new guy

[caribnsol]

Hello all
My name is Bill Jordan and I live in Portsmouth Va. My wife and I sail a 40' Solaris cat. Love it. Have been sailing of an on since I was a kid, have owned boats for the last 6 years. Retired from the navy this year and plan on heading south in the next year or 2.

[David M]

Welcome aboard Bill! I hope you enjoy the forum.

[delmarrey]

'hoy!
Another ex-Navy guy. The sea has that great attraction. Once baptised it's hard to walk away!

Welcome Aboard Bill!

I'm sure you'll enjoy the site! There's lots of good info on places and and boats............................_/)

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Bill,
Welcome aboard!! Hope you enjoy the forum. Seems like we've got some other ex-Navy and retirees here. Several other military retirees too. I almost got 30 years in. Retired in '91.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[swagman]

Welcome Bill,
Always good to greet new members and trust you find the site of value.
Sail safe
JOHN

[caribnsol]

thank you all. I'm sure I wil enjoy the site.

[Southern Star]

Hi. Just joined the site and noticed that you are also the (I hope) proud owner of a Solaris Sunstream 40. We bought ours a year ago and it has been on the hard since, undergoing mods/upgrades/repairs in preparation for a trip from the Great Lakes to the Southern Caribbean.

I would be interested in sharing some experiences/opinions with you concerning the boat. In that regard, you wouldn't happen to have the factory rig/sail dimensions, would you? I am about to order a new offhore main and genoa and, while specific measurements will ultimately be required, the factory dimensions would be incredibly helpful in getting quotes.

In addition, do you have a spinnaker and, if so, how do you have it rigged? I have a symmetrical from my previous boat that I would like to try out and have been contemplating using blocks on each bow for the spinnaker guys - use the windward one for the clew and leave the leeward one loose in preparation for jibes.

And how have you found her for tacking? Any suggestions, or is the seemingly usual drill for cats sufficient: maintain boat speed (even bearing off, if necessary, prior to tacking), sheet the main in taut, and make a firm but smooth turn through the wind (backwinding the jib if necessary).

Finally (for now), how about bridge deck slap? The forward clearance appears adequate (and the shape is a nice elipse), but the clearance aft is certainly on the low side!

Personally, I love the Lloyds Offshore construction, even if it adds hugely to her displacement. There is a PDQ 36 on the hard beside our Sunstream and she had to have 6 jackstands placed under the bridgedeck; without them there is so much flex that the interior doors jamb! The Solaris, on the other hand, is simply resting on 2x6's beneath the keels.

I can also attest to the superior job that was done in tabbing the bulkheads. We have removed all the overhead vinyl and bulkhead carpeting and most of the 3/4" bulkheads are, if not completely encapsulated in glass cloth and resin, tabbed with mulitple layers to at least 10". Right now we are installing frp overhead and ceiling panels throughout the boat, removable where necessary in order to access the deck hardware. A huge job but it absolutely transforms the interior! In fact, we are so pleased with the look we are also using the same material on all bulkheads that were originally carpeted.

Anyway, would love to hear back from you. As you have no doubt discovered, these are pretty rare animals in North America and there is a dearth of material on them.

Brad & Jane
Solaris Sunstream 40 'Estrella del Sur'.

[jack7382]

Welcome Aboard Bill,

Retired Marine here.

Jack

[caribnsol]

looks like plenty of representation from the sea services.

For Brad and Jane, welcome and thanks. You are right about finding info on the Sunstream. I am lucky in one respect, I bought my boat from the original owner. He was an engineer and documented everything. I have most (if not all) of the manuals from all the equipment onboard, maintenance records, and alot of information from the original purchase. I will see what I can find for you on the rigging and sail dimensions.

I have not noticed much deck slap and this is my first cat but your description of tacking sounds about right. She does sail well but with winds under 10kts she doesn't want to get moving to quickly. 10 kts gets me 3-4 speed over ground. Up around 15kts she moves nice. The max winds I have been out in so far have been 20-22 kts and she was cooking right along between 8-10 kts. I do not have a spinnaker.

She is very sturdy, I had been on other cats that just seemed flimsy (names not given to avoid offense ). I haven't done anything major, replaced some equipment, hauled her once, converted all shore power from european to US, and am dealing with refrigeration issues right now. Love the boat and spend as much time as possible on her. Still working on the whole sell the house, move on the boat, escape south thing.

[Southern Star]

Thanks Bill, I appreciate the information on your experiences in sailing her - and its about what I had expected/hoped. The original Solaris 42 and 36 were notorious for needing to turn on the diesels in order to come about, so I am very glad to hear that she doesn't suffer from the same problem.

I must say that there are some aspects of the design (originally by Rod MacAlpine-Downey as the Cherokee) that are, in my view, preferable to what is currently in 'fashion'. Front overhang is vastly superior to plumb bows as it increases bouyancy in 2 planes as the bow is depressed - this is critical if you want to reduce your risk of pitchpoling. In addition, the 'knuckles' above the waterline also reduce the risk of burying the bows.

And of course, the cutter rig makes much more sense than a fractional rig with a huge square-head mainsail once you need to reef down. Anyway, I am so glad to hear that you are positive about the boat. And if you can find anything on the rig dimensions I would really appreciate it. By the way, assuming your sails are not the originals, what brand are they (as they must have dimensions on file). Mine are from a company in England that is no longer in business.

Brad

[caribnsol]

I will let you know, at work, won't see the boat until tonight or tomorrow.

[Southern Star]

No rush - the rig dimensions/plan would be great and the name of the sailmaker next best. If the owner gave you invoices from the sails they may have dimensions also.

Anyway, I'm on the hard until at least May and likely won't need to order until late January.

Brad