Topics

Please take the time to answer the question of the month.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3251.0

I wouild have guessed with the number of southern and west coast boats the number leaving it in would have been bigger.  Maybe they are too busy sailing to respond to the poll.

I Don't have too  21 (41.2%)
October  20 (39.2%)
November  8 (15.7%)
December  2 (3.9%)
January  0 (0%)

Total Votes: 51

My antique Apelco AR16 radar had been dieing a slow death.  It finally quit this summer.  Thinking of taking advantage of Boat Show specials and picking a new one up.  Right now the Raymarine C80 with the new 2kw dome is my pick.  Antenna on the existing mast mount, display will be mounted at the Nav station with the cords long enough to reach out the campanionway under the dodger for real bad weather use.  It is going to be a stand alone radar, not going to use the chart plotter function, but want the ability to easily upgrade. I also want to upgrade from monochrome to the color screen. 

Pros or cons?  I've been told of RMs poor customer service, but have not had any problem with them when dealing with my ST4000. 

A local poll of marine electronics stores all point toward the RM line, but it is their biggest seller.  Any other units I should consider?

Anchor Express.com seems to have the cheapest prices.  Going to use them for comparison.  I've checked WM/Defender/BrokenLegDave any other stores I should consider?

The annual "fun" Commodor's Race is being held this weekend at our YC.  First time my schedule finally lets me sail in it   I have recruited a couple as crew that have had power boats for years but are in their first year of sailing.  The "Admirals" have all ready stated that they are coming, but don't expect to do much more than look good.  So that leaves 2 of us to do the work.  I'm thinking I'll let our guest drive and I'll handle the sails and tactics.  Good or bad plan?  Suggestions?   Bragging rights are at stake!  The forecast right now is for shifting winds in the 5-7mph range, so it may not be an issue.

According to the West Marine and BUS flyers it's getting to be the time to put the boats away for the winter.  When do you do it?

Please take the survey at:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3193.0

In response to:  When posting on the message how do you refer to your husband/wife/signiificant other?

Captain  1 (2.6%)
Admiral  17 (43.6%)
First Mate  6 (15.4%)
Crew  1 (2.6%)
Husband/wife/significant other  12 (30.8%)
Sail alone  2 (5.1%)

Total Votes: 39

Some good comments.  They can be read at:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3120.0

I finally got it installed last month.  What a difference! If you are considering the upgrade, DO IT!  Installation was straight forward.  Removed the end stop plate on the stbd side by drilling out the corroded stainless machine screw.  Even after 2 days of soaking the large machine screws on the end pieces with PB Blaster, still took a big set of vice grips to break them loose and unscrew them.  Slid the old pieces off, They were is such bad shape they went right into the trash so i wasn't worried about keeping the bearings in place.  Slide the new parts in place, re-tapped the end plate bolt and reinstalled it.  I chose to run the lines forward to a turning block (like Juliandra's, Thanks for the Pictures and help!) then back to the cockpit to avoid holes in the dodger.  The procedure has been written up several times so this is just the highlights.  It took a while to find pictures of the line routing, pictures attached to help the next guy when he searches 

Ok I give up, how do you access the "put your boat on the map"?

Cruising to Annapolis, then working my way home down the Chesapeake next week.  Want to check out where other owners are.

Ran out of technical questions so I did this for fun.  If I missed any commonly used names please add them in a comment.  I purposely avoided listing any expletives, I know we are always proper ladies and gentlemen when on the water

Link to question.
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3120.msg16864#msg16864

With 37 votes, the majority of owners don't have or use one.

Do you have a whsker/spinnaker pole? No  23 (62.2%)
Whisker Stored on Mast  6 (16.2%)
Whisker Stored on Deck  6 (16.2%)
Spinnaker Stored on Mast  0 (0%)
Spinnaker Stored on Deck  2 (5.4%)

Cooments in the thread point out that the Forespar web site is a great source of information on either type.  Thanks for the link Dave.

This time of year on the Chesapeake we traditionally have light winds.  Going downwind I pole out when ever I can.  Do you have a Whisker or Spinnaker Pole?  Please answer the current Question of the Month.  For your convience here is a link to the question.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3089.0

Not a big surprize the majority only have t sails.  It also appears that a spinnaker is the choice for the third sail over a different sized head sail.  Thanks for participating.

1 Jib or Genoa                 32 (54.2%)
Multiple Jibs/Genoas           8 (13.6%)
Asymmetric Spinnaker         0 (0%)
Symmetric Spinnaker           0 (0%)
Jib/Genoa and Asym          11 (18.6%)
Jib/Genoa and Sym              3 (5.1%)
Mult Jibs/Genoas and Asym   4 (6.8%)
Mult Jibs/Genoas and Sym     1 (1.7%) 

Other than changing the Zincs I don't think my heat exhanger has been touched in 16 years.  Now that the bay water is starting to warm up the engine is running at about 170, almost 180 above 24-2500 rpms.  Good flow of water out of the exhaust.  I'm going to try the Lime away/CLR treatment this weekend.  Ron suggests leaving it in for an hour.  I haven't had much success with LA/CLR cleaning the minerals out of the toilet bowl, so I'm thinking it will take longer than an hour, I was thinking about leaving it in overnight. 

What do you'all think, is that too long?

Please vote for your primary anchor in the latest "Question of the Month".  Will there be a favorite type?   

According to the "members List" there are 484 members of the C34IA.  Lets see if we can get more than 50 votes on this one.  Everybody has at least one anchor!


Link to question
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=3022.0

50 people responded to the question.  A litttle over 2/3 replied that they have 1 or more Jibs/Genoas.  The remaining 1/3 also have a spinnaker, with a 4 to 1 ratio of asymetric to Symmetric .  Surprised me, I thought there would be more spinakers.

1 Jib or Genoa  27 (54%)
Multiple Jibs/Genoas  7 (14%)
Asymmetric Spinnaker  0 (0%)
Symmetric Spinnaker  0 (0%)
1 & 3  10 (20%)
1 & 4  2 (4%)
2 & 3  3 (6%)
2 & 4  1 (2%)

Been a couple years since I attended one.  I remember there bieng a bunch of vendors, does Garhauer usually have a booth?  If yes do they discount the prices? 

The Summer Sailstice is a day of celebration for all sailors.  It is an annual event held near the Summer Solstice.  This year June17th is the date.  Sign up for prizes and to add your name to the list of sailors celebrating.  Sponsor or join an event near you.  Have a great weekend

www.summersailstice.com

PS.  Ron, Little Bay off Fleets Bay will be packed with several boats from our yacht club as well as the normal weekend crowd.  We are planning a no host beach party for late afternoon.  If you are in the area you are welcome to join us.

Please respond to the latest poll on your Sail Inventory

Lets see if we can break 70 responses with this one 

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=2975.0

Question: What is your primary means of navigation?

Chart Plotter  12 (18.8%)
Paper Charts  10 (15.6%)
Map Book Charts  4 (6.3%)
Hand held GPS/chart plotter  7 (10.9%)
Chart with GPS Back Up  27 (42.2%)
Computer chart program  4 (6.3%)

Total Votes: 64

We broke the 60 vote barrier !  Thanks for participating. 
A few of you took the time to write responses in addition to voting.  Thanks for the input, I too use multiple means, but I was trying to keep it simple.  I thought about a "DR" choice, but figured everybody does that anyway, at least in your head if not also on a chart.

Everytime someone mentions a poll on the message board I put it on my list,Thanks and keep the ideas coming!

My July project is to upgrade the the new Garhauer traveller.  Have read most of the archived material.  I am planning on runing the lines forward to the hatch track then back under the dodger to new cam cleats.   Looking for suggestions on the best block to use for the new forward turning block.  I'm considering either a simple block on a swivel or perhaps a swiveling stand up block to keep the untensioned block from banging on the cabin top

Skip (signed on as a guest in Nov 2003)  said he had such a set up, are you still here?

I finally got around to cleaning my fuel tank this weekend.  It took me much longer than I thought to get it burned down to under a 1/4 tank.  Pumped about 4 gals through the racor before the flow got down to about nothing.  Tank came out much easier than I anticipated, the 16 year old hoses pulled off without cracking and without excessive force.  Quite a balancing act getting the tank out with roughly 4 gals of fuel in it, glad I had help.  Sloshed the fuel around quite a bit before I started pouring it out.  Came out looking more like coffee than diesel.  Mostly small particulate matter, got an occasional chunk about the size of a quarter.  Guess the Bio Bor did it's job, it was all hard particles, saw no slime or water.  Rinsed it 3 or four times with acetone until the acetone came out clear.  I pulled the level float out prior to the emptying the tank to keep if from banging around.  Using a flashlight and inspection mirror I check that end of the tank, after the cleaning, found some staining and maybe some etching, but all the sediment was gone.  Re installed the tank, filled with the clean 4 gallons I pumped out, changed the Racor, engine runs like a champ.  All in all about 3 hours work.   

I did not pull the pick up tube.  I visually checked that the rubber tube was in place with the free end laying on the bottom of the tank.  There was no screen present.  Is the screen on the end of the rubber tube or on the copper tube with the rubber pushed over it?  Hope I don't need to pull the pickup!

Please vote in the latest question of the month.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=2926.0

Chart Plotter  11 (19.3%)
Paper Charts  8 (14%)
Map Book Charts  3 (5.3%)
Hand held GPS/chart plotter  6 (10.5%)
Chart with GPS Back Up  26 (45.6%)
Computer chart program  3 (5.3%)
   
Total Votes: 57

This kind of surprised me, I thought there would be a higher chart plotter percentage.

I'm curious how other Mk I owners with the walk thru transom use the stbd lazeratte?  The propane locker fills the port side so it is full.  The access to the lazeratte is extremely limited due to the size of the hatch.  Currently I just toss bumpers and spare dock lines down the "hole" and use a boat hook to retrieve when needed.  There has got to be a better way to use this space.  Has anyone come up with any ideas?

Please respond to the question about navigation

This link should take you there:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=2869.0

After 57 responses here are the results of the question:  When do you open/close your through hulls?

never  1 (1.8%)
couple times a year  3 (5.3%)
when I think about it  9 (15.8%)
everytime I arrive/leave the boat  43 (75.4%)
only to lube them  1 (1.8%)

I've been pondering how to attach a bow light to my inflatable.  I've considered the glue on available at BUS etc. but since I store my dinghy upside down on the bow, either the mount, the deck or both would get banged up.  I thought about making a wooden bracket, but keeping it small was for easy storage was also important. I finally arrived at a solution made from PVC.  The tube I had in the garage, the fittings and fasteners came from ACE for less than $3.  All pieces are friction fit, after a few test runs the head may get glued to the pole if I have light rotation problems.  Sorry the pictures came out so small.  I can email if anyone wants personal copies.

As suggested a question about thru hulls is now the current question of the month.  Here is a link for easy access.
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=2821.0

On the queston of doing CG inspections annually 59% of the responders said no.  Kind of suprised me, thought it would be the other way.  On the Chesapeake Bay we have a big CG presence.  It is quite common for them to do random safety inspections. Great way to put a temporary stop to a day of sailing.  Having a current inspection sticker usually sends them looking for someone else.  Jeff mentioned the CG aux/Power Squadron doing them for free.  The Power Squadron up the river from us normally conducts inspections as a part of our opening day activities.  Check out  http://www.usps.org/national/vsc to find a Power Squadron close to you.

Only 29 responders to the last poll.  They are easy, take less than a minute to complete.  See the new one about getting started!

Weather finally cooperated and I got all my projects done on the bottom.  Rudder addition completed and I added a headless stainless bolt in front of the rudder (see picture) to keep crab pot lines from getting stuck in the gap between the rudder and hull.  Last year I noticed some water weeping  down the prop strut so I dug out all the caulking, let it dry and then re-caulked with 5200.  This year 5200 still in place, no weeping.  When I drilled the hole for the headless bolt, much to my surprise I probably got a quart of water out of the hull.  Let it dry well, used compressed air to dry it further and epoxied the bolt in place.  Moral of the story, if you think you have a leak around the prop strut you might consider drilling a hole to get all the water out as a part of the repair process.

Bottom is painted, it goes splash on Friday

According to the statistics in the header there are 379 members that have made 12883 posts on 2507 topics.  How come only 27 have answered the question of the month?  Here are the results from  7% of the members. 

What kind of Prop do you use?
2 Blade fixed  4 (14.8%)
3 blade fixed  18 (66.7%)
2 blade folding  0 (0%)
3 blade folding  3 (11.1%)
auto feather  2 (7.4%)
other  0 (0%)

New question will be posted shortly, it's quick and easy to participate.

I have a couple spare impellors but no spare o rings for my raw water pump.  I tried BUS and a couple other marine/hardware stores and looked in the defender catalog with no luck.  I'll try Depco tomorrow.  Any other ideas?

here are the results for the VHF radio survey:

How do you talk on the VHF when at the helm?

Hand Held VHF radio  18 (51.4%)
Ram Mike to navsta VHF  10 (28.6%)
VHF installed in cockpit  1 (2.9%)
First Mate uses radio at the Nav Sta  5 (14.3%)
Other  1 (2.9%)

Total Votes: 35

Please respond to the next question of the month.  Props!

The May 1999 Tech notes has a diagram of the differences between the standard and "new" rudders.  The dimensions are hard to read.  They are approximately:  length of trailing edge 46", width of tip (front to back) 14.5", trailing edge thickness 3/16".  The extension is 4.5-5" wide for the bottom third of it's length, tapering/fairing to a point at the top.  Rough diagram.

Here are the results of the last question of the month.  Please answer the current question about VHF radios.

Question: Do you intend to replace any sails in '06?
No  10 (45.5%)
Yes -- main only  4 (18.2%)
Yes -- jib only  3 (13.6%)
Yes -- main and jib  3 (13.6%)
Yes -- spinnaker  2 (9.1%)
 
Total Votes: 22

I've got the tech notes and diagram with fuzzy numbers.  Read all the posts.  Does anyone have the length of wing keel rudder?  Can I cut the extension out of a 4' section of plywood or do I need a full sheet?  Plan to do the cutting and fitting at the boat, but need to shop closer to home.

Pulling the boat for a couple months this winter.  Will give me the time to do some projects.  Was thinking about adding a line cutter just in front of the prop.  Would add a flex coupler at the shaft coupler to add enough length.  Will the line cutter be effective at the relative slow speed the shaft turns?  Been looking on line, can't find much info on them with regard to sailboats.  Anybody have any experience with them?

Can't remember if I have asked this or not.  As a winter project I would like to make a half hull to hang on the office wall.  Does anybody have a copy of the design lines for the Mk1?  I know I can get them for about $20 from Catalina, but would rather not spend the cash if I can get them else where.

Hey Phil can you expain the "karma" rating?  Looked at the profile pages, couldn't find any info on it.  Maybe I just didn't look hard enough.

Love the new board...thanks

had guests on board last weekend, got distracted, left the dock with the engine thru hull closed.  Caught my mistake before we left the marina, tied up to an open t dock.  Impeller was still in one piece, but several vanes were starting to tear.  Installed the spare and had a great weekend.

In searching for a new spare impeller I looked at Defender.  They were advertising a new blue model manufactured by Globe.  15 minute run dry guarantee.  For my 25xp,Sherwood impeller Part# 9000 the correct Globe part # is 610.  If you have the 10077 impeller the corresponding globe part# is 1130.  It does not come with an O ring and gasket, the price is $27.99.  Got it yesterday, exact match.  Vanes are a little stiffer than the rubber, and the plastic has a slippery quality to it.

If you decide to stay with the black rubber kits (with O ring and gasket).  Go2marine.com has them for $29.16, adiesel.com has them for $30.06.  Both cheaper than BUS or WM.

The aft port window that stretchs between the head and the Nav station has been my achiles heel all summer.  I must have removed and rebedded it at least 3 times using 3M 4200 following all the advice not to over tighten the screws until fully cured, etc.  The leak moves, so i think I have several problem areas.  Looking at the other windows it appears that they just have a thin rubber gasket with no other sealant.  The gasket is present on the leaking window, I have been applying the sealant on top of the gasket because it appears to be well bonded to the top liner.  I've tried the larger screws and get a nice bead flowing out of the seal as recommeded by Stu in a previous post.  Am I using the wrong sealant?  Why won't my gobs of sealant do what the thin rubber does on the other windows?  I'm checking with Catalina parts on the availability of a new seal.  Any suggestions!

I've had a slow fresh water leak for a while.  Finally the stain is leading me to the inspection port of the midship tank.  I've tried teflon tape, I've tried tightening it as hard as I think the plastic will accept, still get a few drops a minute.

Any suggestions?

Does anybody have a copy of the shoal draft hull lines?  Thinking about making a half hull for my office wall.  Be a good project this winter.  I've asked Catalina, I'm sure they have them but haven't got a response yet.

Teh jelly fish or "nettles" as they are know in the Chesapeake are really bad this year.  I have to clean my strainer for the A/C 3 or 4 times a day.  Not too bad a job except for the one at 3am

Thinking about adding an external screen like shown in the link.  

http://www.buckalgonquin.com/Buck_Algonquin/Pages/Underwater%20Hardware/Page_19.pdf

Do you think this will work or just move the location of the blockage?  The thought is the larger intake grill area will cause less draw than the intake itself so the nettles won't get sucked in.

Had my prop checked while the boat was out of the water earlier this month.  It was within specs so figured my lack of rpms must be an engine problem.   On a whim i put a heavy ounce of Chevron Techron in a gallon of fuel and ran it through the engine.  Max rpms rose from 2600 to 2800  Next step is to treat the entire tank with Techron. Going on a week long cruise starting Sat, leading a couple of H36's to Solomon's Island and probably on to the Little Choptank.  Should see plenty of motoring as most of the planned destinations have long river approaches.  Hopefully  with more cleaning the engine will get a few more turns.  Will let you all know.

I decided to go with the Ocean Breeze unit.  Very impressed with the construction.  The majority is Stainless, with copper tubes.  The one I replaced was painted steel with aluminium tubing.  Looking on line, the Mermaid units run about $1500 for a 1200btu, I got mine for $1050.  Haven't tried the a/c side yet,  but it heats like a champ.

Finally got my keel bolts torqued.  I was amazed at the difference in torque values.  Couple were right on spec, few were close, a couple were a half turn loose.  I noticed the "smile" for the first time on this year.  Torqueing didn't seem to close it any.  Think they must have blocked the keel incorrectly.  Stuffed it with 5200, hopefully it will close when it's refloated.

Anyway, main reason for the note is I am now the proud owner of a keel nut socket (1 1/8 x 4" deep).  I will be happy to loan it to anyone that needs to use it.

My A/C -Heater finally died this weekend, it was getting progressively weaker all last season so it was not a big surprise.  Thinking about replacing it with a Ocean Breeze unit from Quorum Marine & Electronics based in Stuart, Fl.  Anybody have any experience (good or bad) with them?

Spent the weekend visiting sunny south Fla.    Boat shows, airboating in the Everglades, walking the boardwalks with the rest of the spring break crowd.       Now as I sit at work with the weather reporting a chance of snow showers I ponder the lack of power issues I brought up a few weeks ago.  

I remember last spring when I changed my Racor there was a discussion about leaving the bypass valve cracked to create more flow to "polish" the fuel.  I know I left it open, I think about a half a turn.  I have not checked it yet, but is this too much?  If it vibrated open further could this be a cause of power loss?  Really hoping it is something simple, before I dive into injectors and possibly the injector pump.  The Racor is replaced annually, the engine filter is replaced every other year.

I reproped a couple years ago, old prop would easily run at 3000 rpm.  For the last 2 seasons unless the prop was fouled, the most I can get is 2600.  I'm thinking I need to reduce pitch.  I got the following back from the prop manufacturer.  The new prop is a Campbell Sailor 3 blade. What do you all think?

"The prop we supplied you is a 14' diameter x 8" pitch. This is the size we have been installing on the catalina 34 with the 25XP. We feel this is a good match for the boat and engine. It is possible you have a obstruction in the exhaust riser which has been a common problem with the Universal engines. There is a flap valve in the riser which comes apart and increases the back pressure which causes the engine to not get up to full RPM. Please check this out and also have the tach calibrated as this could possibly be out. Otherwise if everything is okay we can have it repitched down. "

Idon't think it is a tach problem.  Will go to 3000 in idle and stop despite more throttle.  First I've heard of a flapper valve in the exhaust.  This one has me stumped.