Prepping my Seafarer 24

[ntica]

A friend of mine, was sailing to Brazil a couple of years ago-from Sweden-He told me about the "Nav light" He sead it's so much better to put it on the mast top and not on deck, coz' it will not last for long in open seas.

[Godot]

A friend of mine, was sailing to Brazil a couple of years ago-from Sweden-He told me about the "Nav light" He sead it's so much better to put it on the mast top and not on deck, coz' it will not last for long in open seas.

Sure. Keeping it away from the raging sea will likely prolong its' life. Also, it will be likely easier to see in the big swells.

However, it is much more difficult to mount on the masthead. Maybe I'd do that if I was pulling my mast for some reason; but I won't pull the mast specifically to install it. Maintaining the light on the pulpit will be much easier. And you're not supposed to use a tricolor when under power.

In the end, I'm not expecting to spend much time in open seas in this boat.

[CharlieJ]

Having had both- Mast head lights are great for sailing, open seas. Coastal waters I prefer them down lower.

Ships can see mast heads better. Shrimp boats and small outboard boats see lower lights much easier.

Also for that reason , I refuse to have an anchor light up top of the mast- wrong place to be seen easily, plus  COLREGS says- " in the fore part of the vessel or where easily seen". Where I anchor, there aren't any ships coming through, but LOTS of small boats. I want it where the small boats can see it.

[w00dy]

I agree wholeheartedly. High nav and anchor lights are good when way out on the open water, but difficult to see in a crowded anchorage or when lost in a backdrop of street lights and other sources ashore. If you're between the boat and the shore, it's not much of a problem, but if you have to try to pick out a boats lights from all the ones shining out from a densely populated area, lights low to the water will be much easier to see. I've lost my own boat once among a large cluster of towering parking lot lights!

[Godot]

The new toilet is in and plumbed for deck pump out. That was a bigger job than I expected. The water fill has been moved to the starboard side, so there is less chance of contamination (also a major pain as I switched from a one inch fill to an inch and a half). I bent all the sails on, ran through reefing drills, tried the "new" reefing storm jib...it took several visits to the chandelry to get everything I needed to make it work right. I installed a new large cleat on the foredeck to replace the one I had to remove when I installed the anchor roller. I fixed a damage hatch used to access space under the v-berth. The water tanks are sanitizing with a bleach dilution. I'll pump and flush in the AM. I finished up a bunch of minor projects.

I need to install the new cockpit seats. I need to put the dinghy back together and somehow get it to the boat (I miss my truck). Provision. Clean and organize. And I'm ready to go...

I hope to leave for Martha's Vineyard tomorrow afternoon.

[w00dy]

Hooray for shoving off! Good sailing  :)

[ntica]

well done And happy sailing too

[Oldrig]

I hope to leave for Martha's Vineyard tomorrow afternoon.

Be sure to check out Lake Tashmoo as an anchorage. (There is a two-night restriction. I don't know how carefully it's enforced.) Let me know if you decide to head north, through Buzzards Bay, to the Canal.

Best of Luck!

--Joe

[Seafarer]

Some comments:

There is a little shelf(?) at the bottom of the "chain locker" that you can cut out to let the chain set much further down.

My boat had a great little bow-sprit that was really just there to move the anchor roller out of the way a bit. It was just a thick piece of teak or something. It was very useful and even looked attractive. Definitely freed up valuable foredeck space by not having an anchor shaft intruding into it!.

That claw anchor does sound awfully small. The general rule of thumb is 1# per ft (LWL) so the 22# is probably more suitable. I'd really suggest saving up for a Manson Supreme or Rocna, though. My 35' 15k lb cutter has a ton of windage and has held through 80knots + on a single Rocna 55 and Kong swivel with all 3/8 BBB rode. Been on that anchor for years- really should have a mooring setup instead! Always need the engine to break it free, though.

The flat spot aft of the "ice box" in the aft dinette seat conceals an empty space big enough for a 2-battery locker. Make a cut in the top of this large enough to swing the batteries into and you free up some space under the cockpit again. I believe you can also fit a battery under the sink in the head "area". I think I had a motorcycle battery there to run the Lectra-San....

Even Wal-Mart sells a small "battery maintainer" solar panel that is great at keeping a small battery bank topped off for running LEDs. It doesn't need a charge controller since it has too low of an AMP rating. I used one for a year at anchor and then gave it to a friend who cruised with it for another year and it was still going strong last I heard.

I always wanted to cut away part of the forward end of the cockpit and install a true bridge deck that came level with the seats. I had planned to use the space under this as a little wet locker. The walls of the wet locker would have supported the cockpit sole and the companionway stairs would have hinged like a door to access this space.

My boat had a stern platform that was level with the aft cap rail. The main traveler anchored it to the aft end of the boat and stainless steel tubes braced it against the transom. It came even with or perhaps slightly overhung the aft end of the transom. It was a two-piece affair leaving a space for the engine to tilt up. It made raising and lowering the motor much easier.

You could easily mount a 10# propane tank to the stern of the boat. I also have those fiberglass/plastic see-through ones and they are a terrific size for small boats.

When your boat is out of the water- look at the swept-back keel. "Filling in" the blank space between the aft end of the keel and the hull with a sheet of fiberglass will help with the weather helm issue by moving the center of lateral resistance aft.

You know those big plastic and rubber wheels used on wagons these days (children's wagons)? I know someone who swears by using one of those on the end of an anchor rode for a stern drogue. He puts the rope through the center of it and ties a fat knot to keep it from slipping off.

Get a small rectangular trash can from Wal-Mart with a good, sturdy lip around the top of it. Take a piece of plywood and cut it out so the trash can lip sits on the plywood and hangs from it. Secure the plywood to some slides and bolt the slides to the under-side of the table so they pass by on either side of the support post. Now you can just slide the trash can out from under the table to toss stuff in it, and lift it out to empty it. You don't even hit your knees on it if you're a little careful.

Put a swing-up shelf on the aft end of the galley. In it's down position it doesn't intrude much into the quarterberth area but in it's up position it gives about another foot of counter-space.

Hope you can use or be inspired by some of these ideas!

[Godot]

I made it to the C&D; but the ocean forecast was poop so turned back. I'll be driving up and catching a ride with a buddy on his power boat. The low should be out of the area by then. Hopefully. Sorry to scrap the trip; but the forecast called for 30+ knots on the nose and 10+ foot seas. A bit more than I'm comfortable with I'm afraid. Better part of valor and all that. Godot just does not go to weather in 30 knots. I've tried. Although I now have a smaller jib to go with my second reef point in the mains'l, so maybe I can get her to balance better now. I'm not quite sure what 10 foot waves 30 miles off the New Jersey coast would feel like; but I'm willing to bet it wouldn't be fun.

Seafarer, it would appear that you have owned this exact same boat. I think I've seen similar posts on other boards some years ago that I am guessing came from you. Your ideas are very good.

The chain locker hint is something I definitely need to look into. Since I up-sized to 1/2" rode I have found that 150' barely fit and have been thinking of clever ways to expand the space. If all I need to do is cut out the bottom (I won't need to do anything else? It is tight up there so I'm not looking forward to having to build a specially shaped box), then that is something I definitely will look into.

The claw anchor has worked unbelievably well in mud. I anchored in Worton Creek on my way back yesterday for lunch. I didn't really try very hard to set the anchor. And I had a brutal time pulling it up. So far I'm impressed, although my experience is with a very limited set of bottoms. Two anchorages, and two times I had to work at it. So far, so good. I'm thinking a little bowsprit would have been a good idea, though, just to avoid the anchor banging on the hull when pulling it up the last few inches.

A swing up shelf at the aft end of the galley is something I've planned on for years. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I haven't really used the quarter berth area as anything but a catch-all. If I can find a way to get more organized I'd love to make it a legitimate berth.

That drogue idea seems awfully clever. And cheap. I might give it a try. I've been planning on experimenting some in nasty wind; but I am hoping to have someone along to help out. I mostly single hand; but during experimentation it sure is nice to have a helping hand while figuring things out.

Cutting into the space behind the aft dinette seat is intriguing. I'm certainly not shy about cutting my boat up; but that, strangely, hadn't occurred to me.

I was thinking about a bridge deck. I was just going to build something onto the cockpit to hold lines (I really have way too many on the boat and they are constantly in the way; but I'm loath to get rid of them). Cutting the forward part of the cockpit out for a decent wet locker would help solve a major problem (what to do with all the wet stuff); but is a bit frightening given the major surgery aspect. I tend to keep a big plastic tote under the cockpit full of spare parts and miscellaneous stuff and often a cooler that would be harder to access with a locker in the way, though. Might be worth some thought.

I've already modified the dinette fairly extensively; but I find the best thing to do most of the time is to take down the table. It sort of gets in the way. Actually dropping the table into the "double berth" configuration is becoming my favorite choice. I don't think the trash bin will work for me. I have a little yellow collapsible can that sits under the dropped table and seems to work pretty well. That's also where I keep the Penny the Cat's (no cat sitter means she is now Penny the Sailor Cat...toot toot) food and water cup (which fits into the table pole mount and is therefor pretty sturdy). I'll get a picture some day.

My next major project will probably be tearing out the hanging locker. I find it pretty useless to hang anything in. I think I'll replace it with a cabinet with a flat top just a little higher than the galley counter. This will hopefully make the head/forepeak area a little less claustrophobic, provide a bit more horizontal surface (always useful, although I keep forgetting to clear it before sailing), and a couple storage cubbies which I think will be better than the closet. Also redoing the galley with a deeper sink, foot pump, and a better stove solution has been on my mind.

I have come to the conclusion that under bunk storage is not acceptable for frequent access. I'd like to figure out an easily accessible "day storage" area for commonly grabbed items (mostly snacks, lunch, a drink or two) and try to limit my under berth foraging trips to once a day or so. I have some ideas; but they all come with compromises. Still thinking on it.

My plan is to eventually move aboard. I'm a couple years behind in that plan (what else is new? I'm a couple years behind in all my plans); but it is certainly in the future. I'm just not sure 24' is enough given the large supply of inexpensive used boats on the market. An upgrade may be in my future (I'm considering a number of boats in the 27-32 foot range) if I ever get any money. I guess I'll keep slowly modifying until the time is right to make the big change.

[Godot]

Be sure to check out Lake Tashmoo as an anchorage.

I spent a night there once. There is a convenient dinghy dock within a mile or so walk to Vineyard Haven. Where most seaports are full of bars, Vineyard Haven is a dry town and is instead full of ice cream parlors. Lake Tashmoo was quiet, although we ended up dragging anchor (while not aboard...we had to go looking for the boat, happily found in soft mud, in the pitch black moonless night after returning from town).

[Oldrig]

Vineyard Haven is a dry town

VH is dry no more!
Last year the good people of Tisbury finally ended prohibition. It was a close vote, but you can now order drinks in restaurants, instead of bringing your own--and sometimes paying a hefty "corkage fee" to have the server open your bottle for you.
FWIW, Vineyard Haven is my favorite place on the island. Traffic is a problem when the ferries load/unload, but it's a lot less pretentious than Edgartown and less boisterous than Oak Bluffs. Menemsha is also cool, but not much room for recreational vessels in the basin. (Larsen's has the best/freshest lobster and chowdah ever!)

Enjoy your trip to the island ... one of my favorite spots.

--Joe

[Seafarer]

My first monohull was a '74 Seafarer 24 with the Futura deck and fixed keel. I bought it in 2000 from the original owner! I'm 5'10" tall and the limited headroom got old so I eventually sold it and started looking for something bigger. Ended up with the Cal Cruising 35 which is way too complicated for me so I'm selling it for $10k to get out of debt and start looking for something that needs less work. Bought the IP26MKI which is roomy enough, fairly simple, and doesn't really need much work. However, the cockpit is entirely retarded and I'm not sure how safe the boat will be for offshore sailing so it's going up for sale soon as well ($5k). I probably should have stuck with the Seafarer and endured the limited headroom ::)

I would really recommend fitting a gimballed 2-burner propane stove into the galley, even if you have to cut the counter-top out / deeper to make room for it. That being said, you could likely do just as well with a propane grill off the stern of the boat- you'll just have to live with cooking in the rain on occasion.

Go for the deep sink- you won't regret it! Probably the easiest mod you'll ever do!

[Jeremy]

Incidentally, Good Old Boat appears to have an upcoming review on the Seafarer 24 and are looking for input:

Dear friends and fellow sailors,

We'd like to begin including sailors' input about specific models of sailboats. Our reviewers are traveling all over this summer to bring you boat reviews. But sometimes when they're sitting on the boat there's too much wind or not enough wind or no wind at all. Even when the wind cooperates, they can't possibly get -- in a day or two -- the full range of experience that owners of these boats will accumulate in many seasons of sailing. That's where you come in.

One upcoming review boat on our schedule is:
Seafarer 24

Do you have a Seafarer 24? Have you had one in the past? Do you know someone who owns or has owned one?

If yes, we'd like to hear from you. Please send your comments to the guy who manages our boat reviews, Dan Spurr:
danspurr [at] aol [dot] com

Tell Dan about the sailing characteristics (good and bad), the level of quality in the build, quirky things to watch out for, the good things that are true selling points for this boat, and anything else that springs to mind.

If this isn't a boat you've sailed on in the past, please stay tuned. We'll be sending these messages every so often with requests for input on other boats we'll be reviewing. We're bound to come upon one that is or has been in your collection over the years.

Thanks for sharing your experience with "the rest of us"!

The crew at Good Old Boat

[Godot]

When your boat is out of the water- look at the swept-back keel. "Filling in" the blank space between the aft end of the keel and the hull with a sheet of fiberglass will help with the weather helm issue by moving the center of lateral resistance aft.

Did you have a weather helm problem? I find the helm is largely neutral (working jib, full main), and by tweaking the sails I can add in a little weather or lee helm as desired (usually I leave it neutral as the autopilot seems to work better that way).

[Godot]

Modifications are now on indefinite hold. I'll finish a few projects that are ongoing; but that is it. The decision has been made to step up to something a little bigger. I should be out of my house, one way or another, sometime next year, and will be moving aboard, well, something.

Boats in consideration: Grampian 30 (a really well outfitted one is in New York...I'll be looking at it next weekend), Bristol 30, Tartan 27 (the Bristol and Tartan are also on my visit list next weekend), Ericson 27, Tartan 30, Bayfield 29. I'll be working my way through that list to see if any of the ones for sale nearby will work for me. If not, there are lots of other boats available.

[Jim_ME]

Adam, I was just browsing the boat classifieds and saw this Westerly Centaur 26 in your area. A very roomy boat for 26 ft LOA.

"Very good condition. Must sell, $3500"

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/boa/3133783886.html

[Godot]

Thanks on the Westerly link. I hesitate to consider only a two foot increase. I want this next boat to be with me for a long time and am really thinking thirty feet is about right. The Tartan 27 and Ericson 27 (and maybe an Albin Vega if there was one for sale around here) I think are pushing my minimum size range. However, I've never been inside a Centaur, so will do some research. Maybe I'll be surprised. I wish the ad had some interior shots (and a larger main photo that wasn't upside down).

I'm looking for value; but I'm not looking this time for cheap. I'm hoping to find something that is fairly well set up from the get go and doesn't need a huge amount of rework.  Boat work is an enjoyable hobby; but I just don't have the time for a major refit, and I'm getting to the point where I'd rather be sailing.

[Jim_ME]

You're welcome, Adam. Thought that it might be an interesting design for you to check out, as an experience, whichever boat you ultimately choose.

Here's an archive on the Centaur with some interior photos...
http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/archives/westerly-centaur/westerly-centaur.htm

and the page at the Westerly Owners Association website...
http://www.westerly-owners.co.uk/boat_centaur_26.php
which has a link to an article on the development of the Centaur.


I like the Layout A interior (typical of the early Centaurs) with the large dinette especially as a live-aboard boat.