.

[Cavalier MK2]

Nicol figured out the head location in the 60s, the stern cabin. Nice separation from the main cabin, we put in a composting head and it works great. Just did a 4 person cruise, everybody had elbow room to spare. I love good sailing cats too, I'd try to find a nice CSK to barnstorm just because. The condo cats don't do much for me, this year the only cat I liked was a Wharram Tiki. Building I like Richard Woods cats but would probably do my own thing. I'm happy to keep on with the Vagabond because it works so well, Lay out wise nothing else tempts me.

For the 100g money and good sailing I'd go after one of the Newick's out there, the Creatives come to mind. For sure the tri market can be a cruel place, many of these boats that were pro built can't be sold for anything close to the cost. The length of time on the market as owners come to terms with this shows the gap between building and resale. If you aren't planning to use a tri for years don't have one built with the expectation of getting a "fair" return for your dollar. They are boats for a sailor that knows what they want, not for someone testing the waters before trying something different.

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

Whilst I won't disagree that the majority of cats made now would fit in with your generalisation, of course there are exceptions.
The problem for tris is that I could get over double the accommodation for my family without trying AND have a boat that sailed just as fast. Your nice Graingers, Pescotts, Schionnings, Whites, Hughes and Richard Woods cats are great sailers.

i know that there are good sailing cats out there. Its just that they are not where the majority of the interest/business/money is right now in the sailboat market. IMO the majority of the mono business is driven by the accomodations of the interior as well. We design and build boats from the inside out - not based on sailing performance. So a good sailing cruising tri for short handed operation like SV Kolea is not where the money is today in the market. Too bad, but it is what it is.

[Cavalier MK2]

So, the Marples fast cruiser being discussed has a keel, aren't the CC designs usually equiped with a centerboard?

For the project minded there is a CC44 on Seattle Craigslist with various issues for $27,000. Seems like it was lower earlier this year but is now hauled out in Bellingham.

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by Cavalier MK2

So, the Marples fast cruiser being discussed has a keel, aren't the CC designs usually equipped with a centerboard?

The owner and i communicated about his boat as she was nearing completion. i queried him on the fixed keel and he stated that Marples offers it as an alternative to the centerboard. He stated that it is only slightly less weatherly than the centerboard (maybe due to turbulence in the CB trunk), and he chose that option due to less maintenance.

My hesitation is due to the more aft center cockpit that (as opposed to the extreme forward center cockpit of Brown fame) makes single handing more difficult (at least to my understanding), as well as being a little too rich for my bank account.

Beautiful boat tho, well chosen colors and good quality gear.

[Cavalier MK2]

Thanks on the keel info. My boat was modified by a previous owner way back when with one exactly like that. John lived in Port Orchard back then, I'll ask him if he was involved. While it works the wide section does create a hump in the speed to get through as the boat moves past 9 knots. I'm taking mine back down to the original section to use with the daggerboard trunk I put in. We should improve our windward leeway by at least 10%. With the keel we tend to be faster than the CC designs our size so it does work but I can see it throwing a substantial vortex. No arguing the maintenance end, that 44 up here looks to have a rotten trunk and cockpit.

[Roy M]

WILDERNESS status report, 9-13-2022:
Today was a milestone event for me. I've written before how sequences rule projects, how simple scheduling saves hours and dollars in the course of getting from A to Z. Well, today I got a major step accomplished. Not, of course, the final cosmetic step, but the one that closes one door and opens another.

Over the past year I have removed my original mast, rig and deck gear, I have just installed the new mainsail, my stack pack sailcover arrives in a month, and today I installed the roller furler control lines from the drums to the cockpit. This had to be done before completing the portside nonskid, because of cosmetic details, and to make a coaming to prevent a tripping hazard for whoever has to dash forward to the bow. But, the roadblock to installing the jib and staysail was the roller furler control lines. The puzzle of routeing control lines, making friction minimal and operation of the furlers a simple, safe and dependable process, was anything but simple and straightforward. For months I would wake at 3 AM, realizing that I had to simplify the furling system, that lines had to rotate from deck level to the vertical transit of the cabinside to the position in the cockpit where things happened. And the sails had to be so simple and controllable that the smallest and least experienced crewmember could reef and reduce speed at OH Dark Thirty. And today I achieved that ability. NOW, I can install the new headsails permanently. The mainsail is still waiting on the stack pack to install lazyjacks, installing the reefs, running backs, and the boom tent (winter is coming!). But, the single most challenging step was, for me, the roller reefing project. It's not completely done, but the pathway has been established, I have installed the parts and strings, and it all works smoothly and simply. Here are some pictures for those interested in this detail.