Seafarer 34 Good and Bad

[Lance Monotone]

GO!

I've been looking online and haven't found much aside from sailboatdata. I'm hoping for an actual review (or 20!).

Who has owned one and what did you like and dislike about it?

Is it okay for singlehanding? Liveaboard?

Is it a good gunkholer and passage-maker?

Any links to online reviews would be appreciated.

If it matters, the boat I'm researching is a 1976 SL.

Thanks all!

[Lance Monotone]

I'm surprised nobody has an opinion on this boat. Does that mean I should pass it by?

[boatman61]

The Seafarer 34

https://youtu.be/qFUOP0Kg2Uw

Singlr handing no problem once you gain competence..

[Lance Monotone]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The Seafarer 34

https://youtu.be/qFUOP0Kg2Uw

Singlr handing no problem once you gain competence..

Thanks for those! I actually found the Seafarer Research Center but that page seems to be a sales brochure rather than an independent review, which was disappointing.

That was an interesting video showing the construction phase.

I also found this: Chance: 1972 Seafarer 34

I feel like if there aren't a lot of these boats still around, they were maybe poorly designed or poorly built.

[boatman61]

Or.. they are so good they rarely come up for sale..

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Lance Monotone

I'm surprised nobody has an opinion on this boat. Does that mean I should pass it by?

No. I'm sure there are opinions out there, Lance.

I think that, speaking very loosely, Forum Members would generally prefer to share their opinions with people who have actually done some sailing.

Plus, a 34' boat is INCREDIBLY big for someone who has never sailed to start off with.

Plus, have you ever steered with a tiller? No. Much more difficult to learn than a wheel...

Go take a lesson and get back to us, will ya?

[Lance Monotone]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

No. I'm sure there are opinions out there, Lance.

I think that, speaking very loosely, Forum Members would generally prefer to share their opinions with people who have actually done some sailing.

Plus, a 34' boat is INCREDIBLY big for someone who has never sailed to start off with.

Plus, have you ever steered with a tiller? No. Much more difficult to learn than a wheel...

Go take a lesson and get back to us, will ya?

[Lance Monotone]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Or.. they are so good they rarely come up for sale..

That is another way to look at it! I'm just surprised because I've never known CFers to lack for opinions, knowledge or recommendations. And the lack of info on the internet makes me think this boat may not be worth considering if I need to make repairs, etc.

[chris95040]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Plus, have you ever steered with a tiller? No. Much more difficult to learn than a wheel...

No one with any business being on the water should be even remotely intimidated by a tiller.

Hand the tiller to a 6 year old and in 15 minutes they are competent, no exaggeration.

[TrentePieds]

Lance:

I suspect that the reason our members have hung back is that your OP gives a very strong impression that you know nothing, or very little, about sailing and about boats – so why waste the keystrokes :-)

Please don't think I'm being unkind in my remarks below. I offer them in order to get you thinking along the right lines if you are a complete novice, and, in case you are not, in order to get a sound discussion going that will attract forum members with actual knowledge of the boat and with closely comparable boats. So hang in there and think carefully about how to answer my questions, and we'll get you off to a good productive start :-)

You found this, I gather: SailboatData.com - SEAFARER 34 Sailboat

Wonderful! In considering ANY boat you haven't actually sailed in, SailboatData should be your starting point! In fifteen minutes of contemplating a single page there you can gather much more knowledge about the boat than you can harvest in fifteen weeks by asking questions of our members! So tell me:

1) Does “McCurdy and Rhodes” mean anything to you? If so, what precisely?

2) Does “S.A./Disp. 15.48" mean anything to you? If so, what precisely?

3) Does “Disp./Len. 315.00” mean anything to you? If so, what precisely?

You ask: “Is it okay for*singlehanding?*Liveaboard?”

1) Can you not formulate a subjective, preliminary answer to that from looking at the arrangements plan given on SailboatData? If not, why not?

2) Why would you consider qualities as disparate as “ease of singlehanding” and “liveability” in the same breath?

You ask: “Is it a good gunkholer and passage-maker?”

Are you expecting a general “compare and contrast” answer without particular reference to the Seafarer 34, or are you wanting to know if the Seafarer 34 is good for both? If the latter, can you not derive a subjective, preliminary answer to that from looking at the profile drawing and the specifications given in SailboatData?

Well, enuff of that. You get the drift :-) Tell us something about your actual sailing experience and about where you propose to sail whatever boat you wind up getting. Both those things are of EXTREME significance in choosing a suitable vessel. Buying a boat is NOT, not even remotely, the same as wandering into a showroom, buying a RAM350 and then blowing it down Route 66 :-)!

Cheers

TrentePieds

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by chris95040

No one with any business being on the water should be even remotely intimidated by a tiller.

Hand the tiller to a 6 year old and in 15 minutes they are competent, no exaggeration.

Oh, Chris. You've obviously never taught adults who have never sailed before.

I do.

They find a wheel intimidating enough - especially with all the other stuff going on on a keelboat that they have to learn...

[Lance Monotone]

For the record, not that any of this has any bearing on my original question: 1. I'm not afraid of a tiller. This boat just happens to have a wheel. 2. I wasn't aware there is a maximum size for a first boat. 34' seems in the lower-middle range and I've read that longer is better in rough seas. 3. It is dead-ass winter here and not a lot of sailing happens on frozen water, but I am able to simultaneously research boats and sailing lessons, which yes, thank you, I am planning to take. I have another thread about the lessons, with some great recommendations I'm still working my way through. Thank you to the people who have helped me there.

However, this thread isn't about tillers vs wheels, or whether a 34' boat is too big for a newbie, or whether someone who has never sailed is allowed to research boats until they've taken a lesson, or whether it's cool for someone to poop all over you in a public forum merely for asking a question. It's specifically about people's experiences with the Seafarer 34.

There are a lot of helpful people here (you know who you are; I have thanked you in this thread and others) but there are some who take it upon themselves to opine on everything but the question being asked, and make assumptions about what I and others know and are capable of. This is super counter-productive and frustrating.

First, it makes it harder to find the info I'm looking for by searching for it, which is something I've seen the old-timers complain about: This question has been answered before, why didn't you read the forums? Well, because the thread went on for 90 pages of digressions and insults and who wants to read that?

Second, everyone starts their sailing career somewhere. Mine is starting here because there's a lot of knowledge locked away in you old salts. I make no apologies for never having sailed. At one point littlewing was in my shoes and I wonder if the people around them were similarly discouraging. Maybe that's why they're so grumpypants. I don't know. I'm not going to assume.

What I am assuming is either I'm a detestable pile of poo for being an ignorant naïf about sailing, or the Seafarer 34 just isn't one of those good old boats people love and recommend. Based upon the dearth of info on the net and the lack of specific responses here, I prefer to think it's the latter and that I'm still extremely loveable, at least to my mom.

[Lance Monotone]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Lance:

I suspect that the reason our members have hung back is that your OP gives a very strong impression that you know nothing, or very little, about sailing and about boats – so why waste the keystrokes :-)

Please don't think I'm being unkind in my remarks below. I offer them in order to get you thinking along the right lines if you are a complete novice, and, in case you are not, in order to get a sound discussion going that will attract forum members with actual knowledge of the boat and with closely comparable boats. So hang in there and think carefully about how to answer my questions, and we'll get you off to a good productive start :-)

You found this, I gather: SailboatData.com - SEAFARER 34 Sailboat

Wonderful! In considering ANY boat you haven't actually sailed in, SailboatData should be your starting point! In fifteen minutes of contemplating a single page there you can gather much more knowledge about the boat than you can harvest in fifteen weeks by asking questions of our members! So tell me:

1) Does “McCurdy and Rhodes” mean anything to you? If so, what precisely?

2) Does “S.A./Disp. 15.48" mean anything to you? If so, what precisely?

3) Does “Disp./Len. 315.00” mean anything to you? If so, what precisely?

You ask: “Is it okay for*singlehanding?*Liveaboard?”

1) Can you not formulate a subjective, preliminary answer to that from looking at the arrangements plan given on SailboatData? If not, why not?

2) Why would you consider qualities as disparate as “ease of singlehanding” and “liveability” in the same breath?

You ask: “Is it a good gunkholer and passage-maker?”

Are you expecting a general “compare and contrast” answer without particular reference to the Seafarer 34, or are you wanting to know if the Seafarer 34 is good for both? If the latter, can you not derive a subjective, preliminary answer to that from looking at the profile drawing and the specifications given in SailboatData?

Well, enuff of that. You get the drift :-) Tell us something about your actual sailing experience and about where you propose to sail whatever boat you wind up getting. Both those things are of EXTREME significance in choosing a suitable vessel. Buying a boat is NOT, not even remotely, the same as wandering into a showroom, buying a RAM350 and then blowing it down Route 66 :-)!

Cheers

TrentePieds

Have you owned or sailed a Seafarer 34? If so, I would appreciate your opinion of its capabilities and flaws. Thank you.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Lance Monotone

Have you owned or sailed a Seafarer 34? If so, I would appreciate your opinion of its capabilities and flaws. Thank you.

Lance, I will answer your questions above by saying no I haven't owned a SF 34.

However, if its the yacht for sale in NY, then it looks quite smart and money has been regularly spent on her, a good sign.

Would I sail it single handed? yes particularly as she has an autopilot.

Would I live on board if I was single? Yes but only in a marina with shoreside shower and loos, mains power and water etc.

I think for single handing its actually a good choice, neither too small to live on or too big that she becomes a handful in a blow.

Would I buy at close to the price advertised? yes.

Pete

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Lance, I will answer your questions above by saying no I haven't owned a SF 34.

However, if its the yacht for sale in NY, then it looks quite smart and money has been regularly spent on her, a good sign.

Would I sail it single handed? yes particularly as she has an autopilot.

Would I live on board if I was single? Yes but only in a marina with shoreside shower and loos, mains power and water etc.

I think for single handing its actually a good choice, neither too small to live on or too big that she becomes a handful in a blow.

Would I buy at close to the price advertised? yes.

Pete

Pete.. stop being a wimp.. she's a perfect liveaboard cruiser (no gunkholer) and perfectly easy to solo.. as for showers.. sail South and buy one of these..