Looking at buying a 94 44 Mk2

[Michael Wilson]

Any insight or comments? Will be my first Cat.

[Vince Pastore]

What is the boat name?

On Monday, August 28, 2017, Michael Wilson <wocw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Any insight or comments? Will be my first Cat.

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[G P]

Michael,

I owned Obelix for 15 years, a SF 44. I sold her when it came down to my wife or my boat. Still not

sure I made the right choice.

Some 44's had a two part rudder system. That is, the rudder post was made in two parts. Some of these

failed. I would look into that on a boat this old.

I would look at the condition of the engines. Probably pushing 10K hours or so. They can be rebuilt.

Look at the condition of the rigging. The standing rigging can develop failures near the top.

Plan on putting some significant money into renovation before you put yourself or your loved ones

on this boat.

Pete

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From: saintf...@googlegroups.com <saintf...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael Wilson <wocw...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2017 3:20 PM
To: Saint Francis Owners Group
Subject: [Saint Francis OG] Looking at buying a 94 44 Mk2

 

Any insight or comments? Will be my first Cat.

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[Bill Duning]

Michael,

We currently own Tribe, a 2002 SF 44 MKII (hull #35). We have owned her 8 years and lived (family of four) and cruised on her for about 5 of those. They are great boats and definitely built for blue water. Several have circumnavigated.  

I agree with the items Greg pointed out. Another area to consider (inspect) are the sail tracks. We recently replaced those on Tribe. When SF built (layed up) the decks they glassed in a half round tube and the nuts for the sail track fasteners. Anyway, these are a point of corrosion that can normally go un-detected for some time. You really need to remove a few fasteners and inspect. If they are difficult to remove, there is most likely corrosion (weakness).  

Similarly, I would suggest doing the same for the chain plates - remove and inspect a couple fasteners. 

As I mentioned above, we have owned Tribe for 8 years. We currently have Tribe for sale and she is located near Jacksonville, FL but if there are other specific questions you have about SF 44s or if you would like to discuss anything please let me know. 

Cheers, Bill

 

   

On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 4:36 AM, G P <cap...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Michael,

I owned Obelix for 15 years, a SF 44. I sold her when it came down to my wife or my boat. Still not

sure I made the right choice.

Some 44's had a two part rudder system. That is, the rudder post was made in two parts. Some of these

failed. I would look into that on a boat this old.

I would look at the condition of the engines. Probably pushing 10K hours or so. They can be rebuilt.

Look at the condition of the rigging. The standing rigging can develop failures near the top.

Plan on putting some significant money into renovation before you put yourself or your loved ones

on this boat.

Pete

---

From: saintf...@googlegroups.com <saintf...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael Wilson <wocw...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2017 3:20 PM
To: Saint Francis Owners Group
Subject: [Saint Francis OG] Looking at buying a 94 44 Mk2

 

Any insight or comments? Will be my first Cat.

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Cheers, Bill

...each day is a gift and not a given right

s/v Tribe
http://watertracks.wordpress.com/

[David Reeves]

Michael,

I have owned ZING, a '93 mk I since 2004.  To make a long story short these are great, very strong boats and in the right conditions are capable of exceptional performance. 

I'd like to add another vote to replacing the standing rigging wire.  After more than 15 years this is no longer optional and most insurance policies will require it.

Also another vote for inspecting rudder posts.  I found that previous damage and repair failed in the Bahamas.  Fortunately you can sail with only one rudder but removing the old one can be difficult in the water.

If the boat you buy has a vang; remove it.  The support that holds up the boom is fine.  I broke my boom in half in a thunderstorm, even though the wire vang was loose, when I let the main sheet run.  The boom went up and the vang snapped the boom off.  I had never used the vang before that.  Now I have preventers going to padeyes on the rail.

Sail drives can be a huge problem.  I replaced both soon after I bought ZING and then later removed and replaced with shafts.  That's a big job but dramatically improves reliability, speed, and confidence.  Of course we also pick up a lot less crab pots.  I can now easily replace a transmission without hauling out if needed.  Definitely inspect boots and saildrive oil for water leaks.  Fixed props are a huge drag.  I guess average about 2 knots.  Folding props, especially with sail drive rubber bushings wear out and are expensive to replace the hub.  An added benefit to the shaft are that there are no rubber bushings in the props.

The last issue I want to mention is steering pulley bearings.  These are standard and available most anywhere at commodity prices.  Get the best American bearings available.  The cheap chinese bearings corrode and fail easily.  These are inexpensive and easy to replace at the dock but is a huge problem when they fail underway.  It's easy to reassemble backwards so make a drawing before you take it apart.  The same advice goes for anchor windlass and roller furling bearings.

Best of luck.

Dave

[G P]

Michael,

I agree with the comments of others.

The SD-20 saildrives, while not a weak point, are precisely matched to the engines. There is no overdesign

at max throttle. The saildrive JUST handles the engines output. Most people get in trouble when changing

props. You can't just slap any old prop you like on the saildrive. It is easy to overprop an SD-20, in which

case it will become very warm and start making whining noises. Not good. Prop specs are in the SD-20

service manual, as I remember. I had props precisely cut at Frank & Jimmy's prop shop in Lauderdale,

and had no more problems.

I tried folding props before the fixed. They were Bronze, quite expensive, and lasted for two seasons. I

did not replace them, electing to live with the drag of fixed props.

The steering pulley bearings should be looked at. They are under the aft lazarette. A little bit of contortion

to get too. They are stainless steel on aluminum construction. This combination, in a marine environment,

is problematic. Aluminum turns to something resembling drywall through corrosion. Failure of the

turning pulleys could render the helm useless. This is fixable, so long as you check for problems.

This same concern applies to the anchor windlass. Mine windlass was torn loose completely raising the

anchor in Georgetown. I replaced the factory Lewmar with a Tigress, paying careful attention to Stainless

on Aluminum and had no more problems.

You might have a blister problem if the boat has been in the water for much of it's life. These can be

sanded out and filled by a boatyard.

Look at the Nav instruments. They may rightly be considered to be antiques unless they have been

upgraded. Nav has improved dramatically since your boat was built.

You may be looking at a new trampoline. I had to replace mine shortly after buying Obelix.

If you need to replace galley appliances, be aware that mine were European standard sizes, not

American. European is available, but needs to be ordered specially. You won't walk into Boat Owners

Warehouse and find a dimension correct replacement model.

Look carefully at the fuel tanks. At the least they should be carefully cleaned. Check for signs of corrosion

that could result in a fuel leak. My fuel lines had also hardened significantly, and I ran new lines from the

tank to preclude a fuel leak.

Check the sails for wear. They may have already been replaced, otherwise it will be up to you.

Check the fiberglass gelcoat. Mine had turned to powder before I had the boat painted with Awlgrip.

Check the safety lines for corrosion, and replace if necessary.

These boats are very strong and well built. However, the marine environment is harsh, and everything

has a useful service life.

Hope my additional thoughts help,

Good Luck,

Pete

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From: saintf...@googlegroups.com <saintf...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of David Reeves <davidr...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2017 10:35 AM
To: saintf...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Saint Francis OG] Looking at buying a 94 44 Mk2

 

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