Another new owner

[Mas Tequila]

Just wanted to take a minute and introduce myself as a new Catalina 34 MKI owner. We just purchased hull # 11 and can't wait to get out and sail her. The PO spent 5 years doing a refit with the idea of retiring on her in the Caribbean. Unfortunately due to health reasons he ended up having to sell her. She has all of the critical upgrades done professionally and extensive upgrades including brand new Raymarine E series chartplotter, new auto pilot and zero hour rebuilt engine with the serpentine belt system and high output alternator. The list of other upgrades and new equipment is very long and includes all the receipts. There is still a few things that need to be done and I fully expect to be picking your brains soon. I used to own a Catalina 30 and my better half owned a C & C 40 which just goes to show you that we don't have the sense God gave a fence post. Anyway just wanted to say hello.

[sailaway]

Welcome sounds like you found a good boat. I own hull #95 I have a water tank under the vee berth an midship. They changed the water tank to the aft later.  Great boats have fun. Charlie

[Ron Hill]

Mas : Somewhere in your post always list your production year and hull#.
That way when you ask a question you'll get a correct answer.

There are many variation in C34s!!

A thought

[Phil Spicer]

   Welcome to the 34 family. You won't believe the room you have. Was the rudder mod one of the updates the OP did to the boat? It really makes a better handling boat.

[Mas Tequila]

Phil, She still has the original rudder. We were out the other day in about 15 knots of wind and 3 foot seas and I did notice a bit of weather helm but really not that much. Of course my last boat was a Catalina 30 which had considerably more so this was a pleasant surprise. There has been a couple of minor issues that will need addressed. The Beckson port lights need new gaskets, I replaced one but really need to do them all...oh joy. They are on order and I'll get that finished up as soon as they arrive. I did find a soft spot in the deck about 4 inches across at the vented stanchion. I'll get on that when we haul out this fall weather permitting. I've been reading up on how the copy the anti skid pattern and hopefully I have an understanding how to go about it.

The real problem was we didn't have the opportunity for a sea trial but given all the receipts felt confident that given the price we were willing to take a bit of a risk. We scheduled our launch for last week Friday because we really wanted her in the water to see what ghosts might be in the machine. We realized that we were going to have a very short season being we live in northern Michigan but felt we just had to know for sure. Slips in this area are very hard to come by but we were lucky to find one a short distance away....or so we thought. As the keel hit the water the harbor master of that marina called us to say that he was unconformable with a boat our size there due to easterly winds that can come up and enter the marina. Oh great! Boat in the water and no place to go.

We were able to find a transient slip a short distance away and were informed that they cut their prices in half after the first of the month. Still a bit on the pricey side but better that nothing and it's a great marina. Unfortunately after a 4 day stay we wanted to catch up on the bill and ask a few questions and were then informed that it was going to be full price. We asked why we were told about half price after the first and asked why we were being charged full price. The answer was that the half price deal starts after labor day and then only if the town counsel approves it. They were to meet today and we were told that we would have an answer by 10:00 this morning. No calls back and nothing but voice mail when we tried to contact them. Great!

I had a very long day in the office today but I did get the chance to call a marina that we would love to be at. They have a long waiting list but I called for no other reason than to be put on the list. They were really great people and of course we got to talking about our situation and about our boat. It seems the harbor master has a love of sailing and of the Catalina 34s. He informed me that they had a slip available and they would prorate the cost for the short time we would be there. Also they let us know that if we came there for the rest of the season we would be guaranteed a slip next season. Dark clouds do have silver linings. A great boat yard is just across the bay and they let you work on your boat all you want....just clean up after yourself. They are forecasting pretty heavy thunderstorms in the area for the next few days but clearing as the weekend approaches. It will be a long day of sailing but passing through the Manitou passage and past Sleeping Bear dunes should make for a great sailing experience.

[Mas Tequila]

Sorry Ron, 1986 MKI hull #11

[Stephen Butler]

Congratulations on a new (to you) C34.  You'll love her!  Just a comment on the original rudder, which you have....take the time and money to thoroughly check out the rudder for any indications of leaks, particularly if there is any rust indications, rusty water, etc.  The original rudder had a mild steel core, which was susceptible to loosing strength and breaking, if water got into the structure, which it could from the top of the rudder. The new style rudder has a stainless structure.   We changed out our 1990 rudder for the new design, not for a weather helm problem, but because of this potential failure, and were glad that we did....the original rudder would have broken in a few more months to a year.  Hope this helps

[Mas Tequila]

Stephen,

Thank you so much for that information. I does seem that I saw a rust stain on the rudder when I first looked at the boat. I took a lot of pictures then and I'll see if I can find any of the rudder. We will have the boat back out of the water in about 5 weeks and I will take a close look then. After reading your post I looked around the internet for for more information and given the model year of our boat rust is not a good sign. If I'm not mistaken it looks like I can get a new rudder from Catalina, which would be the new design. I'll get in touch with them and check on pricing and any information they may have. This boat has been a fresh water boat it's whole life so there is hardly any corrosion anywhere, but he idea of a mild steel core hidden inside the rudder is not a comforting thought. I guess if there is signs of corrosion in the rudder and I do end up replacing it I'll have peace of mind and a better handling boat. I guess it's back to working over time...

[Noah]

Another opinion: I wouldn't rush into a new rudder, unless you have a serious water permeation issue or obvious signs of failure. Get to know and enjoy the boat first and let some time pass. My boat has the original 1990 rudder, with no (obvious) failure/rust issues. Weather helm on the C34 is not a "big deal" and can be dealt with utilizing proper sail selection/sail trim and timely reefing. There WILL be LOTS of stuff down the road to spend "boat bucks" on, trust me on this. A new rudder MAY not be your best or most pressing expense. Full discloser: i have an expensive below deck hydraulic autopilot (which I love) connected to my rudder post, so I may be more reluctant than some to drop/replace my "old" rudder due to the PAIN IN THE ASS FACTOR INVOLVED, in disconnecting such to drop the rudder.

[Ken Juul]

Enjoy the boat for the rest of the season, plenty of time for the rudder over the winter.  I picked my new one up so not sure of the transportation costs the rudder itself was about $4K.  It is not only the mild steel core to worry about, the shaft at the lower bearing was failing on mine.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,8873.msg63894.html#msg63894

[Lance Jones]

Welcome to the herd of cats!
I second Ron's post and would also suggest that you add your home port. You never know when someone is close by that may be able to help out or, just get together and tell sea stories. The difference between a sea story and a fairy tale is that a Fairy tale begins with... once upon a time. The sea story begins.... there I was, no fecal matter, thought I was going to die!

[Sue Clancy]

Welcome to the forum.  Was just reading your post and noticed this part

"I did find a soft spot in the deck about 4 inches across at the vented stanchion. I'll get on that when we haul out this fall weather permitting. I've been reading up on how the copy the anti skid pattern and hopefully I have an understanding how to go about it. "

Dock-mates of ours with a C34 just did this repair last year.  He did it from inside of the boat though.  His was on the port side - He took out all the cabinets/shelves on the port side and then cut out as section in the fiberglass from underneath.  This allowed him to remove the core underneath and replace and then just put back the section of fiberglass.  Since this area is not seen inside the boat, you don't need to worry about how beautiful your seams look and from on deck, you would never know.

[tommyt]

Mas: Who gave you the run around on slips and where did you end up? Good that you have a new home!

[Ekutney]

Mas,

I am in a very similar boat (I couldn't resist), I just bought my C34 MK1 in Jan and have spent the past few months going over every single system.  The PO of my boat did a great job of caring for the boat but did not do many upgrades.  I found the information on this site invaluable, lots of experience and without that information or responses I could not have or even tried to attempt many of the tasks.  Congrats on the "new to you" boat.

[Mas Tequila]

Mas: Who gave you the run around on slips and where did you end up? Good that you have a new home!

Tommyt, We were going to put her at Ahgosatown Landing Marina for what was left of the season. Slips in the area are very hard to come by and this is a very small marina. When we first looked at it we were concerned that it doesn't have a great deal of protection from the east. At the time we were not very happy that they changed their minds about having our boat there. It really was more about the timing because we were launching the boat when we got the call. Honestly I do have the thank them that they were more concerned about the safety of our boat than making money. They had a pretty good blow come in from the east and it most likely would have knocked us around pretty good.

We ended up in Frankfort at Betsie Bay Marina which is much closer to home and the harbor master there has gone out of his way to make us comfortable. This marina used to be in pretty rough shape but the harbor master and his wife bought it a couple of years ago and have worked their backsides off making it a nice place. They have extensive plans in the works and he makes me tired just watching him work. Frankfort is a much better fit for us, it's well protected and isn't the madhouse Grand Traverse Bay is in the summer.