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Check the projects for a water heater bypass system. It is made of PVC pipeand three ball valves or by one from WM for a few dollars more. After installing the bypass system, drain the water heater and leave the plug out. Switch the valves to the bypass position and run the anti-freeze through the hot water lines. Non will go into the heater. In the spring, run the antifreeze out of the system, reinstall the drain plug and switch the valves back to fill the heater. It's worked great on North Star for several years.

Last year, I had a rigger go up the mast to do a survey(Also a 1990 boat, #1073). Everything was OK. It was worth the cost for the piece of mind.

On "North Star" the P.O., for some unexplaned reason, repowered with a Yanmar 3gm. That is a great engine. With 27hp it has all that a C34 needs.

John,
I just received this in the fleet 12 newsletter yesterday. You might be interested.

For Sale
Bottom Sider cockpit cushions for a Catalina 34 (1986). Color, Royal blue, with white accent stripe. Asking $50.00 or reasonable offer.
Contact: Dave Zonderman, 973.584.3981
Email sail274@optonline.net

I used Gorilla Glue to repair a split in the teak eyebrow on my boat. It had "sprung" a fraction of an inch, so I temp. screwed it in place until the glue set. The oozed glue was easily sanded fair and I am happy with the repair.

When my smoked plexiglass sliders broke, I replaced them with Formica sliders. Formica makes a countertop laminate that matches the off-white color of the salon table top and the counter tops. I bought a 4X8 sheet at Loews and cut in half across the 4 foot dimension. I then glued the two halves together, back to back, with contact cement and used the old sliders as patterns to cut out new sliders. The thickness of two pieces of Formica is exactly the same thickness as the plexiglass. The one sheet is enough to replace the four doors over the settees and the two smaller doors above the nav station. The white brightens up the interior significantly.

I checked my fuel shutoff cable today to see how it is made. There is no single center wire. The inner core (the movable part that is attached to the fuel shutoff lever) is a twisted wire rope similar to the construction of lifeline cable. I can see that it possibly could unravel and be impossible to re-insert into the sheath. Perhaps there are other kinds of coaxial cables used on boats. I know the throttle cable on my lawnmower is a single strand as Ron Hill described.

Tom, The tech at Mack Boring (Yanmar's East Coast dist.) warned against removing the cable completely. He said that it would unravel and one won't be able to get it back in. I don't remember what the construction was actually like but the moveable (inner core) part of my cable was not a single wire strand. I seem to recall a twisted wire rope type of construction around the single wire center strand. I haven't lubed it yet this year, but I'll take a look at it the next time I'm on the boat.

Before you buy a new one, lubricate the old one. To lubricate the cable it must be removed, but caution. Do not remove it from the outer shield completly. At the engine where it is connected to the throttle link, mark the inner cable with whiteout where it comes out of the outer shield. Then disconnect the end of the cable from the link. From up in the cockpit, pull the cable out slowly until the dab of whiteout is visable. If you pull the cable completly out, you will never get it back into the shield. Coat the exposed part of the cable with a waterproof grease (lithium is best) then push the cable back into the shield and go below to reconnect the cable end to the link. The cable should be lubricated on a yearly basis.

Work a sturdy screw driver or small chisel into the seam between the end cap and the boom then drive the end cap off with some heavy hammer blows. It takes quite a bit of force to start the cap moving. As the cap moves away slightly it will require less force. Work around the perimeter of the cap so that it doesn't cock in the mast. I was afraid that I would damage the cap but don't worry it's not so fragile.

I tackled this job over the winter. My out-haul was "stuck" and I couldn't get it to move either way. As I tried to remove the SS screws from both ends of the boom, one at each end broke off. The phillips head screw driver chewed up the remaining screws. I used a vise-grip pliers on the heads that didn't break off and carefully backed them out. Where the screws had broken I drilled them out not really caring too much about drilling into the aluminum castings underneath because I knew that Tom Sokoloski's idea to drill and tap for 1/4-20 hex-head screws was a winner and that was what I was planning on doing. When I got it all apart, there was more than enough "meat" in the aluminum to allow for the larger screws. BTW, I found that the out-haul lines had twisted around each other and that was why it was jammed. I straightened out the lines but I didn't make any other changes at that time. With the hex-head screws in the ends it will be a simple matter to take it apart again when I decide what I want to do or if it becomes jammed again. Thanks, Tom.

Hi Chuck,
I just finished cleaning my hull, above the water line with "Starbrite" one step cleaner and polisher. It did a great job with very little physical effort. There was some chalking and two years worth of dirt and grime. It all came off surprisingly easy. 3M makes a similar product that works just as well. I don't know how bad your chalking is. but I suggest getting a small bottle and giving it a test for yourself. If you have an electric polisher/buffer, it will be that much faster and easier.

The answer to this riddle is of interest to me since I too have this problem. When the boat was in the water last year, I was afraid that the water was coming in around the keel bolts. But when I was at the boat this weekend for the first time since it was hauled for winter storage, I found my bilge area filled with water. It could be, as Ron says, coming in via the mast but I will also check the base of the steering pedestal. It accumulates all summer long, whether we have had rain or not.

I didn't think that one was supposed to sand ablative paint to re-activate it. That would be a waste of what is on and unnecessary labor. Am I wrong?

Why can't I view Mike's photos? I am logged in. Is this something like "The Emperor's New Cloths"?