Catalina 34 1988 companionway boards dimensions

[BellaLuna34]

Hi all,

I wonder if there's a Catalina 34 1988 owner who is on or close to their boat and can please help me out :-)

I am trying to fabricate a set of replacement companionway hatch boards for my boat with the opening and a shelf for a small A/C unit. I got the small 5,000 BTU A/C unit in Home Deport, oak boards, etc for the job but... Unfortunately I live out of state from where our boat is moored and have misplaced the measurements of the stock boards I took... Is there any chance someone could measure the boards (top length x bottom length) and also roughly an angle at which the companionway hatch is slanted vs. vertical? I would really appreciate your help, I am going to be on the boat with family next week and I thought I'd have the A/C setup ready for it.

P.S. I called Catalina support in FL, unfortunately they couldn't find the board specs for this model & year...

Thanks a lot!

Phill

[lazybone]

I hope you get a reply but in case you don't, take a piece of plywood and a saw with you.  Shouldn't take you long to cobble up something to get you through your time on the boat.  Then you can use the ply'wd as a template when you get home to your oak.

[Dave Spencer]

Phill,
I'm not at my boat but I have the winter board that I use in the basement.  I just measured it as follows:
23 1/2" tall
36 1/2" along the top edge
24" along the bottom edge
5/8" thick
My boat is a 1994 Mk 1.5 model.  I don't know if Catalina changed the companionway dimensions as the C34 evolved.  I agree with Aldo that you'll want to try this out using plywood at first before cutting int your oak.  Good luck with your project.  Let us know if these dimensions worked for you.

[BellaLuna34]

Thanks a lot for the info! Indeed I figured I will do a pine mock-up first, make whatever adjustments while I am on the boat, bring it back home and make an oak version once I am 100% on all the dimensions.

Thanks again!

Phill

[Carolina Soul]

I measured my 1988 C34 hatch boards for you today:

Top Board is Top-36-3/8" Bottom 30-3/8"  Side measeured along the angle is 11-3/4"

Bottom Board is Top 30-3/8" Bottom 23-3/4" and angled side is 13"

Together, top to bottom down the vertical spine is 23-1/2"

I measured carefully but take the measurements at your own risk.

[Dave Spencer]

sounds like it's unanimous (within 1/4")
Height - 23 1/2
Width at the top - 36 3/8 - 36 1/2"
Width at the bottom - 23 3/4 - 24"

Good luck with your project!

[BellaLuna34]

Thanks a LOT guys!!

In the end I decided to go with 3/4" plywood for now, cut everything to size last night and applied the first varnish coat. The design is there will be a folding shelf/table that will straddle the bottom hatch edge on which the A/C unit will sit, the first new board is an arch and will cover the A/C, the second new board will go on top. We will have to step over the A/C and the bottom board getting in/out of the boat while at dock. I thought I could get away fabricating the bottom board only and reusing the stock top, but the A/C is just a little too tall for that. I hope it will all work out together - we will find out Wednesday :-). I will post pics once it's on the boat.

Phill

[lazybone]

Glad everything worked out.

If you can afford the additional cost and labor, a permanent AC system is better than ice cream and black seal.

[Indian Falls]

For under 500 bucks, I'm seriously considering this:  http://www.climaterightair.com/climateright-2500-btu-mini-ac-heater.html

I saw one of these dedicated to cooling shed sized cabins without the heatpump option for 489.00 or so.
I cant retrieve that site but I think its the same manufacturer.

I'll just drop one hose into the port dorade  and the other hose into the starboard dorade, plug it in and viola!

At 46 lbs I can toss it into my dock box when not needed.

[chuck53]

For under 500 bucks, I'm seriously considering this:  http://www.climaterightair.com/climateright-2500-btu-mini-ac-heater.html

I saw one of these dedicated to cooling shed sized cabins without the heatpump option for 489.00 or so.
I cant retrieve that site but I think its the same manufacturer.

hate to say, but 2500 BTU's on a 34 footer won't do much at all.  basically nothing during the heat of the day but you will feel some relief 2-3 hours after the sun has gone down but not much.
A better and cheaper method...a buddy of mine with a C36 has a basic 10000 BTU window unit he sits over his cabin deck hatch with a canvas cover to enclose it.  Keeps his boat decent during the day and very comfortable at night.

[Indian Falls]

Here are a few points to offset the under rated unit:

Half the space in a boat is submerged in 70deg water.
There are no large amounts of glass, or surfaces directly in sunlight as with a building or an R/V
A/C units are best when running most of the time (high duty cycle)
Small units make less noise.
It's rated for a cubical building of 400cu/ft.  The salon is under that.
The load at night is less than day, so sleep quarters adding to the 400 cu/ft could still be comfortable.
The unit is 17x17x14, self contained, light, and direct. Unlike diverting a window unit down a top side hatch.
For Western NY'rs there are only a few weeks we would even use it, with average temps getting to the low 90's.
The cost of installed marine a/c is way over 2,000.00 with me installing it into spaces used for storage.
10,000btu window units are very heavy, make a lot of noise and don't have leveling feet.
interior room units (LG LP0814WNR,8,000btu cools 200sq/ft) have to stand on the floor somewhere, then have considerably large hoses exit the space.

Let me point this out:  the LG at 8,000btu can only cool 200cf, yet the 2500btu climateair can do 400cf.
This may be indicative of the efficiency of getting rid of heat.  One is in the room getting heat out, the other  is outside dumping heat outside.


That's my logic for considering the climateair.  Maybe I can find a post somewhere in that someone tried this and what the results were as well as the parameters.  (location, boat size/type, etc.)

I wouldn't toss this aside just yet.   ( please forgive the thread hijack!)

[Footloose]

Dan,

Pass or fail, let us know how it works out.

[chuck53]

Here are a few points to offset the under rated unit:

Half the space in a boat is submerged in 70deg water.
There are no large amounts of glass, or surfaces directly in sunlight as with a building or an R/V

When I'm standing in my salon, the outside water level is about the same level as my knees (not my waist).  Consider also that a good portion of the boat is not open air space, ie; settee, dinette seats, galley cabinetry, underneath bunks, meaning that probably 80-90% of the air space that needs to be cooled is above the water line.
I agree there is very little glass area but how can you say there are no large surface areas.  What do you call the deck?  On a hot, sunny day, the deck becomes very hot and with virtually no insulation, the deck underside becomes an oven. 
Now, if you cover a good part of the boat with some kind of shading, you will cut your heat gain considerably.

[lazybone]

What might work in Ontario probably won't  work on the Lower Chesapeake Bay.

[chuck53]

What might work in Ontario probably won't  work on the Lower Chesapeake Bay.

Very true...however, 2500 BTU's is Very small.  I'm thinking 5000 would do a decent job under Ontario conditions.  No way would he need the 16k I have on my boat.