Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Cavalier MK2]

Wow, a wood boat with no chance to look at it before bidding and this is a bargain how?

[longjonsilver]

That Searunner in Half Moon Bay has been for sale elsewhere a cuppla years ago. Somewhere i have pictures of her, i wonder if she still has the same owner?

[Randy]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

That Searunner in Half Moon Bay has been for sale elsewhere a cuppla years ago. Somewhere i have pictures of her, i wonder if she still has the same owner?

It was the guy that bought it at that time. I traded emails with him, he really wasn't very knowledgeable about the boat. He did say that it had been kept on an unattended mooring, broke loose and resulted in some fiberglass damage to one of the amas, I believe. The prior owner applied what I describe as psycho-delic vinyl film to the amas rather than repainting.
There is some good equipment on the boat, but it sold for $12,100. Probably a reasonable price, assuming a possible rebuild of the centerboard, various fiberglass work, paint, etc.

[Mark Johnson]

DEEP WATER ANCHORING:

I have been too busy building a house (myself) and re-fitting Delphys to write much these days, but was asked to post an addendum on deep water anchoring.
This is a short version:

I always sought out shallow 8' deep anchorages, and with the board up, we draw just over 3'. Down island, most anchorages are not protected harbors, but rather, the lee side of the island. Watching the weather is, therefore, essential! You could wake up anchored in 8' waves, as I have.
This shallow draft advantage allowed us to sneak to the front of the pack of boats, and anchor close to the beach, leaving enough room to swing if the wind did shift.

In the deep Eastern Caribbean, however, the water might still be 30' deep, really close in. For this, we swapped our old rode entirely.

Shallow anchoring:
In the Gulf of Mexico, ICW, Chesapeake, Bahamas, NC sounds, Keys, and Western Caribbean...
I had always done just fine with a boat length of 5/16" chain, which was oversized, but we needed the weight. I married this short chain to 250' of 5/8" platt/brain nylon line, spliced in so it went over the roller easily. I always pulled this in by hand, with gloves, and larger line gave a better grip. The line construction made it fall in the rode bucket without hackles.
In past writing... I already went over my 35' bridle with a 3' tail line on it. I would attach this tail to the rope rode with a bowline through a bite. It was a good knot, but could be hard to untie, so I switched to a rolling hitch, which has held me in hurricanes, but if slack, sitting on the bottom, it can come untied due to "0" load. A rolling hitch works on the chain as well, up to cat 1, on a smallish trimaran. Bigger boats, need a better solution.

The DEEP anchoring in Eastern Caribbean:
This anchoring experience covers about 50 years, and our last deep water cruise, to the Eastern Caribbean, had me in my 50s, with occasional back problems. (I have fractured over 50 bones)
I knew that in some cases, we would be anchoring in 40 to 50'+, and due to crowded anchorages, on less that the optimum 7/1 scope.
So... I switched to 110' of 1/4 HT/G4 chain, spliced to 1/2" platt/brait nylon. (I now use 130' of chain).

I once had the theory that with Mariam motoring us forwards, I was only retrieving rode, and then broke the anchor out of the bottom, tugging backward with a chain fork lashed temporarily to a bow cleat. Then I would QUICKLY need to pull in this last 30 or so feet, before we took off through the anchorage, with an anchor still out as a parachute. Been there done that!

The reality was that we often pulled up the hook in 20+ knots of wind, and Mariam never has mastered the art of motoring our 34' trimaran forwards into this, perfectly straight, full throttle to get going, and throttling down as needed, to keep us moving up on the anchor at 1 knot... the speed I could pull it in.
Way too many times she would go too fast, or soon be 20 degrees off of the optimum dead to Windward, and we would suddenly fall off.
Then I would dump all of that chain VERY QUICKLY, because if we were sideways to the still stuck anchor when the chain pulled tight, it would dig a grove in the ama bow. A trimaran bugaboo!

Hand signals can not be done while pulling in the chain, and could end up in the not so useful kind of hand signal. Yelling instructions is still yelling, and often had the opposite effect from what I had hoped for. Headphones (duplex) helped a lot, but it was such a hassle that we seldom used them.

HAND RETRIEVAL IS NOT WORKING:
In the BVIs I finally decided that WE NEEDED A WINDLASS. We bought one (a Quick) in St Martin, and various parts in several countries, all the way down to Trinidad, where we spent H season building our anchor locker. The photos and story are in my anchoring book, "Anchoring and Mooring the Cruising Multihull".
The system still works perfectly.

With the windlass, I COULD use hand signals... and we would pull the boat forwards without engine assist if we wanted to, like, in high winds. Often, with the engine at low rpm, she would just assist, but the goal was to remain pointing straight at the anchor. This is why pulling us forward with the windlass worked better.

DO NOT OVER TAX THE WINDLASS:
The trick is to let the chain cantenary pull us a boat length forward, and use the windlass to take up the slack. Then the cantenary pulls us forward again, etc. when we were on 1/1 scope, Mariam would motor us forwards, because the hook was about to come out of the bottom. Then I would get the hook in the roller within seconds, while Mariam slowly motored us into the wind. Be sure you are nearly motionless when the anchor clears the water, or the anchor will swing into the bow, as soon as it clears.

RISKS:
These deep anchorages were often too deep to comfortably free dive, and in frequently used anchorages... littered with razor sharp dead coral. So... I very much avoided having the rope portion of the rode lay on the bottom.

There were times that I attached a very small dinghy float to the splice that married the 110' of chain to the rope.
It had enough buoyancy to lift about 6' of chain off of the bottom, so that in a REALLY deep anchorage, as the boat swung, the rope stayed above the sharp bottom. This works.

In really crowded anchorages, I used a sentinel to reduce scope if necessary, but given the opportunity, in these cases, I just went out to the very mouth of the anchorage, to get away from the crowd. I found that the "anchoring bozo ratio" was over 50%. I avoided crowds, unless I could get in front. I also dive my anchor in clear water, but would seldom free dive over 35'. When I was younger, no problem...

So... in deep anchorages you need more chain, and I have since found 130' perfect, because it is a fixed not just to the bow cleat, but to the 35' bridle. This means my rope rode portion is never on the bottom.

CAVEATS:
Never rely on a single "lightweight" anchor like a Fortress. Doing 360s with them causes a flip flop, often fouled with muck, a shell, or a beer can. A Delta is ok, but a Rocna, Manson, Mantus, or Ultra are better, just larger.

Imo, you need a small very light windlass. I was dead set against it, as a purist, but It was a windlass or new wife. RINSE THE CHAIN with fresh water when you will be idle for a while.

In long multi day passages, if you remove the anchor from the bow roller and put it further back, like in a wing locker, this more than makes up for the weight you put on the bow with that windlass and chain.

Especially if you are seniors, using duplex communication headphones in hairy situations is a good idea too, for the bow person to give calm, clear instructions to the person at the helm.

When it comes to rocks on the bottom, I know folks use grappling hooks, but I have not. Up north, take a mooring!

I have used those SS folding Yachtsman type seaplane anchors, and found them useless.

In some cases, on hard pan, I would temporarily anchor to dive on the bottom, probing with my tickle stick.. IF it is clear, warm, and under 30', I have swam down and found a sandy hole, (in front of the boat) and marked it. Then, after another breath, Mariam motored forward, while I carried the anchor to my marked sweet spot. Then, I would dig it in.
This works surprisingly well, except for when you then realize that every one of the oblivious boats around you, are not really anchored. They are in 2" of sand on top of hard pan, with the anchor precariously hooked on a 1,2" ledge. Backing down, it REALLY feels well anchored.
In this case, I stay a couple of days, provision, and move on. There are famous places in the E Caribbean, like Foxys, where the entire anchorage is hardpan, with a bit of sand. I have left at night, when I realized, as I did there.

I can not afford to lose my boat, so I anchor accordingly. If I can not very gradually motor up to full throttle in reverse, then I have not anchored for that summer thunderstorm, that has hit me with 60 knots of wind, about 100 times.

This anchorage is in Coral Bay, St John, USVI. We are at the mouth of the anchorage, where no one wants to be, with 40' + depth, and really choppy.

[catsketcher]

Thanks Mark. I like the idea if using a small float for the end of the chain. I will copy that on my boat. I also ended up with a windlass. I have an electric one and found that on my lightish 38ft cat, it allows me to anchor singlehanded much easier. I used to have to do some strange antics to pull the anchor up with a manual windlass on my own but with twin outboards and an electric windlass, things are great. When we had a single outboard we use needed to use the catenary technique to back down on the chain, straighten up and go forward again. It is a good technique that allows me to pull the chain up from the back of the boat and not need anyone up front, even with twins.

cheers

Phil

[rossad]

Great to see you back Mark. Hope the house is going well. I am doing a complete paint job to my Searunner.. wow what a long long sand and still so much to do

[rossad]

I've owned my 37SR for 15yrs and still think I wanna keep it till day I cannot board it.. enjoying sanding around the places with wet and dry.. fun

[aquavitae]

Originally Posted by rossad

I've owned my 37SR for 15yrs and still think I wanna keep it till day I cannot board it.. enjoying sanding around the places with wet and dry.. fun

Nice boat, Rossad, she is ready for some bottom paint!

Just got my SR 37 out of Nanny Cay, BVI boatyard after 2 hard weeks on jackstands and living on her 10 feet in the air. Two coats of hard Micron paint followed by 2 coats of Micron 66 ablative, one of the few bottom paints that lasts 2 years down here.

Also fixed a long standing leak and issue where the starboard centerboard pin thru hull (originally Delrin) had failed and allowed the main hull to flood overnight. With the boat out of the water and the CB dropped out the bottom, I was able to remove the port thru hull (it also broke in half when I tried to remove the cap) and get to work. I replaced both thru hulls in bronze by adding a doubler panel inside the bilge and reaming out the thru hulls so the 5/8 inch pin could slide thru. In order to grip the mushroom of the thru hull, I cut a flat spot with a grinder on 2 sides about 30 degrees apart (grip it with a pair of vise grips to get the proper angle.)

Unless you have Jack Reacher hand strength, do NOT try to screw the thru hulls into the boat by hand. Reaching up 11 inches into the 3 inch wide slot to do this by feel is a challenge. Ask me how I know. With a bit of 4200 on the mushroom and the vise grips firmly gripping the thru hull, screw it into the side of the CB trunk, then up the ladder, down into the bilge and affix the securing nut, again, with a bit of 4200. Chase the threads of the thru hull several times with the securing nut to make sure it goes on smoothly.

I spent a weekend winching the CB back up into the boat and trying to line up all 3 openings to insert the pin to no avail. On Monday morning, 3 of us did it in 30 minutes. I highly recommend this upgrade to anyone with an aging Searunner (mine is 1971!) so u don't get a nasty surprise offshore.
Smooth, leak free sailing again is at hand!

[rossad]

Oh wow... i really dont want to have to do that. Pull a centerboard out. Mine was built in 1979 so fingers crossed mine will last some more year. REally good photos and thanks for your info on the centerboard. Leaks fixed are really special i know that. Man Searunners are a lot of work.

[Roy M]

WILDERNESS UPDATE:

Lots of stuff happening these days. I've got the masthead windspeed indicator installed (WSI), masthead Davis wind indicator (with bird spike), spreader flag halyard. I learned a new trick to perform precision drilling and tapping using a "transfer punch". It allowed me to quickly and accurately install four halyard clutches on my mast's portside, and I'll get the starboard side completed Thursday. The starboard deck is almost completed of glass repairs, and the finish nonskid is coming soon. Lots of other stuff going on, as well
The sails are being designed and will be sent off for fabrication. And my dinghy launching system is about to be reinstated in the next week. Fun stuff!

[catsketcher]

Gday Rossad

Can you give me some info about your Davis wind instrument. What are you using to read the data from the sensor? Does it work well?

cheers

Phil

[Roy M]

WILDERNESS STATUS REPORT:

Okay it's the last week in May. In San Diego, that means May Gray, followed by June Gloom, a local condition of the transition from Spring to Summer, a condition where the marine layer of overcast makes for dry decks in the morning, followed by late morning clearing and warming. Otherwise known as perfection for sanding and painting. So, I am sanding my decks, reglassing any old issues with "checking" of plywood decks, cracks in the fiberglass, and the opportunity to repainting exterior stuff. For example, a strong windstorm that tipped over my West System epoxy and hardener onto the shiny deck and nonskid overnight. First, you cry, then gripe, then get to work. The teak coatings for my float hatches and foredeck hatch are now sanded and glassed and being prepped for painting and nonskiding. This means that I am about to finish all the exterior shiny bits. Soon, the windlass and other foredeck projects will be completed SOON! The sails are forthcoming. The last of the rigging details (traveler, main halyard, lazy jacks, main sheet, etc.) are coming. The steering pedestal, engine controls, cockpit electrical panel are forthcoming. Soon, the haulout and underwater projects will be happening. Interior projects are being organized, and toys prepared for completion.

It's a very exciting time.

[rossad]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

Gday Rossad

Can you give me some info about your Davis wind instrument. What are you using to read the data from the sensor? Does it work well?

cheers

Phil

Hi Phil. I put that on about 13 years ago. I was going to go to an island group in the Pacific and try to say I can assist with some weather forcasting... ha so that i didn't have to go get a visa somewhere else.. didn't work... anyway it had it had its own designated screen. Quite a good unit but like much of this stuff after a while it ceased to work with such harsh weather conditions. Im thinking of replacing it though because it was kinda call giving graphs. Sorry i cannot help much more than that.

[Roy M]

WILDERNESS STATUS REPORT:

I think this is the worst, and possibly, most hopeful stage of the overhaul of WILDERNESS. I have been hammering this stage for a long time, for some irrational reason that it's the last time in life that I can do something this overwhelming. I've sanded old epoxy back to bare wood, reglassed the stress areas and purely cosmetic just because I can. It's a madness, what can I say.

Next, is prep for haulout, and all the details that follow that sting

[Roy M]

Woops! String of projects. Okay, time to sign out for a bit to finish projects. Thank you for your patience. I'll stay in touch.
WILDERNESS out.