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I looked into this extensively before our trip around Vancouver Island last summer.  I came to the same conclusion as Steve on Black Dragon (as referenced by Stu).

We have a C34 Mark 1.25 and opted for a Rocna 15kg, 120 feet of 5/16" G4 chain, and 180 feet of 5/8" 3 strand nylon rode.  This was used with a Lofrans Royale manual windlass clone that I paid $200 for on Craigslist.

We typically anchored in depths of 25-40 feet.  That usually meant all the chain was out, and the rode could be taken to a bow cleat without needing a snubber.  In Sea Otter Cove, a sublime and rather shallow anchorage, we were in less than 15 feet of water.  There we didn't use all the chain, and used a pre-prepared 30 foot length of 5/8", 3 strand nylon line for the snubber.  A simple rolling hitch of the nylon snubber on the chain held us safely overnight in 25 knot winds.  Like Steve, no need for chain hooks or other fancy snubber attachment mechanisms.

We also liked not having all chain rode, both for weight reasons in the bow and because we chose to go with a simple manual windlass.  Your own use of your boat and anticipated anchoring needs will ultimately dictate your particular ground tackle set up, but this worked well for us. 

Patches

Thanks Stu, but I think I'm going with a fixed Backstay system.

Noah, please let me know when you accomplish this.  I may beat you to it but, if not, will certainly share my measurements with you.  You might consider flipping your princess seats to the other side of the pushpit.  Then you would have twin "fighting chairs" and the billfish would fear you.  That would be exciting sitting in those seats.

Ed, good point, and is one of the reasons why this project is happening soon.  I don't have a Bimini and the Backstay modification is a predicate to spending those boat bucks.

I'm finally getting around to this project.  Like others, I'd like to shorten the Backstay and lengthen the Backstay bridle to allow more head/shoulders room at the helm and while boarding via the swimstep (I have a Mark 1.25).  I'm guessing that I'll have to raise the bridle high enough that the single Backstay turnbuckle at the "Y" will have to be replaced with two turnbuckles (one each where each leg of the bridle goes to a chainplate).  Otherwise, I would never be able to reach the raised single turnbuckle to adjust it.

The Manual says the current Backstay length is 31'9.25" long, and that the Bridle length is 15.0'.

For those that have undertaken this modification, could you kindly provide measurements for the length of your new Backstay and Bridle?

Thanks in advance,

Patches

 

I'll try to figure out how to load some photos or video.  It really is quite remote and spectacular.

To answer Andy's question about the Raymarine wheel pilot steering, it did fine when asked.  It wasn't asked to steer when I was having too much fun steering the boat down the swells in a following breeze.  Nor was it asked to steer in some very confused seas/cross swells going around Estevan Point or Beale Point. It couldn't keep up, and it required a lot of concentration on my part to steer safely.

We never did meet the owners of the Catalina 350 which appeared in our anchorage sometime after dark. We left pretty early the next morning, and nobody was stirring as we motored out. They had Washington State registration numbers, but no home port indicated on their transom.

We did meet—of all people—another boat from Bainbridge Island in Barkley Sound.  Not only that, they kept their boat (Halberg Rassy 42) in the same marina as us! But they were moving on to Bamfield and we were taking advantage of a weather window to sail all the way down the Strait of Juan de Fuca in one day.  That was a 13 hour day, and those of you who have done it know there is really only one bail out point on the Canadian side (Port Renfrew) and the conditions were such that we pressed on to Sooke Harbor.

Although I haven't tallied up the exact distance covered, it was about 750 miles. A  pretty serious trip, and one that challenged us in many ways.

Patches

My wife and I just completed a counter-clockwise trip around Vancouver Island, starting from our homeport in Bainbridge Island, WA.  A few of the highlights follow.

—we blitzed up the west and north sides because of work commitments, burning a lot of diesel in the process.  The new Beta 25 was reliable the entire way.  Took us 9 days to travel from home to Bull Harbor (the jump off point before rounding Cape Scott).  The rest was on the west side, coming down the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the return to the Seattle area.

—many whale sightings, both Orcas and Humpbacks.  Closest encounter was a humpback about 40 yards away.  Lots of sea otters, especially Bull Harbor and on the west coast.

—Very few other cruising boats, sail or power. We saw no other boats in any of our anchorages from Bull Harbor until we got down to Hot Springs Cove.  When we woke up in the morning, there was another Catalina (350) anchored next to us.

—Navigation was done by depth sounder, Garmin 547 chart plotter with a G3 chip, and Raymarine wheel pilot.  These were the steady, reliable workhorses of the trip.  We added a Garmin In Reach for emergency and texting purposes, but it never really had any weather information for us.  No radar.

—Electrical system kept up with all needs.  I have modest electrical demands, and a house bank of 3 Firefly AGM batteries.  Refrigeration was provided by my portable Engel Fridge/Freezer combo and was the biggest consumer of amps, though very modest consumption.

—Experimented with a KISS cruising set-up.  Went with a manual windlass, Airhead composting toilet, and Origo 6000 alcohol stove and oven combo.  All worked brilliantly.  Although I completely removed all propane from the interior of the boat, I did mount a dedicated 1.1 gallon tank on a stainless bracket which I through bolted to the transon for the Magma grill.  Again, worked perfectly.  I would not hesitate to use this KISS set-up for much longer trips.

—Sublime ocean sailing north, and just south of Brooks Peninsula/Cape Cook.  Our C34 Mark 1.25 handled the swell (and confused seas) around the 4 major capes very well.

—Used the aft cabin as our storage area/garage.  It held, among other things, our two inflatable kayaks and two 5 gallon Jerry jugs of diesel as well.

—dinghy (Westmarine 260 fiberglass RIB) was carried fully inflated, inverted, on deck in front of the mast and behind the manual windlass while in the ocean. We tied it down while en route and used the spinnaker halyard to lift it on and off using the port cabin top winch.  Once we got into more protected anchorages and Barkley Sound, we towed it around.

The trip was amazing.  No one out there in places except for an occasional fishing boat.  The Catalina 34 did very well in the ocean conditions and proved herself very capable—and comfortable for two. You must be prepared, as there is no cavalry to quickly ride in to the rescue (only our Garmin SOS feature) and very few places to provision/get water/drop garbage.  The scenery and wildlife are stunning, and we had whole anchorages/areas to ourselves.

Patches

I hauled out to replace my circa 1990 transducers which went to a B&G "Focus" speed/depth display sold as original equipment with the boat.  To upgrade to more modern transducers (200 HZ) you need to enlarge the hull opening diameter from 1 3/4" to 2".  I'm replacing with a basic Raymarine i50 depth sounder.

In thinking this through beforehand, I thought I would be able to remove the transducers from their thru-hull housings, back off the nuts inside, give them a whack with a mallet from above, and they (and their ancient sealant) would pop out. Then, my plan was to double up two hole saws (1 3/4" inside to act as the new "pilot", 2" for the new hole) and just drill through the bottom.

The plastic nut for the speed transducer backed off with some taps with a hammer and a short piece of hardwood to the flanges on the nut.  The nut on the depth transducer housing would NOT budge. No amount of persuasion with the mallet from above would dislodge the speed transducer housing despite removing the nut.  Thus my whole plan for using the doubled up hole saw was foiled.

I went up in the boat and got two wooden plugs which are normally tied off to their thru-hull valves in case of emergency.  I inserted these in the housings from below, gently tapped them in until they were seated, and then cut the protruding portion off (a little proud) with a multi-tool saw.  Then I used the 2" hole saw—which now had a solid "center" for the pilot bit to grab—to cut the new hole.  I prepared the new hole (sanding back bottom paint, smoothing the hole sides, and removing left over reside from the backing plate inside the hull), added the sealant to the new housing flange and bottom part of threads, and then pushed it in and tightened from above.  You will need a helper to add a bit of pressure to the new transducer housing from below (to prevent it from spinning) while you tighten the new locking nut from above.

For anyone thinking of doing this, I recommend this technique (inserting the wood plugs into the old/legacy 1 3/4" housings from below so the pilot bit from your 2" hole saw can center the new cut). Don't even bother with trying to remove the locking nuts from the old housing.  It will take two minutes with the hole saw and you're ready to prep and secure the new transducer housing in your boat.

Patches

I like that you appear to have left enough room in your tank design to get at the rudder stuffing box.  While I appreciate all the capacity of that rear water tank in our Mark 1-1.5 boats, it does make access to things like the rudder stuffing box a pain.

I replaced mine with a 23 gallon version which is much easier to remove as well as access things on the sides and aft.  Since I've removed my holding tank in favor of a composting head, I'll be buying a new fresh water tank from Ronco which is a drop in for the holding tank.  That will add back some more freshwater tank capacity (30 gallons or so).

Isn't it great that Catalina built us such a great boat which we can pretty easily customize for our particular needs/wants!

Patches

Hi Cliff:

I also have a Mark 1.25. My boat has the propane locker in the aft seat locker—mounted on the platform on the starboard side.  These can be purchased from Catalina Direct (white with blue top) and take the smaller size propane bottles which can be purchased cheaply at any RV supply place. Mine vents from the locker out through the stern to the swim step.

I've never run out of propane during a standard 3 week cruise.  I carry a spare bottle in the port lazarette just in case.

Patches

Hey Antoni:

We will also be sailing around Vancouver Island this summer.  Leaving August 24 from Bainbridge Island and will be going counter-clockwise.

When I made the trip in 2016, the first fuel after rounding Cape Scott turned out to be at Esperanza on the NE corner of Nootka Island.  We were very happy to learn they had fuel there after we topped up in Port Hardy.  Nothing was available in Winter Harbor or Kyuquot in mid September.  Doubling the factory fuel capacity goes a long way on that coast—and in Mexico too.  Great upgrade.

Patches

Thanks to everyone for their input.  For my purposes—somewhat unique dodger design and uncertain long term ownership—I went with the "Crystal Clear" vinyl made by Strataglas.  My online research found good results/reviews with this product, and mixed reviews/results as to whether the Strataglass "coated" vinyl was worth the premium (2X).

I did, however, follow Noah's advice and am having a sunbrella cover made to snap over the vinyl when the boat is not sailing.  Together the cost was about $750.

Patches

Fair point Kevin.  The Dodger material has held up well (Samoid vs. Sunbrella) so that is less of an issue.  It gets a lot of use so scratches are going to be inevitable, and further reading indicates Strataglas scratch protectionis really limited to small lighter-type abrasion.  My long term ownership is unclear, but to be decided in the next 6 months. So I'm leaning toward the replacement with Crystal Clear (also manufactured by Strataglas).

Patches

Forgot to mention:  My dodger material is Samoid, and the glass portion to be replaced is one long piece (roughly 93"long) in the front—not the typical 3 pieces.  So the replacement glass will not ever be rolled up or zipped out. It is either up on the dodger frame or it's not.  I also have two side windows that zip in and extend back to the cockpit coaming.

Was out in 35 knots this past weekend when the lazy sheet snapped onto the dodger and cracked the glass.  The dodger was on the boat when I purchased it 6 years ago, and I have no idea what the glass/vinyl is that was built into it.  It has held up well until now.

My canvas guy has recommended either Crystal Clear or Strataglas for replacement.  The Strataglas is twice the price per square yard than the Crystal Clear. Says the difference is that the Strataglas is "coated" but didn't know much more than that.  Same thickness (30 mil).

Has anyone been faced with the same choice?  If you chose Strataglas, do you think after use it has been worth the premium?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Patches

Allen:

Forgot one more thing:  You're likely going to need a new prop for the Beta 25.  I run a standard 3 blade fixed prop.  My 15" X 10 pitch prop for the Universal 25xp did not work with the new Beta 25.  In order to activate the Beta warranty you need to achieve 3600 rpms, which I was not able to do with that prop. I could only attain 3100rpms.  On Beta's recommendation, I purchased a new 14" X 8 pitch fixed 3 blade and that allowed me to reach 3600 rpms.

Patches

I have removed this 43 gallon water tank from my boat.  No leaks, in excellent condition.  $100.

I live in the Puget Sound area on Bainbridge Island.