St. Francis 50: "Wayfinder"

[BigBeakie]

Catalysis,

Looks great!

Have you had the good fortune to have experience washing fish blood off the material yet? Can you report how stainable it is on spilled coffee, red wine, fish blood etc?

[Catalysis]

No spills so far - we don't fish,
Paul



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[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by Catalysis

Here's a shot of the Flexiteek cockpit we installed on our Antares 44 "Indigo" about 6 months ago - we like it so far.
Paul
Attachment 99495Attachment 99496Attachment 99497


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

That's gorgeous. I love that stuff.

My first preference is fiberglass, but I'd get this next.

[downunder]

Hugh ,

is this the type of flooring?

Gerflor Venus Lame Self Adhesive Vinyl Plank - 16 Pack I/N 6600038 | Bunnings Warehouse

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by downunder

Hugh ,

is this the type of flooring?

Gerflor Venus Lame Self Adhesive Vinyl Plank - 16 Pack I/N 6600038 | Bunnings Warehouse

The self-adhesive stuff is very low quality. And doesn't stay down. You need the kind that uses commercial adhesive.

This is the brand I'm going with: EarthWerks - Flooring Inspired by Nature

And this is the line I'm going with: EarthWerks - Flooring Inspired by Nature

[Heath68]

Originally Posted by Hugh Howey

No, I haven't heard about corian problems. Anything I should be aware of? They looked great in hull #18, but that boat only had a few months and about 7,500 miles on her.

Well i know its old but it may help you "build" a relationship with the builder that sets out and avoids past problems.. I am in Dispute with St Francis Marine

[Heath68]

Originally Posted by Catalysis

Here's a shot of the Flexiteek cockpit we installed on our Antares 44 "Indigo" about 6 months ago - we like it so far.
Paul
Attachment 99495Attachment 99496Attachment 99497


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Looks very nice.. a very classy look.

[Southern Star]

Hugh, I'm sith you on vinyl flooring. I installed Lonwood Mari Teak and Holly vinyl flooring on my cat and without close inspection, it looks just like the real thing except it is maintenance free and much lighter (not to mention more durable than the common teak and holly veneer on marine plywood. And Calalysis - your cockpit looks fantastic!

Brad

Brad

[Seaslug Caravan]

Originally Posted by Heath68

Well i know its old but it may help you "build" a relationship with the builder that sets out and avoids past problems.. I am in Dispute with St Francis Marine

Heath, you need to put this link in context.

The SF 50 was his third ordered vessel.
The first two from different manufacturers ended in dispute, non delivery and legal argey bargey if i remember correctly.
If this guy ever decides to buy another boat i sugest all potential suppliers duck for cover.

Crazy stuff.

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by Southern Star

Hugh, I'm sith you on vinyl flooring. I installed Lonwood Mari Teak and Holly vinyl flooring on my cat and without close inspection, it looks just like the real thing except it is maintenance free and much lighter (not to mention more durable than the common teak and holly veneer on marine plywood. And Calalysis - your cockpit looks fantastic!

Brad

Brad

Good to hear! Makes me feel (slightly) less crazy.

[BigBeakie]

Originally Posted by Hugh Howey

The self-adhesive stuff is very low quality. And doesn't stay down. You need the kind that uses commercial adhesive.

This is the brand I'm going with: EarthWerks - Flooring Inspired by Nature

And this is the line I'm going with: EarthWerks - Flooring Inspired by Nature

Can you expand on why the Gerfloor is low quality? Are you referring to the adhesive specifically or the durability of the vinyl itself on the Gerfloor brand?

The Gerfloor is the one I was thinking of using, but your Earthwerks certainly looks nice as well. Why is it better quality?

[contrail]

A few thoughts......1) Have you made provision for shading those huge windows? In the tropics, there are definitely plusses and minuses. Most with large windows use a mesh-like material to cut out some of the light. 2) Most engines don't require gravity fed fuel, but an electric fuel pump with sufficient head can always do the trick. 3) Windows, again, it's not the waves striking them that requires sufficient strength, but the flexing of the two hulls in different wave trains. 4) Maximum size of outboard, for a dinghy, is not just a matter of weight, but also transom strength, among other things. Good luck with the boat.

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by BigBeakie

Can you expand on why the Gerfloor is low quality? Are you referring to the adhesive specifically or the durability of the vinyl itself on the Gerfloor brand?

The Gerfloor is the one I was thinking of using, but your Earthwerks certainly looks nice as well. Why is it better quality?

I don't know the brand, I just know my flooring guy said not to use the peel-and-stick kind. There are a handful of different application adhesives, and a few different ways they can be put on (dry, wet, and permanent).

The dry method entails coating the vinyl and then the subfloor, letting it get tacky, and then putting them together. The floor holds but comes up easily for repairs.

Wet is similar, but you don't wait as long. Harder to get it up. Holds better (how they installed my home floors).

The permanent application is how I'll probably go on Wayfinder. You have to chisel the pieces out. But it means not having to leave expansion gaps around the edges.

That's what I've been told. I've spoken with three flooring companies to make sure this is not a really dumb idea. You might want to get three more opinions!

[Hugh Howey]

Originally Posted by contrail

A few thoughts......1) Have you made provision for shading those huge windows? In the tropics, there are definitely plusses and minuses. Most with large windows use a mesh-like material to cut out some of the light. 2) Most engines don't require gravity fed fuel, but an electric fuel pump with sufficient head can always do the trick. 3) Windows, again, it's not the waves striking them that requires sufficient strength, but the flexing of the two hulls in different wave trains. 4) Maximum size of outboard, for a dinghy, is not just a matter of weight, but also transom strength, among other things. Good luck with the boat.

1) Yeah. I got two kinds of vinyl mesh fabric from SailRite. I got 80% blockage for the side windows, which I'll probably leave on in the summer months, and I got 95% blockage for the forward windows, which I'll leave on in summer months when I'm at anchor, and then stow when I get underway. We used this stuff on power boats that had MUCH larger windows, also at an angle like this, and it worked great. St. Francis already uses a glass with films that mitigate the heat. The cool thing about the mesh is that you can see out, but people can't see in. I went with white, which gets dirty over time, but doesn't absorb and then radiate heat inward.

2) True. My understanding is that the chances of introducing air into the fuel line are reduced with an elevated fuel tank. Could be that this was true in the old days and is no longer true.

3) The SF has always had undersized windows. They aren't doing anything beyond what everyone else in the industry does. And the changes have been approved by the architect.

4) The people selling me the dinghy + outboard are one of the largest dinghy suppliers in the world here in south Florida. The dinghy itself is aluminum, and the transom is the same as the 14', which takes the 40hp. I'm going with a combo that two different salesmen said they would go with, if it were their boat. Appreciate the concern, though. And always nice to have several people looking out, in case something is missed.

(Kinda like, when I'm driving, and my wife points out a hazard that I already see, my response is always: "Thanks!" Because I'd hate to ever dissuade her from pointing those things out for that time when I don't see the hazard).

[contrail]

1) You are correct about the heat and the dirt. White is much cooler, but do remember that people CAN see in at night, when the lights are on! Sailrite is good. In the luxury crewed charter yacht fleet down here, we are about 50/50.

2) If you can introduce air into the lines when the engine is "sucking", you will probably have fuel leak out when gravity is "pushing". Sailboats, both mono and multi, have had fuel tanks lower than engines, for years. The key is to check on the head that your lift pump can lift. Neither eight inches (!) nor four feet is particularly unusual. I put the wrong pump in, once, and the generator would stall when the tank was half full. Then I looked at the spec sheet!

3) "Everyone" does it because customers are impressed with the view. But, you would be surprised at how many folks then have to deal with leaks, due to the flexing of the smaller supporting surfaces, and the different coefficients of expansion and flexibility of the windows. The correct sealant makes a big difference I always thought St. Francis was smart to keep lots of fiberglass supporting material. We'll see how it works out, over time.

4) Glad the salesmen are confident and seem to have thought it through. Again, we have hundreds of dinghies down here, lots of AB's, (I have had three, myself) and the manufacturers are always trying to improve their products. The aluminum dinghy you are getting won't be the lightweight version they make, but you may still want to put those horizontal fins on the lower unit, just about the prop, to keep from going nose up when you pour on the coals!

good luck.