Looking at a Seafarere 38

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May 13, 2012
6
Coronado 25 Hamilton
Good day everyone, the wife and I just looked over a 1973(?) Seafarere 38 and we liked it alot. Of course there are some obvious issues that we noticed right off the start like a rag wrapped around the exhaust hose in the engine compartment, a rather large crack near the companionway hatch, and the surface delaminating on the interior woodwork.

The foredeck was a touch springy and I have never ever used a boom roller furling in my life.

We will still get a boat surveyer of course.

We would love any opinions and tips on what to look for in the near future as we really like this boat. Note that nothing is a deal breaker short of the keel falling off.:D

Thanks in advance.....Allan
 
Dec 25, 2008
90
Catalina 34 St. Simons Island
Vintage boat from legendary designer

Good day everyone, the wife and I just looked over a 1973(?) Seafarere 38 and we liked it alot. Of course there are some obvious issues that we noticed right off the start like a rag wrapped around the exhaust hose in the engine compartment, a rather large crack near the companionway hatch, and the surface delaminating on the interior woodwork.

The foredeck was a touch springy and I have never ever used a boom roller furling in my life.

We will still get a boat surveyer of course.

We would love any opinions and tips on what to look for in the near future as we really like this boat. Note that nothing is a deal breaker short of the keel falling off.:D

Thanks in advance.....Allan
Allan,

The Seafarer 38 was designed by Phillip Rhodes, and was also his personal boat. They were built originally in Holland and later in New York. There's a very good review about this boat written on Southwinds Magazine. If this link doesn't work just go google Southwinds and click on the Boat Review tab.
http://www.southwindssailing.com/sailboat-reviews.php

There is very good information about your model and Seafarers in general at Saiboatdata.com.
http://sailboatdata.com/view_builder.asp?builder_id=8

Another excellent source of information I call the Treasure Trove of Seafarer information is at FloridaBoats.net
http://floridaboats.net/archive/seafarer slide show/index.html

The oldest independently rug web site for Seafarers is the Seafarer Research Center. The site is not as active as it used to be but there is still good info there.
http://www.seafarer-research-center.com/

This forum at Sailboatowner.com, the forum on SailNet (link below) and the Facebook Group: Seafarer Yacht Group are the most active areas to network with fellow Seafarer owners.
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/seafarer/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/seafareryachts/
I am the administrator of the Facebook group so if interested just go there and request membership and I'll respond. We are most likely the largest active group with 129 members. The other forums are good also because some folks are reluctant to use FB.

FYI, currently there is a young couple from Washington (state) full-time cruising on a S38C TM name Silver Lining. They spent 5 years restoring her and then left their jobs to live their dream on a 38' Seafarer. Elan and Ashley are currently at Puerto Madero in southern Mexico near the Guatemala installing a new engine. Seems they ran their original Perkins low on oil and it objected.
http://sailingsilverlining.com/wordpress/

As far as the boom furler, they were developed in the late 60s/early 70s but not found to be very useful. In particular you can't run a vang with the roller furler. They are usable if you want to reef to a point other than the reef point in the sail. Generally, they are considered to be more trouble than they're worth. Modern boom furlers have a separate furling system inside the boom so the boom can be operated with a vang.

As far as the soft spot in the foredeck, Seafarer did use balsa core material above the waterline to keep the weight down, and probably save money. Soft spots in the deck are not necessarily indicative of the design. Most likely someone in the past has done some maintenance in the area and not properly sealed the fittings back to the deck.

Overall, the S38 is a heck of a boat, depending on the actual condition of the one you're looking at. Absolutely get a good appraisal, and if the problems are minor or repairable and you can get it for a good price you have a classic great looking sailboat. You can look around the internet, but these boats in good condition seem to sell for as much as $1k per foot on average.

Good luck,
James
 
May 13, 2012
6
Coronado 25 Hamilton
Thanks James, that is a wonderful bunch of links you posted, have already looked at a couple of them. We do like the boat and will put an offer in a week or two, pending a boat survey....Allan
 
Dec 25, 2008
90
Catalina 34 St. Simons Island
Thanks James, that is a wonderful bunch of links you posted, have already looked at a couple of them. We do like the boat and will put an offer in a week or two, pending a boat survey....Allan
Allan,

Good luck and keep me posted if you decide to purchase the S38. Since there is no factory support, the Seafarer owners are on their own. Therefore, we try to stick together and share information through the various online forums.

The good thing about the Seafarer is that they seem to be fairly well built and there's no proprietary systems or parts on the boat. Everything can be rebuilt or replaced.

James
 
May 13, 2012
6
Coronado 25 Hamilton
Re: Congratulations!!

Love our boat, but we mostly go on facebook's seafarer forum.
 
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