Messages

I have a bolt removable with a flat head screwdriver. Don't forget to use Lanocote on the threads....

Lazy,
I have grown kids, and I can't even get them to come sailing, let alone wax the boat! Hmmm, based on what my kids cost, having my boat waxed professionally is a bargain compared to the cost of kids.....

Bob,
There are two jobs that I refuse to do myself, waxing my hull, and painting my house. Those two jobs are best done by a professional. They get the job done in a fraction of the time, and then I can move on to do something else. There is a reason that the guys who wax boats, are usually young! I have a guy who does my topsides only (not the deck) for $225, and it is worth every penny to me. Then I take my time and do the deck, cockpit etc., myself over time. Now some boat waxers charge a lot more than my guy, he will do my whole boat for $350. But other boat waxers charge $550 for our boats. That is here in Southern California. Regarding your question about using 303 instead of wax, I don't know of anyone who uses it instead of wax. I would stick with wax myself. I generally use a high grade carnuba wax from the auto parts store for the deck, along with a spray bottle of Turtle Wax for regular touch up. I learned that trick for the local boat washers. A quick spray on and wipe off keeps everything pretty shinny (as well as some color restorer to get any grime off!). It's endless.... so don't forget to "Go Sailing"

Les

Mike,
The stainless steel handrails were made by N & J Fabrications, located at the Marina Shipyard, in Long Beach CA. The contact there is a guy named Nacho. The telephone number is 562-596-9418. The price of each handrail was $320 each. If you are interested you can give them a call and investigate further.

Stev
I have varnish on all of my teak on my boat, except the deck handrails. Those I have sunbrella covers on all the time. I never remove the sunbrella covers except once a year to lightly sand the hand rails to keep the teak nice looking. I tried varnishing them once and it was too time consuming and frustrating of a job with all the angles of those large hand rails. And even with my sunbrella covers, the varnish took a beating, so I sanded it all off and left it that way.... no teak oil, to Semco, no varnish, no Cetol.... So with the sunbrella covers the boat looks great (in my eyes) and I would rather spend more time sailing and less time varnishing.  This works for me!

Mike,
It is a local stainless steel company here in Southern California. He made the rails for four C-34's (Mk I's). I wrote it down somewhere, I will look it up and get back to you.

Mike,
If you ever have to replace your cabin top rails, consider stainless steel hand rails. Five C-34's on my gangway have converted to this and they look great and require no maintenance. Just a thought...

On those short hand rails under the dodger, when you remove them for varnish touch up, re-install them with a O-ring rubber washer around each screw instead of buytl tape/ or other sealant. The rubber washer keeps any water out, and allows for quick removal and installation for varnishing upkeep. And since these hand rails are under the dodger, they are not exposed to a lot of water. And even if they are, the rubber washer works like sealant.  I like to take home whatever teak I can to varnish and this method makes the job easier since there is no scraping of old butyl or sealant. Just a thought.

Mike,
Yes there are two small hand rails under my dodger to the outside of my halyard winches. Last year I removed them to take home to varnish, and I too noticed that these small handrails were only screwed. I thought that it may be because they are so small and in my case they are only decorative, because they are under my dodger. Like Ron said, I forget that they are even there most of the time.  I too don't know how to answer your question other than why would you not want your on deck hand rails secured with bolts. I personally feel that having  bolts makes me feel more secure when holding on to them when on the deck. I for one would not want those deck hand rails to fail. So I would opt to keep the bolts where they are. Why make the change? The bolts allow your to torque down the deck hand rails if necessary, for security and leak prevention. Screws may be much harder to do so, and perhaps may get stripped easier (screw heads or the wood). It seems to me it is not an improvement to change to all screws.  Just a thought!

I too would use a shop vac. It is fast and really simple to get the job done. I keep it on my boat to periodically dry out my bilge an keep it as clean as possible. We have a small bilge anyway, so the shop vac should do the trick!

Les

Ron,
I know that this was a difficult decision, made easier knowing that your C-34 will stay in your family! I guess you will have to visit Erie PA a little bit more often in the summer time! I must say, however, in the C-34 Community, you are a "rockstar." Everybody seems to know who you are! But one thing for sure, you have made a difference in may a Catalina sailors lives on this web-site, including mine! And for that I thank you.  And of course, I wish you good health, good times and many more good friends to share them with.

I removed my handrails and had no problem re-installing them. It was also a good time to rebed them with buytl tape which prevented any leaks. When you rebed with buytl tape, give the handrails some time to seat properly, and retighten all the bolts and screws the next weekend. Then trim the excess. I had to trim the excess a few times due to the additional seating. I found varnishing the handrails on the boat was very time consuming and a pain because you have to do so many coats, and it is hard to varnish the underside of all of the arches. In my case, I left them natural and use blue covers on the handrails all of the time. Once a year I lightly sand the handrails and they look very nice, and it is a lot less work. The rest of my teak is varnished with 12 coats of Epifanes High Gloss Varnish. Took a long time but looks great! Regardless of how you proceed, if it were me, I would remove the handrails and work on them at home. You can turn them upside down to do the bottom side and then right side up to finish them off. It will be faster, easier, and will give you something to do at home during the week!

Scott,
I assume that by central coast you mean Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard area since that is in your title subject. I bought my C-34 in 2006 and at that time I looked at every C-34 that I could find for sales between Santa Barbara and San Diego. I looked at least 15 boats before I found the one that I purchased. I don't know how many are for sales in that geographical area now, but I would assume about the same number. At the time I was focused on the Mark I due to my budget. But if you use the same geographical area you would expand your search to Marina Del Rey, King Harbor, San Pedro, Long Beach, Newport Beach, Dana Point, Oceanside and San Diego. You probably already know but you should check out a variety of Yacht Brokerages like Catalina Yacht Exchange, Long Beach Yacht Sales, Heritage Yacht Sales, and Vaught's Yacht Sales just to name a few. I don't know your expertise level or experience level with sailboats, but if you read the C-34 site you will learn a lot about our boats and if you want to pick my brain, you are welcome to do so anytime. I do a lot of OPB ing, (other peoples boats) which helps me to appreciate my C-34 more and more. But if you want to pick my brain you are welcome to contact me by sending an offline email. If you are ever going to be in the Long Beach area, I would be happy to meet with you.

Les

Mark,
I agree with everyone else. Just wait until you need a bottom job. At that time you can assess the situation and determine how to proceed. There is no reason to pull the boat out of the water prematurely. Even after you repair these small blisters, there is no guarantee that you will not experience more in the future as well. So don't sweat it for now....

Kevin,
You can certainly turn the dorade vents around when you go sailing if it is a concern of yours. That would seen a bit easier than removing them every time you go sailing. However, I do not think that the sheet line will knock one off that frequently. I have had my boat for 8 years, in Long Beach, where it blows 10 to 18 frequently,  and that has never happened to me and I go sailing almost every weekend.... (hope this is not my famous last words!).