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I know this post is a little old..... I have a 1988 C34 with the same companionway as pictured in this post. On the inside of the companionway there is a weep hole in the center of the fiberglass. This allows a small drip to drop right where the engine cover meets the companionway. This has caused some rot. Not bad but I need to fix it. I thought water was coming around the companionway but it is coming through the weep hole.

Would rebedding the teak side pieces help? Not sure how water gets in the hollow part of the companionway. It's the only thing I can think of doing.

I would recommend putting an insulating layer between sunbrella layers to reduce heat transfer (In in Summer Out in Winter). There is a canvas maker in our marina that does this and I have heard good reports.

I used a piece of 1/8 PVC Signboard material and made a regid cover to fit directly onto the lens part of the hatch. This has really reduced condensation in winter and keeps the inside service the same as the ambiant air of the inside of boat. It can be 100 on deck and then inside of the lens is the same as cabin temp.

I attach it with 3m Dual Lock. Small piece on each corner.

They have lasted 3 years. I had one break off in some 40kt wind a few weeks ago. Stayed down on three sides but broke off the 4th side where it came loose. Other than that I am very please with my cheap easy to do project.

I later found a company called Outland Hatch Covers that is making a similar product to what I designed. You might want to check them out. I don't know anybody that has used them but I am a 100% believer in the concept.

While you're at it..... Three things I did this winter and have been very pleased with the results.
1) Added a small piece of window screen over the floor drain. Tacked into place with some silicone
2) Replaced the stock strainer with a Jabsco Pumpgard In-Line Strainer. The top screws off to access the strainer. Very easy to do. I really like the top access. Easy to reach and see.
3) The absolute best change was adding a Jabsco In-Line Check Valve between the strainer and the pump. This has absolutely cut out 100% of the shower back flow back onto the floor. I hate getting my socks wet on a cold winters night. I went with the Jabsco because it takes just the smallest amount of pressure to push open the valve. To test it I let the sink trickle into it at the lowest setting and it did not impede forward water flow. You barely have to blow into it and it will open but it was very resistant on the back flow.

I will try and post part numbers this weekend. I just had the names in my notes. Both parts about $20.

When I rebedded the teak rails, seahood, and sliding hatch last year I only sealed around where the bolts/screws went with  Butyl rubber. I did not seal all the way down the teak rails nor did I seal at the forward edge of the seahood. (seahood I think is the correct term for the compartment the sliding hatch slides into). This has allowed the water to drain more than in the past. The hood use to have silicon all the way around it and the teak rails had beeds of silicon running fore and aft. The water has to go somewhere or it will puddle until it dries or is moved by the sliding hatch. So far I have had no issues with allowing the water to move more freely. Since the hatch is a high point the water drains to the sides.

Using UHMW Slick Tape to help reduce the cabin top squeak. Before I put the sliding hatch back down I added a strip of UHMW Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene tape. Woodworks use it to reduce the wood to wood friction of drawers. The fiberglass flange of the sliding top no slides across a very thin UHMW tape stuck to cabin top. There are a couple of posts that also discuss this tape option. Over the past year it has really reduced the squeak.

I recently did this same project. I filled the teak rail holes with eboxy and overdrilled them so any leaks would not drip by the core. I then replaced the bungs and built up a butyl "moat" around my redrilled holes. I then used lag screws and screwed up from the inside into the rails. I didn't want to have to remove the bunds each time. I can just unscrew it from the inside and lift it off. I did this about a year ago and have had not issues. The Butly is only around the holes. The theory is to allow moisture to escape from under the teak. I recently removed one because I need to repair it. I damage it while rebedding the traverler. Dropped the drill on the corner. The underside look to be in very good shape and was not moldy. I think letting it get some air was better then daming it up.

My old head would do the same thing. If I would push the "selector" switch over harder it would work as normal. Flip it back to wet then back to dry. I had an older Jabsco. Maybe original to my 1988. Never did figure out what was going on.  Last month I got an email on the Sat phone from my wife letting me know she was tired of the head on our Catalina and was going to replace it. I had just emptied a holding tank by hand pump somewhere between the Azores and England and would have said yes to a gold plated head as long as it didn't require me to do any work on it. In hindsight it probably would have been better to replace it when we got the boat vs a rebuild kit a couple of years ago. The boat came with the kit but not sure I would pay for the kit vs replacement.

We have the check valve on our shower drain and I have cleaned it out recently. We can pump our shower dry and I even stick my finger over the hole to increase suction but water will drain back into the shower floor. Not much but keeps the groove area wet by the drain. I am wondering if the check valve wears out. I cleaned it really well and it looks OK. If you pump the head this will push some water back up the drain as well. Has anybody else had a problem with the shower drain area having residual water in it after it was pumped out?

This months Mainsheet magazine had a really good article on how to put your IPAD to use.

I used Navionics on a Ipod Touch with a GPS Magellan case. The magellan case makes it waterproof and gives it GPS. I had it downloaded on my wife's IPhone but found I didn't get to use it much. I used it in the Fl Keys for almost a year. I had a Garmin 540 chartplotter that was NOT touchscreen. I found that I used the Garmin less and less. The Navionics app on the Ipod was so much easier to use. I would read the guide books and listened to the weather radio and figure out where I wanted to go and would come up with some Plan A B and C anchorages. I would plot them on the Navionics which was so much faster than the Garmin. It would much better at calculating time and distance. Worked very well in the Keys. I have used it on Lake Lanier GA and have enjoyed it there. Mostly for race courses etc.

I bought Navionics for the Caribbean and used it for 10 days in the Caribbean.  Very pleased with it. Great for planning our routes as well as alternate weather plans. Of course we used paper as well but the Navionics was spot on.

Long story short but something fell behind the sliding hatch and the hatch cover and there was no way to get it out without removing the sliding hatch and cover so that's what we did. The long pieces of teak that go fore and aft are screwed onto the deck from below. There are 13 phillips head screws that go up from inside into the teak. The teak does have bung holes visible on top but the screws are from below. Once I got a putty knife under the boards and dislodged all the silicone I was able to lift up the boards. It took about 30 mins to remove all 13 inside screws, pry up the teak and unscrew the coach top. Took a couple of hours to really wash both and to clean out some really nasty leaves and such that was under the coach top and to remove all the silicone that was used to seal it.
A few things I am curious about and would like some ideas:
1)   The teak boards appear to have small blocks of wood that has been added to the underneath to plug the cavity that the bung hole covers from the topside. The "blocks" appear to have been made to fit flush against the bottom and plug the area under the bung. These "blocks" are not in good shape and will not give much for the screw to bite into. Any suggestions on what type of filler I could use to provide something for the screws to bite into? Wood filler or epoxy?
2)   The screws have the decorative ring washer at the head. I don't know what you call it. The PO filled around the head and the washer with sealant. This is great to keep drips out of the cabin and all the places they like to land (laptop, cell phone, pillow, etc) BUT it also doesn't let you know you have water going through a hole and past the core.  Is the core wood or solid fiberglass  in this area? If it is a wood core would it be best if I over drill them, add Rot Git, Epoxy and re-drill?
3)   The sliding cover goes under a coach top. Not sure what you call it. The coach top had a 3 inch wide layer of silicone going athwart ship at the forward most edge. The silicone sealed the forward most edge of the coach top. Is this the correct thing to do or should you leave this unsealed so that water and small junk can drain threw?
4)   The teak boards had a random bead of silicone going from end to end. I am not really a fan of silicone. There is lots of silicone that has been used on the boat. I am slowly replacing it with Butyl tape. I was thinking I would put some butyl tape around each hole that goes through the cabin top for about 2 inches around each hole. Is this correct? Would you put it anywhere else on the teak board? My thought is to only form a barrier around the perimeter of the screw holes and let the rest be open to drainage. This will also allow water to get under it but hopefully not down through the screw hole.  The only way to stop that is to seal all 4 sides.
5)   Sliding Hatch: I have sprayed Tri-Flow Superior Lubricant) with Teflon Aerosol ( type that into Amazon and you will find it on the sliding hatch. It eliminated the squeak and makes it slide much better. Reapply about once every 3-4 months. Put two or three quick squirts each side. It made a friends Hunter slider so slick he pushed too hard and fell down into the cabin. I ordered some UMHW Slick tape and will try it out. I HOPE that it will stick and stay stuck without coming loose and balling up on the track. Part of me says just spray it 4 times per year with the spray lube and don't get too fancy using the UMHW tape. I'll let everybody know how the UMHW tape works. In 6 months if I post again about removing the sliding hatch you'll know to just use the spray.
6)   I think the teak has Cetol on it. Has the more orange look and everybody on the dock said it's Cetol. I read that all you need to is to wash it good with dishwashing soap and some bleach and then scuff it up with a 3M pad. Put a couple of coats of the Cetol Light then one coat of the Cetol Gloss. Please let me know if you have other thoughts on redoing the Cetol.
7)   Traveler: did NOT have to be removed on my 1988 MKI

You have to figure out if you want it to hang exactly even on all sides or if you need to make adjustments. For example, the mornings are cooler and I like for the companion way to be open but the morning sun shines right on the icebox.  Based on how our boat sits in the slip  my shade cover is skewed to port to reduce companionway sun. Once you have all this figured out you know exactly where to clip the carabineer, tie the line etc. I have red carabineers for port and green for starboard which makes quickly identifying which side is which. Walmart has a cheap selection over near automotive. I use the small 1 inch size. Use the carabineers more to make it quick and fast versus tying  a taunt line hitch or 2 halve hitch each time. As a Scoutmaster of 20 years it was hard to go with the carabineer but it makes it faster. I also marked the forward center point with a piece of string tied into the weave.
I store it in a wadded ball in the aft berth or it is easy to stuff into a sail bag and into the Laz. Setup time for both is about 10-15 min at most once you have it all figured out. If you focused could probably take less time. I find that I will put them up at anchor even if for just a few hours.  I'll work on getting some pictures next weekend. 

This summer was a hot one and it made my floating office hot even with the AC running all the time. We did one cheap thing that really helped out.
First we added a tarp over the boom. I didn't want a solid tarp because that blocks air flow and creates a greenhouse effect under the tarp. We used a mesh tarp that blocks about 70% of the sun out but allows airflow as well as it doesn't trap heat in. I also wanted one that didn't catch 100% of the wind when the 30 mph thunderstorms roll through. I wanted to leave them up all the time even if not at the marina. The tarp drapes over the lifelines and blocks the sun from hitting the deck or ports. This reduces the deck temperature by 30 degrees on the hottest of days. The difference from being able to sit on the deck under the tarp and not being able to walk barefoot on it. The real benefit is the interior cabin ceiling goes from around 100 degrees during our 90 plus degree days to the same as the inside temp set on the AC. Even if the room is comfortable sitting with a 100 degree ceiling over your head makes you hot.
We used a Harbor Freight 12x20 Mesh Tarp item 93625 $45. We tie a line from the mast to the topping lift to hold it above the boom and sail cover. The sides are draped over the lifelines. We will clip a carabineer to the life line at the corners and when we leave the boat down the sides. I like it draped OVER the lifelines and not tied to them so that you can duck down and move forward without having to step over or undo lines. On the foredeck we ran a line from the furler to the mast and used the 10x12 Item 96936 for $25. This helps keep the V-berth nice and shaded. To take all the temp measurement Harbor Freight sells a neat infrared Thermometer that has been handy with the engine and playing with the tarps. Be sure to Google harbor freight coupons before you order.
The local Harbor Freight is 2 miles from my office but 40 from the marina. I have been in numerous times to by tarps for dock mates at the marina. I have probably bought 15 of them so far and everybody seems to think they really help and they have held fast with only a few tie downs during some really bad storms.

We purchased our '88 C34 last October and I have been a regular visitor to this site but have now figured out what I need to do to post etc. I wanted to share a very strange thing that happened the other day. I purchased 5 gal. of high sulfur off road diesel to take to the boat. Once it cooled down outside I went and got the diesel and set the can in the cockpit. I unscrewed the deck fill and turned around to get the can. When I turned back around smoke was really coming out of the deck fill. This was very alarming. Two dock mates were on the boat and the wife was in the shower below. One ran below to turn off the battery selector and the other undid the shore power cords. The engine wasn't running so we were trying to stop sources of ignition. Smoke continued to build. All water has stopped in the shower so wife is covered with soap with two other men on the boat and we are calmly telling her we may have a fire. More smoke. I decided the smoke might be building because I was letting oxygen down the deck fill. I grabbed the cap to replace it. The BB chain that holds the gap burned into my hand. For two weeks I have had nice little BB blisters on my left hand. I managed to get it screwed on and went below to see if smoke/heat/fire was in the cabin. The other guys said no but I had to check. Nothing. Ran wife out of head and opened panel under the sink to see if the diesel tank was hot etc. It was not. We were perplexed.

Decided it must be electrical so I got out the volt meter. Connected AC didn't read any stray volts in the rigging, life lines etc. Then turned on DC and began to turn on switches. Once Cabin Lights switch was turned on the Life lines, stanchions, Backstay all showed 12.5 plus volts. So I have a wiring issue. Why did the deck fill heat up??? After what my wife said was hours of endless discussion we determined the deck fill was reading negative and the stanchions positive. Then it hit me. I put the deck fill cab against the stanchion to hold it out of the way. In doing so I crossed negative and positive creating a short. We tested our theory and in seconds the chain had heated up.

I drew a "map" of all the stanchions, standing rigging, etc and tied the negative lead of the volt meter to the battery post on a long lead and went around and measured everything. Through a long process I narrowed the location to midship starboard side. By disconnecting the life lines I determined that voltage was running up 3 stanchions on the starboard side. Lifelines may have been hot because they are old and cracked and metal may touch metal at the stanchions. I was perplexed as to how voltage would be in 3 different places. With a flashlight and a mirror I found what looks to me to be an undersized cheap piece of blue wire that is running along the starboard side to each light fixture. This wire in conveniently pinned under the backing plate and/or washers of each stanchion and after removing one stanchion I could see a very small break in the insulation.  This wire appears to be original and may have always been pinned under the stanchions.
What I learned:  Go around the boat with a voltage meter and see if I have other items that are "hot".  Try to eliminate as many variables as possible. Map out the boat so you can keep up with what you eliminated. Repel the urge to go after the "I know it must be this item" unless you have deduced that it is that item. Have a good voltage meter and a long piece of wire you can tie directly to the negative post on the battery so that you can  go from bow to stern with the meter and have it grounded to the battery.

I don't know if this will help anybody else out but I thought it was a strange enough event I would share it.