Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Cavalier MK2]

I like our sled but an inboard was never an option, it would ruin the quarter berth and head passage on the Nicol. These boats pitch less than a Searunner so the transom mount worked in pretty big wind and chop but in any installation the further away from the stern you can get the less prop ventilation there will be. Hate to use a motor any way so a good choice for me. If I ever get tempted by the race to Alaska or the world goes Mad Max I'll unbolt the sled and drop in a pedal drive.

[catsketcher]

Mark, I respect your opinion and am happy you like your diesel. Many of your points are valid.

I have had outboards all my cruising and never get to flush them. I was told by a mechanic that long period use flushes the cooling systems well because the innards get to full operating temp for a long time. An amateur mechanic friend has pulled apart many Yammie 9.9s and the last one - tens years old and off a bareboat charter cat - was as clean as a whistle inside with no salt. The sump looked almost brand new.

You may have had the first gen Yammie 9.9. If it was the white one the amateur mechanic calls them "Aspros" because they dissolve in water. The grey ones use different alloys and are very nice bit of kit.

None of the 31s in Australia have the diesel option, they all go outboards. We have lots of long term live aboards here with outboards and I know two circumnavigators (in fact one is on the cover of your book - Chris and Karyn with Magic Carpet) who wax lyrical about their outboards. It can be a great choice and a good one will push you around for ages - certainly over a decade or two from a good donk.

I have too many boats but I sometimes lurk at the ads and look at 37s and 34s. If I sold my large cat I would love to fly to the US and buy an epoxy Searunner to sail back downwind and home. For me if there was a problem with the diesel in any way I would turf it and replace with a new Yammie 25 on a sled. A very experienced friend did this on a Crowther Impala 38. Like you I feel very secure with a good motor and it allows me to enjoy cruising knowing that the whole shebang, from gearbox to flywheel is really well engineered. A 31 would be a great choice for an outboard. Different folks et al.

cheers

Phil

[longjonsilver]

Can anyone provide links to Searunner 37 and 40 specs? They are missing from the Searunner website altho the 25 and 31 are listed. If not, does anyone know the relevant specs?
thanks
jon

[owly]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

Can anyone provide links to Searunner 37 and 40 specs? They are missing from the Searunner website altho the 25 and 31 are listed. If not, does anyone know the relevant specs?
thanks
jon

I have them, but they are in JPG format. I can't seem to add an attachment for some reason, except for videos. When I click manage attachments, nothing happens. I tried adding it using "add video"..... let's see what transpires.
Which specs to you need exactly. PM me with your personal email, and I'll drop you the JPG with all the specs from the 25 to the 40.

H.W.

[owly]

I think I got it now.......... We'll see if that works.......

[Mark Johnson]

Outland Hatch Covers:

Highly recommended! They take about 2 seconds to put on or off, they float, you get a spare, and a guarantee!
$39 each. They are half the price and twice the utility of canvass hatch covers.

[longjonsilver]

i'm looking at a couple of older trimarans that have old or older rigging wire (by that i mean original) and needs to be replaced yesterday. So if i were to buy one of these gems, rerigging would be in order. i understand the concerns of Mark about the thermal expansion and contraction of the aluminum mast vs the expansion and contraction of the rigging, but i would like to just focus on the savings in weight aloft. i will be using a CC 40 as a base boat, and crude and rude approximations for sake of this thot experiment. i am using 5/16 SS wire as my base wire, altho that is just a guess on my part, again for the sake of this thot experiment. Dux is assumed to be 11mm

50' mast
uppers, backstay and forestay 4 wires 50' long = 200' of wire
Intermediates, running backstays, staysail stay 5 wires 33' long = 165' of wire
Lowers 4 wires 17' long = 68 feet of wire.

433 feet of SS wire at .18lbs/ft = 78 lbs of wire
433 feet of Dux at .04lbs/ft = 18 lbs of wire
Dux is 60 lbs lighter than SS

Average length of tork arm on a 50 foot mast with above rigging = 19'
(This is based on a 90degree knockdown for purposes of out thot experiment)

This gives us a difference of 1140 ft lbs of tork

Lets put this in comparison.

Many diesels weigh 350 lbs - a significant weight - and by putting it low and amidships in the bilge is one of the factors (as recorded on this thread) that makes Searunners a safe boat.

The draft of the CC40 is 2' 6". Let's be generous and say that the center of mass of the diesel engine is 2' below the waterline (only 6" above the bottom of the keel, centerboard raised)

So we have for the diesel, 350 lbs times 2' of arm to give us 700 ft lbs of tork.

This means that in the ultimate knockdown (90 degrees) the Dux rigging gives us the righting moment equivalent of 1 and 2/3 diesel engines in the bilge.

Thots and comments?

jon

[catsketcher]

I am coming around more to Dux. I have used it on my trailer sailer and it is really nice stuff. One good thing is that you can do it yourself so it may end up way cheaper. I will be getting some for our large cat so that we can make up any stay that breaks during cruising. 30 minutes later and you can have a nice new Dux stay ready to replace the wire one.

I was surprised to see the most conservative mono - an S and S 34 with Dux. This boat had just done a Melbourne to Hobart and has already started the Melbourne to Osaka race. It has Dux rigging and uses turnbuckles. So it doesn't just have to be used on trailer boats. Can't find a pic but it has Dux for almost all of the rigging.

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

I am coming around more to Dux. I have used it on my trailer sailer and it is really nice stuff. One good thing is that you can do it yourself so it may end up way cheaper. I will be getting some for our large cat so that we can make up any stay that breaks during cruising. 30 minutes later and you can have a nice new Dux stay ready to replace the wire one.

The big cost so far seems to be the terminal fittings, but some people are using regular sailmakers thimbles. They don't use a regular sailmakers thimble around a pin as that would be too little bearing, but rather around a toggle:

https://www.riggingdoctor.com/life-a...ing-conversion

Using deadeyes and lanyards seems to be the way to go if you use the rigging tensioner as shown here:

https://www.riggingdoctor.com/life-a...-with-deadeyes

Check out the use of a low cost solution from fencing industry:

https://www.riggingdoctor.com/life-a...anding-rigging

jon

[blewett_john]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

I never had a Searunner, love the boats - was going to build a 31 but we looked over a 37 20 years ago. It had a Ruggerini and a 4 bladed prop. I could hack the prop and no name diesel so I built my own cat. When we saw the 37 again it still had the no - name diesel and 4 bladed on it so diesels can do well.

I installed two Johnshon 15hp 2 stroke outboards on my Searunner 37. The inboard diesel died and I find outboards to be much simpler machines. Both the outboards are electric start. The pictures show the prop to be high but that is because the engines are in the up position. When lowered the props are about 24" below the waterline. If you click on the link below you will be able to see all the work that has been done on the boat.

[blewett_john]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

Can anyone provide links to Searunner 37 and 40 specs? They are missing from the Searunner website altho the 25 and 31 are listed. If not, does anyone know the relevant specs?
thanks
jon

Check the link below. You will find Searunner specs there. Look under Miscellaneous

[blewett_john]

Originally Posted by blewett_john

I installed two Johnshon 15hp 2 stroke outboards on my Searunner 37. The inboard diesel died and I find outboards to be much simpler machines. Both the outboards are electric start. The pictures show the prop to be high but that is because the engines are in the up position. When lowered the props are about 24" below the waterline. If you click on the link below you will be able to see all the work that has been done on the boat.

Here is one more picture of the outboard installation.

[sea dragon]

That's an interesting setup Blewit John.
Is there some sort of fairing in front?
Any problems with swamping the engine or cavitation?
I have one 25 hp hi thrust Yamaha mounted on the stern on a hydraulic bracket
Works pretty good but I haven't tried it in bad conditions yet,
Mine's a SR40

[blewett_john]

Originally Posted by sea dragon

That's an interesting setup Blewit John.
Is there some sort of fairing in front?
Any problems with swamping the engine or cavitation?
I have one 25 hp hi thrust Yamaha mounted on the stern on a hydraulic bracket
Works pretty good but I haven't tried it in bad conditions yet,
Mine's a SR40

Actually I have not had a chance to try out the new arrangement. The boat has been out of the water for 5 years to do all the repairs that were needed. I plan on launching the boat in June to sail it from Rhode Island to Florida.

The inboard diesel died so I installed the outboards. They are older two-stroke engines, electric start. I find old two-stroke outboards to be very simple and easy to maintain/repair.

[theocerbo]

Hi Everyone,

First post here! I tried to find the information I am looking for but it is hard with a 276 pages thread. Here is what I am looking to figure out:

I am looking at buying a boat to cross the south pacific (leaving from the US west coast) within a year or two. Budget is limited, so is my experience sailing. Trimarans (SeaRunner & Cross) seems to be a great fit for that task, they are comfortable for warm climates, sails relatively well in light air and have a shallow draft.
That said I am questioning their ability to handle heavy weather.

While I am not planing to sail higher latitudes I think this is an important point: How safe is a 40ft Tri vs a 40/50ft heavy displacement mono?

I can't wait to read your opinion!

Cheers