Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Roy M]

I can't tell, is there a connection to pirates, politicians and lawyers? At least pirates fly their own flags.

[sddmack]

Is there a predictable range for what a typical liability policy might cost.....or is it all over the place based on boat size/age and location?

[longjonsilver]

Does anybody know of a Searunner 31 sailed around the world?
thanks
jon

[Roy M]

It's the end of February, I've had my first covid shot, we have had very little rain in southern California, and it's time for my progress report.

I finished installation of the last tempered glass port, reinstalled the aft cabin headliners, overhead electrical lamps, reinstalled the aft cabin cabinets (including magnetic switches inside the chart table and cabin lockers to automatically turn the lights on and off when the doors and chart table lid are opened). Today, I am doing the final sanding and paint prep for the cabinsides. This weather is just perfect for this work. My new mast is scheduled to arrive in a few weeks from back east, then I'll be doing rigging work. It will be nice to work standing up instead of curling up on the deck. My fantasy is that I'll be sailing again this August. But, now, back to detail sanding to make the boat shine.

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

Does anybody know of a Searunner 31 sailed around the world?
thanks
jon

Email Jim via his outrig.org email. I don’t believe so but they have cruised as far Australia. Having lived on a SR 31 with 2 other adults for just 5 days it's a small boat by modern standards.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

Email Jim via his outrig.org email. I don’t believe so but they have cruised as far Australia. Having lived on a SR 31 with 2 other adults for just 5 days it's a small boat by modern standards.

The one I had was Spartan.

[Roy M]

Today I started on the coamings for the dodger and bimini. I am going to use Jason Iverson (https://www.iversonsdesign.com/) because his dodger is the highest quality, strongest design and lowest weight unit I've ever seen. The coaming has evolved over the last few days. First I coupled two ten foot sections of 1/2" electrical conduit, then used #14 pan head stainless screws to establish the curve, then used a couple cans of high density spray foam to fill the voids. Tomorrow I'll continue filling the coaming with foam, then, after curing a few days, shape the base and glass and epoxy the coamings, then prime and finish coat. I'm trying to get all of the glass work, priming and finish painting completed prior to the installation of the dodger and bimini (and construction of the side panels). Everything is about sequences. The mast will be arriving in a couple weeks, then the dodger and bimini, then installation of the mast and rigging, painting the cockpit, installing the pedestal and steering system, then pulling the engine for overhauling and getting the boat operational. This is pretty heady, exciting stuff. My target for sailing is August. Then, the completion of the galley and sterncastle details.

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by rossad

As the boat pieces and bounces over waves going to windward or scalping the waves on a reach with the mule and a small main and directly downwind on a true run under a small spinnaker off the bows.

i know that this comment was made a while ago, rereading this thread again as i get more serious...... but i am looking at a SR37 and i bot this asymmetric spinnaker with a sock a while ago and it has a 36' luff. Would that be a good fit? Flown off the bow or the windward ama?
thanks
jon

[owly]

Various things I've read say the aft cabin on the Searunners is miserable at sea, always taking spray... which makes sense. How bad is this in reality? I would presume that the solid wing versions like the 37 have less of this, but it seems that the windward side will always be an issue. I'd be interested to know how folks deal with this.



H.W.

[Roy M]

Jon, an assym is my favorite sail on my Searunner. You'll need a spinnaker block at the masthead, a block at the tack secured to the main bow, and two sheets leading aft, the "lazy sheet" lead forward of the head stay, then aft. Raise the head of the snuffer, when you are in open water, and then sheet in and hold on! You're in for an exciting ride.

[Roy M]

Owlie, my experience, on the solid wing Searunner 40, is delightful. However, spray has been a challenge when the wind is up. I'm installing a dodger and bimini, as well as a new rig, in the next couple months, so I'll be able to give a better report by this summer.

[Roy M]

Here are some more pics of the new coaming for the dodger. It has been very satisfying to see it evolve. The next step is using epoxy filler to fillet the base, then sand and glass. I am very happy about the fair curves that have been produced. More pictures to come!

These pics are of the coaming at the forward cockpit hatch. I built the hatch "turtle" wider than designed, which allowed me to use it to create a dorade vent. The round hole, visible on the starboard side, supports a Micro Fico solar vent. The under side of the vent is about a foot aft, with a three inch pipe section raised to a half inch below the cap of the turtle to provide air circulation to the forward cabin in all weather. Any water that enters the forward, weather end of the turtle, via the vent unit, is conducted aft into the cockpit. Very little water makes it aft. I have a larger turtle on the aft cabin hatch that performs the same duty to the aft cabin. Now that I'm finally installing the fore (and aft!) dodgers, and the much needed coamings to deflect water from the cockpit, things will be MUCH drier under way in lively weather.Attachment 234928

[Roy M]

Did the pictures come through?

[longjonsilver]

Originally Posted by Roy M

Did the pictures come through?

They look good to me. And while i have you online, i have a question bout an old post of yours:

Originally Posted by Roy M

I'm very happy with the new system, though, which, as Mark so well describes, offset to the starboard, just aft of the mid-cockpit bulkhead. My 30 inch wheel has the little cutout in the cockpit locker hatch for the wheel to fit into allowing greater passage for someone to pass the helm. It's a very comfortable steering station for sitting, standing, and laying back using a backrest. My cockpit , in the after half, has four large lockers. The helmsman locker, with the wheel cutout, is for whoever is on watch to store their equipment, snacks, etc. Outboard of this locker, in the starboard cockpit alley, adjacent to the cabinside, was a battery compartment, but is now available for other uses. On the portside, to the left of the helmsman, is the emergency locker for tools, airhorn, foam fire extinguisher, firstaid kit, flashlights and spotlight, knife and hatchet, throwing line, flares, and other stuff that needs to be at hand when something bad happens. Outboard of this locker, in the alleyway, is the engine battery compartment, with two large 6 volt flooded batteries for powering the starter, the windlass, and any other high-draw equipment that is used only when the engine is running. Pretty much everything one needs to run the boat is available within arm's reach of the helmsman.

The pedestal has the ship's compass, and a grab bar protecting it, which also supports the Edson single-lever gearshift/throttle assembly, and a panel with the autopilot control, remote windlass control/chain counter, and the Icom Command mike remote VHF. The CPT backup autopilot also connects to the pedestal, but lives in the starboard outboard locker previously described. All engine instruments and deck/nav lighting switches are in the portside seat face, adjacent to the helm. When the hard dodger gets installed, the second navigational instrument display will live on the starboard side where the helm can hide in nasty conditions and monitor all operations.

Do you have any pics of your cockpit setup? (Especially the part in bold...) i am having trouble visualizing it.
jon

[owly]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

Does anybody know of a Searunner 31 sailed around the world?
thanks
jon

The fly in the soup is the payload of only 1500 lbs. That may sound like a lot, but it includes the crew weight, all their gear, bedding, etc, safety equipment dinghy ground tackle, batteries electronics, books, computers, charts, nav equipment, all tanks and their contents, all galley equipment, tools and spares, food and water, fuel for motor and cooking and the motor itself......... Imagine a cash register reading in pounds.


Figure 600 lbs just for two crew and their gear, add in the heavy stuff like batteries, engine anchor and chain. Then look at water and water tank.... how many gallons do you need to carry for each day at sea and how much margin...what does the tank weigh? how much food? How much propane or alcohol for cooking? What does the bottle weigh? What does your engine and transmission, shaft and prop weigh, and how much fuel are you going to carry? What does your dinghy weigh... with engine? how about your emergency life raft....... What does the head weigh, and the holding tank and plumbing? How about the stove, and cookware, eating and drinking utensils.....etc...


You can see how quickly you will blow past the 1500 lb payload..... and past a ton. And that is assuming your boat is built to plans weight. That hard dodger some previous owner built is payload. The boat with everything in it including crew and supplies is supposed to come in around 7000 lbs. It's not the boat the way you bought it plus 1500 lbs, it's 7000 lbs total. Overloading will increase stresses, make it ride lower in the water, increase pounding, make it wetter, slow it down, and make it generally less safe.


That said, I suspect a single hander who was conservative could do it OK, but you would want to avoid long crossings where possible, and make brutal sacrifices in terms of food and gear, especially in long crossings. Throw that inboard away, and use a light weight 2 cycle outboard in port only. Install a watermaker .... perhaps build your own. Carry a lot of dry goods, and perhaps a dehydrator .... there are plans in the Sailing The Farm book which can be downloaded free from many web sites. I would consider a vacuum sealer a non-negotiable item. There are many sites discussing dehydrating meals for backpacking. I'd spend time in port cooking and dehydrating meals in prep for crossings...... cans are heavy. Forget refrigeration.
It would be an interesting challenge...... and doable for one person, unrealistic for two. The SR37 adds another thousand pounds payload and that makes it a realistic proposition.


H.W.