Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by AKscamp

Shoot me a PM and we can set up a viewing.
Thanks,

i thot that u included your fone number on ur sailboatlistings ad. no? Nice boat by the way, i watched a cupla videos. Too bad she doesn't have a diesel.
jon

[longjonsilver]

In my search for a sailboat, i have gradually become involved with the multihull camp for a variety of reasons, in spite of the fact that i started a monohull website: hughes38 dot com. So when i came across this on the internet entitled "Why Multihulls Suck":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCarlLIwcfI&t=1s

it made me pause and think. Should i rethink my decision to buy a trimaran, probably a Brown/Marples design? What would you say to me about why you like your tri, especially a Searunner?

My intention is not to start a battle thread, and that is why i buried this post in the Searunner thread, rather than giving it its own thread. My intention is to hear what those that like trimarans have to say about the allegations made in the above video.
jon

[AKscamp]

Hi longjonsilver,

I'll be completely honest, while we did not care for our trimaran, the title is mostly clickbait (got you to click ) I would encourage you to watch the video and see what we have to say about them. The highlights are these:

- We did not feel safe and had very little confidence in the boat
- The maintenance was overwhelming, at times
- We did not see the speeds that everyone touted
- The movement of a multihull is very uncomfortable at sea
- The cost of storage or a slip was astronomical, and not practical for cruising
- The shallow draft was not beneficial in the cruising grounds we chose (not the trimaran's fault)

Hope that helps a bit, I am sure there are plenty of people who vehemently disagree with what we have to say, but we cruised on her for 6 months and these were things we discovered for ourselves. Good luck in your hunt for a boat.

P.S. A week ago we bought a Tartan 34c and we are very happy with our change in boat

[Boatguy30]

I spent one week living on a SR 31 last year. I would expect a modern 31' monohull to be much more comfortable and overall practical. They are very old designs and need to be looked at in that context. They are surely the most capable multihull when capsized and some very long survival stories in overturned Tris. Less of a worry these days with satellite EPIRB.

These comments also don't apply to modern cats which many find very practical. We'd be very hard pressed to confortably fit a family of 4 long term on many 34' monos. When cruising, I always anchor or sometimes takes mooring which is same cost for mono or multi.

In 4.5 years I've hauled out and stored for 6 months at a yard that didn't charger extra for multis and dock at my own property or a friends in NY occasionally. Both very shallow drying areas, not suitable for most monos.

[Capt.Timbo]

We're happy with our 40. Lots of maintenance and upkeep required.

[smj]

In my opinion this is really a sad YouTube video and needs to be taken with a grain of salt. A couple with 6 months experience on one type of trimaran posting a video named Why Multihulls Suck!

[Captryan23]

Originally Posted by smj

In my opinion this is really a sad YouTube video and needs to be taken with a grain of salt. A couple with 6 months experience on one type of trimaran posting a video named Why Multihulls Suck!

In the video they say “take this with a grain of salt” and I did. I sailed mono hulls for over 40 years and now I own a Searunner 37 and I will never go back. I suggest that if someone is considering a tri and maybe a Searunner, they just need to read the entire Searunner forum and feel the passion these folks have about their boats. That is what sold me. Great boat!

[smj]

Originally Posted by Captryan23

In the video they say “take this with a grain of salt” and I did. I sailed mono hulls for over 40 years and now I own a Searunner 37 and I will never go back. I suggest that if someone is considering a tri and maybe a Searunner, they just need to read the entire Searunner forum and feel the passion these folks have about their boats. That is what sold me. Great boat!

Maybe different wording in the title? The first catamaran we owned really sucked but instead of posting our dissatisfaction on YouTube we used the knowledge gained from the first to guide us in the search for the second. Not that there was YouTube back then anyways.

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by AKscamp

Hi longjonsilver, I would encourage you to watch the video and see what we have to say about them.

Of course i watched the video. That's why i posted it on this forum. i listened to everything you had to say. Because, before i spend my hard earned money, i want to know what i would be getting myself into with a trimaran. So i asked the community. Thanks everybody for your feedback!

And yes! i have read this entire thread from the start to the finish, and have taken hundreds of screenshots with vital information. i've been posting on this thread for a while now. Its because of this thread that i'm interested in a Searunner to begin with, as well as several books of which "The Case for the Cruising Trimaran" by Jim Brown comes to mind.

So, lest one think that i'm a diehard multihull guy, check out my plastic classic website: hughes38 dot com i posted the video this morning asking for opinions because i just want to know what is the best use of my money for the sailing objectives that i have. So thanks again everybody for your feedback!

jon

[FuzzyFeat]

The wife and i built our Sea Runner 37 and cruised the East and Western Caribbean for 12 years. During that time we made numerous passages from VZ up to the Chesapeake. Great Boat!!!
Sails well, easy to handle, Good turn of speed. Our best day was 220 miles ti windward! Selling it was the saddest day of my sea going life. Many regrets. The Sea Runner is a great Sea Boat and cruiser.
I have a production Cat now. Great live aboard Not as much fun to sail but better living arrangements for an older couple.

[AKscamp]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

Of course i watched the video. That's why i posted it on this forum. i listened to everything you had to say. Because, before i spend my hard earned money, i want to know what i would be getting myself into with a trimaran.
jon

I think that's really smart. We didn't have intentions of ever storing her, but we really should have looked into marina costs and such prior to buying. In our experience monohulls have given us a better value; cheaper to get into, store and, if they are fiberglass, less maintenance. It will be interesting to see what you end up with. Happy boat shopping

[Tusitala]

LongJohn, Only you can decide. It sounds as though you should spend more time on multihulls before purchasing a boat. The video posted was made by some pretty inexperienced sailors who simply didn't do enough research and bought the wrong boat. It happens, boatyards are full of them. If you plan to perform most of your own maintenance be prepared to do plenty of it. If you're going to pay to have it done professionally be prepared to spend some coin - there's a lot of surface area on your average multi to take care of, even if it's just washing it down and keeping it clean. Buying an older wooden boat can increase that significantly, or can be a real pleasure and simple to work on. It all depends on how it was build and even more on how it was taken care of. Get a good survey. I know a few people that ended up with a bad boat even with a survey. Almost everyone I know that didn't get one got burned - even very experienced sailors. In terms of value, it depends on what you find. Certainly there's more monohulls than multihulls in boatyards that can be owned for next to nothing, if not actually nothing just to get the yard bills to end. Good luck in your search.

Pat

[Rotten Ricky]

I had a mono for 22 years, and now have had a SeaClipper 38 for 10 years and have sailed on other multis as well. 6 months is hardly enough to provide a balanced opinion - and what a a juvenile heading!

The SeaClipper series, also from John Marples, is a later model than the SeaRunner, with more traditional, sweeping lines. It has more modern ideas like canted floats, yet does not look like a piece of Tupperware. It a dream to sail, typically on a 5 to 10 degree heel, as if on a giant bird. It is beautifully balanced and, for a home-built, cruising tri, pretty quick. There is no doubt in my mind that the boat is far tougher than any person. It surprises me that this model is so seldom seen.
Our multi-hull club members, especially older, female sailors, confirm the multi-hull is much more fun and less exhausting to sail because they are not heeled way over and wallowing through the waves. There is a quicker action under way that is far less likely to promote sea-sickness than the wallowing of a mono and most stuff on deck and below stays put. The tri tends to have a movement underway that is a cross between a mono and a cat, so it is not wallowing like a mono, nor snapping with the wave passing, like a cat can do. We enjoy being able to leave the crowd behind when we are able to sail into skinny waters for a quiet anchoring spot. And if needed we can beach the boat and have a motionless night while the storm rages outside. (We can use levelling struts on the floats to balance level). It saves a lot of money if we can beach the boat for maintenance.

The biggest negative by far is to find a home dock to accommodate our wide beam and that can mean extra expense at home or elsewhere. While racing multis are very fast because of light weight, a cruising one with those skinny hulls can be easily overloaded due to all those storage spaces that are begging to be filled, and speed will suffer. Even so we regularly sail at 8 - 10 knots and have hit 12. The light weight of a multi also allows the boat sit "on" the water instead of "in" the water, and so be sailing in light airs long before a heavier mono, and sail longer before returning to motoring, so we motor less.

The tri is not as convenient to "live" in as a mono, as placement of the components like galley, stove, head and especially the main table, are hard to fit. The narrower main hull makes movement inside harder when others are on board, and the higher wing-deck berths can be more difficult to enter and leave when you are older and can be a bit claustrophobic with the cabin roof so close above you. The beam of the main hull of a mono no doubt makes it easier to fit out and to live in. Of course, the fat cruising condo-morans that are used for chartering are slower but more commodious. However, along with an aft cabin, the floats of a SeaClipper are large enough that one can easily sleep in them, permitting some privacy, not unlike a tent.

Forget the stuff about multi-hulls being inherently stable when inverted. That bad rap comes from old-style inflexible thinking, and because multis of long ago tended to be poorly designed, poorly built and poorly sailed. Take note of the numbers of professional sailors who, often after retiring from sailing monos, often trust a multi-hull more than a mono for their family safety. Another thought - unless poorly designed, a multi cannot sink - not the same for a mono!

Just like any boat, be very careful in the condition of your purchase, especially if it is wood. Maintenance can be substantial, whether it is a mono or multi, and what its condition is, and what material it is made of.

I hope these comments do not inflame any others with different experiences.

Best wishes and happy new year!

RR.

[AKscamp]

Originally Posted by Rotten Ricky

6 months is hardly enough to provide a balanced opinion - and what a a juvenile heading!

There is a quicker action under way that is far less likely to promote sea-sickness than the wallowing of a mono and most stuff on deck and below stays put. The tri tends to have a movement underway that is a cross between a mono and a cat, so it is not wallowing like a mono, nor snapping with the wave passing, like a cat can do.

The biggest negative by far is to find a home dock to accommodate our wide beam and that can mean extra expense at home or elsewhere.

The tri is not as convenient to "live" in as a mono, as placement of the components like galley, stove, head and especially the main table, are hard to fit. The narrower main hull makes movement inside harder when others are on board

Just like any boat, be very careful in the condition of your purchase, especially if it is wood. Maintenance can be substantial, whether it is a mono or multi, and what its condition is, and what material it is made of.

I hope these comments do not inflame any others with different experiences.

Best wishes and happy new year!

RR.

RR - I think if you were to watch the video you would see that we actually have the exact same complaints as some of the ones you have listed here. While the title may be a bit jarring (Clickbait. Welcome to YouTube.) we do stand by our complaints with them as a whole. While 6 months sailing a trimaran might not give one a good enough idea of their capabilities, living and cruising for 6 months on one, certainly did. If nothing else, after 6 months we were not willing to continue cruising on one for the aforementioned reasons.

We met a number of trimaraners that absolutely love them and our initial research into them is what caused us to purchase one in the first place. So I can see why people feel passionately about them. However, people's boat choice has very little to do with their personality as a whole Hopefully our conversion allows us all to still be amigos

[AKscamp]

Originally Posted by Tusitala

LongJohn, Only you can decide. It sounds as though you should spend more time on multihulls before purchasing a boat. The video posted was made by some pretty inexperienced sailors who simply didn't do enough research and bought the wrong boat.

Buying an older wooden boat can increase that significantly, or can be a real pleasure and simple to work on. It all depends on how it was build and even more on how it was taken care of. Get a good survey. I know a few people that ended up with a bad boat even with a survey. Almost everyone I know that didn't get one got burned - even very experienced sailors.

Pat

Hi Pat,

Although I wouldn't agree with your assessment of our experience level, I do agree with you on getting a survey. In the 5 sailboats we've owned, we have had a survey twice. The first time the surveyor was phenomenal! The second time we sent him home halfway through, as he was doing an inadequate job. We always tout to get a survey but have been guilty of not following that same advice for various reasons. When we referenced that the wood boat was a lot of work we were speaking in terms of upkeep after the initial work of getting her up to par. We've owned a fiberglass, steel, and now plywood boat and it has been our experience that plywood requires more attention throughout the cruising season.

I would also say the boat we bought was the right boat in that it was well built (originally the boat's name was Rattle and Hum, built in BC. There is a blog chronicling the build) just not the right boat for us (for reasons mentioned in the video.) The new owner is ecstatic about her, as we are for our new monohull. To each their own.