Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Doggone]

Originally Posted by dale d

Dale D

It's time to introduce myself. I'm named dale and I live in Nicaragua. I was born and raised in San Diego and lived on Shelter Island in the "Free Anchorage" back when it was still free. (I lived on the other side of the tracks form the venerable SouthWestern Yacht Club) <grin>

I've been sailing multihulls since 1974. My first boat was a Piver Nugget built by Mile Eaton. I sailed that little boat to all the channel islands off California, and several short trips to Northern Baja. Sea Dragon might remember her, she was named Sola and was anchored under the Coronado bridge for awhile back in the free anchorage days.
My next boat was Norm Cross' 26 racer named PUFF. I sailed puff to Puerto Vallarta where I traded her for a motor home and cash.
My next two boats were both Wharrem 36 footers. I sailed both those boat to central america. I drove the last one ashore in Nicaragua to save a crew member who was cut very badly and we were too far from help to sail. I lost the boat and everything I owned. I was stuck in Nicaragua. Too poor to come home and too proud to ask for help.
I built an out-rigger canoe use local local light woods and strip planks. *I learned an appreciation for all the boat builders who went before me. *Building boats, what a cool thing to do.*

I recently bought a Brown Searunner 34 named Corazon. I am in San Carlos Sonora Mexico. I'm in a boat yard so I have no sailing stories to tell.

I've been in contact with both Boat Guy and Mark Johnson who advised me during my search for a boat.

The photo BoatGuy posted was taken by the previous owner. The bottom was taken down to bare glass and several coats of thickened epoxy were applied followed by barrier coats. The process is documented on thisforum . All this work was done before i bought Corazon.

Thank you Mark for the informative post. In a previous post you described what the "cheater" coat was made with. Would you refresh our memories?

I'm currently painting the mast and boom with LP. It all comes back, kinda like riding a bicycle. It's been twenty years since I painted a mast. Roy will know the spot, Koehler Kraft. CF loaned me a spray guy. The old man Clarence could have brushed it and made it look the same.

I hope my next post is a sailing one. I bought an old wood boat but I honestly want to sail more hours than I work. Corazon is worth preserving.

I bought a '69 Honda Trail, I'm stuck in some kind of seventies time loop

Dale, I think that I am the guy that sold you my Warram Tongaroa "Zoo" in Puerto Vallarta in 1980. welcome to CF and welcome to the Searunner family.

[Cavalier MK2]

Hello Dale, Id be interested to hear how the Wharrams and SR compare when you get sailing.

[dale d]

PRIMER!
I had to buy local.
Brand name is PRISA
it's labeled anticorosivo
a high solid epoxy primer that mixes 2 to one.
Very high coverage
I used 1/2 gallon for two coats of mast and boom

set my back $130!

The polyurethane is cheaper!

Nice thing about this yard besides $14 lay days is there are no problems.
It's out in a desert flat so they let you work tent-less

[Boatguy30]

I was wondering if you used some kind of acid etch type stuff. I have done very little painting of aluminum, but my mast does look like crap. I'm hoping a nicker looking one comes along before the boat is done!

[Boatguy30]

My layday rates are quite good as well in my patio, but I do hope to be sailing sometime soon.

[dale d]

It's nice to work at home that's for sure. I really miss my shop.

Didn't acid etch, just sanded and primed and went to LP. I'm kinda a goo and go kinda Guy.
My work would drive perfectionists like Mark and Roy around the bend.

[dale d]

Originally Posted by Doggone

Dale, I think that I am the guy that sold you my Warram Tongaroa "Zoo" in Puerto Vallarta in 1980. welcome to CF and welcome to the Searunner family.

Hay DOGGONE:
I am for sure the same guy. wow how cool is this?
Zoo took me to Panama and BACK. I left her rolled up on the beach where we traded at La Cruz in Banderas Bay. I built a palapa over is and everything. Went home to make some money and got tangled up in Windsurfing on Maui. Returned ten years later in another Tongaroah (sp). Zoo had simply returned to the elements. Just like Spray she brought me home.

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

I was wondering if you used some kind of acid etch type stuff. I have done very little painting of aluminum, but my mast does look like crap. I'm hoping a nicker looking one comes along before the boat is done!

Jeff,
Getting ANY paint to stick to aluminum is a challenge, but it can be done. I suggest you use the prep instructions in the AwlGrip "blue book", as they are the same (= best) instructions no matter what paint you use.

It involves first... stripping the mast, then multiple solvent &/or water and "stripper" Scotchbrite wet scuffs under full water flow. These are followed by Alumaprep and Alodyne etch & pre-prime steps. Then DO NOT TOUCH IT with an ungloved hand, but start priming as soon as it is dry. Done properly, with 3 topcoats over the primer, it will stick great and last 25 or 30 years!

LP PAINT SYSTEMS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE:
It is all about the proper prep and execution... Without taking each step according to the manufacturers' instructions, (just like a skilled chemist), a 2 part paint system will definitely fail, and being solvent proof, it will be much harder to re-paint over. Quick n dirty painting should not be attempted with 2 part paint systems, imo...

YOUR PRIMER QUESTION:
AwlGrip's primer is 2 part 545 epoxy, and Sterling's is a 2 part polyurethane. IF your primer goes on smooth enough, you CAN topcoat the next day with the LP topcoat, and get an EXCELLENT chemical bond. It will just have a rougher texture from the unsanded primer's stipple. Otherwise, it must be sanded with 280 or 320 grit EVERYWHERE, or at least take a Scotchbrite to those difficult areas to sand.

BEAR IN MIND:
On ALL 2 part systems, the very solvent resistance we love, means that after the 24 hour chemical bond window is over, the topcoats will get NO bond to the primer, unless the primer is scuffed to a TOTAL glaze, over 100% of it's surface! Try to sand/scuff it VERY thoroughly, without going through.

WITH DELPHYS:
On all of my nonskid decks, and a lot of deck's edge radii, I went for the chemical bond, and I didn't sand the primer at all. I painted in sections, and got the topcoat on the very next day after priming. This cuts the labor of painting in half!

OR:
Under my wings last Summer, I combined both concepts... I rolled on 3 coats of primer on day one, and on day 2, I sanded under there VERY lightly to knock down the stipple, (in 1 hour). Then I wiped and tacked. This was immediately followed by the first of 3 LP topcoats. This in turn was followed on subsequent days, by top coats #2 and #3... Each coat went on within 24 hours of the one under it. In my case here, A light/fast primer sanding was fine, WITHIN 24 HOURS OF PRIMING ONLY. Otherwise...
Same is true of any 2 part topcoats. You can spray on all 3 of them in ONE day, the day after priming, OR if you're roller/tipping as I was, get the topcoats on 1 coat per day, but on subsequent days... (Without sanding)!
These bonding tips are the only types of "short cuts" that will definitely work, btw. Break the systems rules otherwise, at your own expense!

More than any other part of the boat, a really good 2 pt paint job on the spars will pay dividends later. A mast can only be re-painted by removing it and most of it's hardware first. It is easier to avoid it for 25 years.

Also... On ALL SS hardware mounted over these newly painted spars, use a thin Teflon or equivalent sheet under winches (with their bronze bases), AND caulk down everything else. The combining of dissimilar metals on the Aluminum becomes much more problematic, IF sea water can get in the interface between them. Caulk solves this to a degree. Still, after decades at sea, around the bases of SS hardware is where the paint will start failing first.

Aluminum on Aluminum is less of a paint failure problem, but still, caulk ALL hardware bases AND fasteners well. The best SS machine screws I have found, btw, (for avoiding corrosion), were actually dipped in molten Aluminum, but I don't know if they are still available. I got mine as part of a Lifiel kit, (sp?) 30 years ago.

Good luck with it...
Mark

PS:
In the photo below of the ceiling of my wing's vent hole, all of the priming and 3 topcoats, were done with a brush, even between the legs of the epoxy bonded in lashing eyes. Spraying looks best of coarse, roller tipping CAN be a close second, and where it never shows, (like under here), any way of getting it on will last just as long. Under here out of the sun, it should never need paint again.

[Boatguy30]

Mark, it is lefiell. They also make rockets and bombs, but also still support there masts. Maybe they still have those screws also. Not sure vie ever seen them.

cheers,
Jeff

[Roy M]

LeFeill is located in Los Angeles, where I built my boat. They were making helicopter blades for Viet Nam at the time. Good stuff from them, it lasts a long time. That's the reason Mark and I tend to follow the directions on the can. I doubt anyone can accuse me of perfection and really get away with it. But I do hate painting, so I like to put it off for as many years as possible. You can do that following the directions.

[dale d]

I humbly stand corrected. Though the photos and descriptions of your ice box and centerboard do lead one to think of competence in the extreme.
Thanks agin to Mark for the directions. The guy at the paint store just offered the mixing directions, in Spanish at that.

[silviris]

Originally Posted by Roy M

Great news just arrived. The boatyard just called and said they had reconsidered their bid and have decided to charge me $1680 for the haulout and paint. I gladly accepted, so I'll be hauling May 31st, pulling the centerboard and replacing it with the new one, pulling the 17 foot propshaft for inspection, pulling the rudder off and inspecting all the hardware, cleaning the seacocks, and repairing small dings. Then, it's time to complete the reefer. My refrigeration guru came by yesterday to inspect the box. He gave his blessings and took the cold plate off to solder on the copper stuff and fill it with eutectic solution. Then, it's time to close it up, fire it up and fill it with fizzy local craft industrial solvents for testing. I'll send pics. Then I can pull the stick and get that out of the way. I may be sailing yet.

Hey Roy,

Was that quoted price for them to paint it, or are you doing it yourself?

[Doggone]

Originally Posted by dale d

Hay DOGGONE:
I am for sure the same guy. wow how cool is this?
Zoo took me to Panama and BACK. I left her rolled up on the beach where we traded at La Cruz in Banderas Bay. I built a palapa over is and everything. Went home to make some money and got tangled up in Windsurfing on Maui. Returned ten years later in another Tongaroah (sp). Zoo had simply returned to the elements. Just like Spray she brought me home.

Good memories Dale, thank you for sharing the photo as it is the only one. I was buddy boating with a Searunner 31 then. Beautiful cutter that started my fascination with Jim Brown designs. I'm looking to get back to mexico, who knows we could raft up again. Greig

[dale d]

I'm getting ready to mount all the goodies back on my mast. Now would be a good time to ask the list for hints tips and directions. The only reason I painted the mast was it was down for the re-rig and white is a cooler color than black.
There was minimal paint failure. And only where dissimilar metals can in contact.
I think this is a Lefiell section. My boat was built in NewPort beach area and the builder had access to the folks who were supplying custom hardware for Sea Runners. I bet Roy M might know the boat. Might have been called Slick then. Harmen was the builder. Skip Elliot built the sails.
Anyway, please feel free to chime in with your ideas. I have Life Caulk, and Tuf-Gel. I have limited access to materials other than garden variety Home Depot kine stuff.

Thank you all in advance

Doggone, you better get a move on if your going to raft up with Corazon in Mexico. I want to make this boat move. Here's a picture of the bay in front of my house in Nicaragua. I don't want to get stuck there, I want to see Central America again and again

[Mark Johnson]

Dale,
Life Caulk is a fine choice under most mast hardware and bolts. On larger things like winch bases, you can go with 1/16" sheet plastic, like Teflon. (see my plastic washers above). You should still have caulk on BOTH sides of this plastic to keep sea water out of the interface. I have also used VERY heavy = THICK industrial strength electrical tape, that comes on a 4" wide roll. I taped it to the winch base, and trimmed the excess off with a razor blade. Both of these items may be hard for you to find down there, but particularly on bronze winch bases, you need a thin isolating layer of something plastic. On small SS items, caulking them down will do. (Get caulk under fastener heads and into their holes too).

EXCEPTION:
IF you need to use LockTite on some important threads, like @ tang bolts under their nuts, do NOT let LockTite and LifeCaulk mingle together, or neither one will ever set up. Then, rather than locking it, you have just lubricated it.

Give that paint 4 or 5 days minimum, before covering it with hardware. FULL cure is actually about two weeks.

Mark