S***ine's - imho they are horrible!

[ari]

Re: Honest reply

"I've run two other Sealines, S37 and 410/F43 which were nigh on faultless and I got my money back when I sold them."

Just idle curiousity, please excuse me, but did you get your money back when you sold them? Or did you get your money back when you part exchanged them for bigger ones...?

 

[wakeup]

Re: Sealine aft cabin

Man I never would have guessed looking at that from the outside that there is a rear berth under there.

That is clever.

When you said rear cockpit though, I assumed that you meant that a cockpit was where the helm was so that's why I was confused. My pilots training often confuses me when talking about boats.

Thanks for correcting that one.

I've got to give it to Sealine, that is clever.

yada yada..

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Re: Honest reply

No, they were both straight brokerage sales and I bought both secondhand. I ran the 410/F43 for 2 seasons and got exactly the same price as I paid for it less brokerage commission. I ran the S37 for just one season and actually made a few quid even taking account of the commission. I'm not saying Sealine are better or worse than any other well known make just that if you're sensible, they're not necessarily financial black holes.

 

[kimhollamby]

Re: Honest reply

Never been on a 38 in a big following sea but there are some useful generalisms on which I might base a semi-educated guess.

In order for the boat to perform as well as it does and to provide slightly friendlier wake characteristics when on restricted waters Andrew Wolstenholme drew very flat sections at the back, quite deliberately. There's a keel under there too of course, quite a big one. Some of the 38s have got big engines.

In my experience the big engine/flat section/keel combination can cause some waywardness downwind if the boat is pushed hard, usually above 20-22 knots. That is particularly so if whoever is driving forgets to wind in the tabs. So if the 38 actually does waggle a bit then that is the trade off for the other things it does well. The solution is always to back off a touch and the control comes back; the benefit of course is that there's no real hump speed to worry about with this type of hull; they pretty much sit at the throttle speed selected.

What I can tell you from experience is that the 35CL with big engines is no fun downwind in a big sea if you push hard. I wrote about that in the test for MBM. But then talk to the designer and you quickly discover that a) the hull sections are completely different, much more based upon round bilge and b) it was never originally foreseen that the Ocean 34 (as launched) would be for a market above 12 knots. It was originally a direct tilt at Dutch steel and in the 8-12 knot bracket I would bet you could push it through anything without a moment's bother.

The Ocean 38, now 38CL, was always envisaged to go faster but if 25 knot plus cruising is a typical target for cruising speed (as opposed to occasional sprint) I would personally opt for deeper vee and no keel at all. Once you get to that kind of pace even the keel itself can generate what becomes unwelcome extra lift at the back end, serving to dig the forefoot in.

A few of the early John Bennett designs had very broad keels that worked fine as originally envisaged, but started to introduce less useful handling traits when models either took onboard later and more powerful generations of diesels and/or boats were re-engined.

Incidentally have you ever seen a big Nelson with huge engines (say 420s and up) running at speed? Good chunk of keel from forefoot back visible in pics we have on file here. Surely must be a bit adrenalin-inducing downwind flatout in one of those unless I am missing something; but again solution is to back off a bit.

The real joker in the pack, one for the Scuttlebutters to suck their gums on perhaps, is that I don't think you can beat the modern go-faster medium to deep vee hull for fast downwind passages in rough conditions, provided you are a bit brave about it, have some experience and know there's a port with a decent entrance at the end.

Wouldn't personally stop me buying the 38CL though...if any owner fancies going out for a play to check all of this out I'm up for it /forums/images/icons/smile.gif That said there's at least one 38 owner who posts here occasionally, now with a 42, who has been through so much salt it is engrained in his moustache. I'll try and smoke him out with his own pipe.

kim_hollamby@ipcmedia.com

 

[hlb]

Re: Honest reply

Ah so. Thats the explanation of why my P35 loves big following seas. Your not wrong about the trim tabs either, Leave them down and it could get very interesting.

<font color=red> No one can force me to come here-----------
----- I'm a Volunteer! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Haydn

 

[nicho]

Re: S***ine\'s - imho they are horrible!

Sorry guys - I've read through this thread and have to say my personal experience with Sealines does not align with what most of what you say (the F33 thread was binned before I could read it however).

I have personally owned a 255 ('88model), a 290 ('92 model) , a 310 Statesman ('92 model), followed by a new 330 Statesman (rebadged F33), and a new S37. In fairness to your argument, the 290 did have evidence of some hard use and resultant minor hull cracking, but that was put right at the Sealine factory - the surveyor was quite OK about it, subject to this work being carried out. As for the rest, they have been fine boats, and enjoyable to own.

The F33 was a bit too "tippy" for my wife, particularly when encountering Ferry wash in Southampton water for example, or when entering harbours slowly in confused seas, but running at speed, it was not a problem. The S37 was, in my opinion, a cracking boat that we kept for 3 years. It was good in all the seas that I subjected it to, and ran very true in a big following sea on a journey back from Torquay. I also got caught out in very nasty sea in the Little Russell off Guernsey (after a rougher and slower than expected Channel crossing). I just set the throttles to maintain 17/18 knots and she ploughed through it impeccably.

When choosing the S37, I also considered the Targa 37, but chose the Sealine mainly for better interior space utilisation.

In terms of quality, the only problem we incurred with both the new boats was scratching on some of the interior woodwork due I suspect to less than adequate protection during build. Most was quickly sorted, but I never received a replacement dinette table that was not similarly damaged, and gave up after 3 attempts!

So, I for one was a very happy Sealine owner, and I know for sure there are many others out there - of course there will be horror stories, as there has been with Princess, Fairline and Sunseeker, but like I say, I speak as I find.

I've now switched to sail and take delivery of a Bavaria 36 in January (much, much cheaper!)

Sealines? - IMHO they are great boats and excellant value for money

 

[halcyon]

Re: Sealine triple ace

We still look after the old gear, and offer free help line to owners, but have not supplied switchgear for 6 years, though yes we are still a supplier of tehnical bits. Have known the firm, and all the other builders from the inside for 20 years now, so not only talk to the owners, but also the builders and designers. In the case of triple ace have spent many hours eveluationg problems with the boat, a lot of lesons learnt were built into following boats. But the boat was built 14 years ago and build methods (in all the yards) were very differant, and following that boat customer changes were very carefully monitored. From a designer's veiwpoint, I find it interesting what technilodgical advancements you made in components. Drop a PM if you like, just me being nosey.

In my spare time try to sail, or when mates down go motor boating, and try to chill out here, and think of some stupid handle to type below.

Brian

 

[oldgit]

Re: Sealine aft cabin

Fine for midget n dwarfs who do not suffer from claustrophobia.And that roof lining is padded for good reason

Just hold tight dear it will not be so rough when we get round the corner,trust me.