Modifications/Accommodations to

Blue Bayou

Blue Bayou is a 1997 Sea Pearl Trimaran overhauled completely in 2005.  It is a 97 model in fiberglass, motor, anchor, and trailer only, everything else is new.  She was even repainted with Emron blue paint.  She is hull number 9, purpose-built Trimaran numbering, built by Marine Concepts.  Since buying her in February of 2008 we have:

Storage: Added soft pouches to the forward cockpit with emergency items in the port bag and sunscreen/bug/spray oil products in the starboard bag.  You can see the starboard bag below. 

Air: Rotating clip on fan with a 12 cigarette outlet on it ($6.99 at Wally World).  I have added another fan since then for a stereo-wind-effect. 

Clothes drawer: You can barely see it forward under the anchor deck on the port side.  It is a plastic slide drawer thingie, which holds more clothes than we can use/wet in 5 days.  I am working on some way to compartmentalize the upper side shelves so stuff doesn't move back and forth as readily. 

Forward cockpit under deck storage:  Under our Eddie Bauer self-inflating mattresses (2.5 inch models) we use tuppers to hold beer/can goods in the two voids that mono hulls have their water ballast in (we don't need no stinking water ballast on a Tri).  In the center section, covered by sliding hatch boards, we have 3, 16 inch x 10 inch x 5 inch tuppers with lids that hold "nice to have but seldom used items" such as extra gas cylinders for the BBQ, spare parts, converter, 30amp to 15 amp plug, etc., all sealed in ziplocks as well as protected in the tuppers.  There is a ton of storage room on a Tri, and we are figuring it out better and better each time we sail. 

Waterproofing:  We have waterproofed and seam sealed all the canvas, but still have to be careful about having the top tight so rain doesn't pool on the top and start leaking down. 

Water:   One of our best additions was copied from Ted & Sher who use it on their Precision 21 - Sundancer.  It is a 2 gallon bug sprayer that we strap down in an upright position in the aft starboard portion of the forward cockpit (there is a mouthful).  A few pumps and you can shower on the side deck or aft cockpit, rinse off dishes/pans over the side, or fill the tea kettle with the push of a button.  When you are done, release the pressure (we found out you have to do this the hard way) and stick the wand on the flexible hose inside the bungie holding the tank.

Teak:  We do not have too much teak: seat in aft cockpit, small strip on each side deck, anchor deck, and forward cockpit storage strips on both sides, so I only had to strip the seat.  I prefer an oil/sealer stain that I'll put on every month or so for the first year and then semi-annually.  12 beverage job spread over 2 day period initially

Topsides: Blue Bayou was a marina queen and has some fading on her topsides.  Now that I am on summer break I plan on spending a day or more buffing the tops sides chalking off with light rubbing compound followed by 3 or 4 coats of 3M Marine wax.  The hulls are Emron with that ugly black anti-fouling stuff and I have waxed the painted parts twice so far.  I do plan on getting to the hard to reach places - behind leeboards/leeboards/hull to deck joint - with wax.  I'll also lay another bead of 5200 on the inside portions of the hull to deck joint that I can get to.

We are still undecided about how/if we will continue using the dense foam, plasticized covered, flooring.  It is like a $300 option but hurts your knees when you kneel on it for any length of time.  It keeps the center channel panels from getting scratched but impedes access to everything below, yes it folds but when you have stuff on top of it folding makes no difference, and makes it a pain to pull the port-a-pottie out from the bridge deck (I can't sleep with the pottie above my head - I have dreams about blue hair).  My other pet peeve is getting ready for bed.  I have to lift my massive 5 day cooler out onto the anchor deck so we have room to sleep.  I may try and glass in a cooler compartment in the aft cockpit - so it is sealed off on deck from the liner I am cutting into - that lifts in and out easily with a drain into the bilge or an automatic bilge pump that drains out in the stern.

Trailer Modifications:

The 1997 Continental Trailer, with tilt, that came with Blue Bayou has seen better days.  It was used by the PO to launch Blue Bayou in the spring and take her out in the fall.  You would think that with only two, that we know of, trips to Florida and a few local pulls in New York it would be in better shape.  Since getting the boat I have put a lot of time and effort into the trailer and feel fairly safe towing at 60 mph now.  At times I really miss my overbuilt Potter trailer with 14 inch tires, beefy leaf springs, and excellent balance.  I could, and once or twice when we have been running late somewhere (5 hours to the BEER Cruise was the height of my fast towing days) done 75 - 80 with the Potter on the back of my Quad Cab Dodge Ram 1500 with a hemi.

Bearings and Seals: I called Continental Trailers up and they gave me the part number/specifications for the hubs right away.  I got a set of complete hubs - including lug nuts - from Tractor Supply for a little less than $100 and installed them.  I reused the old Bearing Buddies since I don't see anything that can go wrong with them as long as they fit tightly in the hub.  6 beverage job

Tires: The PO had a set of dry-rotted (not his fault, he had been ill for quite some time - nearly 2 years -  and had not even looked at the boat) tires that were underrated for a Tri.  I was going to go with a set of 13" tires and rims for more height, load, and speed but after reading what I could find about the modification went with a set of 12" tires and rims rated for 1150 pounds each instead.  Once again Tractor Supply had the best prices out there.  I used the best of the old tires/rims as a spare and mounted it on the tongue of the trailer just underneath the bow to try and get some more weight up forward.  3 beverage job

Bunk Slides:  The first launch of Blue Bayou nearly ruptured me.  It took two of us straining on the bow to get the boat to grudgingly slide off the trailer.  It had sat so long it was stuck to the carpet, but cranking it back on wasn't any easier.  I vacillated between starboard strips and straight bunk slides.  I decided to go with bunk slides - name of product - from Boater's World since they came with stainless steel screws and tapered screw holes.  We launched at Lake Manatee and while Becky and Brenda Bell were sailing I screwed the bunk slides onto the bunks in a staggered pattern except side by sides at the foot of the trailer where the trailer starts to drag on.  2 beverage job  NOTE: They work too well at times.  I make sure not to disconnect the winch strap until I am ready to launch since I think, under the right circumstances, the boat could launch onto the ramp above the water.  The first time we launched with the slides was at Cedar Key.  Becky had the aft line and Joyce (Joy Sea, Sea Pearl 28) had the forward line.  I lifted up on the tilt and Blue Bayou slid off with a splash and nearly pulled both of the ladies into the water.

Winch Post:  I had been playing with winch positions as well as winch post positions in an attempt to eliminate tail wag and rubbing the winch strap.  The winch post had been welded on the aft U-bolts, poorly, but I had never had any problems with a winch post so wasn't in a hurry to do anything.  I had moved the winch post as far forward as I could - moving the boat a foot or so further forward on the trailer - and reduced the tail wag and semi-drift to manageable proportions.  We recovered at Lake Harris on Memorial Day and about 2 feet before the bow nestled into the stopper the ubolt bolts and winch post went Kabamm!  Becky had a nylock nut hit her in the top of the head and I heard parts landing in the weeds 20 feet away.  We were lucky neither one of us were hit dead square in the head.  We would have suffered serious injury.  I jury-rigged the post by turning it backwards to use the aft - now forward - brackets to hold it down and used a come-along to pull the boat up far enough to get it home.  Upon the recommendation of one of my fellow WCTSS members I went to T.A. Mahoney's in Tampa and found a new 3,000 pound winch post for $30.  I almost bought a 2 speed winch but realized it wouldn't fit on the existing winch deck.  The post was 30" tall instead of 24" like the old one so I got a little higher up and eliminated the rubbing of the strap too.  3 beverage job

Tiller Extension:  I am too cheap to pay $100 for the extension I really want so I bought a stainless steel 3 way swivel doo-ja-ma-flob on Ebay and put the shaft off my 5 iron - which I conveniently broke two days before at the Driving Range - on.  I used SS screws and wing nuts to fix it on so I can take it off when needed. I put it back nearly a foot so the 3 foot of extension really amounts to 2 feet past the tiller.  That should be more than enough to sit on the bridge deck and steer.  I really made a mistake buying graphite shafts for my irons.  I've broken 4 of them so far.  Next time it's stiff flex steel for my irons.

Total cost = $12

Future Modifications:  I will be replacing the springs in a year or so.  I plan to double them by adding an inverted leaf.  the boat will be an inch or so higher but the springs will actually work as springs, unlike what they do now.  I am also bidding, periodically since I keep getting outbid at the last second, on a new hitch.  The old one does not always open enough to disengage the ball resulting in more cranking and cursing on my part.

Sails:   Blue Bayou's sails were new in 05.  The vertical battens take a lot of the dummy out of sailing her, but I still find a way to go slow.  The best advice I have gotten so far is keep the main boom out of the cockpit and only pull the mizzen boom in when tacking.  The sails were pulled off the mast and stowed in the boat for two years and need to be cleaned, but they work fine for now.  My wife and I spent a dozen hours with Mr. Clean Sponges and a Starbrite product cleaning them up.  They still need to be looked at by a professional, but we aren't embarrassed by them anymore.  12 beverage job