Happy Holidays 2017 to all my friends and family!

If anyone finds themselves on this page, I just put together a 2017 holiday “card” which can be seen by following this link:

https://www.canva.com/design/DACpfQpblUk/VyxBKbbBTdqiI_aOInUZFA/view

Exclamation Point, June 3, 2017

           Welcome to my Exclamation Point blog!
I am beginning this on June 3, 2017, and it is my intent to add to this with some regularity, but my record on that sort of thing has been spotty at best. We shall see! 

















I want to live life with an exclamation point,

and I’ve tried, goodness knows I’ve tried. I’ve worked as an urchin diver, a general contractor, a substitute teacher, a librarian; I've sailed long distances (not always successfully), flown hang gliders, driven recklessly, skied far into the woods and slept on the snow, built a kayak and took it camping among the islands of western Canada; I’ve loved and lost and loved and lost, but I also raised two fine young men in a long and wonderful marriage.

I’ve learned and learned and learned and learned, but I’m pretty sure I still don’t know crap. No doubt many would agree.

And now I'm single again and it’s time for a new direction. I've set my sights, for now, on a new profession. Once again I find myself studying, this time it's grammar and Czech. The grammar I'll need, the Czech I'll want so I can at least find a bathroom. My plans are generally written in sand, but as it stands now I will be off to Prague in September.

I'll go to school for a month to earn my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate, and then teach English.  I figure I will either like it or not, but I will be in Europe for the first time in my life and I should be making enough money to afford it.

I hope I like Prague. Everybody says wonderful things about it, but I also hear it’s cold as hell in the winter. And the spring. And the fall. Apparently it’s not very warm in the summer, either. Who knows, I may find myself in Ecuador or Thailand or Mexico or Vietnam, or just scurrying back to Southern California with my tail between my legs. As far as I'm concerned, however, the only way I can fail is if I fail to try.

So, life goes on, and I’m trying to get better at seeing and appreciating the here and now, the wonders all around me. For now, however, I’m off again, in search of the exclamation point.

Searunner 31 Trimaran for sale

The Barbara Jean has been sold! 


31' Searunner Trimaran, ready to cruise, but it has been sold.

A new note on the boat (which has been sold): Until April 29-30, I had not sailed the boat very much, in spite of bringing it down singlehanded from the Fort Myers area. My son, a very good sailor, came to visit and we went on a two day outing. I had never pushed the boat very hard, but with Calder on board it was a blast. We had a good stiff breeze, and for a good stretch we were going between 8 and 8.3 knots, beating into the wind. We had too much canvas up for the conditions, but the boat handled it just fine. This (sold) boat can take it.



Note:  all the pictures were taken after February, 2016.

I get lots of compliments on how great the Barbara Jean looks.

Sailing flat and fast,

the Searunner 31 is what I'd call a "cruising machine". Efficient, comfortable, safe, beautiful, and affordable. The Barbara Jean is my second Searunner. Many years ago I did a lot of research and fell in love with Searunners, and in 2001 I purchased a 37 foot Searunner in Michigan. My wife and I and our two young boys cruised from there to Marathon, then off to The Bahamas. It was the most memorable experience of my life. I hope the new owners (as of 5/9/17) Margo and Jeremy create many wonderful memories aboard to Barbara Jean.

And the location...

Marathon, Florida, the perfect jumping-off point

The Barbara Jean is currently (well, until 5/13/17 when Margo and Jeremy sail out of here) on a mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, Florida. There are about 225 moorings, all liveaboards. There are also a lot of boats anchored in the area. It's a true community, with lots of people coming back every year, most of them escaping the freezing north. My point is it's the perfect place to hang out, use as a home base for local cruising, prepare for longer cruises, do repairs, provision, etc.

The Florida Keys are awesome, with unlimited possibilities for local cruising. More importantly, NOW and for the next few months is the season for cruising to:

The Bahamas  (and Cuba!)

Cruising in the Bahamas is awesome. It is truly a cruisers’ paradise.

The waters are relatively protected, you can daysail from island to island day after day, the water is warm and it is clear. I recall laying on the deck, looking at starfish thirty feet below. Just beautiful. A number of times we were at small islands with white sand beaches and calm anchorages and we were the only boat there. The Barbara Jean's shallow draft, 23", lets you go places and tuck into places most boats can't. It's the perfect Bahamas cruiser.

Easy to get to? Cruise up to the Miami area (very easy!), and it’s 51 miles from there to Bimini in the Bahamas. 

By the way, if you have kids, TAKE THEM CRUISING!!  You will never regret it.  Jim Brown (the Searunner designer) cruised with his wife and two young kids for something like 3 years. That was on a Searunner 31.

Another amazing cruising destination, Cuba is opening up for Americans. I hear wonderful things about cruising there. Key West to Havana? 106 miles.

A little more wind would be nice! That's the Seven Mile Bridge in the background. It's just SW of Marathon, where the boat is located. That's the mainsail that was on the boat when I bought it. It was pretty worn out and I have replaced it.

It's easy to see why Searunners slip so easily through the water

A little bit about Searunners:

Searunners are all home built boats, constructed primarily of plywood and epoxy. I have been a woodworker most of my life, and I can tell you that the guy who built the Barbara Jean  did a meticulous, professional,  outstanding job. Jim Brown designed the Searunners to be safe, efficient, economical, comfortable, and beautiful. With a large retractable centerboard, Searunners sail well on all points of sail. The Barbara Jean is an excellent design in excellent condition.
For a lot more information on the Searunners, take a look at these videos by Jim Brown.

This first little series is about sailing the boat:

http://outrigmedia.com/outrig/multihulls-media/sailing-scrimshaw-part-one/

This second series is more about living aboard the boat:
http://outrigmedia.com/outrig/multihulls-media/scrimshaw-living-commentary-part-one/


There are two versions of the 31. Jim Brown cruised on the open wing version, which doesn't have a lot of deck space. The Barbara Jean is the solid wing version, so there is loads of deck space. You can easily put a 12-foot dinghy on deck on each side, and I'm pretty sure you could put an 8-foot dinghy on each side in front of the 12 footers. I have no idea why anyone would want to do that, but it is really nice to have all that deck space. It feels much safer and is great for sail handling, projects, whatever. Kids LOVE it!

Speaking of "safe", it's important to know that Searunners are literally unsinkable. If you somehow put a big hole in the main hull, the boat will settle down a foot or two... and stop. The floats will keep it from going any lower. If you manage to put big holes in all three hulls, it will settle further... and stop. Searunners are made of wood and are quite buoyant no matter what. If you work really hard at it, under extreme conditions of the type you hope to never be in, it is possible (but difficult) to turn a Searunner over. It is advised that a hatchet is secured somewhere accessible if the boat is turtled, and you would chop an access hole into the main hull, where you would be sheltered and have access to your food and water. WAY better than being stuck in a life raft or worse.

This 12' Whitehall fits easily. It has been sold.

The nets are a great place to hang out. That hatch over the head channels LOTS of air through the boat.

Why cruise on the East Coast?

I've lived in California my whole life. 15 years ago I wanted to cruise with my family, and I wanted a Searunner 37.
We thought we would cruise Mexico and California, but the boat I wanted turned out to be in Michigan. I figured no way, but I did some research, said heck yeah, and off we went.
The East Coast is completely different from the west coast, and it’s amazing. There are countless places to anchor for free, you can take the Intracoastal Waterway all the way from Massachusetts to the Florida Keys without going into the ocean.
The waters on the East Coast are generally much shallower than on the west coast, and you will love the Searunner's 23" draft.


Whatever boat you buy, consider the east coast. I can't recommend it highly enough.

The solar panel is up and out of the way of shadows.

A little clearer view of the aft decks.

Barbara Jean is very easy to spot from a distance. Believe me, that has come in very handy!

Every couple of months or so there's a "dinghy drift", a big floating potluck!

Why am I selling the Barbara Jean?

Plans change. I was absolutely, no question about it, going to cruise the Bahamas and beyond. It's the perfect boat for that, and I was preparing the boat for serious cruising, but again, plans change. After I sell the Barbara Jean I plan to return to Ventura County briefly, then go to Prague and teach English. I'm excited about that, but if something more interesting should come up before I go...

LOTS of room on deck for...

stowing things, like a 12' Whitehall. This is easier than it looks, I do it every day.

Accommodations Layout

I thought I'd be able to find the right drawing online, but I had to fake it.

A bit zoomed in...

Tour Barbara Jean with me...

                         
                  I'll walk you through the Barbara Jean in this video. It's about 15 minutes long. This was taken back when I owned the boat, which I don't anymore, because it has been sold.


Barbara Jean's cockpit

Here are a few views of the cockpit. I love the 360 degree unobstructed view.

Starboard, facing aft. A clear view all around.

Starboard, looking forward, you can see the compass, the winch for the staysail, and the two-speed winch for the genoa.

A very secure and comfortable cockpit.

Port forward, there are the engine controls and the flares in the cubby.

The new VHF radio. The wind gauge is 100% accurate whenever the wind is blowing 2.5 mph.

Port aft

                 Navigation

For navigation, I use the Open Captain program on this Panasonic Toughbook. Police and firefighters often use these on the job. They're extremely rugged, very reliable, and quite water resistant. The nav program has been outstanding and easy to use.

The system doubles as a versatile laptop, and comes with...

an external DVD player and an external GPS unit.

Big decks and LOTS of storage

 

That's a lot of deck space... a lot of BOAT in 31'!

 

Port side deck

Port- fender storage

Starboard- anchor locker

Port- Generator, painting supplies, snorkeling gear, etc. Pretty roomy.

Starboard- propane, dinghy gas, extra lines, etc. These compartments are over the wings and drain or vent directly below, between the hulls.

The cabin top is set up to catch rain. LOTS of open deck space.

A closer view of the foredeck.

I love having mast steps. The lines running up the outside of the steps are to keep the halyards from getting caught in between the steps. This works very well.

The outer hulls, or "floats"

Looking aft in the starboard float. The "lumber yard". The skinny piece of wood in the far end is an 8' 1x2. You can put long stuff in there. It's hard to see and hard to photograph, but in the upper right corner of this picture is a sizable opening into the wing. You can store LOTS of stuff in there, and obviously in the hull itself. It's very important to only store lightweight stuff out there. Keep the heavy stuff in the main hull. I stored paper goods and bags of cereal in the wings.

 

Starboard, looking forward. This is where I keep my kayak paddles, boat hook, broom, etc. And noodles. I store the sails in the port float.

In this lousy picture I'm standing in the hatch opening. It's a great place to work on a project. Standing there, the deck is just about the right height to use as a workbench.

Stepping down into the aft cabin...

Galley, port side...

and starboard. LOTS of counter space for a 31' boat!

This is the Dometic CF-18. I taped on 1/2" insulation that can be easily removed.

The Blue Sky solar charger is tucked in by the Dometic unit.

The settee with new cushions. You can see the mattress folded back into the space aft. Lots of storage all around.

The well-insulated chest has worked out very well. It's located right under the settee table and is very convenient. Those three blue ice blocks rotate to the 12-volt fridge every day. They're still quite frozen 24 hours later. Very happy with the setup

The table slides back and the benches fold out of the way. The mattress easily folds back into the space under the table. This makes a very nice double bed, which I never slept in, and now I never will, because the boat  has been sold. All three mattresses are brand-new 4" foam, 2" of memory foam on top of 2" of standard foam. VERY comfortable!

Convenient storage, each side. I keep all the plates, bowls, and cups in the upper right cupboard.

The rear window lets in lots of light and fresh air.

This was the view out the rear window a few days ago.

This Watertender 9.4 and the Mercury 2.5 HP 4-stroke outboard are included

What's new?

Lots. Within the last two years: Standing rigging, deck and coach roof repairs by a qualified shipwright, entire exterior painted with Awlgrip, bottom job.
Within the past 9 months, entire interior sanded, prepped, painted and varnished (all varnish three coats), VHF radio, fire extinguishers, flares, stove (two burner propane), propane line and regulator, 12 volt fridge, built-in ice chest, stereo (admittedly cheap) with USB and SD ports, 6x9 speakers, mattresses for both singles and the double (VERY comfortable, only one single has been used), foot pumps for head and galley, toilet, all toilet plumbing, Y-valve, pump for pumping overboard, deck fitting for pump out, LED lighting throughout (including wiring and switches), 250 watt solar panel and controller, three batteries, jack lines, main sheet, topping lift. But the Barbara Jean has been sold.

The Barbara Jean has mast steps and a good-sized water catchment system.

In the forward cabin, starting at the bow...

Starting in the head, the panel in the floor comes out to give you more headroom for showering. I use a 1.5 gallon garden sprayer, painted black. Leave it in the sun, it can get TOO hot.

 

     

And with the lid lifted... yes, that's a Grateful Dead

sticker. It was there, and... somehow I couldn't bring myself to remove it.

 

The red handle is on the pump for pumping out your shower water.

Aside the port bunk, looking forward.

Looking aft from the head, you see the dressing area 

and the port bunk beyond that.

  

Across from the sink is a bench with storage (there's also a lot of room in the bilge below), cupboards above, a lockable gun safe (really!), and a chart table/folding table.

 

Here's the table folded down, with lots of storage revealed.

 

I told you it has a gun safe!

 

Both of the forward bunks have fans.

The port bunk, like the starboard bunk, extends under the cockpit bench. Note the storage to the right. It extends a little way into the wing. Great for bedding, safety gear, whatever.

 

The starboard bunk. Both bunks have large opening ports. Lots of light and fresh air.

 

There are two of these bins under each bunk. Roomy and ventilated, they get a lot of use. There are also spaces under the plywood under the mattresses for flat storage of charts, etc.

 

When you go below you can still see forward very well. Especially nice when under way.

The cockpit floor consists of two panels that lift out. The black "box" is the diesel fuel tank, with extra diesel in the red tank. The water fill can be seen at the end of the black diesel tank. The centerboard slot can be seen in the middle.

    

On the port side, two wingnuts come off and the lid over the engine compartment is easily removed. 

The engine as seen from the cockpit...

...and as seen from in front of the galley sink. I'm told that red drive unit, I believe it's called an Aqua-Drive, would cost about $1500 new.

 The Barbara Jean is hard to miss!

 

The  Particulars

Length: 31'

Beam: 19'-6"

Draft: 23", 5'-9" with the board down

Bridge clearance  41'

Displacement: 7000 lbs

Engine: Yanmar 1GM10, single cylinder diesel, 9 horsepower, consumes approximately one quart per hour at 5 knots. Runs perfectly, extremely reliable.

Fuel capacity: Main tank, 12 gallons, plus 2-5 gallon portable  containers. Range under power approximately 440 miles.

Water capacity: Main tank 18 gallons (water from the tank tastes very good), plus 7-5 gallon jugs. Also, 1.5 gallons in the shower bottle (garden pump sprayer painted flat black. Solar heated, works great. Has long hose with spray nozzle.)

Holding tank: 6 gallons.

Dinghy: Watertender 9.4 in excellent condition. Blue hull.

Outboard: 2.5 HP Mercury four stroke. Runs great, new carburetor. Two gallon gas jug.

Sails: One mainsail, 3 headsails of varying sizes, one staysail, and one spinnaker.

Propane: Two 20 lb aluminum horizontal tanks. Tanks like this cost about $350 each. Only used for the stove, each tank should last several months.

Batteries:
House- two 6 volt golf cart type batteries
Engine- one marine deep cycle

Anchors: One 35 lb CQR and one 14 lb Danforth

Generator: 1,000 watt 2-stroke. I've gotten a lot of use out of it and it hasn't let me down yet! Only the best from Harbor Freight. Two gallon gas jug.

Fold-up swim ladder on transom

The mast is tabernacled

Smoke alarms: 2

Fire extinguishers: 2

Foredeck work lights, LED

The boat comes with plenty of miscellaneous stuff. Plates, bowls, utensils, cookware, a toolbox with the basic tools, spare hardware, wood and plywood for projects, epoxy, paint...

The "problems" with the Barbara Jean

I assume people will want to know as much as possible about the boat, especially if they're travelling a long distance to see the boat. Here's what I wrote to the guy who bought it but had to back out due to a family crisis.

Okay, I'm going to try to list a few things that some people might consider to be negatives. For me, however, none of these are negatives at all. That, of course, but you would know, had you been paying attention, is because I've sold the boat.

At the moment the depth sounder is not working.  The previous owner said he had the unit serviced, but I suspect the problem is in the wiring or something. Electronics is definitely not my strength. It hasn't ever worked for me, but I am trying to get a local electronics guy to come take care of it. Hopefully that will happen pretty quick. Update: I'm not going to take care of this issue, because it's likely a relatively simple wiring issue (electronics is definitely not my strong point), but in any case the electronics guy said you can buy a new depth finder setup for about $100.

The  reef points on the replacement mainsail are in different locations than the previous sail, so the reefing lines need to be redone. That should be a pretty simple project. Also there are no lazy jacks. Again, an easy project. 

The galley counter, at the left side of the stove, is showing some swelling of the material under the paint. That is not an area that I really use, so I have pretty much ignored it. I think there was some moisture in there that I did not completely get rid of and that is causing the problem. It certainly is not something that has to be done.

I was thinking about putting better latches on the windows, what is there now are cords that run down the outside and cleat  on the inside. In any case the way it is works fine and I have decided to leave it that way. The cords have the advantage of also being able to hold the windows wide open or partially open.

The rear plexiglas window is not very pretty, but it is plenty clear and it works fine. I wasn't going to do anything about  that even if I was going to keep the boat and cruise.

The windows on the sides of the aft cabin are tiny little stupid ovals, and I wanted to cut them out  and make them bigger, but I had pretty much decided to ignore that as well. They don't leak or anything.

The electrical panels are definitely old school, with standard fuses. They work fine. 

There are no rain leaks of any kind in the aft cabin, but there are two places in the forward cabin where water gets in. I had decided not to do anything about them, because...   some water does come in under the base of the mast. I tried to figure out how it's getting in but I have not been successful. In any case, where are the water ends up, and there is never very much, is really not a problem. Also, the forward window leaks a little bit, but it drips onto the floor in the dressing area and it's something that I would probably get to eventually if I was cruising. It's just not a real problem.

I installed a through hull in the galley to bring in saltwater for use at the sink, but I have never set up a pump or faucet for that.  I have come up with an alternate way to handle this situation and have decided I would probably not put a pump there. There is a holder for a 5-gallon jug above the sink. Here where fresh water is plentiful I keep it filled with fresh water. If I was cruising I would keep it full of saltwater. This would work well because it flows pretty fast and of course there's plenty of salt water, and the foot pump is not that fast and would help conserve fresh water. 

There is a gauge for wind speed, but there is nothing for that at the top of the mast and I doubt the gauge would work anyway. I left it in place because otherwise there would be a big hole I'd have to figure out how to fill.

The sails, in general, are fairly old and probably sort of tired. Regardless, I had no plans to replace them even if I was cruising. They are strong and work fine.

The non-skid texture on the decks tends to be fairly uneven. That said, a couple of people have complimented me on the nice decks! I tend to be pretty fussy about stuff.  I had to repair a couple of places where a boat hit my stanchions and tore them out of the deck. The repairs are very strong, but I did a lousy job repairing the texture in those areas. 

I think the boat is a little bit weak in terms of the ground tackle. Some of the chain is quite rusty, and there should probably be a bit more than there is. I believe Jim Brown recommends about one boat length. I don't know, there may be that on one anchor but not much at all on the other one. One thing I should mention is that if you need to buy stuff for a boat Marathon is an excellent place to be. People  living on their boats here sell chain and parts and stuff for ridiculously low prices. Update: the momentary buyer and I used the anchor with the chain that's rusty, and it's far worse than it was and I would say it's trash. I'll keep my eyes open for some replacement chain.

Aside from a little bit of water coming in at the stuffing box, which is of course normal, I have never had even a trace of a leak in any of the hulls. The stuffing box should probably be repacked.

Also, I don't know if I mentioned it on the blog, but I do not have side panels for the bimini. The previous owner said he left them out, unattached, and they blew away.

And finally, the underwater surfaces, while perfectly strong and reliable, are rather bumpy, for lack of a better word. I wouldn't do anything about it until it's time for a haul out. I would say it just needs to be sanded some and then faired. It looks like someone was scraping off multiple layers of paint and some came off in patches and some didn't. Not a huge deal, but it bugs me.

The "floor" under the fuel tank is too flexible for my liking and it would be good to reinforce it. Not a big job and not at all urgent. I'm just careful where I step when the cockpit floor is open and I'm fiddling with the engine or whatever.

That's all I can think of!