Rival 34, a few questions

[Fascadale]

In my search for a new boat I have recently looked at some Rival 34s

Good solid boats, more internal volume which will allow me to go further for longer and just on the limit of what I would be reasonably confident to single hand.

A couple of questions though....................

Do they have any history of soft decks? I was on a very "clean" R34 at the weekend and thought I detected a bit of "spring" in one of the side decks, aft of the shrouds, forward of the cockpit.

How is the cabin roof constructed, balsa core, solid or something else? I ask because I may want to put on some deck organisers so that I can lead the lines aft.

How do the chain plates work? Are there any problems there? On my own boat the sub structures of the chain plates are easily seen, on the Rival they were behind panels.

Are there any other "R34 issues" of which I should be aware ?

Thanks

 

[Seajet]

A friend had a lovely example, ' Blue Talisman '. We did notice she had a hobby-horsing motion with the stern sitting still and the bows chopping up & down, we could recognise her for some distance due to this.

Probably not an individual trim issue as Ken was National Champion on the Enterprise class.

 

[macd]

Fascadale: you've had no answers so I'll drop in. I've no detailed experience of the R34, but I owned a R32 for ten years: pretty much the same boat with less stern overhang.
Decks and coachroof are solid GRP. They do move a little, but I wouldn't call them spongy.
Chainplates: cap shrouds ultimately attach to a plate bolted to the bulkhead at the forward end of the saloon.
After lowers: secured by a large plate under the deck. This can usefully be reinforced by adding a substantial length of U-channel.
Fwd lowers: mine had the same arrangement as the aft lowers, which I wasn't happy with. There's a bulkhead right under them, so I fabricated a plate for this at each side. The deck fitting was then tied to the plate via a bottle-screw.
Rivals aren't renowned for their masts falling down, so this was possibly overkill.

I think it was common for Rivals to be sold with a full set of drawings (mine came with them, anyway). Possibly more info there. The Rival Owner's association is a good source of info: http://www.rivalowners.org.uk/

 

[doug748]

There was a similar thread on the 19th Dec, you may find it useful. A chap from Scotland posted and he has all the griff, he may be along in a moment.

If you are looking for that style of boat, I think Rivals are a great buy at the moment.

It is not unusual for solid GRP decks to flex underfoot, as you no doubt know, particularly where there is a flattish open area.

 

[Seajet]

Fascadale,

I knew an extremely good sailing instructor ( as well as Master Mariner ) Pete Misson, who had a Rival 32 fitted with a 34 deck; surprised me but it seemed to work very well, I went aboard briefly; it she's good enough for Pete she should be fantastic in seas !

 

[westhinder]

In my search for a new boat I have recently looked at some Rival 34s

Good solid boats, more internal volume which will allow me to go further for longer and just on the limit of what I would be reasonably confident to single hand.

A couple of questions though....................

Do they have any history of soft decks? I was on a very "clean" R34 at the weekend and thought I detected a bit of "spring" in one of the side decks, aft of the shrouds, forward of the cockpit.

How is the cabin roof constructed, balsa core, solid or something else? I ask because I may want to put on some deck organisers so that I can lead the lines aft.

How do the chain plates work? Are there any problems there? On my own boat the sub structures of the chain plates are easily seen, on the Rival they were behind panels.

Are there any other "R34 issues" of which I should be aware ?

Thanks

I sailed Rivals (32, 34 and 36) for 25 years and owned a 34 for 11 years. They are great boats, very strong, not fast by today's standards but very seaworthy, they will look after you in a blow and keep going long after the crew is exhausted. I regularly singlehanded my 34 without any problems. They are directionally very stable, so easy on the autohelm and ideal with a wind vane, I had an Aries. On one occasion my autohelm had stopped working and I only realised after a quarter of an hour or so, she just ran straight on with the helm held steady.
As macd has said, deck and coachroof are solid laminate. I never noticed movement.
The 34 had a long production run and the yard, which had a bit of a chequered history, changed a number of technical details during these years. Layouts did also change. Mine was built in 1988, nr 172 of 174, so more or less the definitive configuration. The chain plates of the cap shrouds were bolted to the main bulkhead, a very substantial arrangement. The chain plates for the forward and aft lowers were also bolted to partial bulkheads that partitioned the cupboards.
Some of the boats were home-finished, so details and standard of finish may vary. The more recent yard-finished boats have lovely woodwork.
Any other issues? A number of Rivals developed osmosis, but most will have been treated by now. Mine had osmosis when I bought her. I had it professionally treated and never had any problems after that.
Do get in touch with the Rival Owners Association, www.rivalowners.org.uk They are a helpful lot. The ROA also has full sets of drawings for all the Rivals.
Any more specific questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[seanfoster]

A good friend of mine has one, we sailed from Ipswich to Ijmuiden a few years ago, someone commented that it had a 'Rolls-Royce Motion'!

 

[Fascadale]

Thanks for all the very positive replies
Time to start thinking about an offer I think