Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Rann]

Greg,

Welcome to the Searunner portion of this forum.

First, go to Outrig.org and discover a wealth of information from Jim Brown himself. The videos will do a lot to answer some of your questions.

Next, contact John Marples for information about the plans and specifications for the 31. He can be reached at Searunner.com. John has encyclopedic knowledge of these boats and is very helpful.

Last of all, review all the entries from page one to this one. You will find much good information from a number of owners. You probably will get some more responses to your request later tonight or tomorrow.
.
Fairwinds,

Rann

[Mark Johnson]

Greg,
I second what Rann said, and might add: If you take on this project, I suggest that you buy the plans from John Marples, EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE PLANS, send John the fee. It is only a few hundred bucks, and ONE conversation on the phone with John, will save you this much $. Even though the design fee has been paid, you want to get started on the right foot, and John can keep you out of trouble.

Our Searunner is quite different from the other 34s, and well developed for "comfort & ease of handling", VS speed. Many decisions that I might have made in our project would NOT have gone well, without John's help. This is VERY important... COLLABORATE!

The 31 is a true blue water boat, even capable of taking a highly skilled couple, "carefully" around the world. It is more suited to shorter passages due to payload, and for day hops it could be an excellent single hander as well.

It is not nearly the "speedster" of boats like the Farriers, but they are not "cruising boats" at all, they're daysailors. With the SR31, Jim Brown was shooting for the rational middle between speed, comfort, payload, seaworthiness, and affordability. (The point not being Max speed, but "the absence of going slow"), and they WILL claw their way to windward, even in 40 knots of wind!

They have gone 20 knots, (off the wind in a gale), and for close to shore, stripped down, daysails, you could let her rip! The point "cruising" in a 31' multihull like this, however, is to maintain speeds between 7 and 8.5, easily, all day, WITHOUT pushing too hard, getting sick, injured, or breaking anything . Then when you get there, having a boat that you can live on for years! In this mode, storage, ventilation, comfortable bunks, etc., come into play.

Read Jim Brown's memoir Vol 1, (from Outrig or Small Tris). It has incredible stories of his adventures on their 31 Scrimshaw. My wife and I have had similar stories on our 34, but he was a family of 4 on a 31! You can't do that on a similar sized Farrier!

If you are setting the boat up for single handing, like I did on my Seaclipper 28, it is a totally doable thing. To retrofit a completed boat for this is difficult, but getting it right from the getgo is the way to have it set up like you want it. (I do suggest that no one "single hand" for longer distances than they can maintain watch without sleep), but many would disagree with me on this.

This 31 was home to a South African couple that we hung out with up the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. It had been ALL OVER the Caribbean, and survived a hurricane in St Martin that was so severe, That when it was over, he and his boat were in the top of a tree! After some rebuilding on the beach, his cruise continued...

Welcome to the fold, Mark

[Rann]

Greg,

You won't find anyone more helpful than Mark when it comes to Searunner information. He and I have communicated several times, and he is one of those who has been there, done that. His advice about contacting John Marples is spot on. I am doing a refit of a SR34 and can't agree more, that it would have been easier to do it the first time vs redoing it a couple of decades later. If you are up to finishing out the project with time, money and the drive to follow through, you will end up with a vessel just as Mark pointed out. Not as fast as the Farrier/Corsair tris, but capable of taking you just about anywhere, and when you get there, you will have a comfortable home there as well as along the way.

Keep us posted as to your progress.

Rann

[xsboats]

I am also in the middle of a major refit of a 34 ft Searunner, for a client. Consultations with John are worth every dollar spent , as is purchasing the construction drawings from John . John and Jim are very knowledgeable about various issues that can crop up due to poor maintenance of their designs and of what others have done to resolve them.

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by xsboats

I am also in the middle of a major refit of a 34 ft Searunner, for a client. Consultations with John are worth every dollar spent , as is purchasing the construction drawings from John . John and Jim are very knowledgeable about various issues that can crop up due to poor maintenance of their designs and of what others have done to resolve them.

Howdy,

Feel free to contact me if there are any issues that I can help you with as well. I have posted a LOT on this forum, about specific SR problems, like centerboards for example. Fiddly things... wonderful, but fiddly!

best of luck to you on your project, Mark

[PhantomBoatwork]

Welcome to the forum. I'm not exactly an expert, but I have built a 25 searunner, helped build a 37 Searunner, owned and sailed a 27 Piver and owned and sailed a Searunner 31, and am currently finishing a 44 Constant Camber center cockpit trimaran in Texas City.
1. My experience with the 31 is that they are great all around cruising boats. If you keep them light and keep the bottom clean, they are fast and responsive. The accomodations are first class and will do everything you could ask, except act as a full time live aboard home.
2. We used to sail in the San Juans, and yes, a 31 cutter is very easy to single hand, although most of the time we just used the sloop layout. The sub forestay tends to get in the way when you gybe.
3. The cockpit is great, just a little on the small size. But with the mast stepped through the forward cabin, you can easily get to all of the halyards, the boom and gooseneck. All control lines lead to the cockpit, and with a tiller, it is easy to steer with your foot-no wheel in the way.
4. The A frame arrangement makes it possible to demount and move the boat anywhere. My Searunner 31 was sailed down the pacific coast through the Panama Canal, and ended up in Saint Lucia, when the previous skipper got sick. A friend of his flew down to the boat, sailed it to Florida, and then demounted the whole thing and trailered it back up to Washington - on one trailer pulled by a station wagon! (Just barely). I personally don't care for open wing boats. There is too much stuff to fall through, and it's very easy to drag lines and sheets overboard, where the prop is only too happy to wind them up for you (don't ask).
5. The galley and dinette are extremely well laid out and you can seat and feed four( friendly) adults at the same time. The dinette table slides aft, and the seats fold up, making a snug double in the stern. It's a little shy on usable stowage around the aft bunk, but it can be done. We ended up having piles of clothes, shoes, and personal gear scattered around the cabin. But it's a nice size for a couple. The bunks forward are just right for a decent sized adult, with the dressing compartment and head in easy reach. My favorite addition was the "Spronk" head - a one holer under the port bunk. No mess, no smell, and it never plugged up. Offended the hell out of some of my passengers, though.
Final note- we liked the Searunner layout so much that we found a Constant Camber design with the exact same thing, only bigger. Our only complaint with the 31 was that it was just too small for full time, long distance sailing like we planned. Jim Brown himself built a 31 and sailed her everywhere. They are great, affordable, fun cruising boats that won't be a monkey on your back. They just aren't able to carry everything and they won't blow away the gold plated racing boats. I like 'em a lot. Plus, you can make or repair most anything on board with just hand tools. Hope that helps.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by Greg W

What is the best source, internet or otherwise, for specs ie Hull and ama weights, load capacity sail plans, interior layouts,trailer design, and expected performance ,pics and all general info. ... 10 kts on a broad reach with 20kts of wind. Will this boat exceed those speeds, is it more of a cruiser or racer. All of my sailing is day-sailing on the East coast of Lake Michigan and much of it will be single handed. Is it feasible to single hand a 31 Searunner?

You could have barely picked a better time to get that boat!

Here you have tons of experience and the New Searunner Construction Manual will be out as soon as John Marples and Jim Brown make whatever few changes they want to. And the book has tons of information on not only how to build it but why and the theory behind the design. I agree with Scott that you will want a full set of plans if they aren't already with the boat. A set didn't come with my 34' but John was good enough to send me a set on a per sheet basis. At about $200, it was easily worth it.

The whole Searunner line are cruisers; the 31 is small enough to single hand. Jim Brown still owns his own 31' Scrimshaw.

Speed: The TimeMachine (another 31') hit 15.8 knots on one of there blog posts

Specs: See attached. From the SCM by the way.

[clockwork orange]

Rather a nice SR31 on ebay at present if anyone is looking for one. I have no affiliation, just noticed it.
Steve.

[Rann]

I took a look on eBay. Clockwork Orange is right. It does look like a nice and well-equipped SR31. Take a look for yourself if interested in finding a 31.31 BROWN SEARUNNER - eBay (item 280640810453 end time Mar-12-11 08:23:53 PST)

[Greg W]

Thanks to all for your input. Its good to know that there is such a strong support group for this type of "disease". I will contact John Marples as the seller believes that her husband had several exchanges with John regarding this particular boat. My two greatest concerns are the transporting of the boat from a small town over 300 miles to my location. I am currently trying to locate a transporter that has experience with trimarans. Secondly my slip is a tight 18' width. Any opinions on the feasibility of shrinking the beam to 17' and possible effects? These are questions I will present to John. Just curious if anyone else has a opinion.
Once again thanks for your time and I will keep you posted.
Greg

[Mark Johnson]

Greg, one of the neat things about the "A frame" Searunners, (and I assume it is the A frame, as there were a few full wing 31s built)... is that the A frames can be taken apart for transport. In fact if you go back a few pages in this forum, there are some photos somewhere of a 31 being transported. All one needs is a flatbed "lowboy" trailer, a few strong guys, a crane or travel lift at both ends of the route for the main hull, and those strong armed friends on the amas. It takes a bit of ingenuity and a long weekend, but it it TOTALLY doable. It is the full wing boats like mine, that can be a beast! years back, I loaded my 28'er with no crane and no helpers at all! I used concrete blocks and a jack. It can all be done.

Making the boat narrower to fit the slip, is out of the question however. IMO... You need at least a foot or two on each side as well. You can't squeeze the boat in there, as it would get damaged in storms.
It often isn't that expensive to have pilings moved, IF the water out there is available. You can also arrange "side to" dockage. I did this for many years.
Good luck with it, Mark

[Maren]

Originally Posted by Greg W

I will contact John Marples as the seller believes that her husband had several exchanges with John regarding this particular boat.

Yeah, he does that will all the several hundred he has done.

My two greatest concerns are the transporting of the boat from a small town over 300 miles to my location.

Not really needed. Here is a link (from this thread) on how to do it for a full wing. If the boat is in a cradle, it's MUCH easier. If the boat is not a full wing, it's even easier. If you are super lucky, you may find that you can transport a full wing boat that wide with just the lead and trail cars. But that is totally dependent on the state. The shipping company will know what the requirements and permits are.

If you'll check out my album you'll see three photos of me chopping up my 44CC

I am currently trying to locate a transporter that has experience with trimarans.

The problem is not with experience with trimarans but one that is ethical. Here is an example of one that is not. Here is a link to one that is.

Secondly my slip is a tight 18' width. Any opinions on the feasibility of shrinking the beam to 17' and possible effects?

Now, that's a real question for John. You can bet it was designed that way for a good reason. And it is sort of like asking an architect if you can cut a room off your house ... only you want it at a diagonal in the middle of the house. Sure it may not line up but you can make it work. Usually people just move to a larger slip.

[md7a]

The centerboard in my 31' A-frame is stuck - or maybe it just takes a HUGE amount of force to pull it down. 3 turns on the halliard winch and bar taut on a 3/8" pennant line with no mechanical advantage will get it down about 30 degrees. That's more tension than on a jib sheet in a fun wind. Comes back up with the winch too. Looked and felt fine when it was dry, but I could never get it blocked high enough to really drop it out and see.

On the 25' when this happened it was a warped board. We rebuilt it in a couple of days and it worked fine.

I have of course gotten the board plans from John, and drooled over the lovely board in this post from a while back.

So... just how much force does it take to get your centerboards down and up?

Should I start a new board now, or keep trying?

[Laidback]

Silly Question !! The tri is stationary when trying to put the board down??

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by md7a

The centerboard in my 31' A-frame is stuck - or maybe it just takes a HUGE amount of force to pull it down. 3 turns on the halliard winch and bar taut on a 3/8" pennant line with no mechanical advantage will get it down about 30 degrees. That's more tension than on a jib sheet in a fun wind. Comes back up with the winch too. Looked and felt fine when it was dry, but I could never get it blocked high enough to really drop it out and see.

On the 25' when this happened it was a warped board. We rebuilt it in a couple of days and it worked fine.

I have of course gotten the board plans from John, and drooled over the lovely board in this post from a while back.

So... just how much force does it take to get your centerboards down and up?

Should I start a new board now, or keep trying?

Will,
These boards are quite buoyant, and do require a bit of effort to get them down, (100-200#s?), but should EASILY "raise themselves" after a slight tug (free hand) on the up pennant. The fact that yours does not, means that you have a "clearance problem".

It could just be one coat of bottom paint too many on your last haul out, (which just requires some sanding). "Fingers crossed"...

Otherwise, there is a warped board, as you mentioned... OR the glass job on the board or trunk, has cracks, pin holes, or openings of any description, which has allowed the wood to swell. If this is the case, it's not good. That opens a huge can of worms!

If you make a new board or do trunk repairs, I feel that this is no place to skimp on the glass & epoxy! I glassed the bearing surfaces of our trunk, "where the board bears on the slot", over 1/8" thick MINIMUM, with a 3/8" thick solid glass wormshoe on the bottom.

The board is also glassed over 1/8" thick MINIMUM, everywhere, except the forward, aft, and bottom edges, which are over 3/8" thick! This protects it in the minor collisions it was designed to encounter.

Once you get this all sussed out, do not crank down as hard as you have. You may blow up the down line's turning block. (I blew up three!) I now have a POWERFUL final solution turning block, and as always, NEVER DIRECTLY CLEAT THE 3/8" DOWN LINE. I crank it down with a winch, and then attach a 1/8" piece of parachute cord to the down line, using a rolling hitch. NOW I cleat the small cord only, which acts as a fuse. It will pop on impact, allowing the board to kick up as it should, and protecting the blocks in the CB trunk.

Hope this helps,
Mark