SeaReach 31 - Any info?

W

Wandering Star

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 Feb 2009
Messages
5,549
Location
Dorset
Visit site
Hi, I noticed an eBay auction for a very pretty (to my eye) steel boat going for a potentially affordable price. Apparently the builders were DB Marine but theres no indication of the designer nor can I find a single mention of the desogn on the internet apart from to the brokers website.

A couple of concerns I have, the boat is 31 feet overall with a beam of 9’ 6” but the draught is only 3’ 9” which seems to to be very shallow. I haven’t any idea what the displacement or ballast is. Nor do I have any idea of the steel thickness used in the construction. I’m looking for a boat offering comfortable motion offshore rather than speed of passage - I enjoy being out there!

Does anyone have any experience of this design and who could throw any light on the seaworthiness and sailing abilities of the design - or provide useful links to info or simply pass comments on her based on what little info I’ve provided.

The eBay link to the aiction is https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seareach...rentrq:f68944c31640aca6c4b5a181fff81578|iid:1

Thanks for any advice, positive or negative.
 
I suspect that is a Griffith design - or a copy. The hull looks virtually the same as the Riptide which is a single chine version of the Golden Hind 31. The coachroof is a bit different being more rounded than the traditional four square design that MG drew. I have a full set of plans and a licence to build one, although mine are for ply rather than steel which was an option when I bought mine 25 years or so ago.

The keel will be a long straight bottom with a rudder hung on the end. My plans have a transom hung rudder but this boat has an inboard rudder probably like the smaller Eventide. MG had a habit of mixing and matching features like that. The keel will likely be a trough filled with things like iron bars, bits of railway line or steel punchings bound together with either concrete or resin. The draft is normal for that design and is the same as the Golden Hind. Expect sailing performance to be stately , although it looks like it has quite a tall rig and the motion comfortable. The similar GH was very popular among ocean voyagers and circumnavigators in its day.

My big concern would be corrosion of the steel structure and particularly what is under the teak deck. Teak on steel is often a time bomb with a short dated fuse. The gear looks reasonable and if the hull and deck are sound or at least easily brought up to scratch it has real potential.

I am of course a bit biased having owned a similar smaller version for nigh on 40 years!
 
Like Tranona, I am also a fan of some Maurice Griffith's designs.

I've got all MG's books, and used to have a beautiful, gaff cutter rigged, wooden, Tidewater.

I'd strongly endorse Tranona's observations:

- She'll be steady, reassuring, and comfortable at sea, but won't win any races.

- Checking out the hull and deck is critical before deciding how much she's worth.

Good luck!
 
Thanks, especially to Tranona, for the observations. I did think she may be a MG design but didn't want to mention this in case it influenced anyones thinking. I’ve now had the opportunity to lookthrough a (partial) pre-purchase survey which was done in 2010 for the current owner, and which states she is definitely a MG design. Generally the boat surveyed ok but as Tranona pointed out, there were concerns about steel corrosion even 8 years ago. The rubbing strakes on the topsides but particularly under the teak decks were areas that showed corrosion and the surveyor made the point that the decks were only laid new in 2003 so wonders whether the correct system for laying on steel (on top of ply) was followed.

Unfortunately, the surveyor (who did a pretty thorough job) wasn’t able to take meter readings of the steel hull because the internal insulation and external paint/epoxy coverings prevented reliable readings - so the most critical part of the survey (for me) doesn’t have reliable conclusions. If I did buy her, I’d make the purchase subject to survey (eBay or no eBay) and emphasise the necessity of reporting on steel corrosion.

I do like the boat but I’ve never owned/maintained/repaired a steel hulled boat before and although I’m pretty handy, it does worry me slightly. But she’s well priced (if she’s sound) and just about affordable, so we’ll see!

I wanted to ask RichardS why he’s mentioned she’d have a draft of 5’ 6”?
 
NealB said:
Like Tranona, I am also a fan of some Maurice Griffith's designs.

I've got all MG's books, and used to have a beautiful, gaff cutter rigged, wooden, Tidewater.

I'd strongly endorse Tranona's observations:

- She'll be steady, reassuring, and comfortable at sea, but won't win any races.

- Checking out the hull and deck is critical before deciding how much she's worth.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I also have all his books, most of them signed by him. Had the pleasure of meeting the great man a couple of times.

I own (since 1980) the first Eventide 26 that was built properly according to the plans by Hartwells of Plymouth. Cdr Atkinson who built Borer Bee and sailed it back from Singapore reworked the original plans based on his experience of building such that the boat would end up straight, square and the same shape on both sides! Those are essentially the plans that are still available.

It was built of the best available materials at the time and cascover sheathed and is essentially as sound as the day it was built. I have however modified it (with advice from Mark Urry who built the last Golden Hind) to have a single deeper keel and no bilge plates plus a bigger rudder. The underwater profile now looks more like the boat being discussed here.

Been laid up for a few years now and probably close to the point that I try to sell her.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top