Design help needed... I need some expert opinions

[cabinboy]

So here's the quick of it. I've been posting all over for weeks trying to find some semblence of information about the Seafarer 31 Mk1 sloop... to no avail! I've even gone as far as to email Bill Tripp Jr about his father's design but have yet to hear back. So here's a new idea.

Forget that it's a seafarer 31 since no one knows anything about her, I am going to give you the specs and a few picture examples and you guys (and gals) tell me what you think she'd be like. I've worked with the boat design formulas, but I really am just not up to the task of predicting how a hull will act from numbers alone. For that I need the voices of experience.

This is a project for me, I have a perfect hull with a good diesel engine, and the intention to travel in this boat in a few years; thats it. The rigging, interior, the whole 9 needs to be redone and because of it its kind of like having a blank canvas to work with and make my own creation. Keep in mind that I would like this boat to be used for some extended mostly single handed cruising.

Soooooo, without further ado...

LOA: 31'2"
LWL: 23'
Beam: 8'9"
Draft: 4'7"
Ballast: 3500# encapsulated lead
Displ: 9000#
Sail Area:
main- 170 sq ft
jib- 190 sq ft
genoa 290 sq ft
(but this is all very flexible, I would love to do away with the marconi all together)


Even if you just compare her to another design, thats fine, I just need some feed back.

[FAST FRED]

IF this Seafarer was made on the east coast of the US , the company theme song was,

"Every Sale is a Lawsuit"

An EXPERT survey would be required before stepping aboard.

FAST FRED

[kenJ]

Also a good sea trial in a similiar boat to see if you like the way she sails and the layout under way. She is old school, long and narrow, nice lines. Nothing wrong with that, just minimizes cabin space when compared to some new designs. The rudder looks small compared to the long full keel, don't think she will maneuver well.

[cabinboy]

I was originally looking at Alberg 30's but was put off by their layout. Actually I was more put off by their liners with wasted space and were ugly. This boat wasn't factory completed but instead was delivered as a hull only kit in 1971. She was built out by here owner in mahogany and marine ply with bent oak beams. The survey that was done as soon as she was hauled out 3 years ago say that the hull is very sound with very low moisture content for the age. The problem is that the boat has been sitting for 3 years and the elements have taken their toll on the exterior and interior of the boat, peeling paint, rotting wood where it was left unprotected.

Unfourtunately, no one in the relative vacinity to me has a seafarer 31 so I have to go on conjecture alone... The purchase price is extremly low, the owner wants to pretty much give her away to someone who will fix her instead of strip the hull for parts.

The specs are similar to the alberg, minus the modified full keel, but if you superimpose the two hulls over each other at scale, the rudders are basically in the same place and the two keels run the same initial lines.

Basically I wanted a boat that handles like the A30 but that I could completely rework. I guess my question is how close will this come. Also those were not the pictures of my boat, just good sideshots to get an acurate look at the hull. Here as a pic of my boat

[kenJ]

I still think it is too small. Hopefully my poor graphics will show that the Seafarer rudder is about a third the size of the Alberg rudder. Perhaps the cut out keel improves rudder response. Maybe one of the professionals on the site will chime in.

In any case if it is the boat of your dreams, go for it. They all have compromises of some sort. Owners learn to deal with them.