Are there any Kraken 33/35 Owners around?

Hi everybody,

after the delivery skipper lost my Crowther Aquaris last summer, it took me a while to gather my bones ;-)
Now I am about to replace her with a Kraken 33, which has been extendet to 35ft.
She has straight plywood beams, which is I guess the original configuration.
Any thoughts about what parts are typically causing grief on an older Kraken?

I am contemplating three modifications for now:

1) Bow crashboxes
As the stems are raked and no bow crashboxes are present at the moment I am considering modifying the bows to a more modern look and adding false stems as crash box.
Has anyone done this before? Experiences? How did you do it?
I figure either false frames glued onto the hull, filler pieces of closed cell foam glassed over, or surgically loosening the hullskin at the stem and widen & extend it. The latter seems a lot of work.

2) Runners
I have running backstays and a fixed central aft stay.
Has anyone found a good way to modify this to a swept spreader rig allowing for a larger roached main?
Ideally I would want to reuse the current mast in the new set up.

3) Engine
Does anyone have a small engine with saildrive on their Kraken? I'd love some pictures of inboard engine installations (even shaftline ones). How did you balance the extra weight?
Would it help to move the floats higher up by shortening the metal connectors to the beams?

Until now she had an outboard in a well, but the outboard choked quite often and the current owner moved it to the transom.
This works well in calm waters but I anticipate it to aerate when waves get bigger.
Advantage of the outboard solution is though, that the space under the cockpit stays free for another bunk.


Further:

Has anyone experience how to best attach a parachute sea anchor & how the Kraken handle in the rough?
Has anyone fitted an"emergency bunk" for additional overnight visitors in a float?

Kind regards & thanks for any replies,

Franzi

 

Hi Franzi,

Are you looking at the gray one with the dog house . . ?

Don't know the boat but she's for sale for years now, they might almost give her away by now, if that's the one it's not that far for you . . . .

Good luck !
Angel

 

She's got an orange roof.I do not want to post a link or picture just now and would be thankful if noone else does right now. More soon, hopefully!

 

The Kraken's were Lock's earliest designs they are very low volume by modern standards with very little accomodation. The hulls are fine and have quite a bit of rocker.

1) I would not want to split open the front of the hulls because they will be cold molded and the skins will be fitted to a solid stem. Better to use a foam block and smooth it back into the hull. I'd leave the hulls personally they look good and you wont make the boat look modern by changing a few details they are what they are and attractive in their own right. I'd install a watertight bulkhead inside the float hull instead probably about a 1/3rd of the hull length from the stem. The positive is too with the rocker in the hulls they will tend to ride over obstacles rather than taking a huge impact like a plumb bow.

2)Your proposed rig modifications should not pose a problem you might need to install an additional bulkhead inside the float to take the load.

3)I would not put a saildrive in a kraken you will just be cutting into your already limited interior space and limited payload consider a longshaft outboard they work quite well.

Running a sea anchor or parachute anchor should be no problem just make sure you have adequate reinforced cleats that can take the load. I'd prefer to run from a storm wherever I had sea room but I suppose a parachute anchor is ok as a last resort.

 

Don't remember the orange roof so might be another boat or the roof is painted later.

Good luck !
Angel

 

Corley's advice is right on about chopping into the bow, do what he suggests and use foam and glass. But there's nothing wrong with the classic Crowther look of the original Kraken 33; keep the boat light, repeat, don't load unnecessary bells and whistles junk aboard and your boat will sail just fine. However I'd go further with the rig modifications; go 3/4 and roach main plus runners and put a male/female bearing at the mast base, put diamonds on for stiffness and strength (or glass.uni directional carbon), shift the hounds connection to a beak on the mast front. You'll still retain the classical look yet the boat will perform better than original. The most important thing is to add lightness.

 

Hi,

thank you for your thoughts.

Guess the shape of the bows is a question of taste, some like the vertical ones some the angled ones.
Still as there is no crashbox yet and I personally like the vertical shape more, I'll probably go ahead with the foam & glass solution. Which was the one I favoured already. I was just wondering if someone would have done it differently.
I'll keep the original bows underneath.

Regarding lightness, only essential stuff goes on board.
I am fully aware on the weight issue. She is pretty stripped down at the moment. Not a stuffed cruiser.
Guess I'll try to stick with the outboard out of this reason, at least until I know if aeration is really an issue.

@Gary
What do you mean by:
"Put a male/female bearing at the mast base". Do you mean a rotating mast? Or what other benefit do I get from that?
I like rotating masts, but think a fixed mast is better for my plans, as it is more reliable.

Kind regards,

Franzi

Ps. No other Kraken 35 around anymore?

 

There is Torpid Turtle a Kraken 33 still in existence. I wonder whether he ended up carrying out the rig mods he had in mind?

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/multihulls/crowther-karaken-33-rigging-19002.html

 

Dear Corley,

I found that one already, but he did not reply (yet!) on mails and personal messages...
He had the more vertical bows from start ;-) I believe.
My future boat is more racy though.

Thanks!

@Gary
Btw. I think a Bergström&Ridder Style rig would be nice..

 

I know of a 33 (± 2005 - 2008) in the same region as where a 35 was/is (?) for sale (since 2010 or earlier). The 35 (build in the late 1990's) could be the same one as this 33 before she was extended and got the doghouse. The 33 had a different name as the 35 so she could have been sold before the modifications were made.

I might have somewhere the name of the owner of the 33 which could be the previous (or current?) owner of the 35 you're looking at. If he's the previous owner he might have some additional info about the boat.

If interested I can PM you the info so you can check it out yourself. The PM might take some time though as I have to dig it up.

In 2010 - 2011 the 35 was listed on almost every boat listing site in the country where she is. Now I could only find an old ad with a dead link + an old ad two countries east of the place where she is.

If I remember well the last pics I've seen of the 35 where very neglected but can't find them back on the web so I'm not sure I have the right boat in mind about this.

Near to the Kraken 35 is a Jim Brown designed Searunner 37 for sale since ± 2006. Verry nice boat and might be almost for grabs by now. Just looked, she has a bid now so she might be of the marked soon after more than half a decade for sale. If you like I can PM you the links but my guess is you won't like the lines of a Searunner, especially those of the cabin.

Good luck !
Angel

 

Yes, Franzi, suggesting a rotating rig, you get immediate performance improvement for not much alteration work or expense. We're not familiar with Bergstrom rigs over here but I think a rotating mast with sufficient stiffness is always better than a fixed rig.
In the past (in Auckland) I've raced against two original Kraken 33's; Manu Puru and Skipjack. The latter was lost when it hit a reef near Kawau Island and last I heard, Manu Puru was in a poor condition in Tauranga. Manu Puru is/was the first of the Krakens to appear in NZ, not long after Lock came out with the design. I've always liked the still modern look of the design and don't believe the hulls and cabin profile should be "improved." But the rig, yes, you can alter that without screwing up this Australian classic.

 

Found a projection and views of a Kraken 33 in Robert Harris's Racing and Cruising trimarans

 

Hey, many thanks, great to see the initial concept! If anyone finds anything else, I am glad to read about it!

 

I have these scans. Kraken 33 plus some others you can compare...jim

 

Franzi,

There are three Kraken 33/35 owners mentioned in the memberslist of the CTC.
I could ask them to contact you.

Hielan