Sealine S41 with KAD300's

[Greg2]

I am interested in a Sealine S41 with KAD300's and was wondering if anyone has experience or knowledge of these boats.

I have done some research and found reports of stress cracking to the hull, although it seems there is some doubt about this being a widespread problem. They are also reported to have questionable handling with chine riding being a particular problem although auto trim tabs may help with this.

As far as the engines go I understand that they are a little complicated on the top end, require a lot of maintenance and may not be so good in terms of lubricating at low speeds.

Intended use is probably mainly on rivers with holidays at sea.

Any info on the accuracy of these reports and any experience of the boat would be much appreciated.

 

[volvopaul]

Crazy 4557 on this forum had an s41 with yanmars but same boat, they did tweak the hull at some point but yes they did chine ride apparently quite alarmingly, they also fitted some extra fixed tabs to lengthen the hull to try and stop it, the evolution was the 42 on drives then the s43 on v drive shafts.

Kad 300s, ive serviced that many now ive lost count over the years including rebuilds etc.

The first ever valve failure occured due to poor servicing and happened to the MBY team when they had calm voyager on the round britain trip, basically the sealine was not very easy to do a proper service, the 200 hour interval passed and it dropped a valve due to massive tappet clearance, a new engine was fitted.

I once repaired a kad 44 in a broom 38 that was used on the Thames and Trent, it too had bridge post damage and worn out pushrods and ball stud adjusters, there had been no oil at the rockers at all as it was run at less than 1000 rpm, id say you would be ok to use at low rpm as long as you made an occasional blast to spread the oil around, but something you cant do on the Thames non tidal unless its dark!

As with any purchase if your not sure have an engine and drive survey, if its the s41 at Swanwick its ben re engined at some point in its life.

 

[Greg2]

Thanks volvopaul, very useful to hear some hands on experience of the engines. We will be on the Broads so access to sea easy and will probably be several times each season. I guess regular maintenance is key to make sure they don't go the same way as the MBY boat.

I had heard that there was some kind of modification that could be done to improve lubrication at the top end, are you aware of this? I also heard that it may have been an issue on the 44's but was rectified on the 300???

 

[volvopaul]

No no mod at all, volvo shook there heads when we presented the worn and broken parts to them, the kad 300 is exactly the same inside as the 44.

 

[Greg2]

No no mod at all, volvo shook there heads when we presented the worn and broken parts to them, the kad 300 is exactly the same inside as the 44.

Okay, thanks for dispelling that one! Boat in question is due the 200 hour service according to the Broker - slightly concerned as they have very low hours (300 and something) so I am wondering if 'due' means 'overdue'!!

 

[petem]

Wasn't Calm Voyager a KAD44 boat?

 

[volvopaul]

Wasn't Calm Voyager a KAD44 boat?

Yes it was.

 

[KevB]

A few years ago I cruised in company from chichester to brighton with an S41 and a S42. The s41 diffinitely chine walked a lot where as the s42 didn't at all. The s42 did have auto trim tabs though....

 

[Greg2]

A few years ago I cruised in company from chichester to brighton with an S41 and a S42. The s41 diffinitely chine walked a lot where as the s42 didn't at all. The s42 did have auto trim tabs though....

Thanks for this. I wonder if there have been any mods to the hull that helped th 42 or whether it was the auto trim tabs.

 

[nrbx]

I had a S41 2001 model (built 2000).

Loved the boat bar a few little things.

We had KAD300's in ours, apparantly they were recalled and re-engined, or at least a lot were as the Yanmar engines were connected to Mercruiser legs which kept killing themselves. So clearly I would opt for one with KAD 300's on that basis. Of course just what i read so don't sue me anyone!

The S41 was very very unstable on the plane, was the reason i sold mine in the end. I doubt it would ever be a major issue, but made you always feel uncomfortable unless the sea was completly flat.
I was told that fitting auto trim would make it a much happier boat.
The so called Chine walking as mentioned above ^^

Regarding the stress cracking, I also found a bit of information that suggested this problem was resolved from 2001 models onwards.

Huge value for money, and a great boat. I would have another if i were keeping it fresh water.

* everything is my own opinion!!

 

[Greg2]

Thanks nrbx, very helpful. I am aware of the yanmar/Mercruisers mix so wouldn't go near one. Very interested in your comments about stability on the plane...must have been bad if it caused you to sell the boat ultimately. I know there is always a compromise with any boat but this is a concern for me.

Anyone had any direct experience of an S41 fitted with auto trim tabs?

 

[nrbx]

To be fair we did upgrade in the process. We could have kept it but i would have had to have fitted auto trim.

Clearly this is all my personal opinions, some people may not see any issue with it.

Everything else about the S41 we loved.

 

[crazy4557]

I had an S41 with Yanmars with Mercruiser SX drives. Fabulous engines and I don't know why everyone knocks them. The drives were fine also, no clunks into gear unlike the Volvo's on my current boat.
Yanmar engines smoke far less too!

The S41 was a great design in terms of space, it is enormous as others have said and the aft cabin is the best in that class of boat. Build quality was typical Sealine quality of that era...not brilliant but everything worked OK. I had no more problems/niggles with that boat than any other I'd owned previously or since. Most things are easy to get at as there's so much space.

The design of the hull was a different matter.....in a word cr44p! How it could ever be considered a sports boat was beyond me but if you accept it for what it is then it does the job. Chine walking is not a real problem, you can trim it out with the tabs. Takes a while to get used to but you will eventually get a smooth and level ride! Its just a big heavy hull with a relatively wide and flat profile with very little grip and will never be a good handling boat. It's also very susceptible to being blown around on windy days due to the high topsides.

For a river boat it would be great especially accomodation wise, expect it to handle like a sportsboat and you'll be disappointed.

 

[Greg2]

To be fair we did upgrade in the process. We could have kept it but i would have had to have fitted auto trim.

Clearly this is all my personal opinions, some people may not see any issue with it.

Everything else about the S41 we loved.

Understood, thanks. If we go ahead it will need to factor in auto trim tabs I think!

 

[Greg2]

The design of the hull was a different matter.....in a word cr44p! How it could ever be considered a sports boat was beyond me but if you accept it for what it is then it does the job. Chine walking is not a real problem, you can trim it out with the tabs. Takes a while to get used to but you will eventually get a smooth and level ride! Its just a big heavy hull with a relatively wide and flat profile with very little grip and will never be a good handling boat. It's also very susceptible to being blown around on windy days due to the high topsides.

For a river boat it would be great especially accomodation wise, expect it to handle like a sportsboat and you'll be disappointed.

Thanks for this. I guess that sports boat handling isn't an issue for me. As long as it will cruise at a reasonable speed I would prefer the comfort and sociability of the cockpit and accommodation to sparkling performance. After all, before our Targa we had a Broom...