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This has been a very useful discussion. Thanks folks. Apart from the new overheating issue, my engine starts in and instant and runs as sweet as a nut. So i'd always assumed it was fine. Back in the water in the first week of April so I'm going to take a closer look at it then.

Yup, all now filled with epoxy. It just puzzled me that the hull was totally fine and only the skeg had problems.

CopperCoat doesn't recommend an epoxy barrier layer. It goes straight on to the gelcoat which is keyed using an 80 grit sander.

I'll post some pics when it's done.

Hi All,

I recently had the hull blasted and then sanded in preparation for a coating of Coppercoat. The hull is in really good shape, but the skeg had a number of small voids and one larger one.

What causes these voids, and are voids in the skeg a common problem with C34s?

I recently discovered Wago in-line connectors. They're absolutely amazing. Just flick the lever and you wire is held vise-like.

No more weak or failed crimps for me. From now on my boat is a Wago boat!

Wow. I bought mine last summer. I'm going to check for this straight away. Thanks for the heads-up.

I find Catalina Direct to be very expensive. It's also very expensive for shipping.

Thank you again Ron for such helpful advice.

LA Lady's feel at the telegraph handle is like nothing I've experienced on any other yacht. There seem to be two 'slack' spots, both aft of the mid (vertical) lever position. Neither of them actually result in neutral!

Checking transmission adjustment is one of the many things on my ever-growing to do list!

Will do Ron. But she's not back in the water until the end of March. If I try this in the yard she'll definitely run hot!!

Running at 2100 will be fun because I've yet to find neutral on this boat 🙄

I guess I'll just have to double up the warps😂

Hi Jim.

I have the PDF manuals. The Westerbeke one isn't specific to Catalinas so it's of limited use for routine maintenance. The Catalina manual has almost nothing in it of use.

That's a good point about the hot water. Yes, it's fine.

As soon as I get the boat back in the water, I'm going to go through everything. My money's on insufficient coolant level.

Thanks guys. Great info.

I too am not clear whether I have a leak or have simply been running it with not enough coolant. I bought the boat 18 months ago and the PO pointed to the expansion tank and said something like "it never seems to fill so I don't touch it". So, I took it from that, that I never needed to look it. Now, I'm going to pay it some close attention.

The engine starts to run hot if I run it above about 2100 RPM. The temp gradually rises to about 180 and there is a little steam evident in the exhaust. However, this could be an issue with the raw water side. I'm a little suspicious about the through flow. The discharge from the exhaust seems a little feeble to me.

I replaced the impeller, I've checked the thru hull and the water strainer. No obvious reasons for a blockage. So, next investigation will be the HX.

It's really frustrating not having good manuals for the boat and engine. Thank heavens for this website and all your great assistance.

Thanks Ron,

So in normal use, even when cold, the recovery tank should have fluid in it?
EDIT: Just read Jim's comment properly! Seems like I've been running it with too little coolant ever since I bought it.

Thanks Jim. That's what I've been doing, but the engine runs hot and the expansion tank always seems dry.

So, I read one method for burping the system which involved watching the flow into the expansion tank until no more bubbles appear. Seemed to imply a cold system. That got me wondering if the expansion tank should normally have coolant in it even when cold. Hence the dumb question!

OK, this is going to sound really dumb to you experienced old hands, but how do you top up the fresh water coolant on an M35? Via the header tank, or via the water cap on the engine?

We'll see how it goes. I'm only doing it because I had the hull blasted and the epoxy fell off. Given that I was back to plain gelcoat I thought - why not.

If it lasts for 10 years it'll prolly see me out!

I'm getting it done professionally because they guarantee it won't fall off. I'll take piccies and write it up Jim. Best test will be a year from now when I haul out again.

I've decided to use Coppercoat. 6 gallons for four coats.