Topics

Anyone have a used wshisker pole for the 34. A new one is bit out of my range right now.

We were caught in a storm on Lake Erie yesterday. This was our first storm experience and not one I would ever care to repeat. We had left Middle Bass Island in the morning around 11:00 and were about an hour 1.5 hours into our 5 hour trip home when we checked the weather for an update. We saw a warning about thunderstorms and had to make a choice to go back or push for home and hope it wouldn't be too bad - we went with the latter. By the time I saw the lightening strikes about an hour later I knew I had made a wrong decision.

The foul weather started while under power with a south wind at 5 knts at our back and then all the sudden it switched to SW at about twenty, then thirty. At this time we were starting to heel at about 15 degrees without sail, which for some reason unsettling to me. Then the wind built to 40 knts and then 52knts – all of this in a matter of ten minutes. We were heeled so much with the wind and building rear quartering seas that the boat felt like it was rounding up and I was fighting the rudder all the ways to the stops. The seas finally built to about 5-6+ ft steep waves and I figured out the only way to control the boat was to put the waves square on the stern and let them roll under us. During the 50+ knts of wind we were pelted with hail for about five minutes and blinding rain for an hour. Luckily we had our backs to it, with the bimini and some foul weather gear on to protect us. After about an hour and a call to coast guard to let them know our position, the wind dialed down in increments until it was back in the teens. At this point I decided to try and turn around and head into the wind and seas, this way we would be making way for home instead of further away.

I am not sure if this was too much weather for the boat or just me, but I know it is the most worried I have ever been on a boat. I will be playing the situation back mentally for a while trying to figure out what went wrong – 1st with my decision making, and then 2nd with how I handled the boat.

During this time we overheard many maydays and I still wonder what happened to a boat I saw behind us a few miles that was sporting full sail when it hit. One mayday was a family on an Oday 28 with member knocked unconscious seeking assistance to harbor. I wanted to help but all I could do was try to keep going with the waves at my back and hope that the storm outran my steady 8 knts of speed.

I am definitely not a great writer but I wanted to let the board know of this experience so people can think about my mistakes and also to remind everyone that this board is also for discussion on seamanship, of which I could obviously use some help. Maybe we can share more stories in the future of seamanship and handling, both in how to avoid weather and also how to handle it in our cruising boats. Thanks everyone. Bill

I have been meaning to post a pic of our table removal. We have enjoyed the open feeling of the salon without it. We used a 10" inspection cover over the table hole that can be easily unscrewed and the original table hardware reinstalled.
search link[saloon table]

Hey everyone, I am think of adding an autopilot this winter and am brainstorming how to get power to it. My OEM terminal strips and distribution panel are all used. I thought of adding a terminal strip in the battery compartment, but the question then would be how to fuse it and how to switch the power on to the autopilot. I would like the auopilot to be at the panel but I cannot think of how to do it. Has anyone added terminal strip capaicity or wired in new switches to operate new equipment??
Bill

I have a question regarding higher wind sailing, mainly between 20 and 30 knts of wind. Is it Ok to run the headsail alone unreefed (150%) in these type of winds or do I risk damage to the rig. I know most of the info I read says to reef the sails over 18 and I am wondering if some of the more experienced sailors and C34 guys could lend their opinion to flying a full headsail as an option to a reefed main and headsail. I know some of the pitfalls of being unbalanced at the helm but am mostly concerned with breaking the rig.
Bill

Hey everyone, I am in the process of installing my Truecharge 2 and have a question about grounding for the more seasoned electricians here. I removed my promariner (heavy) from under the port lazarette and have decided to mount the new charger in the forward port side setee just forward of the holding tank. I pulled the positives through and forward to the new location. The ground wire was attached to the transmission and I need to get a longer wire to reach the new position. The only issue I am having is that there are two grounding posts on the truecharge 2. According to the manual, one goes to the DC negative bus and the other is outside the charger case and is for grounding the case which is recommended in the manual. Is it necessary to ground the case? I wold rather install the same way as my old one, but I do not want it to be unsafe.

Hey everyone, when we bought our boat last fall the wing keel tops had some bad blistering/bubbling which I figured was fiberglass fairing and no big deal. Just today, I decided to stick a screwdriver in on of the cracks and pry some material to see what I was dealing with before spring launch. It turns out that I pried a big piece of oxididized metal, the whole "blister" looking area which is about a square foot of area and is occuring on both sides of the wing keel tops. The oxidized metal  is peeling off in a layer about 3/8 of an inch thick and appears like orange rust. I had the yard glass repair man look and he thought my keel was iron because of the rusty appearance of the material. He said I would have pry it all loose and fill with epoxy. Does this sound accurate? Anyone have any advise? I searched the site and found a couple of hits on peeling lead including Steves 1 year web log where he mentioed a similar problem but may not be my exact problem  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,663.0.html   Also, it is intersting that there is another similar post about a similar problem from a hull 14 hull#s before my boat,  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4150.0.html
Any advise would be appreciated and I will try to post a pic tommorrow. I will also go to west marine and see what may be available as far as epoxy.
Thanks, Bill

When I removed my prop, the key was stuck and knocked down some threads on the shaft. Does anyone happen know what size die I could use to rethread the stripped threads? Has anyone had this problem in the past?

I just had my prop scanned by Black Dog Propellers, the same shop Ron used. The results for my 15x9 3 blade are below. They are repitching to 10 from this point. Hopefully I will notice an improvement next summer. Next time I talk to Steve at Black Dog I am going to ask how a prop can be so out of spec.
Bill

Scan Results
8.4
8.9
9.2

Everyone, here is my mini web log of some updates and things gone wrong with our first two months of ownership. Most of these updates were made possible by the shared knowledge of the board and could be a little mundane for most of the experienced owners, but I wanted to share my experiences in case someone could pick some tidbit from it. Sorry if it is a bit lengthy.

Replaced Jabsco Head    - when we received the boat, water would spray out the pump housing when pumped and it was cheaper to buy a whole toilet rather than the replacement part. The direct replacement was a straightforward install with a bead of life seal around the toilet to seal out moisture from getting to the bolts and a touch of seal on the bolts to keep moisture out from above.

Rebedded chainplates – We had moisture in the deck and decided to rebed the chainplates as one of the first projects of importance. I followed the great instruction given by the FAQ section of this sight to accomplish this, but with one deviation; no sealant on the underside of the plates. A knowledgeable sailboat mechanic and boat builder stopped by as I began the project and wanted to assist so I happily agreed. He pointed out that by sealing the underside of the chainplates, where they contact the headliner, you would effectively be sealing the moisture in the deck with the advent of leaking. He convincingly argued that by leaving the seal out, it would be the tell tale of a leak when it began, and therefore would indicate when it is time to rebed.       

Teak Louver Door – The nav closet door was missing when we purchased the boat. When we called H&L marine (original manufacturer) as advised by Catalina and the board, they were very unprofessional, at least with their customer service. They do not return calls, have no E-mail for the business, and seem to rely on only fax for communication. After poor service I called a place in Florida (S&P Custom, Inc). The owner, Steve, was very customer oriented and worked with me to get every dimension and requested pics, which I emailed so he could match the door as close as possible. The door was perfect. Great company if anyone needs custom teak work.
   
Al's Nav Closet Shelves – Built from plans on the site in FAQ section. Just to let anyone interested in this project know; the shelves Al used for the project are out of production, but still available online in a few places, so act soon to buy them or risk having to hunt down something similar.

Memory Foam – We ordered a king 4" topper from overstock and cut it in two pieces to the pattern of the v-berth cushions and still had enough leftover to make 3 pillows. Cut a sheet to fit over the new and old cushions.

Resealed Aft Portlights – Used the info on the site for this much-needed project as the aft cabin was saturated from constant leaking. Didn't need any fancy tools to remove the ports, just razor cutters and a plastic hammer to tap out the ports from the outside. Part of the trick to removing these ports are having some patience with loosening the old seal with a putty knife or similar while trying to not scratch the boat. After having seen the bad job that Catalina did sealing the ports, it was no wonder they leaked. They had not sealed around the bottom of the port, where it sits in the cutout hole in the hull. This caused any water that made it past the seals to drip out near the dogs, giving the false impression that the dogs were leaking.

Raw water filter gasket – The first day of ownership, this was leaking badly and I did not know about the gasket, so I had to have the local hardware store make me an o-ring, which worked great. Now I just need to figure out a way to blow air out of the intake to unclog the occasional Lake Erie seaweed from the thru hull.

Removed smoked Plexiglas completely from the cabin (big improvement to me). Later I will replace the doors with 1/8 teak with finger holes to open as suggested by others at the board.

Removed table from the boat - This really opened up the interior space. I got the idea from a U of M professor I met while he was cruising the North Channel (Ontario) in his classic 38 Catalina. He said it made the boat feel roomier for his family and they did not use the table for much anyway.

Refinish Sole – Lots of work and lots of lessons learned. Five coats of Minwax Helmsman clear gloss look great. Also sealed the bottom, as there was a lot of water damage. I am reinstalling the floors tomorrow and I will also position some felt strips in places under the floor panels to reduce vibration noises. We noticed all the different vibrations that come and go as we walk through the cabin under power. Maybe the felt will help.    

GPS 545 – I opted for the 545 without sonar and with an internal antenna to minimize the amount of wiring to perform. Straightforward mounting on Edson mount and wired to autohelm ST50 wind instruments for power at the binnacle. I am now in search of a portable 12V battery power source with disposable battery capability, so that I can rig an extra power cable to it on case of a power failure at night or during foul weather I could still have GPS navigation.

Stainless shift lever – When we purchased the boat the throttle lever had been replaced by the new Stainless Edson type and the shift lever was stowed below for good reason that I will not get into in great detail, but I will hint that it involved me backing into something when I could not engage the new lever into forward because it struck the binnacle.
I tried to fix this problem by changing the adjustment at the trans linkage, but it could not be adjusted enough. The next process involved me detaching the shift arm at the transmission and changing its orientation with the trans in neutral and then retightening in its new position. This gave me the travel I needed, but I would advise anyone attempting this to be very careful and be patient, as this was not an easy adjustment to make.   

Added a K&N air filter because I did not care for the original setup and the K&N was simple and effective, also alleviating the need to locate filters every year. The "brillo" that was the old filter was very dirty and had released particles on the screen protecting the intake. When I ordered a new filter they, sent me the foam one that was wrong for my setup. I feel better with new setup and maybe it will even help the engine breath better.

Next projects include Cutlass Bearing, repitch prop to 10.5" or possibly a Kiwi, and possibly reupholstering our badly worn interior, and probably many things I am forgetting.

Bill      

I have a concern about my thru hull for the head raw water intake in the head cabinet. I just hauled out so while winterizing I thought I would troubleshoot a small leak I had in the head cabinet at at the thru hull for the head. This leak was at the fitting above the seacock valve. Trying to troubleshoot I ended up disassembling the unit down to the plastic nipple from the thru hull. I am wondering what kind of sealant I can use on the threads when I screw the valve back onto the nipple? It looks like it needs something(teflon tape,silicone?) The whole thing just looks like a bad setup to me and I am afraid that in spring when I launch I will find it leaking and have to haul out again. Does anyone have any experience with removing the valve unit from the thru hull and then reassembling?
Thanks, Bill

I have just reattached my wiring to the engine which is frustrating as a novice with no relevant wiring diagram. I have been trying to use the diagrams from links and tha manual, but they are all the old diagrams from before the wire harness upgrade. I have attached the ground to the port side of the block, I have reattached the following cables to the starter post(solenoid??),the battery cable,  the alternator charging wire(orange#10), the red#10 from the ignition switch, and the orange/red wire from the alternator that runs the tachometer. Luckily the engine now runs, but the alarm sounds contiunuosly before and after engine start. Could the four wires to the same starter post be the problem?? Even though the engine starts properly, I could have the worng wires connected.

When we bought our boat the nav closet door/hanging locker? was missing. Does anyone know where I could locate a replacement? Aftermarket or perhaps Catalina?
Thanks, Bill

I had a strange problem on my 1990 yesterday. I went to start the engine, the blower ran, the key buzzed, the buzzer faded as typical with glow plug engagement (normal?), then when I pushed the starter button there was a fraction of a second of engagement or click, then nothing; no power at all to the engine panel. I pushed the circuit breaker at the panel and it was engaged, so I turned the key on so that I could listen for the buzzer and went below and moved some wires around and the buzzer started intermittently activating then stayed on. I started the engine and it ran fine, then I turned it off and the same problem happened again except monkeying with the wires did nothing, so I removed the panel to look for something obvious. After looking at the wiring on the engine panel I put it reinstalled it and thought I heard an arc or two. I tried again to start and this time the circuit breaker was popped. I pushed it in and started no problem. This whole experience was unnerving to me because I am a novice sailer who may depend on that engine starting in lake Erie (shallows, freighter traffic) to bail me out of trouble or increase my comfort level. I am new here and eventually I want to know my boat inside and out, but right now I am scratching my head. Perhaps I need the upgraded wire harness that everyone speaks of?? If so I will move it to my priority list. So far my main priority had been a chainplate moisture issue that I am going to fix, thankfully with the helpful info collected here.

Hello everyone. I am working through the problem list of our 1990 that we recently purchased. The most recent problem is with the water pressure. When I turn on the water pump it runs but I only get foam from the faucets. The water tank is full and I do not see any obvious leaks and also the strainer is clean.
Also, I think I can see some air traveling through the lines. Does anyone have any suggestions?? Bad Pump?? Air leak??

Hello again everyone. Can anyone tell me the length/size of the jib sheet for the furling or is it two separate sheets?? I hope to purchase the sheets/sheets tomorrow to continue rigging my new boat (1990). Aslo looking for jibs/genoa cars.

Hey everyone, I spent 12 hours today going through and rigging my "new" boat (1990.) I have never rigged a boat before and shemfully not paid attention to running rigging when I have been sailing. The standing rigging is installed but I am having trouble with running. We have ran the main sheet and main halyard on the starboard side. In the manual we have it says the 3 blocks on the port side are Starboard jib halyard, port jib halyard and spinnaker halyard. I am getting confused and wondering if anyone could share how they ran their lines?? Any pics?? I also discovered that there were no jibs cars/blocks which I assume I have to have to install the head sail. Does anyone know where to purchase the jib cars/size?? West Marine??

Thanks, Bill

Hello everyone, hopefully my new to me 1990 will be delivered on friday. It is currently being decomissioned in Chicago for its move to SE MI. I have many questions and have done research on the sight for hours with good results, however, I still have a few questions maybe the org could help with. The boat has been on the hard since last year. I am wondering if I can just add fuel and start the engine or is there a recommendation for comissioning an engine besides fluids and fresh fuel? Also, I am a novice sailor and I am intimidated by commisioning the boat. The very small yard(few sailboats) is going to help me step the mast and assist me in rigging the boat. The problem is I am partially clueless about what goes where. I do not even know how to tension the rig or reattach the wind instruments to the mast. How do you know how tight to tighten the turbuckles for rigging? I am not sure I even know how to get the headsail on the harken furler. I know I have some terribly novice questions, but would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks, Bill

Everyone, I am still looking for a reasonable boat and have it narrowed down to a 1986 and a 1990. The 86 has fresh epoxy topsides, rebuilt engine with no time, and new sails. The 90 has new sails, a dimple transom with no walk thru, and low hours on M25XP but needs some polishing/tlc. Both are same price range in mid 40s. Any thoughts??

Thanks

We are thinking about purchasing a Catalina 34 and are currently considering a 1988 but are unsure if we should wait an extra year or two to pick up an early 1990s boat with the bigger engine and walk through.
I do not want to begin a debate as I know these are all great boats, but I am wondering a few things. Does the bigger engine provide more speed when motoring? Do people really find the walk through swim platform useful? I just want to make sure I buy the correct boat the first time.
Thanks