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Today I set out on a windless day, so engine on.  I'm sitting off to the side so don't see the knotmeter, but after a while the penny drops that with the engine rpm at my normal 2300, I'm only doing 4.3 kt.  Normally it's 5 point something, and it seems to me, now that think of it, that a few years ago it was more like 6.  I anchored and dived on the propeller - nice and clean and no dings. 
I checked the transmission oil level - right on the money.  The speed sensor is nice and clean and although it was reading lower than the GPS, it was only half a knot off.  The bottom was painted this winter and is nice and clean.  I haven't checked whether anything is wrapped round the keel - the Chesapeake is so murky, you can't see the keel from the propeller, and the possibility didn't occur to me till later, but in any case it's unlikely.  There's not many possibilities left.
Comments and wisdom would be much appreciated.ner
John Gard

On a recent visit to the top of the mast to drop a runner to feed in a new jib halyard, I noticed that the two sheaves on the forward side of the mast were seized or nearly so.  I couldn't be sure of the material - plastic or aluminum.  After a bad experience once before when I greased a plastic spacer in a winch, that then swelled and became hard to turn, I am very cautious now about what I lubricate and how, so I didn't yet apply any oil to the sheaves.  Can anyone tell me what is the material of these two sheaves?

John Gardner

I am getting salt water in the dimple aft of the propeller shaft support securing nuts.  I can't think that it is coming from anywhere other than the rudder post.  Unless someone perusades me that there are other options, it looks as though I shall be exploring this area over winter this year.  Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect, what to look for?  Am I right in thinking that the rudder stock is in a fiberglass sleeve/housing that is part of the hull and extends above the water line?  I think I've read that there is a gland at the top of it.  What is that like, how does it seal - is it like a propellor shaft stuffing box?  Assuming I have to do something there, I presume it is not necessary to have room to drop the rudder? 

I have persistent chain plate leaks on the port side of the boat and seem unable to cure them.  I have resealed the passages through the deck several times; I have re-sealed the nearest stanchion; I have removed the "eyebrow" for the last 6 months and sealed the screw holes.  Right now, the forward chain plate, which is the worst leaker, is completely covered at all joining surfaces with modelling clay, and it is still "leaking".  Obviously the water is coming from somewhere else.  Any ideas would be welcome, but the main questions I have are:

The Lewmar ports.  Am I right in thinking that they are clamped into position - there are no bolt holes, screws or other holes into the sides of the cabin top?  If that is the case I feel pretty sure they are not the source of the problem, because the insides of the ports are completely dry.

Does anyone know the construction of the cabin top joint with the deck?  Under the fiber glass is there potentially a crack all the way along between the two?  My fear is that if so it might be acting as a conduit all the way along from the genoa tracks, and that is something I really do not want to undo!

Help!

You may be interested to see the cutting board that I found in my local supermarket (Giant, for those in the Chesapeake Bay area).  It's made by Farberware, which is a widely distributed name, and fits as though designed for the job.  I put on eight rubber feet from the local hardware store (using stainless screws instead of the ones provided) in order to locate it on the sink.  Otherwise it is as bought.

"Overheating again" I hear some people say.  Well, yes, I'm definitely sorry to say it is.  I think I've read all or most of the previous discussions, and one of the main threads in them is, the way I understand it, the need to get rid of air locks in the water heater hoses.  However, looking at the engine manual, it seems that the water heater circuit is only a parallel loop, not in the direct cooling line.  And that makes sense - the design must recognize that there may not be a heater.  So what am I missing?  I just don't see where these airlocks might occur around the engine.  Even the top of the thermostat housing (and the thermostat is not installed in my engine), although it has a bleed valve doesn't look as though it could interrupt the flow.  Please educate me someone!

Since I sail single handed quite a bit, I have bought a Dutchman Boom Brake to try to ease the problem/worry of distance between the helm and the main sheet/traveller while running downwind.

The scheme I have temporarily rigged is to put the brake on the foremost bail on the boom - in a permanent installation I would change the mainsheet block for one with a becket.  The rope leads from the base of one aft main stay to a block on the opposite stay and aft to a cleat at the side of the cockpit by the helm.

My one trial so far was not entirely successful.  I could lock the boom in position - that was OK,  but a controled jibe was not so good - the boom juddered across - not at all smooth.

If you have one, how do you rig it and set it up?  How effective do you find it to be?

John Gardner, Severn River, Chesapeake Bay.

In the course of chasing down an overheating problem that began after the fan belt broke and was repaired, I decided to check whether the thermostat had failed.  One of the bolts sheared at the head, but I managed to get the housing off anyway, only to discover - no thermostat!  What was a load of trouble for nothing!  And the problem turned out to be an air lock in the water heater section.
But I'd like to put in a thermostat - does anyone have a part number?

During the winter with the boat out of the water, I replaced the engine mounts with Vetus K7s.  The Vetus mounts have very short slots, so to get alignment of the engine I had to file the slots longer.  In fact I had to widen the slots (in one direction) until there was only 1/16 inch metal left holding the base of the mount together at one end of the slot, and even then alignment was marginal.  Somewhat belatedly I have eventually got around to doing the final alignment with the boat in the water.

Now with the front of the engine off as far as the mounts will go in one direction (starboard), and the back of the engine as far as it will go in the other, I still can't quite align the engine.

It seems to me the only way I'm going to get alignment is either to pull the engine, fill the holes in the bearers with epoxy and re-drill, or file the mounts so the last bit of metal is all gone from one end of the slots, which of course will weaken the bases of the mounts.  The latter seems to be the lesser of two evils, unless anyone has any better ideas.......?

I read somewhere that if you poured hot water on the gas bottle, you would get water vapor to condense on part of the bottle and show how much gas is in the bottle.  So I tried that today, but it didn't seem to work.

BUT... the water I poured on the bottle, in its safety box, didn't all run out, not because the drain pipe was blocked by debris, but because the outlet through the transom is about 1/2 an inch higher than the bottom of the box, and 2 inches higher than the lowest part of the hose.  The hose which exits downwards into an elbow, and then up to the through hull, had filled with water.  If water gets into the hose, from the sea or otherwise, any gas leakage could not exit. :eek:

I just have room to raise the box 3 inches, and that should cure the problem.  You might want to check yours too.

Does anyone happen to know the dimensions of the cutless bearing used in 1988?  I know I have to replace mine, and I would like to buy it before my new owner discount expires at BoatUS.  (I think if I get the wrong size, I will be able to exchange it - the card expires in one week, and the boat will be out in three, but it would be better to be right the first time.)

Many thanks.

I have scanned the manual that came with my 1988 C34 and put it into 3 Word files - 2 files each at about 8M and 1 at about 3M.  If anyone is interested, give me your email address and I will email them to you.
At some point I hope to do the same with the engine manual.

During a survey of 1988 C34 #695, by looking from within the aft cabin, it was found that the hollow inside of the skeg (if that is the right term for it) was full of water.  The nuts on top of the propeller shaft strut had rust streaks, and on the outside, when the hull began to dry off a wet line marked a crack at the interface of the strut and the hull.  However no water dripped from the joint.  And I wasn't sure that the slope at the top of the "hump" where the strut securing studs poke through was in the right direction to feed leaks into the skeg area.
After the incredible East coast drought, we had just had 5 inches of rain.  Unfortunately I didn't think to taste the water at the time.
I'm not yet familiar with the relationships of things in that area.  Can anyone offer some probabilities - leaking strut, leaks from the rudder post, or rain water?

I'm looking forward to becoming a member of this busy C34 community.  I have just had a survey report on a C34 I hope to purchase - 1988 #695 - and this has raised two questions for me.  I'll keep them as separate subjects.
There are a couple of floors - athwartship supports under the cabin sole, bridging the bilge aft of the mast.  One of these has a vertical crack in the center, and the other has cracks on either side where the floor joins the hull.  The surveyor thought these areas were non-structural, and therefore that the cracks were inconsequential.
Can anyone offer further information on this?

I am looking at the Catalina 34 as a possible upgrade from my Catalina 27.  One boat that I have seen has early signs of a crack developing at the keel to hull joint.  The broker was dismissive - "common for all boats".  There seems to be no mention of this anywhere else on the message board;   is this a rare problem, possibly serious, cosmetic?  Please can anyone advise?