Sealine S34, your views and experiences very welcome.

Greg01

Greg01

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I am at present researching an article on buying a used Saline S34 for Motor Boat and Yachting. Subsequently I would greatly appreciate any information from S34 owners past and present regarding the pros and cons of owning one, including any interesting adventures.
 
We had one for a short time, one with the KAD32,s.

As far as comfort, usability etc is concerned, everything was reasonably good, the only complaints I'd have about them are -

The helm seat position is too close to the steering wheel resuting in sore knees if standing at the helm for a while.

The saloon seating shape makes it difficult to sit with your legs up, the seat back was raked and didn't seem as comfortoble as it could be to me.

Tha KAD32's, well ............. I didn't like them, noisy when the supercharger starts, at marina/river speeds 6kts the supercharger is just on the verge of cutting in, so it cuts in and out unless you slow slightly to get below the RPM that it cuts in at. Power wise, hmm, ok is about all I'd say, maybe needs a bit more power to really enjoy what the boat is capable of.

I know of problems with the bigger engined S34's where the hull is not up to the speed/power.

Hope this personal impression helps.
 
I had a good look at these when I bought my new boat earlier this year. Not a bad layout, but most seem to have the KAD 32's, which frankly are underpowered.

They also seemed expensive compared to other 34' footers.
 
We are in our first full season with ours and love it. We have the KAD32's which puts the emphasis on cruising rather than sports but that suits our boating. Good point about the noisy superchargers. After the engines had been serviced earlier this year I was running the engines in the marina and revved to 1500 rpm (with the engine cover up) and heard an horrific noise coming from down below. Nearly [--word removed--] myself and was about to ring the engineers when it occured to me what the noise was /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Agree with the comments about the helm seat but not noticed anything uncomfortable about the saloon seating. The beds are bloody hard though!

Overall we are thrilled to bits with it.

Martyn
 
Hi Jez

The KAD32's are fine for our needs.

I think the layout is frankly hard to beat - a slightly larger heads would probably be nice but its adequate and would be at the expense of something else.

I suppose the fact that they are more expensive than equivelent boats tells its own story.

Martyn
 
I think it's possible to fit a switch to stop the superchargers engaging. useful for harbour cruising.

From what I remember, if you turn off the ignition but not as far as to stop the engines I believe this stops the superchargers? Might be worth giving it a go just to see if it suits the slower boating situations, if so then fit the switch.
 
Hi Martyn,

Just tried to delete that post - I think I was in a grumpy mood this morning, no idea why though.

I guess the KAD 32's are a good engine, Sealine know what they are doing, and it is designed primarily a cruising boat. I did like the look of the fit and finish of the new one I looked around at LIBS. Had a look at some 97/98 models befor I bought the BMB and they were still up for 90k+, which I suppose was negotiable but the interior was not as good as the newer one and I couldn't be bothered to find out how low someone would go - I suppose the advertised price often bears no real relation to the market value.

Glad you're pleased with the boat, I think the cockpit is pretty good, how does the hull perform?

Jez
 
[ QUOTE ]
how does the hull perform?

[/ QUOTE ]

Got caught out in some nasty seas in Pollensa Bay last week (F6-7) and she felt very steady - I think the weakpoint was the nut holding the steering wheel!.

She is definitely more of a cruiser than a sportsboat and the hull is well suited to that type of use - Suppose thats the price of maximising internal space. Very happy with close quarters handling too.

First real test early June when we head for Menorca!
 
I had one from 2001 to 2004. Clocked up over 350 hours with no problems and great fun cruising Channel Islands and North Brittany. Caught out a couple of times in rough seas but she took it all in her stride.

Other comments interesting - I had the Kad 43s which were very quiet and would cruise at 25 kts all day quite economically (about 10 galls/hr total). Top speed was 38 kts but this is irrelevant to me. Would recomend it as a good spacious boat but have bigger engine option.

Traded up to S42 with excellent offer from Sealine.

One caveat : after the trade in I was informed by Sealine that the hull had some hairline crazing. We had never hit anything so I can only assume it was falling off some large waves. Is the hull strong enough ?
 
Got one last year and have clocked 100hours , excellent accomodation for a 34ft boat, is in the bracket of cruiser rather than sports boat but 24 knots suits us fine, overall best described as a all round package.
keep it simple
 
great boats, I have helmed many and with different engine options, go for a middle to big engine option, they Handel at close quartets well and can take a big sea well, brought one back, 4 up , from jersey with a storm following us, great boats, with buckets of accommodation on for her size, blame me for the bin / additional hand rails , now on there options list, but thats another story.LOL
 
"...The beds are bloody hard though.."

It's easy to swap out the foam and get something more comfortable without big spend. Friend of mine replaced the foam on our S34 using the old foam as a template and made up a sandwich of firmer foam and softer foam, and completely transformed the comfort. PM me if you want the details - he's game to make up more.
 
Our S34 is our fist mobo, bought as a replacement for a sailing yacht on the basis that I wanted something more flexible and useful for our family use. Not having had much experience of other mobos, I'll leave the tech comparison to others with more knowledge. But, I can say it's proved good for our family coastal cruising. Good use of space below / on deck compared to sailing yacht of same length. Great second cabin so that guests / kids don't feel like second class citizens. We have Mercruiser engines (we know some folks don't like them but we were satisfied by the mechanical survey and have found them to be most acceptable, and Mercruiser agents have been good guys to deal with on servicing etc). Seems OK to me with 2 x 220 HP engines (30 knots with clean hull and light loading in slight conditions).

We also found dealing with Sealine was a good experience. Did warranty work without quibble and remained helpful even after warranty period.

Sealine models generally seem like 'honest boats' - I see them as the boating equivelant of a Mondeo - not flash, but great when used within intended boundaries. I say again that having support of wife and children was invaluable for me, and the S34 got their vote.

We spoke to lots of Sealine owners before we bought the S34, and found plenty of satisfied owners.
 
Agree with a lot of what has been said. Bought an S34 this spring for use in the Med/Gibraltar area as a first motor boat. I really don't understand the issue about speed - crusing at 20 + knots is by far enough for me! Accomodation is great and value for money superb.......hard to beat in my opinion.
 
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