Uniflite "Coastal Cruisers"

Like Tollycraft, Uniflite produced a 37' "Coastal Cruiser" as well as a 44' version (I hadn't seen one before, but one just appeared on yachtworld).

Here's a link to a 37' for $20K in South Carolina that looks pretty rough:
1979 Uniflite Coastal Cruiser Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

And here's a 44' for $61K on Vancouver Island:
1980 Uniflite Cruiser Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

These are good GRP boats , that are cheap to keep.

Most have gas engines that can be repaired , or replaced for 1/5 the cost of sticking in a diesel. Slow, cheap speeds wont ruin a gas engine.

Had to join the forum to chime in on this one!

The broker who has that Coastal Cruiser listed in BC is doing his client a disservice by listing it as a 44. Refugio, no offense my friend, but Uniflite didn't build a 44. That listing is a 37, with the optional bowsprit. Its length overall is probably close to 44 feet, including the bow pulpit and the swimstep, but it's still a 37.

And, FF, you're right, Uniflites are tough GRP boats, and many of them had gasoline engines, but this CC37 is unique. It's the only Uniflite that was designed as a displacement hull, and the boat was designed around the then-new Volvo TMD 40 (twin) and 60 (single) diesels. As far as I know, just one CC37 was built in Bellingham with gas engines - it's a 1980 and is somewhere in Portland.

My wife and I own a 1981 CC37, with twin Perkins 6-354NA's. It was ordered from Uniflite with the non-standard engines, and we were lucky to find it. The Perkins engines are more reliable than those first-generation Volvo turbodiesels. Ours doesn't have the bow pulpit, and it measures about 42ft overall, including the dinghy overhang. We've cruised it for a couple of years now, and are happy to report that the previous owner's log entries were correct - we're burning about 3 gph at 8 knots.

Uniflite built less than 50 of these boats on both coasts - they had a second plant in Swansboro, NC at the time. Our research suggests that 17 were built in NC, and 32 were built in Bellingham, between 1979 and 1983. We've owned our '81 for about 2 years.

Gnorts,
That 37 pictured in post #1 is about as far from a displacement hull as one can get.

Gnorts said:

Uniflite built less than 50 of these boats on both coasts - they had a second plant in Swansboro, NC at the time.

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Is THAT what that big empty building south of Swansboro is? The one with the docks on the waterway?

Tom-

GonzoF1 said:

Is THAT what that big empty building south of Swansboro is? The one with the docks on the waterway?

Tom-

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Yes, it is near Browns Inlet just before going through Camp Lejeune. I think that Tiara used the facility for a while after Uniflite closed.

the volvo power will hold this one back, to expensive to repair.

manyboats said:

Gnorts,
That 37 pictured in post #1 is about as far from a displacement hull as one can get.

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You are right, Eric. The only difference I see of Uniflite's standard planing hulls are an abreviated keel and a shallower fore foot. Most of their hulls I have seen had a very deep fine fore foot. This looks a little like a Hatteras planing hull of that period.

Gnorts said:

Refugio, no offense my friend, but Uniflite didn't build a 44. That listing is a 37, with the optional bowsprit...

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Well I said I hadn't seen a 44 before and I guess I still haven't! (Smile) Thanks for the update.

manyboats said:

Gnorts,
That 37 pictured in post #1 is about as far from a displacement hull as one can get.

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Just because it's got a hard chine doesn't mean it's a planing hull. I imagine you could get it to plane if you shoved enough horsepower in the basement, but that doesn't make it a planing hull. It was extensively tank-tested at UBC prior to construction. It was the most highly engineered hull Uniflite ever built, and it's a displacement hull, take my word for it. And a very competent one, too. It bears some resemblance to Jack Hargrave's Hatteras underbodies, which are pretty inefficient as planing hulls, just like so many of Ed Monk Sr's early Tolly hulls. By the way, the deep forefoot on the Uniflite hulls - including this one - give them good manners in rough seas. Most of the Uniflite planing hulls will run well at displacement speeds, but not as efficiently as the Coastal Cruiser.

I worked in the engineering dept when the "Coastal Cruisers" were conceived by Keith Walton .. the NA at the time. It was an effort then to create a more fuel efficient boat following the fuel crisis of 1973.

When I left Uniflite there were only preliminary dwgs of the concept boat and it looked pretty much like any other Uniflite. Seems to me the most significant element of fuel efficiency was in the propulsion and I have a faint memory that says the engines were much smaller Volvo gas engines. Seems to me the preliminary boat was smaller too. There could have been an effort to reduce the boat's hull weight but Uniflite had a reputation as a stout boat and management would have been extremely reluctant to embrace a significantly lighter boat.

Whatever .... the hull has a large flat planing surface aft and I'm quite sure it would plane readily w less power than earlier Uniflites. This boat isn't even a semi-disp boat. It's a planing hull.

So, you're insisting that it's a planing hull because it has flat sections aft? Do you define a displacement hull as having a round underbody like your Willard? (nice boat, by the way) Part of the function of the flat sections aft on the CC37 is to keep the boat level at hull speed. The aft three feet of those flat sections actually turns down very slightly. It exhibits almost no stern squat at hull speed, unlike so many round-bilged displacement hulls.

And you're right, it's not a light boat. I don't think Uniflite knew how to build a light boat. At 22,000 pounds, with only 240 total HP, this one couldn't plane if it had to. A previous owner hung trimtabs on it, and they do absolutely nothing. Eight knots is all there is!

Gnorts said:

So, you're insisting that it's a planing hull because it has flat sections aft? Do you define a displacement hull as having a round underbody like your Willard? (nice boat, by the way) Part of the function of the flat sections aft on the CC37 is to keep the boat level at hull speed. The aft three feet of those flat sections actually turns down very slightly. It exhibits almost no stern squat at hull speed, unlike so many round-bilged displacement hulls.

And you're right, it's not a light boat. I don't think Uniflite knew how to build a light boat. At 22,000 pounds, with only 240 total HP, this one couldn't plane if it had to. A previous owner hung trimtabs on it, and they do absolutely nothing. Eight knots is all there is!

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I've never worked at Uniflite, and am not a NA, but everything I've read is that the flat aft sections pretty much define a planing hull boat, thats at least how it was explaned in Voyaging Under Power

Kevin, you're right, flat sections aft do define a planing hull. It doesn't necessarily follow, however, that because planing hulls have flat sections aft, that all boats with flat sections aft are planing hulls.

My point is that a boat designed for efficient use at displacement hull speed can still have flat sections aft, and hard chines. Those features can increase load-carrying capacity, resist rolling and add stability, and improve buoyancy aft.

In the case of this Uniflite, it was indeed designed by a builder who had lots of experience with planing hulls, but it really is very different from anything else they built. Freeboard forward, for example, is almost twice that of the Uniflite 36. The entry is much finer, with more flare forward. I agree that it "looks like a Uniflite" - it was meant to, of course - but it's a unique Uniflite.

Actually hard chines have almost nothing to do w disp hulls. A planing hull does better w hard chines but thousands of lobster boats are planing hulls and most all have very soft chines. And there are many many hard chine sailboats including heavy cruising sailboats. Most steel sailboats are hard chine.

Didn't know about the hooked stern on the CC .... that in itself would qualify it as not a disp hull. The closest way of defining a disp hull is by the angle of the greater part of the bottom aft as it goes from amidship (or slightly aft) to the transom. There is a number whereas boats w a lower angle are planing types and boats w a steeper angled bottom are displacement types. Don't know/remember the number (in degrees) but it was talked about on BoatDesign.net. If you are familiar w this site or if you go there search "Quarter Beam Buttock Line" (QBBL). It comes up in a discussion about planing v/s disp hulls.

Marin Faure has a 36 GB w 240hp but I think it's heavier than your Uniflite. May be interesting to compare. And then maybe the disp is so different it wouldn't lead us anywhere.

My Uniflite is a 36' Sport Sedan, but the LOA is 40'. I was told years ago boats were measured by their waterlines but changed to LOA so builders could charge more $$ for the same product!! By the way, I regrettably have decided to sell her. Listed on craigslist for $6000. Jolly Time

Listed on craigslist for $6000. Jolly Time __________________

For the folks with a desire to run the ICW or do the loop here is a GREAT boat to do it.

The reason its a great boat is the round trip could be close to ZERO.

Buy it for x$ , use it for a couple of years , maintain it in nice condition , and it should sell for a similar amount as you paid for it.


The perfect round trip!!!

No any gas or fuel wont be paid for and any new electric garbage wont be paid for either , as it will be years out of date when you sell.

Hand held GPS , hand held VHF , about all you need to "invest".

I just updated the posting and added some pics. Look under Memphis,Tn or North Miss - Boats. Maybe when I retire in twenty years I can do the loop!! Needs very little to be ready to cruise! Jolly Time

Post #1, first photo and link to Yachtworld shows a twin engine, planing or semi-planing hull. The Yachtworld specs say it's a single engine. What boat are we talking about here?

They are both twins Larry. Look at the last pic on the one on Vancouver and notice the keel. Not shaped for a prop shaft exit and I'm quite sure I see an outbd shaft. Also in another pic there is two "pieces" of machinery that have that Volvo Green. Those guys process so many boats I'm surprised they get it right as often as they do.

Interesting topic. I believe that Murray Chris Craft was the prime manufacturer at Swansboro during that period and the 1980 through 1989 Catalina family and others shared the same mold with Uniflight.

Cyclone said:

Interesting topic. I believe that Murray Chris Craft was the prime manufacturer at Swansboro during that period and the 1980 through 1989 Catalina family and others shared the same mold with Uniflight.

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It was built and operated by Uniflite until they went out of business. Chris-Craft bought some of the assets of Uniflite including some molds. Uniflite had bought some of the Pace Maker molds, and built some larger cruisers from those.

In 1973 I bought a new Uniflite that was produced at the plant. I was there many times, and knew many of the staff there.