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I'm assuming, maybe incorrectly, that mast rake is measured relative to the boat, and so the boat must be trimmed properly for and aft.   Is there a spot on our boats that should be level before starting this process?

Looking forward to this... I think I'll put this on my pre-trip to-do list.  I'll be drinking out of this stuff for 4 months straight!

Because it may help someone in the future... I've been using the boat for 3 years and could always work around the temp fine... 2100-2200 gave me nearly hull speed and I didn't need wide open throttle or to cruise at 2600, but if I tried, the engine would start heating up and as it started to pass 190 without slowing up, I'd slow down.  Since I got the boat, I've increased the size of the thru-hull, the strainer, the hose to the engine, replaced both the impeller and then the raw water pump, I've replaced all hoses so I'm comfortable none are blocked, I've taken apart the heat exchanger and cleaned it out, I've replace the exhaust elbow and riser, I've even replaced the coolant pump (because it failed, not for this reason)...

With any luck, I'm about to take the boat on a 4 month trip in 6 weeks so I brought in a pro.  He spent some time with me going over the engine but ultimately, he had me replaced the coolant cap (I'd pressure tested both the cap and the system) and he cleaned out the (embarrassingly nasty) air filter which was oily and full of insulation dust, and the engine never gets above 165 even at WOT.  Runs like a top.

I'm going to start searching for waterdog posts to read... who cares about the actual topic... man, you are funny!   Oh, and I had nearly the same lost day due to my fuel pump last June.  :)

Reasonable questions both... 

I am working with a local rigger, and he's more than willing to go up the mast for me, but he's booked for the next couple of weeks and I wanted to get a jump on things.  One of us will go up before an order is placed. 

No local shop, honestly... but he has several sources that he uses that will make and ship, though.  He's great about getting wholesale prices and passing the savings along to me.  He doesn't make his money reselling, he makes it when I pay for his time.  To that end, I was working up a list of what I needed so we could use it to get quotes from three different vendors, both swaged top and bottom (in which case I'd send them my old stuff) and mechanical terminals at the bottom (in which case, I'd just have to go up and measure the pin).

That matches what Catalina Direct sells but not what their drawings (or mine) show.  Probably just a drawing error but COULD be, I suppose, something that varied from boat to boat.  I guess I'll be pulling my rigging down and measuring before ordering, if I go with mechanical terminals at the bottom.  If I go with swaged terminals at the bottom, I'll just send them the old stuff. :)

If only it was that easy... i'm ordering new standing rigging.  It's the hole in the eye terminal at the top of the uppers i'm worried about, not the pin.  :)

Thank you... and interesting...  it seems you match the drawing but not the upper shroud kits sold by Catalina Direct.  Things that make me go "hmmm..."

Hey gang...  My boat is a 93 model year built in december of 92.  I'm not at the boat but I'm pricing replacement standing rigging.  In the manual on this side, for the 91 M1.5 boat, the uppers are listed (page 24) as 1/2 pin at the top and 1/2 stud at the bottom. 

Catalina Direct's replacement uppers list a 5/8" pin at the top.  I called and talked to tech support, and he verified that the eye on their made rigging is 5/8, and the hole in the replacement upper tangs is also 5/8, but that he was seeing the same 1/2 listed on the drawing he had.

The MkII manual still lists a 1/2" pin.  (MkI manual doesn't list pin size or, if it does, I couldn't find it.)

I'm concerned since the drawings in the manual seem to have remained unchanged yet the CD parts aren't getting sent back.  Anyone got an upper pin laying around they can measure?

I looked at Catalina Direct and their replacement standing rigging is all swaged at the top with a Hi-Mod mechanical fitting at the bottom, allowing it to be cut to length at the boat.  Not sure if that makes hi-mod better, cheaper, or what, but at least I know there's not a size problem. :)

I've seen lots about replacement interval of standing rigging but not of turnbuckles.  Are they normally replaced with standing rigging or do they last longer?  If so, anyone know a replacement interval?

What's the current collective opinion of mechanical terminals - sta-lok, hi-mod, and norseman in particular?

I need to replace my standing rigging and I think I'm going with mechanical terminals.  If all else was equal, I think I'd choose norseman just because of how long they've been in the business, but alas, they are not out of business.

Any experience using them?  Any issue with size and them not fitting where the swaged terminals used to fit, particularly at the masthead?

For what it's worth, I love mine.   7 panels, three across the back, two on each side.   I have clear vinyl and screen and each is interchangeable.   Don't use it sailing, but love it at anchor out at the dock when cold or raining.   That, and a diesel heater, make the boat a pleasure year 'round in NC.

I think that butyl tape is the right material for almost everything... but not here.  problem is, with my windows anyway, that there's no mechanical fastener... If there were screws I'd use butyl tape and nothing else.

The VHB is a fantastic idea, and would no doubt work if you either had windows with 90 degree edges going into an oversized recess or if you had a tapered edge (like mine) and a lens that had more room around it.  My problem was that, once the old sealant was out, if you tried to put the lens in the hole, it was too big, IF you tried to get it near the bottom.  It was sized to have a pretty hefty bead of 795 underneath it and the stuff I had was maybe 1/8" thick... I even tried doubling it up, but it was too big, relative to the recess, to make good contact with the tape all around.  Thicker tape might well have worked.

While the tape may be strong enough to hold plate glass in a metal frame on a skyscraper, I have my doubts about it holding plexi to my fiberglass hull, and even more doubts about my ability to make it waterproof, so I just considered the tape as a "clamp" while the 795 cured.  When the tape failed, I got creative and held the lens in place a different way.

Noah:

I have, and I considered them, but I ended up getting the solar day/night vents instead.  I might regret that decision.  I'll let you know!

Mike