Topics

I have read through as much of the previous posts as I can  and found nothing specific enough to my issue at hand.  This summer we had a fuel filter blockage where I changed both the 10 micron Racor and the 4 micron secondary engine mounted filter.   A few weeks later the Racor plugged again and I changed just that one.   My post Racor filter vaccuum gauge was reading 11psi after the second stoppage and 8psi after the change.  I don't have any reference to what numbers should be good to start with but at least now I know what does not work.  The engine runs fine now but I am expecting more crud in the filters.  I will add Biobor to the tank soon in hopes of an improvement.

The racor filters didn't look too bad but obviously were bad enough at least for a fuel system that is depending on gravity flow to get through.  As I understand the system, and I may be wrong, once the engine starts the electric fuel pump stops and lets the fuel siphon down and probably gets sucked in by the injection pump hence the vacuum pressure.  To facilitate bleeding after a filter change and to eliminate the blaring oil pressure beep from the panel with the ignition switch turned on, I previously wired in a hot wire that quick disconnects to the pump's positive wire  to keep it running as long as necessary. 

So finally the question is: would there be any harm in running the electric pump continuously if and when the fuel filters start to clog again?  An accessible swith could be installed for emergency use.  That extra pull through the Racor seems like what the halting engine needs to make it to a destination without the drama of dodging a regatta and maneuvering a few turns into a marina. 

I wish to avoid the drama.   

I hope I am not missing the info needed somewhere in the files but all reference to required hose length is from Mark I Boats.  The water heater hoses on my Mark II with the M35A wiggle aft under the injector lines around the back of the engine before diving down the two holes to port and heading toward the galley sole and beyond there to the heater.   Rough measuring/guessing with a tape shows at least a 14' run each way.  To avoid buying too much extra pricey hose has anyone done this mod with a memory of the length?

Weirdly, under previous ownership what I presume is the original black hose was partly replaced with the good green stripe hose with the joint being somewhere under the galley sole.   Because of this I will be pulling from the galley end in hopes of finding that joint.   That just makes the job more fun.

This all came to a head a few days ago when the coolant temp spiked and the bilge seemed to be full of antifreeze.   Thanks in advance.

For the price of shipping I know this is a long shot but otherwise it's being tossed.  It fits the standard 1.75" intake found on I don't know how many models.  It is drilled for the crankcase return hose fitting with I believe is ⅛" NPT.  Any takers?

I am replacing the rubrail and found a number of 10-24x2 ½ machine screws protruding above the surface.  Does anyone know their purpose? Are they part of the hull/deck joint? The new rubrail is unlike the original and wants to sit flat on the surface.  I can counter sink the backside of the new rail if necessary but these screws are a mystery. 

Having just installed a vacuum gauge on the downstream side of the Racor I now wonder what to expect.  I could change the filter to calibrate the system but would rather ask you all instead. Mainly this option might save me an expensive filter. 
The current reading is 8.5 in Hg at cruising rpm of 2500 on this M35.  My gut feeling from a little reading is this is already a bit high.  Has anyone some data to share?

Thanks.

Taking me by surprise, when I dropped the main cabin top hatch surround to paint it, I found an unmistakable layer of balsa core in the top deck.  And all along I have under the impression that Catalina never used balsa. I guess I need to check those cabin top bolt holes for good bedding compound.  I will have to read up on attaching photos straight my phone. 

I am not sure if this standard Catalina stuff, but our pleated shades fasten down on 1" diameter Velcro discs made of a stiff plastic with a single screw hole.  Sailrite has a 1 ⅛" version but I am hoping someone has sourced a smaller one. 

After a thorough search I have found nothing on this topic so here goes.  Maybe I am the only boat driver among who has managed to ding up the hard edge of the transom, or not. Along with scraping a few lock walls last year on the way south is our aluminum dinghy with a towing eye at just the right height to slam into fiberglass. I have checked with the rubrail mfg Taco and they have nothing that would make the curve gracefully. Some European boats, maybe expected to be med moored, have a serious rubber edge back there and even multiple charter boaters cannot destroy the stern. 
Has anyone among us tackled this issue? Or am I truly the only one among us with a dinged transom?

So this is not strictly Cat 34 territory but I hope someone in this region has some input. We are on the ICW northbound in Georgia and aware of the new anchoring rules enacted in January.  The question is are the rules being enforced, by whom and is there any meaningful penalty?  The rules as written severely limit our options. We are currently no where near any structures that trigger the 1000' zone but tomorrow is another day.

Hi all, I am hoping we have some SE Florida sailors with any info on cruiser potlucks for Thanksgiving this year.  We participated in St Marys GA some years ago and had a great time. This year we will be well south of Vero Beach where they do a good party and hope there might be some other cruiser friendly spot further south.

Does anyone offhand know how high the tall rig projects off the water?

We are leaving Michigan this week for a trip south down the ICW to the Bahamas for the winter and will potentially be in the path of east coast tropical storms this fall.   Fortunately the forecast sounds better than last year.  I have a list of theoretically safe and better protected marinas for hiding out but do wonder if anyone here might have some favorites to put on our list.   We anchor out most of the time but with a named storm coming our way my preference is either a safe dock or hauling the boat and getting out of there.   My current list hopefully is attached.   Any input is appreciated.

Last year I changed over from the v belt on our M35AC to the Balmar serpentine belt.   The left over parts from the change over are: v-belt in great condition Gates 7417),  Balmar machined v-groove pulley (61-0010), raw water pump pulley, left over Balmar spacer and assorted screws.   The v-groove pulley came off of a Balmar 120 amp 6 series alternator.   These are spare parts in a box in my garage that I do not want to toss knowing that someone among us can likely use at least part of this set of junk parts. 

Any takers? For the cost of shipping plus a six pack?

Leaning on the collective wisdom again.
I dropped the rudder to pull the shaft and found a crack on the forward side of the rudder, at the top and above the step. It looks like it's been there a while and is well painted over. Due to it's position the crack was not visible before.
I am thinking I need to grind the area back, V grind the crack, fill with epoxy and put on a few layers of cloth as strapping to hold it all together. 
Is this overkill? How much stress do we have up there?

I know this is a long shot but this pretty much perfect prop is either a lawn ornament or it will end up on someone else's boat.   It is the standard Catalina issue 15x9 Michigan prop, never in salt, never dinged, probably never even off the boat until last week.   Anybody need a spare or an uncorroded replacement?

So I have searched for someone's brilliant idea on this topic and found nothing. Hopefully one of us has an idea. Our salon cabinet tops are potentially useful for storage but without a fence of sorts or something we have had to use baskets or all that we put up there slides off with slightest heel. I have considered adding a low "fence" or making a removable tray with higher sides sized to fit the irregularly shaped quadrilaterals.Either way the sides could be 3-4" high and maybe work. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, has anyone found a solution?

On the cabinet storage thought, on the Mark 2 we also have this space between cabinets at the below rub rail ports with a fiddle that is too close to the hull to store a good set of books.  I can pull the fiddles, patch the oblong holes and fasten a new longer fiddle fixed to the front of both cabinets but am leery of it looking hokey. Maybe with the original fiddle removed a 4-5" high by the roughly 2' long piece could be fastened to the back of the teak piece right above the seat backs between the upper and aft shroud rods. Just thinking. 

Meanwhile we also have a fixed port with a distinct crack in the forward pointed end measuring about 2" high inside.  I can feel the crack with a fingernail outside but not inside.  What is the collective wisdom?

I have installed a pair of 100w flex panels in the bimini each wired to a separate Victron MPPT controller. These controllers are mounted high in the aft port locker with the outputs joined and running forward with 6 ga wire to the panel.  Since the panel is fed by, I believe, by 1 ga wire , I reasoned at the time that the controllers would sense battery voltage at that point just fine.   
So, should I redirect the outputs straight to the house bank or does it not matter?   The run from controller to panel is about 15' while extending to the house bank would add another 8' or so.  Maybe this is splitting hairs but if I can increase output by some percentage it would be worthwhile.  Thx

Hi all, This is a followup on the mast issue we had at haul out last year.  One owner asked about the why and what happened.  We usually haul with a group and a hired crane and have an excellent record, and still do.  With the crane operation that is.   My issue was in hauling the mast down the road to the storage lot.   We have been using a 2 wheel cart under the CG at the spreaders with a towing yoke strapped the mast butt which attached to a vehicle's hitch.  I hit a bump on a turn and the mast came off the hitch after which it was run over by a tire.   The result was a total loss of the mast which has now been replaced and is ready for launch.   Our insurance, Chubb, covered the cost with no issues.  We were fortunate that Catalina still had one extrusion on the rack which was a perfect match.   Lessons were learned and this new mast will never be hauled in that fashion again. 

I just spent the last hour searching for the ignition push to reset breaker on this m35A with no luck.
This afternoon started with a goal of checking my engine gauges and alarms. When I shorted the oil sensor to the block and turned the key I heard a breaker pop and the panel went completely dead.  I traced the wires and cannot find the mysterious breaker. Where did Catalina hide this item?

We replaced our sails this year and have a main left over.   I bought this main from another member here a couple years ago and it served us well but the new quantum main is a bit better.  The sail was made for a standard rig Catalina 34, has the regular 2 reef points and logo.   The only issues are a bit of staining above the foot around a few small wear spots that are purely cosmetic.  I had a sailmaker check this out and he found it to be sound.   The sail can be shipped in a box and the battens shipped separately in a PVC tube. I paid $800 for the sail which was a bit high and I would be thrilled to get $500 from a needy sailor.

Any takers?
   

This is a stab in the dark hoping to find an extra Bimini frame made for a C34 Mark 2.   I know I am unlikely to find one here but you never know.

We are prepping the boat for this year and want to make a few changes.  I am hoping to get some recommendations for these items.

V berth sheets and a 2" memory foam pad with cover.  We had one on our last boat and it was incredibly comfortable but that company's name is long gone from my memory.

Remote oil filter.   Has anyone found a good and less than $300 option for an M35? 

Oil change pump.   Our M35 has the hose coming out of the sump bottom and it is clamped to a bulkhead on the starboard side of the engine compartment.  A logical solution, to me anyway, is to permanently mount and plumb a lever or plunger actuated pump to this bulkhead and eliminate some of the hassle of oil changes.   We are expecting to head south again with the expected 8-10 oil changes required over a 4500-5500 mile distance.   The last time I used one of the Jabsco brass piston pumps and it worked fine but was occasionally messy.   



thanks

The charging cradle for my handy Icom M72 has died but the radio is still going strong.   Has anyone had the reverse happen and still have a good cradle they would like to sell?   One part number is BC-166.

thanks

Well, I removed the old windlass and am in the middle of installing a Maxwell VW10 and do need to move the old one off my bench.   When we bought the boat last year the windlass was wired backwards and not really usable so I doubt it ever saw much use in it's 18 years of life.  The gypsy has all of it's chrome and looks great.   Included is the foot switch but without the chrome ring.    I may remove one of the mounting studs to reuse on the new so that would have to be sourced.  A meter of metric threaded rod will cost 12.85 at Fastenal and you get enough to do the whole windlass with fresh threads.

How about $400 plus shipping from 49686?    Estimate about  26 pounds packaged.


thanks, Dietrich

Does anyone have the fore and aft dimension of the wing keel?

After searching this site, the web and calling Catalina Direct I need help.   Two of our galley cabinet doors are held closed with brass bullet catches that are fine until we execute an unplanned 50 degree roll on a rogue and embarrassingly unnoticed  wave and crockery launches itself into the air.    The existing catches around the boat are mostly black plastic push buttons next to a simple U shaped handle.   The galley door design is ½" with a ¼ round teak strip along two edges.   

The nearest I can find to this latch is a Seadog brand, http://www.go2marine.com/product/387315F/sea-dog-cabinet-latch-push-button-push-button-cabinet-latch.html, from Go2marine but I hope to find a latch that is more similar to the originals.   

thanks

I am rigging our boat for spinnaker flying and lack a set of 1 1/4" sliding track cars from which to hang a set of snatch blocks.  Might someone have an extra set in the spare parts bin that we all seem to fill over the years?

Our M35 has an annoying ticking sound at idle and I am presuming the valves need adjusting.   On the sea trial last year our surveyor did not think it was anything to be concerned about but to is beginning to bug me.   

The actual adjusting procedure is straight forward enough but what I am unsure of is how best to turn over an engine with no compression release and no accessible hex nut to turn with a wrench.   The 30mm nut on the crank shaft has a bent up keeper that precludes using a wrench.   The 18mm splined shaft offers a possibility if I manufacture an adapter or the pulley has three tapped holes that I can adapt to.

OK, there must be a simple solution.   Am I over thinking this one?

I replaced the original 20" long roller on my 1996 Mark II with the 30" model and need to move the old.   It's roller is is in good shape and spins well, has never seen salt, has old sealant on the bottom and comes with a backing plate.    The photos I think tell the tale.

How about $75 plus shipping?

I am adding a reserve battery to our 1996 C34 with the M35A.    Our Kobota dealer recommends a 500CCA battery for a 30hp diesel but that is also presuming winter cold weather usage.   Can I use a U1 size battery with half the CCAs and still reliably start the diesel when I goof and let the fridge drag the house bank to nothing?

Dietrich Floeter
#1317 1996

I have replaced the Hatch Storage Bracket that mounts on the engine cover.    The old Starboard bracket is now loose and available to anyone who may want it for the cost of shipping.    Attached are some images of the old and new.    8/4 mahogany is a passable complimentary wood to the teak.   

This piece came from a 1996 Mark 2 C34.

On our new to us 1996 C34 Mark II I am installing a wash down pump with the line terminating in the anchor locker.    I have mounted the pump on a board outboard of the water heater and hope to use one of the existing through hulls under the galley as a source.  We also lack a sea water pump at the galley and need to plumb this in, somewhere.

As I recall, one of these through hulls is the sink drain and the other handles the ice box and shower sump.   Can I tee the ice box and shower into the sink drain and use their through hull or will there be too much back pressure resulting in a full sink?   I considered teeing into the sink drain meaning I would need to pour enough water down to clear the water column of debris before starting the pump or I would be pumping last night's dirty dish water into the wash down pumps filter.   Eventually I would forget and create a nasty mess.   

Or just wait until we haul this fall and drill a hole?

Dietrich Floeter
1996 C34 Wing
Name TBD