Messages

I need to replace the loincoin on my MkII boat.  Ron, Can you tell me the year (and month) of your tech notes article?  I cannot get my search function to work.  I'm nervous about this as a DIY project as my local "premium" yard (KKMI) wouldn't quote the job and suggested I call Catalina instead.

Freya is a MkII boat and there is no cabinetry under the secondary winch location, only headliner.  The key for me was lots of thickened epoxy liberally butter.  I did'nt care how much oozed out and dripped out has it is all hidden by the headliner.   

I mounted Lewmar ST40s as secondaries on Freya.  These are overkill, but I wanted them so I could alternatively re-route the genoa sheets aft and single hand and not disturb guests.  Mounting the port side is easy with the lazarette for access.  I wound up cutting in a new beckson port in aft cabin for easier access for the starboard mounting.  I had to split the G10 backing plate there so I could get it through the port.  I needed to butter a lot of thickened epoxy on those two as  the under surface on that side was quite uneven.

My Truecharge 20i appears to have bit the big one.  I have shore power to the unit but, the batteries arn't getting charged nor do the led lights are on.  Is there an internal fuse or something?  The original manual has nothing and web searches turned up little useful information (lots of technical wonky stuff about replacing individual components on the circuit card) .  What would be a good replacement?  I have the Xantrex Link 1000 battery monitor and been thinking of their charger/inverter as it would take advantage of all the Links functions and capabilities, but I'm open to better ideas.

My ST4000+ control head will no longer switch to Auto mode.  When I press the "Auto" key, the screen will momentarily display "4000 WHL" at the top then switches back to standby mode.  In standby mode it doesn't display rudder direction indicator at the bottom of the screen either. It does show the same heading as the chart plotter.  I have the fast heading sensor and rudder reference unit installed.  Worked perfectly for years.  It passed the functional, operating sense and Seatalk interface tests.  It does the same "4000 WHL" display error when I do the wind transducer interface test.  I also cannot find the Dockside Rudder Calibration Screen in the set-up menu.  How do I fix this?

I've been reading up on other ST4000+ failures and I'm not very hopeful.  If I must replace with the EV-100, does this mean I have to replace the fluxgate compass and fast heading sensor too? 

Breaking Away, I echo Stu's sentiment.  On a fully unfurled headsail, halyard tension is equally distributed along the entire luff.  When the sail is partially furled, this tension is only on the top and bottom, causing the senter section to "sag" out.  Luff foam pads are used to add "bulk" to give more tension to the center section (keeping the center section from "sagging" out).  Partial furling only really works for bringing the genoa down a size or two (in your case down to a 130).  But at the same time you are also winding in the built in camber at the top of the sail so it is not as efficient and harder to shape.  You can also experience a harmonic vibration as the wind does not flow smoothly over that thicker headstay.  In a pinch, furling works (heck, I've even been down to "hanky" size on especially windy days) but I don't think it is a solution for an entire year if the seasons are different.  Like Stu, I have a different size jib/genoa depending upon the season.  What is the difference in your seasonal wind conditions?

Eric, are you thinking of doing the Baja Ha Ha in '17?  We too! our current (tentative) plan is to leave San Francisco at the end of August and Enjoy Southern California before heading to Mexico.  Keep in touch and perhaps we can buddy boat one or more of the legs.

What is your sail number?  MkI,or MkII?

We have a MkII boat so our lay out is a bit different from yours.  We installed a fan on the teak trim piece just below the head liner.  Getting power to it was a problem.  We wound up snaking wire from the galley (we now have task lighting over the stove!)  We also took the opportunity to install a 12v receptacle in the aft state room so guests can recharge phones.

I can confirm that you DO NOT send in your old riser to Catalina Direct.  I have been told that Garhauer makes these risers for both Catalina Yachts and Catalina Direct and that the delivery quickness is dependent upon if it is in stock or if it needs to be built.  Mine was delivered from Sacramento to Santa Clara in three days.  Here is a comparison photo of the two side by side.  The photo is a little distorted and they are the same dimension-ally.  The new one is electro plated to keep the welds from rusting.  I polished off the area around the injection nipple on the old one and found these two nasty surprises.  The old one had a little rusting around the nipple and the factory insulation completely covered the cracks.  Inside the riser there was "coking" in the area of the cracks and I could not clean well enough to see how extensive the cracks were on the inside.

I do have one question:  How do I wrap the seizing wire around the manifold clamp?

I had a leak under the Stb foot block.  If you haven't found your leak yet, check the Stb winch (I have found that leaks will most likely occur where the accessibility to bolts/nuts are the worst  ). You might even have a loose/cracked hose connection on the Stb cockpit drain hose. 

Jkar, can you provide more details on how you set up and operate your furler?  Are your spin sheets permanently attached?  If so, what is your process in setting up?  i.e., bring the bag to the bow, run the sheets and furling line back, then raise the furler etc?  Do you do this all at the dock or can you do it under way on the water?  How to you keep the spinnaker gear from fouling when rolling the genoa in and out?  What is the clearance between top of the furler and top of the headstay furler?  Would I need to extend my spinnaker crane further out, ahead of the mast?  I, too, like the idea of a furler, but haven't figured out the operational details yet.

I have a Universal M35B (600 hours) with a 120 Amp Amptech alternator and a 3 Blade Flex-o-fold (15X9 pitch) propeller.  My fuel economy has been a mediocre .6 -.65 gal per hour.  I was wondering if going to a smaller alternator or going to a different prop pitch will improve my fuel economy.  I noticed that a lot of boats use 100A alternators, but if I'm using solar (200 watts and counting), perhaps something smaller, like 80 or 90 amps might be more appropriate.  Our MkII boats have a ridiculously small fuel tank and I looking for ways to improve cruising range.

On a related note:  Recently I overfilled my fuel tank and had fuel leak out the sending unit's gasket when we had a string of hot days.  Can I use Permatex gasket sealer rated for fuel?  My tank is polypropylene and not metal. 

Are you interested in a "factory" (Dacron) mainsail for a standard rig?  Sail is in the San Francisco Bay area.

Thanks for the tips!  This weekend I'm going to see if I can remove the entire panel so I can take it home for refinishing.