Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Cavalier MK2]

I'll disagree Phil in some cases. Yes you can do it without nails.... The but.... is in large impacts and decay. I've fixed enough boats to see that the nails held in impacts and in boats with decay. For cruising boats there aren't many penalties for metals like bronze or copper. The idea is to combine the deep strength of fasteners with the wide bond of epoxy. Well done they reinforce each other.

[Roy M]

WILDERNESS update:

Cold weather, supply chain chaos and lethargy have slowed down progress, but not stopped it. Finally, the stackpack has arrived and been installed. It's a neat system, which will make sailing even more a pleasure. It required installation of lazyjacks to guide the falling mainsail into its nest. I still have some small details to attend to, but the priorities are redirecting my efforts to completion of exterior projects before our winter rainy season forces interior projects. The outside stuff is pretty minor, the biggest task outside is the completion of the Port quarterdeck nonskid repaint. The paint was on backorder for months, and just got here last week. It can wait until springtime, though. Now I just want to closeup some small openings to keep the rain out. I permanently (a relative term) sealed the steering pedestal with butyl tape, having had it sandblasted and recoated, reassembled, and all parts replaced. The guardrail and compass will go on when the foot bushings arrive from Edson, then I can install the new engine control cables and other pedestal accessories. Then, I will replace the old leather steering wheel cover with a beautiful new one. That's a project for a rainy day, sitting in the sterncastle with multiple rum infused cups of hot chocolate.

Well, it's lunchtime and I've been waiting for the air to warm sufficiently for some painting. Having a boat is a great solution to having a life of purpose and direction. Fantasies of sailing, coupled with realities of money, time, weather, availability of materials, health and motivation, all make for a fulfilling schedule.

[Roy M]

Stackpack shots

[Redreuben]

Fasteners.

I would be tempted to use composite fasteners, they don’t corrode, they don’t destroy planer blades and their expansion coefficient doesn’t move around and push the screw heads out threw the sheathing.

[md7a]

Originally Posted by Redreuben

Fasteners.

I would be tempted to use composite fasteners, they don’t corrode, they don’t destroy planer blades and their expansion coefficient doesn’t move around and push the screw heads out threw the sheathing.

What kinds have you used? This sounds interesting, but my local suppliers don't seem to carry them. Found this on a web search: https://www.spotnails.com/product/15...in-fiberglass/

[Redreuben]

Raptor are the big name but I’m sure there are others.

[catsketcher]

I would very rarely (Never) use nails when I could use chipboard screws to pull together pieces for gluing. Using your cordless drill with its torque setting adjusted just right, allows for a deft touch when gluing. I would never want to hammer anything when gluing, I would lose control of the process. Also I glue light stuff and using a hammer on light scantlings is not easy.

It may have been nice to use clenched nails and similar in the days of resorcinol glues but with high strength epoxies which also gap fill really well, I can't see any reason to not use chipboard screws and carefully bring the pieces together, ease them out after the glue hardens and fill. No worries ever after.

[Cavalier MK2]

Anti hammer weenies!

[Cavalier MK2]

I'm deference to Phil..... There are plenty of times I use drywall screws as temporary "clamps" till the epoxy sets.

Unless of course it needs bronze ring nails for extra deep fiber holding power.

[Cavalier MK2]

I couldn't get a picture of this art that conveys the layered 3d effect of the original but it is cool. We went into Canada this summer and met my son and his long time girlfriend in Naniamo after a tech conference he was involved with in Vancouver. This is what she made for Christmas, a 3 D silhouette of the Nicol sailing back through the Gulf Islands.

Weather those winter storms, king tides and projects. Sailing awaits, share the beauty.

[ThomD]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

I would very rarely (Never) use nails when I could use chipboard screws to pull together pieces for gluing. Using your cordless drill with its torque setting adjusted just right, allows for a deft touch when gluing. I would never want to hammer anything when gluing, I would lose control of the process. Also I glue light stuff and using a hammer on light scantlings is not easy.

I like to rip up 4-6mm plywood, in 1 inch squares, and add a small washer, then use the coarse thread DW screws and run them hard. Since I will add a little thickener to the epoxy there is no way to get a dry joint.



I worked with Jim Brown at the WBS, decades ago. It was a work detail, very much a learning experience. He was running screws at the time, so there is nothing wrong with it. He predrilled all the holes, we were working with "mahogany" where you never really know what is in there, so drilling was a good idea. With more predictable wood like Sitka, it will work fine without predrilling. I think this was pre cordless days. They existed, so I could be wrong.

Originally Posted by catsketcher

It may have been nice to use clenched nails and similar in the days of resorcinol glues but with high strength epoxies which also gap fill really well, I can't see any reason to not use chipboard screws and carefully bring the pieces together, ease them out after the glue hardens and fill. No worries ever after.

That is how I built my tri like 25 years ago, and it worked out fine. There are designs though, where the screws are part of the structure. I have seen failures when they were left out. Normally when I build a boat, the whole thing is glassed inside and out, and so the wood is not going to be working. But some boats depended on the fasteners, even post epoxy. Of course they can be re-designed so as to leave them out. But then it is on the builder to make the changes.


I came across this on Wharrams, were the panel joining stringers used fasteners. Wharram tends to over-design at least double. Worth an inquiry to the office. Their scantlings date back to 1976. It is a plus of the boats that they are pretty much up to anything.



I just built a power boat this past spring and the stringers needed heavy screws and knees where they terminated at the transom and bow. I don't imagine anyone would leave them out as they are obviously there for more than assembly. But I had glassed the shears, so I do not depend on the screws, and they sure can't come out.

[Buzzman]

Originally Posted by ThomD

I like to rip up 4-6mm plywood, in 1 inch squares, and add a small washer, then use the coarse thread DW screws and run them hard. Since I will add a little thickener to the epoxy there is no way to get a dry joint.

I do the same. Small squares of scrap thin ply or particle board.

But I add a small piece of polyethylene plastic under the ply square to prevent it becoming part of the joint.....


Needs to be thick plastic, like 25-30 microns. "Builder's plastic" is a good cheap solution, as it can often be found in scrap bins and skips on building sites for free.

[JamesAlexander]

Hello all....... Just posting a link to a film with beautiful narration, of some classic pioneering early trimarans - Newicks, etc. Racing to Bermuda back in the day. I'm not connected to the poster. Just thought it would be appreciated by many of the Searunners out there. It was posted recently in December 2022.

https://youtu.be/8v_in2j4c3I

[migizi]

Originally Posted by JamesAlexander

Hello all....... Just posting a link to a film with beautiful narration, of some classic pioneering early trimarans - Newicks, etc. Racing to Bermuda back in the day. I'm not connected to the poster. Just thought it would be appreciated by many of the Searunners out there. It was posted recently in December 2022.

https://youtu.be/8v_in2j4c3I

Also a great author & narrator!

[slowbat]

Sure looks like someone's SR34 on the beach in Mexico. Looks like the name Corozon. I looked back at the posts from Jmolan that posted photos back on page 58 and the name was in a different location on the AMA.
Shots at 22.08 & 23.01

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF7xVsrGd_E

I would like to know the story.