Blue water in a Seafarer 37

Apr 18, 2014
7
Seafarer 37 Annapolis area
I'm considering buying a Seafarer 37 and wonder if anyone has bluewater experience with this boat. Any tips or advice?

Thanks,
Chet Fisher
 
Dec 25, 2008
90
Catalina 34 St. Simons Island
I'm considering buying a Seafarer 37 and wonder if anyone has bluewater experience with this boat. Any tips or advice?

Thanks,
Chet Fisher
Chet,
I can't help with specific knowledge of the Seafarer 37, but can give you some general info on the Seafarer model. I own a Seafarer 29 and am the administrator of the Seafarer Yacht Group on Facebook where we have 274 members. Even though many of our members are not Seafarer owners I believe we are the largest organized group of Seafarer owners in existence.

I checked and we do not have a Seafarer 37 owner, but do have several with the Seafarer 36 and Seafarer 38. The three models, 36, 37, and 38 all have similar specifications but there are differences. The S37 displaces 16,500 pounds. the S36 displaces 16,350 and the S38 displaces 16,500.

The S36 and S38 were designed by the legendary Phillips Rhodes and are full or long keel models.The S36 was first built in 1968, the S38 was first built in 1971.

The S37 was designed by McCurdy/Rhodes after the S36 and S38, and was available with as a fin keel or shoal draft keel model. The S37 was first built in 1982. Since Seafarer went out of business in the late 1980s I doubt if many of the S37 models were made.

My opinion is that James McCurdy who worked under Philip Rhodes, and Bodie Rhodes utilized the knowledge of the S36 and S38 and basically "modernized" it with the S37. By this period on boat construction fin keels and shoal draft keels were outpacing the demand for full keel boats. However, based on the displacement comparisons it's evident that McCurdy/Rhodes didn't sacrifice ballast on the S37.

Based on photos, advertisement material, etc that are available it look like the S37 is somewhat roomier than the S36 and S38. The beam of the S37 is 11.75'. The beam on the S36 and S38 is 10.5'.

I believe the S37 would be as seaworthy as the S36 and S38 and they were considered blue water vessels. I believe that Phillip Rhodes' personal boat was a S38. I wish you luck with your decision on the S37. Here's some links to original advertisement info.

http://www.msogphotosite.com/MSOG/pdfpage/seafarerco.pdf

http://sailboatdata.com/view_builder.asp?builder_id=8

http://www.classicadshop.com/productdetails.php5?id=7569

The S37 has a PHRF rating of 135 and a maximum hull speed of 7.49 knots so she appears to be a pretty fast boat.

Also, McCurdy/Rhodes is still in business today with James McCurdy's son Ian running the company. I've reached out to him in the past and found him to be very accommodating. He might be able to better answer your specific questions.

http://mccurdyandrhodes.com/aboutus.php

If you do decide to purchase the S37, please consider joining our group on Facebook. We would like to have you on board.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/seafareryachts/

James
s/v Roma - Seafarer 29
 
Apr 18, 2014
7
Seafarer 37 Annapolis area
James:
Thanks for the info on the Seafarer 37 and other models. The boat was listed with a manufacturing date of 1980 so I'm asking for clarification - that's either the wrong date or the listed length is wrong (or both!). If I do buy the boat I'll join the facebook group. It's missing a spinnaker pole so your group will be a good place to start asking for help. It's good to know that it is considered a bluewater yacht.

Chet Fisher
 
Dec 25, 2008
90
Catalina 34 St. Simons Island
HIN

James:
Thanks for the info on the Seafarer 37 and other models. The boat was listed with a manufacturing date of 1980 so I'm asking for clarification - that's either the wrong date or the listed length is wrong (or both!). If I do buy the boat I'll join the facebook group. It's missing a spinnaker pole so your group will be a good place to start asking for help. It's good to know that it is considered a bluewater yacht.

Chet Fisher
Since Seafarer went out of business and wax not purchased by another manufacturer, all records have been lost. Therefore there is conflicting information about the history of the known models. The best clue we have to clarify a boat's identity is the HIN or hill identification number. This is the serial number that will give specific information about the model and year of manufacturing. Do you know the HIN on the boat you are considering? It will be on the title. If the boat is USCG documented we can look it up online.
 
Apr 18, 2014
7
Seafarer 37 Annapolis area
Since Seafarer went out of business and wax not purchased by another manufacturer, all records have been lost. Therefore there is conflicting information about the history of the known models. The best clue we have to clarify a boat's identity is the HIN or hill identification number. This is the serial number that will give specific information about the model and year of manufacturing. Do you know the HIN on the boat you are considering? It will be on the title. If the boat is USCG documented we can look it up online.
Don't know the HIN yet. I'm scheduled to sail in it next Wed or Friday and will get that info. Is there a IDplate on these boats and where might it be located? I've asked the owner for clarification, but haven't heard from him yet. It has a head with shower on the port side near the "V" berth and a head aft. There is a quarter berth aft.

Chet
 
Dec 25, 2008
90
Catalina 34 St. Simons Island
Don't know the HIN yet. I'm scheduled to sail in it next Wed or Friday and will get that info. Is there a IDplate on these boats and where might it be located? I've asked the owner for clarification, but haven't heard from him yet. It has a head with shower on the port side near the "V" berth and a head aft. There is a quarter berth aft.

Chet
Chet,

This should help.

http://www.hinsearchplus.com/hs_userguide.aspx


The number is embedded in the fiberglass generally on the starboard side of the stern near the toe rail. And the serial number or HIN should be on all documentation. The first three letters will be "SFR" for Seafarer. The next two letters will be an unknown letter followed by "X". For example, on my Seafarer 29 the model designation is "BX". Unfortunately, we haven't deciphered all the model codes at this time.

We think the first letter following SFR is the actual model designation because all known HIN contain the X as the 5th letter. I think the X was in the HIN as a filler letter until Seafarer went over 999 of a particular model built. The next three characters following "BX" (or whatever model) are generally numerals or in my case "X85" because my Seafarer 29 was the 85th built. "X" simple filled the space until model "100" was built.

Following the three numeral are the date and model year of construction per the info on the web site referenced earlier.

Any documentation, state and/or federal should reference the HIN number regardless if the actual numbers can be located on the stern. Don't confuse the HIN with the USCG Documentation Number. HIN was assigned by the manufacturer per the established system. USCG Vessel Documentation is assigned by the Coast Guard. If the boat you are considering is a documented vessel, you can search by the vessel's name at the following web site.

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/CoastGuard/VesselByName.html

Hope all this information is useful to you.

James
 
Apr 18, 2014
7
Seafarer 37 Annapolis area
James,

Yes. That's the one. I was told it was donated by a widow to a not-for-profit. No other details. I'll get the HIN next week and that'll settle the year built issue. I see that there are a number of records for Seafarers named "SKIPPER".

Chet
 
Dec 25, 2008
90
Catalina 34 St. Simons Island
James,

Yes. That's the one. I was told it was donated by a widow to a not-for-profit. No other details. I'll get the HIN next week and that'll settle the year built issue. I see that there are a number of records for Seafarers named "SKIPPER".

Chet
Chet,

Very nice boat! I believe I've seen that boat listed previously. Looks like a great deal on a very nice boat. If for some reason you don't purchase her let me know. I have a friend in Virginia who has been looking for a Seafarer 38. He might be interested in this Seafarer 37.

James
 
Apr 18, 2014
7
Seafarer 37 Annapolis area
Seafarer 37

Chet,

Very nice boat! I believe I've seen that boat listed previously. Looks like a great deal on a very nice boat. If for some reason you don't purchase her let me know. I have a friend in Virginia who has been looking for a Seafarer 38. He might be interested in this Seafarer 37.

James
James:
I've put a deposit on "Skipper" and will make a decision after sailing her. I'll let you know next weekend at the latest.

Chet
 
Apr 18, 2014
7
Seafarer 37 Annapolis area
Yes. It's being cleaned and repaired. I'm on a 3 month Appalachian Trail trek and will sail it in Sept.
 
Apr 18, 2014
7
Seafarer 37 Annapolis area
James:
Finished hiking the AT a couple of weeks ago and am still nursing sore feet. Just started working on the remaining boat repair issues. Any idea how to remove the bilge pump? It's in the cabinet under the sink but far to port near the stove. Can barely touch it let alone remove it.
 
Dec 25, 2008
90
Catalina 34 St. Simons Island
Chet,

Your S37 has a similar layout to my Catalina 34 and my bilge pump is also under the cabinet. Obviously, the designers were not thinking about easy repair or replacement when they designed these boats. In my case I can remove the drawer section of the cabinet by drilling out the bungs and removing the mounting screws. Then the whole drawer cabinet can be removed.

I looked at the layout of your boat online and if the bilge pump is located near the oven/stove then it might make sense to remove the oven/stove, and cut an hole in the cabinet to gain easy access to the pump. You can always install a access panel to close the hole afterwards and you'll always have easy entry to the pump going forward. This is what I did on my S29 anytime I needed to get to a plumbing fitting or need to inspect something behind the liner.

I've seen other brand boats with similar issues. It's not just Seafarer. I do suggest that you take pictures of every step of the process and share with other Seafarer owners in the future. That's how we learn from each other.
 
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