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I've had great experience with Markel.  I was routed to them through USAA and the first year my premium dropped about 40% from my Geico quote with more extensive coverage.  Their annual rate adjustments are reasonable and consistent with inflation vs. the huge annual increases I had been seeing (I suspect those of us in the non-hurricane areas were being forced to subsidize those that were in the risky zone).  I just checked their web site and they specifically state they insure any age boat.  Good luck! 

We took a full month off last summer for the first time as I'm nearing retirement and had one of our best cruises, Boston Harbor area all the way to Brooklyn, up the Hudson to West Point area and back.  This summer with a month off again, looking to head down east Maine possibly to the Canadian border.  Added a second 110 W solar panel to the bimini, in the process of replacing the engine mounts to the Vetus K75s to hopefully reduce the noise level motoring, replaced the whole propane set up and sanded and varnished the cabin sole.  Hoping for the best summer yet!

You triggered a funny memory.  Twice in the last 15 years we cruised in tandem to Maine from the Boston area with our friends on their Hinckley Sou'wester.  I joked that whenever we arrived in a new port, all heads turned to see beautiful vessel.  The Hinckleys and Morris's were a dime a dozen but nobody had ever seen a Catalina before!

Another opinion: my 20 year old Achilles 10'6" air deck roll up is still working well,  used May-Oct. in New England.  We transported our family of 5 to dinghy docks and while crowded, never felt overloaded. 

Update: after looking closely at the middle plug, it seemed clear that trimming the stud might allow nut removal but the angle is such that I don't think the plug would fit backing it out.  Removal of the entire air manifold was too intimidating 2 weeks before launch (plus at least two of the nuts looked extremely difficult to access).  I went with Ron's suggestion replacing glow plugs 1 and 3 and the engine started up nicely.  Maybe I'll take on the manifold removal to replace #2 next Fall with the luxury of many months to recover from whatever disaster I create and the back pain from the extreme boat yoga required.  Thanks again for all the helpful advice as always! Brian

Thanks to all.  Clarification to Ron and others, I can loosen the nut of the middle glow plug but in unscrews to the point that it runs into a part of the air intake manifold.  There is not enough room to turn it the final turns to remove the nut so I can't get the wire off so no point in removing the plug so far.  On the first and third plugs, the net comes off so the wire can and then the plug should be straight forward.  As Ken suggested, if I cut off some of the middle plug's nut, I might get enough clearance to remove the nut, then wire , then plug.  TBD when I visit the boat this weekend. 

Trimming the stud is something that wouldn't have occurred to me. Very tight quarters so not sure if I can get my Dremel in there but maybe a file.  The new NGKs have almost a 1/2" of stud above the nut.  If the current plugs have close to that, I think it might work.  Fortunately it's only one of the three plugs

I have a 1988, #584 with a Universal M 25 XP and as I posted previously, I've been experiencing slow starting for a couple of years.  I decided to replace all the glow plugs and when I tried to get started today, I could not remove the middle nut holding the wire on as it ran up against I believe the air intake manifold.  With all the discussions about glow plugs, I never saw this mentioned.  What I assumed would be a quick boat upgrade (when are the ever quick?) was aborted as I didn't want to get in over my head 2 weeks from launching.  I can't believe it's designed this way but do I seriously have to  remove the manifold to get the glow plugs out?  Anything I need to be aware of once I start this boat surgery?  Thanks in advance for any guidance.  Brian McPhillips

So, this takes me back to my scariest boating day.   While motoring hard on a windless day in flat calm conditions, I sent my wife down to grab a soda and she screamed "There's water everywhere!"  We switched places and I found water above the floor boards with the bilge pump going full speed.  It took some stressful minutes to realize the hose aft of the check valve under the water heater had vibrated off.  Once I popped it back on the water drained fairly quickly.  Over the next hour (after recovering from my heart attack) I realized the overboard stern exhaust port was in fact below the waterline while motoring hard and my 1988 Mark 1 did not have a loop but a straight downhill aqueduct to the bilge.  A single hose clamp was holding the hose on the check valve.  Lessons learned: double clamp all through hull hoses including in the bilge, loop above the waterline is critical, high volume bilge pump is critical.  Check valve keeps a good amount of water out of the bilge but requires two more double clamping "through hulls."  I replaced a plastic check valve with a bronze one which I think does a great job.  Brian

Thank you both.  I'm ready for an easy Winter project. 

This thread prompted me to inquire whether I might need new glow plugs.  I have a 1988 C34 and when I bought the boat 20 years ago, I was told to turn the key clockwise until I heard 10 beeps, then push the start button and this worked until 2 summers ago.  Since then, it never starts at 10 beeps when cold but will start sluggishly after 15-20 beeps belching a lot of black smoke and eventually running smoothly.  I've wondered if I have a bad glow plug or two with not enough heat to kick start the engine.  It always starts easily when warm.   Any thoughts are appreciated. 

So, I got to the boat yesterday  after some near Biblical rains last week, maybe 2-3" in 36 hours.  The good news (maybe) is that there was not a huge pool of water waiting to squirt out by the hatch, just the usual air puff when the headliner was pressed.  I hope that's good news.  Right now my plan is to remove the hatch from above when I get the time and look for rot at the edge where the air comes out and if none, I'll try the Ron fix with my fingers crossed.  If I find rot, it will be a lot of rot and I'll have a busy Fall!

Thanks to everyone, I now have some direction.  Ron's solution certainly sounds simpler, the difference between a catheter and angioplasty vs. open heart surgery and a heart transplant in my world!  I'll dive in this coming weekend and hopefully not find extensive cancer...

On our recent cruise, my wife and I noted subtle mold spots on the headliner so started washing with our dilute bleach.  To my surprise, when I wiped just aft and starboard of the hatch over the salon table, a soft spot was obvious, maybe 12 x 12",  and when pressed, air could be heard squeezing out from a gap in the nearby hatch frame.  The hatch is not leaking water from above.  I don't know anything about the headliner but hope it is just a cosmetic layer with some loose adhesive delaminating after decades (I have a 1988 Mk I).  Does this sound like anything more serious that needs troubleshooting? 

So, after my 3 blade fixed 51 x 10 prop had a few too many digs, I did my research and just launched with my new Campbell Sailor 3 blade.  Very limited early feedback is that I easily motored at 6.5 knots without the engine (1988 21 hp Universal) racing (tach not accurate so not sure of rpms).  Brief broad reach sail in 4 knots apparent, genoa only had be moving at 3.2 knots in flat water, never would have happened with the old prop; and stopping was much slower at the mooring with significantly more pronounced prop walk.  I'm thrilled with the motoring result and reduced drag in light air and will certainly learn to deal with the mooring /dock approach changes.