Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by rossad

This 37 ft Searunner "Sea Weaver" has just arrived back in NZ. I think the owner is thinking of selling. It has got some really good design features to the boat. Excellent self steering and gone through a Cat 4 Cyclone or Hurricane.

In excellent condition and well built.

Harder to find good 37ft Searunners these days.

Beautiful!

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by kazboat

Anyone have Brown's plans for a trim tab wind vane for a 31 Searunner? Will happily pay for any costs involved. kazboat@yahoo.

I cruised on the very first 37, La Una, almost 40 years ago. It had the standard SR windvane, and we seldom got it to work, especially down wind, with light apparent wind. I have heard many similar complaints...

I suggest a Ray Marine wheel auto pilot. These will work down wind, in light air, or motoring in a calm. We have put tens of thousands of miles on ours, after getting rid of the CPT, which was crap. No worries...

The large solar panel on our stern, weighs no more than the wind vane would have, and produces FAR more amps per day than the wheel pilot uses, even 24/7!

Trimarans need so much less steering than monohulls, that small, less expensive wheel pilots, make a lot of sense.

For circumnavigations... carry a spare!

[Randy]

Originally Posted by Mark Johnson

I cruised on the very first 37, La Una, almost 40 years ago. It had the standard SR windvane, and we seldom got it to work, especially down wind, with light apparent wind. I have heard many similar complaints...

I suggest a Ray Marine wheel auto pilot. These will work down wind, in light air, or motoring in a calm. We have put tens of thousands of miles on ours, after getting rid of the CPT, which was crap. No worries...

The large solar panel on our stern, weighs no more than the wind vane would have, and produces FAR more amps per day than the wheel pilot uses, even 24/7!

Trimarans need so much less steering than monohulls, that small, less expensive wheel pilots, make a lot of sense.

For circumnavigations... carry a spare!

Interesting, I had the standard unit on my 31 and it worked flawlessly in anything over 5kt apparent. What would be good would be to have side-by-side comparisons to see where the differences lay.

[Corazon]

I have a Wheel steering pilot on my Brown 34 I also have a wind vane driven by an Autohelm wind sensing unit that drives a trimtab. I'm partial to the wind sensing unit going upwind and the wheel steering unit going downwind. Given the reliability of ALL autopilots, this is a good place for redundancy.
I would love to find a description how to reassemble the Evo style of wheel pilot. The manual said "grasp the motor with one hand and the plastic cover with the other and pull. "
Boy was I surprised with the pile of parts I ended up with

[Teleman]

Not an owner, but there's a 31 for sale a few hours from here, very cheap.

Seller says all structure is good, just been painted outside, new standing rigging. Missing a boom, sails, winches, etc, "needs interior work".
Has a 3-cylinder Kubota diesel inboard. (Selling that will fatten the budget and lighten the boat. A 9.9 o/b will do nicely.)

Going to see it next week.
Any advice on what to look for besides the obvious?

[snort]

Originally Posted by Teleman

Not an owner, but there's a 31 for sale a few hours from here, very cheap.

Seller says all structure is good, just been painted outside, new standing rigging. Missing a boom, sails, winches, etc, "needs interior work".
Has a 3-cylinder Kubota diesel inboard. (Selling that will fatten the budget and lighten the boat. A 9.9 o/b will do nicely.)

Going to see it next week.
Any advice on what to look for besides the obvious?

Well, there's a lot to look at, but check anything that comes through the deck, such as all chainplates.
One area to check is the ama aluminum arms and where they connect. This means crawling inside the amas and checking for water intrusion. Same thing for where they attach to the main hull. So, in reality, that's more than one area.
Also, check under portlights and around hatches for signs of water intrusion.

[Jimske]

Lots of entry points in these boats but at least they're all exposed to the eye. My arms are all stainless. I guess aluminum arms are okay I don't know.

I don't think you said where this boat is

[Randy]

Originally Posted by Teleman

Not an owner, but there's a 31 for sale a few hours from here, very cheap.

Seller says all structure is good, just been painted outside, new standing rigging. Missing a boom, sails, winches, etc, "needs interior work".
Has a 3-cylinder Kubota diesel inboard. (Selling that will fatten the budget and lighten the boat. A 9.9 o/b will do nicely.)

Going to see it next week.
Any advice on what to look for besides the obvious?

You will need to check the centerboard and trunk, rudder and skeg. Those are areas that have needed to be rebuilt.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by snort

Well, there's a lot to look at, but check anything that comes through the deck, such as all chainplates.
One area to check is the ama aluminum arms and where they connect. This means crawling inside the amas and checking for water intrusion. Same thing for where they attach to the main hull. So, in reality, that's more than one area.
Also, check under portlights and around hatches for signs of water intrusion.

I hope you are skinny inside the amas of an SR31. One of todays cameras may serve well fore and aft.

[rossad]

Its so calm tonight not much wind really. The clouds are darker. The sky is bit different but not really. In just a few hours Cyclone Hola will brush down the east coast Northland New Zealand. This is the third cyclone this year already. windyty.com show it clearly. Of having an internet connection onboard I think is so important these days. If you where out at sea you would have not any idea what is going to happen in a few short hours.

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by Teleman

Not an owner, but there's a 31 for sale a few hours from here, very cheap.



Seller says all structure is good, just been painted outside, new standing rigging. Missing a boom, sails, winches, etc, "needs interior work".

Has a 3-cylinder Kubota diesel inboard. (Selling that will fatten the budget and lighten the boat. A 9.9 o/b will do nicely.)



Going to see it next week.

Any advice on what to look for besides the obvious?

An inboard diesel has motor mounts and a drive train, which weigh quite a bit.

Compared to a 9.9 long shaft OB with a sled mount, the diesel inboard and drivetrain/ motor mounts, is about the same weight, (no more), with twice the utility, and 10X the lifespan...

Since it is there, I would stick with it... Also, building a good sled for an OB motor, is a LOT of work!

The only advantage of an OB, is a tad less drag when sailing, and no fouling, because the prop lives out of the water, most of the time.

I have had both... the Diesel is much better!

[Mark Johnson]

Almost there, on the dodger...

[catsketcher]

I am happy you like your diesel Mark but 10 times the life span?

My outboard is 12 years old and purring like a kitten still. The motor and its plywood nacelle weigh 100kg. The Yanmar 21 weighs 110 straight up without shafts, seals etc. Then there is the cost and drag of that prop.

Sure you can heat water and put extra alternators on so that might trip it to the diesel for you but an outboard is pretty good when well done.

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.

cheers

Phil

[Mark Johnson]

Originally Posted by catsketcher

I am happy you like your diesel Mark but 10 times the life span?



My outboard is 12 years old and purring like a kitten still. The motor and its plywood nacelle weigh 100kg. The Yanmar 21 weighs 110 straight up without shafts, seals etc. Then there is the cost and drag of that prop.



Sure you can heat water and put extra alternators on so that might trip it to the diesel for you but an outboard is pretty good when well done.



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.



cheers



Phil

Based on about 50 years of this stuff...

Apples to apples... our diesel has pushed us in 10’ waves when trying to make landfall before dark, covered tens of thousands of miles, negotiated hundreds of swirling inlets, and been to over 20 countries, for 22 years, mostly as liveaboard cruisers, living on the hook.

The diesel in our boat is still in perfect shape.

An OB motor can not do the above, not even close... and after decades of salt spray, without being rinsed or flushed, the bracket and cooling systems would be corroded out several times over. I WAS talking about in the real world of cruising, where rinsing of ob motors never happens. Fresh water is far to precious for that.

The weight of the 9.9 4stroke OB motor, remote controls, and a sled are about 200+ lbs, as is the small diesel. Very close, at first...

I assumed this boat had a drive train already, so if you rip out the diesel, and left the drive train, then add an OB motor and sled, that is the heaviest route by far. The motor mounts weigh quite a bit.

30 years back... I had a 9.9 on a sled on my SC 28, and loved it, until I was in a serious chop, when I had to throttle way back, to prevent over reving when the prop came out of the water. It was useless in a real blow, at sea!

Also... my current 2gm20F Yanmar diesel, pushing a 34’ trimaran, uses less than half of the fuel as my old yamaha 9.9 hp 4 stroke OB motor did, when pushing a SMALL 28’ trimaran, weighing 1/4th as much.

I CLEARLY had the correct engine on each boat, but the SR 31 you referred to is in the middle between these two boat sizes. It can take either, but it would be a compromise to put an OB on a sled on it, as stated... and if you compare the two options, with say, three full days of fuel onboard, the diesel is probably lighter weight.

Also, if you compare the total costs over 22 years of hard cruising use, 6times motoring the East Coast’s ICW, and more than one OB motor replacement, as well as breakdowns and extra fuel, the proper diesel is considerably cheaper too!

An OB on a sled is easier at first to install, but not easier to own over time.
It is cheaper at first, but not cheaper over decades of hard use.

The only real advantage to an OB, is the lack of fouling when the foot is not in the water, (a BIG advantage), less drag when sailing, (not a big advantage), and you can take it too the mechanic when needs be.

Our Diesel engine has never needed one, as I do my own maintenance.

Just trying to help out here, no personal bias, just accurate observations, having cruised and lived with both.

For “weekend” cruising on a 31’ SR that never had an inboard, drivetrain, or engine beds, I would install the OB on a sled, and live with the down sides.

For serious blue water voyaging and full time liveaboard, I would install a Diesel.

[smj]

I personally couldn’t see owning a trimaran with an outboard, but then again I wouldn’t want a catamaran with a diesel, much prefer the outboard choice. Maybe not comparing apples to apples?