Messages

QUESTION:  I have wired my Alternator output directly to my House (primary) battery bank. It charges nicely when the engine is running,,,,no problems.  WIth the engine off, the Alternator pulls power from the Batteries, drains them and gets very hot (110 degrees and climbing).  Is this to be expected? or do I have a fault somewhere in my wiring. Some online  research revealed I may have diodes in the Alternator's Voltage Regulator that were stuck open.....but it has happened to three different Alternators.

My 1988 is doing the same thing - but not as bad.  I think it is a combination of shoes kicking the base and dislodging the paint and then any moisture - from an open hatch, deck cleaning, spills, etc. attacking the weak paint.  I have no problems that are related to this and think it is just cosmetic.

Sounds like a new system is the way to go.  I had a similar issue on my 1988 - system not working when I purchased the boat.  I removed the compressor, use the box as an ice box (dry ice works well with no melted residue) and installed an Engel for in port.  I have not looked back.

Looks like a nice boat.  My experience with both the Catalina 30 and the Catalina 34 is the "Catalina Smile" on the keel is a given.  I attend to mine each time I haul it out - a little Dremel work and some G-Flex epoxy and I am good to go.  I paid $32K for my 1988 3yrs ago in NC as a comparison to your "give-away price."   My boat needed some cosmetic work that the one you are looking at appears not to need.  Good luck!

Could you have fishing line or other such debris wrapped around your prop/shaft?

I am a current owner of a C34 in Portsmouth, VA, traded up from by C30 a few years ago.  Loved them both. Bought both of them from Ron McLean at Bay Harbor Brokerage at Willoughby Spit.  Some of your technical questions may be a bit beyond me - I just enjoy being out on the water and don't split hairs over performance, but if I can help contact me at billmathus@netzero.net.

You might try "burping the bellows."  I had a drip when I purchased my boat - and it had been sitting for awhile.  I compressed the bellows and then released it (might take a couple of times), the theory is it will clean out debris that has found it's way into your system.  Worked for me - two years now without a drip.  Bill Mathus.

I measured my 1988 C34 hatch boards for you today:

Top Board is Top-36-3/8" Bottom 30-3/8"  Side measeured along the angle is 11-3/4"

Bottom Board is Top 30-3/8" Bottom 23-3/4" and angled side is 13"

Together, top to bottom down the vertical spine is 23-1/2"

I measured carefully but take the measurements at your own risk.

I have dealt with the Catalina Smile on my 30 for 10 years and now on my 34.  Yours looks like a Catalina Smile to me.  I just hauled mine Monday and intend to attack the smile tonight.  I plan to dremel the crack a bit to get a clean edge, then putting "G-Flex" epoxy paste into the crack and fair it.  I expect it will not go away, I just treat it each haul-out (every two years) and have never had problems other than the aesthetics of the crack.

Is there a history and a tried and true solution to the "Companionway Waterfall?" 
Rain water collects in the recessed area forward of the companionway sliding hatch (the area where the hatch slides to when open) on my 1988 Catalina 34.  Then, after I get into the cabin, relaxing because I am now out of the rain, I close the sliding hatch, and the lip on the forward end gathers all that cold water and dumps it on the back of my neck as I stand at the bottom of the companion way steps.  My Catalina 30 had little drains cut into the Port and Starboard wood trim in which the hatch slides, but the 34 does not.  I am wondering if there are weep holes somewhere that may have become clogged over the years.  Does anyone else have this problem and a workable solution?