Tramp FAQs

www.VikingJackets.com

If you have any questions and/or material to contribute please drop a line to Scott McCulley.  

Is docking always an adventure?

The safest and easiest way to dock an F-boat is backwards. Start out a good distance from the dock, as the boat will skitter all over as she goes from forward to reverse. This is the main problem while docking; putting the motor in reverse causes a loss of steering control as the motor is some distance from the centerline and tends to torque the boat around a lot. Leave some extra room to allow for skittering about so you have room left to line up to the wharf or terribly narrow channel. Go slowly and hold the tiller firmly so that the rudder isn't forced back. It may take a couple times to get used to steering backwards but after you do you will find that steering control at low speeds is increased. You should be able to parallel park with just a few feet at each end. If landing with the dock to starboard the motor is on the outside and once the stern gets near the dock a good forward thrust with the motor will torque the bow right up to the dock. The boat seems to pivot around the centerboard more when in reverse and the bow will tend to swing in toward the dock much more than the stern does when moving forward. To land the boat with the motor on the dockside use less forward thrust to stop the boat and keep the rudder turned hard to port. The rudder catches some of the prop wash when turned to port and will push the bow to the dock almost as well as the motor does when on the outside. The prop walk effect is also in your favor when landing with the dock to port. The outboard also sucks it's own exhaust gasses into the prop when in reverse which causes a large loss in the thrust available to stop or reverse the boat in an emergency. If you or another boater makes a mistake while you are going backward it is easy to put the boat in forward and stop the boat quickly. More thrust forward and some left rudder to counter the right turn caused by the offset motor puts the rudder in the prop wash and will keep the boat straight even if you have not reached steerageway speed. Once steerageway speed has been reached go back out in the open water, get her moving backwards and try again. Do not attempt going from forward to reverse in tight quarters if you can help it. If you have miles of canal before getting to the dock this may not be practical, but I hope you will find it useful for other docking situations. I never bothered to make my F-27 motor steerable as this solved most tight quarter situations. -- Don Eskelund - F-9A UNBRIDLED, 14 Mar 2001

What size outboard do I need?

I always found a 4 HP plenty for my Super Tramp. An 8 HP starts to get very heavy for just a Tramp. I would not use anymore than a 6 HP and then choose a very light one. -- Ian Farrier, 15 Jan 2001

There seems to be a fair bit of intertest in leaking centerboards on Tramps. Any solutions ???

Leaks were always a common problem with the Tramp, and there can be several causes:

• Boat overweight - the Tramp was always heavier than it should have been, and when heavily loaded water will tend to overflow in through cockpit drains. Only real fix is to take weight off, or figure out a way to install one way valves to these drains.
• The Tramp also tended to have annoying, hard to find leaks into hull, below cockpit floor, and possible culprits include:
• A leaky centerboard case to hull join seam - fix by reglassing along keel on outside, or inside if you can reach it. Look closely at this area under the boat and you may see a join seam crack running fore and aft each side of case about 1" outwards from centerboard slot. This is what you would have to glass over (use a 2" tape along keel area).
• A leaky centerboard pivot point - this is actually a molding, and trailering could cause the centerboard to hammer up and down to where glass in pivot point area of case could be broken down and start to leak. Cure is to cut inspection hatches into cockpit floor each side of control box and reglass over pivot point. Not a common leak but I have had reports of it. Pivot point location is shown in Centerboard Details drawing in the Tramp Manual.
• A leaky join seam between underside of cockpit floor and top of centerboard case, around cutout for control lines where they enter case. Remove centerboard control box, and you may see a cracked seam around the edges of the rectangular cutout through this join seam. This will allow water to leak into bilge, particularly at high speeds where there can be considerable pressure in this area. Any crack should be dug out as much as possible and sealed with a good polyurethane such as 3M5200.
• A leaky centerboard control box - this will always happen at high speeds, where considerable pressure builds up inside case, causing an 'overflow'. A common problem with centerboard cases, and hard to fix, as the pressure will find its way through most baffle systems. Only real cure is to raise box, by gluing/glassing vertical sides on box around forward end to retain water until speed drops allowing water to drain back into case. I have seen the water climb vertically over 12" at very high speeds, so even this may not be a full cure. A good internal baffle system will help, by cutting flow down, and there should be one baffle inside box that lines pass through to cut down water flow. This can be either a horizontal fiberglass plate, or a rubber diaphram. External c/b slot covers along keel may also help reduce internal pressure but these can be troublesome on a large boat, Low tech quick cure, and quite effective, is to stuff a rag into the leaky area.
• Leaky cockpit drains - being close to the water, they are frequently under water, and water can leak into bilge through cockpit side to hull side join. Cure is to reseal, or fit drain hole with a PVC tube liner and plenty of sealer. Can be a difficult one to fix however.
• If you have a fountain of water, it sounds like the internal baffle is missing. At most, you should only have water bubbling up and out of the c/b line exit sheave box at very high speeds, but not a fountain. The internal baffle should be a flat rubber sheet, or a fiberglass plate on later boats, that is held down by the Centerboard case control box/cover, and the baffle has only a small hole for the control lines to pass through. This then limits how fast the water can pass through, eliminating any fountain. No one has tried external covers on the case slot itself, that I know of, so have no data. But I suspect they could be a big help. (Defender Marine carries slot covers per Dave Clayman).

-- Ian Farrier, 12 Nov 2000

How does the centerboard assembly go together?

Drawings for the Tramp C/B control line assembly parts are attached. - Ian Farrier

• Centerboard Assembly
• Centerboard Assembly Cross Section
• Pivot Pin Lock Strip
• Sheave Assembly Spindle
• Sheave Assembly
• Stop Wedges
• Stop Assembly

Is there a way to avoid damage to the centerboard and rudder when grounding?

APS makes an auto release cleat that will release under pressure. Rumor has it that you can special order through West Marine or get their catalog. -- Scott McCulley

Is there an easier way to raise the mast than using brute strength?

I use a pair of blocks, one attached to the forestay and the other to the jib foot snap shakle. The line is long enough to reach to the back of the boat. I pick the mast up and set it on my shoulders to get started, then pull it up. Works great for takingit down too. -- Scott McCulley

I have a Super Tramp and have had goodluck using the EZIRIG device. Before the Ezirig, I felt like raising or lowering the mast required 3 people; With the Ezirig two is plenty. (I did it once alone, but I don'twant to do that again.) It has a locking winch with steel cable that'sattached to a telescoping jockey pole that mounts onto the mast with a strap of webbing (sort of like a seatbelt); It's designed for smaller boats than the F-boats using a second cable attached to a strap that goes around the mast about five feet above where the pole attaches. With the Super Tramp mast, I shackle the genoa halyard to the telescoping pole of the EziRig and adjust it so that the pole is perpendicular to the mast (this gives much more mechanical advantage than the cable and strap that were supplied). Only problem is that it doesn't provide much lateral stability. At the time I bought it the exchange rate was quite favorable. Took about 4 weeks to get from New Zealand to North Carolina. -- Sam Weir

When the wind is brisk, I have a continual problem of the jib sheets twisting.

After several tacks, the lines twist to the point of not letting the jib change sides as you come through your tack. The blocks are in good shape and I have changed to several types of sheets. Does anyone else have this problem, and if so is there a brand/style of line that runs properly?

Replaced the lines last week with singlebraid regatta... less twisting, but under 12+ knots wind it will still twist on itself. I have heard that Pololite Roster line from England maybe the answer, but APS in Maryland doesn't have 3/8's in stock yet. --Steven Baum, 24 May 2000

How can I support the boat to work on the bottom?

The last page of Hints has a diagram for safely supporting the boat off the trailer while making repairs. - Scott McCulley, 19 Apr 2000

How can I replace a broken net rail?

Replacing Net Rails - Scott McCulley, 11 Apr 2000

Any tips for singlehanding the boat?

I discovered that a shock cord hooked to the stern crossbeam handle and then wrapped once or twice around the tiller and then hooked to the other crossbeam handle makes a great self steering device. -- Tom Cable Mon, 30 Aug 1999

I'm having trouble with the tilt feature on the trailer, any suggestions?

One solution -Tom Cable Tue, 17 Aug 1999

How can I get a free website to display pictures of my boat?

There are several free websites available. One I can recommend is from Netscape. See Robert Libbey's SolSeeker site for an example. If you send me the URL, I can link to your site from the roster page. -- Scott McCulley Tue, 28 Sep1999

How is the spinnaker rigged?

I have rigged two blocks on each side, one on the ama bow and one where the rear aka attaches to the ama. I used a 65' line with a snap shackle attached with a fisherman's bend at about 25'. The shorter end is fed through the ama bow block for the downhaul. The longer end is fed through the rear block for the sheet. The sheet seems to be long enough, I wish for a little bit longer downhaul. The main problem comes when attaching the sail in the bag. Both lines have to go around the forestay and come back to the cockpit.

I used an electrician's fish tape from Home Depot to feed the halyard through the mast. I found working from the top down to work best.

I'm using a 10' spinnaker pole, 2" in diameter. I bought the Forespar kit from West Marine. See Jibe article for additional information. -- Scott McCulley Tue, 28 Sep 1999

Can you shed anylight on how to identify hull numbers?

Not much help here, it was years ago, andI did not have any involvement in the hull numbering / manufacturing ID system. -- Ian Farrier Mon, 15 Mar 1999

Where can I geta Tramp or Eagle T-Shirt?

T-Shirt Transfers -- Scott McCulley Sat, 27 Feb 1999

My boat is missing the mast supports, how do I fabricate new ones?

Mast Support diagram. -- Scott McCulley Sat, 27 Feb 1999

I am having problems replacing the rub rails on the amas, any suggestions?

Problem description

My boat didn't have the bolts for the akas, what should I buy?

Stainless Steel Cap Screw Metric M12 x130mm .DIN 931

Tacoma Screw Products, 2001 Center St.,Tacoma, WA 98409 carries as product # 2136181. -- Scott McCulley Wed, 30Jul 1998

I would like to install a "screecher" type reaching sail on a retractable bowsprit, much like the (expensive!!) Corsair boats have. Any suggestions?

You could use an asymetrical spinnaker with a leash clipped to the forestay.  Be sure to run the sheets outside the forestay so that you can jibe to change tacks.  See ATN tacker for an example. -- Scott McCulley Tue, 16 Mar 1998

Folding bowsprit- John Primrose, 9 Apr 2000

Scott,

Good to meet you last week and in reply to:

"You suggested that you might be able to dig up a copy of the F-24 bowsprit plans to modify for my Tramp. There would probably be a couple other owners interested if you wanted to make a package out of the drawing."

If you can use it as a PDF file then there's no charge - copies attached

Best regards, Ian, 21 Mar 2001

Attachment: 24_MK_II_Spinn__Pole_Ass.pdf
Attachment: F-24_Spinn__Bow_Pole.pdf

Any information about handicap ratings for the Tramp and Super Tramp?

CatSailor published US Sailing 1998 Portsmouth Tables for multihulls, in which the Eagle 20 tri is given a D-PN of 91.0. Wind Handicap Numbers for Beaufort ranges are: 98.6 (0-1), 93.5 (2-3), 90.5 (4), 83.7 (5-9). There are additional handicaps listed for alterations to the base design, crew weight, etc.

The PNWMH handicapper, Scott Rush, has assigned Tigger a PHRF rating of 180. (That should give Harrison's Formula 40 trimaran nightmares.)  PHRF is a local handicap, consult your area handicapper for a rating. -- Scott McCulley Tue, 7 Jun 1999

My two remaining problems are replacing the standing rigging and maintaining luff tension. The mast fittings for the shrouds are an Australian type that turns 90"and slides down. The plastic hold downs for the halyards don't hold. Do you know where I could find replacements for these parts?

The mast fittings are either a Ronstan or Gibb type T-ball fitting, and probably Ronstan RF1689-6. I don't think Ronstan make them anymore but you could try contacting them at Ph, (813)545-1911. Failing that, they could probably be replaced by Gibb equivalents. Any rigger would be familiar with these.

The halyard cleats are Clam cleats and available from WEST or any good Marine store. Best to replace the plastic ones with aluminum ones, (CL219 if I remember correctly). Should fit in the same holes.

Luff tension was always a problem with the Tramp, and best way to improve this was to run 1/8" wire runners with an 8:1 tackle to the outer ends of each aft beam, as used on the Super Tramp. -- Ian Farrier Wed 24 Jun 1998

Where can I get plans for the vinyl cabin?

There are no plans for the vinyl cabin or sink/galley unit, it being before CAD, and these items were developed individualy by the manufacturer, and a trimmer.

Any canvas maker/trimmer should be able to make up a bimini top and vinyl cabin to suit however, as these are avery common items on many boats.  -- Ian Farrier  Sat, 6 Sep1997

Will the Tramp be produced again?

I keep thinking of doing a new version of the Tramp, as it is such a great lttle boat, but nothing concrete yet.-- Ian Farrier  Sat, 6 Sep 1997 Lowcost tri?

How can I buy one?

Looking through various classified ads is one way.  I bought mine used from Stephen Marcoe at Multihulls Only in Reno, Nevada  (702) 787-1101. Owners may list boats for sale at no cost on the For Sale page. -- Scott McCulley  Fri, 1 May 1998