Mariner Seville 37 Pilothouse

My name is Matt and I just purchased a new (to me) boat. I have heard there are not many of these made and was wondering if there are any other owners on this list that might be able to help me with a few questions?

Welcome to the forum! Congratulations on the new boat. I'm sure some of the Helmsman trawler owners will chime in.

Ted

questions

trinityloop said:

My name is Matt and I just purchased a new (to me) boat. I have heard there are not many of these made and was wondering if there are any other owners on this list that might be able to help me with a few questions?

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We just completed a new build and willing to try and answer your questions. Email us at N4061@yahoo.com

John

I have hull #7, bought from PO in August 2015. What are your questions?

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

Thank you all. I noticed a "dividing board" in the bow anchor locker...does anyone know what this is for? Also, can this boat handle an all chain rode or will it be too much weight in the bow? And finally, the salon exterior window gasket (that covers the screws) is missing. I have located it from a Manship distributor, $400 for 100' and approx. 2-3 month wait. Has anyone replaced this with anything from any other source?
Matt

We have hull 16. Have lived aboard since new 2009. The dividing board is so that you can store two anchors and two rodes. We have 150' chain and 200 feet rode on the port side and 120 feet chain and 250 feet of rode on the starboard side. WE hav [e had the black strip come loose in a few sections, but it always pops back in. Contact Helmsman directly and I am sure they can source the rubber filler strip.

Seville/Helmsman

So is your boat equipped with twin anchor rollers? Also, how do I find out what my hull number is?

On the starboard side of the transom just below the rub rail you will find a 12 digit number. That is the hull ID. Characters 7&8 are the hull number. Our boat is not equipped with two rollers. Our primary anchor rode is on the port side of the locker divider, on the starboard side is the anchor rode and chain for the second anchor and lies on top of it.

Long distance cruising on a Seville/Helmsman

Thanks for the information! I read your biography and was wondering if you know if the boat is capable of long range cruising safely? Not crossing oceans, but running down the Caribbean Island chain or circumnavigating North America? I'm trying to get an understanding of the boats capabilities/limitations.

You offer a great question! I am familiar with your boat and have operated similar vessels, and operated different vessels on those waters. The vessel is certainly capable of the mission you propose, as long as her material condition is sound.

Since the boat will likely need a crew, I will offer that only a small number of recreational boaters would be prepared for such a trip without significant preparation. Of course a "coastal cruiser" has some limitations in open waters, so the go/no go decision, the risk management, is crucial. There are a significant number of considerations when leaving the contiguous 48/Canada. For example and in no particular order:

- judgement and experience
- weather forecasting
- mechanical casualties (engine/steering)
- medical emergencies
- onboard emergencies (fire/flooding)
- communications
- survival gear
- redundant navigation equipment
- ashore support

This is not at all an insurmountable trip, as long as one respects the risks.

Best Wishes,

Jeff

trinityloop said:

Thank you all. I noticed a "dividing board" in the bow anchor locker...does anyone know what this is for? Also, can this boat handle an all chain rode or will it be too much weight in the bow? And finally, the salon exterior window gasket (that covers the screws) is missing. I have located it from a Manship distributor, $400 for 100' and approx. 2-3 month wait. Has anyone replaced this with anything from any other source?
Matt

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I have 200 ft of 1/4" high test chain and with water and fuel tanks full boat still sits a bit bow high. I could actually carry more chain. But don't really need. Next haulout I'm going to have waterline adjusted to how boat actually rides. I don't have a divided chain locker. I had some deteriorated rubber trim on mine and I spoke with Scott Helker (owns Helmsman/Mariner line), and he gave me some of that material. Scott is a really good guy. Give him a call.

trinityloop said:

Thanks for the information! I read your biography and was wondering if you know if the boat is capable of long range cruising safely? Not crossing oceans, but running down the Caribbean Island chain or circumnavigating North America? I'm trying to get an understanding of the boats capabilities/limitations.

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Our sisters ship (hull Nr 2) has been to Alaska many times.

We bought our boat for coastal cruising. The longest we ever planned to be on the ocean was 250nm from Cape May to Cape Cod . So far, in 8 years, our longest run in the ocean has been 60nm. In theory, carrying 400 gallons of fuel @ 6.8kt you should not plan more than 800 nm between fuel stops leaving 25% reserve. As others have said, there are a host of factors beyond the boat itself which must be considered. The boat probably is not the limiting factor. I would be confident taking our boat down the Thorny Path, if we had adequate weather windows. The longest run is only about 100+/- miles. She does not have the fuel capacity for the Northwest Passage. The boat was designed for coastal cruising in temperate climates. If you really want to do high latitude cruising, this is probably not the best choice of boat.

Oops! My mistake, I meant to say the "Big U" portion, AK to NY. I heard of a few 34 American tugs that did this and wondered if any Mariner/Helmsman had also done it?

Tadhana,

I imagine that you must have some hours/experience accumulated with your boat...maybe the most of any Helmsman/Mariner owner?

How many hours do you have on the boat?

What are you favorite three things about it?

What three things would you improve on?

Thanks in advance.

Jeff

Jeff, thanks for the questions.
I imagine that you must have some hours/experience accumulated with your boat...maybe the most of any Helmsman/Mariner owner? We have lived aboard since new. As of today that is 7yr 10mo. of continual use.

How many hours do you have on the boat? Engine hours 2800.1

What are you favorite three things about it? 1)The layout. large open salon. The separate head and nice shower: we only use marina showers when we are on the hard. Very good access to machinery components for servicing. Excellent visibility and excellent ventilation in the pilot house. We drive from the pilothouse all the time. The bridge deck area is great for entertaining. Salon table converts to a double. This allows room for our very infrequent guests, without wasting space of a normally unoccupied and unused second stateroom .
2) This will probably jinx me, reliability of all the systems. AC/Heat used for 8 summers and winters. no problems (Fwd AAC was taken out by a lightning strike in yr 4 and replaced) . Two heads in daily use. Never been rebuilt.
3) Sea keeping. My dad was a New England lobster boat builder,I designed and built boats for him. Spent my entire career in the boat building industry and have run all sorts and sizes of boats for god knows how many thousands of hours. So I realize that all boats are a compromise. But when I saw this hull I thought it would be a good compromise, and it has proven to be so. 3 times we have been caught in heavy squalls with exceedingly short steep seas and have driven the bow through waves, taken solid water onto the windshield (the mouth of the Potomac will do that to you), but never lost confidence in the boat.

What three things would you improve on?
1) Move the water tanks forward. with full tanks the stern drops over 4 inches and the bow rises about 2 inches.
2) Helm Station layout. With the fwd cabin entrance offset to starboard, it makes the helm console area very small and a challenge to fit electronics .
3 rudder location and design. Scott has already made one improvement by moving the rudder and prop back about 2 feet. Some of the original boats were built as a 35' express style. If you bought the 37 the rudder and prop are in the same place as the 35. the boat "hunts" a bit. But that being said, she does maneuver very well.

Thanks in advance.

Jeff[/QUOTE]

Great questions... GREAT answers! Thanks

Welcome aboard

This change helped dramatically.

"3 rudder location and design. Scott has already made one improvement by moving the rudder and prop back about 2 feet"

Thanks for all the answers and kindness!

Seville/Mariner

Tadhana,

In your answer to Jeff you mentioned taking green water to your windshield, in the Potomac. I was wondering if the bow popped right back out or did it struggle a little to surface? Also, without a Portuguese bridge or sealing pilothouse doors, did any water get into the pilothouse?

Sorry for the late post. I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread or not.

Thanks,
Matt

boat popped right up, most of the water was shed off the sides. We dove through a wave but the next one lifted the bow. We lifted so high, that as we fell down on the other side, the engine room hatch opened a bit and slammed shut. that is when you know it is time to close the doors, when the engine hatch starts lifting! The first time, one door was open and we took water into the pilot house. After that we have learned to keep the doors closed under those types of conditions. In the other rough days we have taken lots of spray and even some solid water, but even when the water gets wild, we have never had water come in through a closed door. We did do some extra gasketing to reduce air flow and heat loss because we live aboard in winter. That no doubt helped seal the doors.

Tadhana,

Exactly the information I was looking for! I did notice the doors appear to be poorly sealed on my boat as well. Was there anything, in particular, you did to seal them?

Matt, it might be easier to send pictures and other files via standard email. sailhale@gmail.com
If I remember, that boat has the fiberglass sliding doors. Ours are aluminum. the fiberglass ones were kind of loose. I used standard weather strip products of various widths and thicknesses. Have modified and adjusted the seals over the 5 years we lived aboard in the Chesapeake. Am less concerned about it now that we winter in FL.

Hello ALL! Own a Mariner 37 Pilothouse Hull # 19 MISS PEACHES

Just wanted to check in and say hi to all. We bought our boat new (2010) from Ed Massey Yachts in Palmetto, Florida. We then took it down to Ft. Myers and through the Okeechobee Waterway. We headed up the inter coastal to Jacksonville where we joined the St. John's River. Then down the St.John's to Astor, Florida where she is docked. 7 days and about 650 miles. She gave us no problems.

Again, nice to know there is a Mariner/Helmsman forum!

Capt. John Winner

Hi John. We will keep an eye out for your boat as we head down the St. Johns from Sanford where we spent the winter. We are leaving Sanford Wed or Thurs northbound forour summer in VT and Cape Cod.

Hi Tadhana,

I am afraid you won't see my boat as it is docked behind a friend of mine house on one of many canals. I am docked down a canal about 1/2 mile on the left past the Astor bridge. The water being so low I am a little afraid to take her out right now. When we take her out we go to Silver Glen Springs. With the river so low I am sure we couldn't get in there right now. You know the boat draws 4 ft. and when the river is up you really must know how to get in there as we slide on eel grass for about 25 yards!. Have a great trip up to Cape Cod! Wish we met up sooner, maybe next year?

Hi John,
Nice to hear from another Seville/Helmsman owner! Glad your trip went smoothly!

Tadhana,
We will be in Annapolis April 10-15 doing some work on our boat. If by chance you are passing through then, let us know and maybe we can get together?

Matt

Hey Trinityloop,

Yes, I am glad that they have this forum for Helmsman/Mariner boats. Glad to meet you. Someday maybe have a "eyeball" meeting? For now take care!