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FYI San Diego area boaters - if you have any expired marine flares, there's a collection event on Saturday Oct 26, 2024 8am to 12pm at the Shelter Island Boat Ramp parking lot (2210 Shelter Island Dr. San Diego 92106). This is supposed to be a free event, just show up and hand over your expired boat flares. No commercial flares are accepted. The flyer my marina sent out says participants receive one free electronic signal flare per vehicle while supplies last.

She may be old, but she still has a nice A$$

Anyone have a line cutter on their prop shaft? What brand and how did it work. Thanks.

FYI -

I was doing routine maintenance on my 14 month old T105 6V batteries. I noticed the gap in the seam between the top and bottom of the case was wet on one battery. Dried it off, and it filled back up right away. The other three are fine. Called the supplier and was told this is a known problem for Trojan T105 batteries built in the last couple years. They said to bring it in for a warranty claim. I brought it in, and got a no hassle exchange for a new T105 battery with new warranty.

I took the photo after wiping the seam. Hard to see the drips in the photo, but it's starting to leak if you look close. Worthwhile for everyone with Trojan T105's bought in the last couple years to look close at the seam between the top and bottom of the case.

Posting this as a heads up to anyone with a red Blue Sea Systems m-Series M6007 1-2-Both battery selector switch. If you have one, inspect it right away!!

A few months ago I noticed that the selector dial turned without the usual "click" into place. There was no visual indication that there was anything wrong. I heard that there have been failures so called Blue Sea. They sent me a warranty replacement at no cost that arrived last week. When I removed the switch I installed in 2016, it literally fell apart. The plastic had failed that the screws thread into to hold the front and back of the switch together. Apparently the switch contact was only being made because the 1AWG cables were stiff enough to keep the back of the switch in place.

FWIW -

My short boat trip got cancelled (for non boat related reasons), so I decided to do a thorough cleaning of the inside to burn off frustration. While cleaning under the stove I heard the propane hose rub on the bottom of the stove. I looked back there with a mirror and noticed when the stove is locked in the static/vertical position, the propane hose touches the bottom of the stove as it goes vertical to the fitting near the top of the stove. This is a safety issue to me, so I made an "L" shaped guide and velocroed it in place to give the hose a 1/2" gap.

Your boats may be different, but it's worth a look behind the bottom of the stove with a mirror.

I saw on another thread some questions about LED PN's, and thought I'd pass along what I've tried. I just changed my 1987 MK 1 cockpit engine control panel tachometer and gauge lights to LED. The tach, temp, and fuel gauges are all 1987 era Teleflex brand. The voltage gauge is also Teleflex, but was bought new to replace the ammeter in 2015.

For reference the incandescent light bulbs were 1893 for the tach, and 194 for the temp and fuel gauges. The newer voltage gauge was different and had a PC 194. You can't change the bulb on this, you have to replace the whole assembly.

I purchased LED bulbs and a base socket from SuperBrightLEDs.com. The PN's I used are as follows:

The tachometer LED bulb –
BA9S-RHP5: BA9s LED Boat and RV Light bulb – 5SMD LED Tower – BA9s Retrofit – 96 Lumens – red.

The temperature, fuel, and voltage gauge LED bulbs –
194-RCOB1W:  194 LED bulb – COB LED – T3.25 Miniature Wedge Base – 135 Lumens – red.

The voltage gauge PC 194 base socket replacement –
T3.25S-TW: 168/194/921 (T3-1/4) Twist Lock Wedge Base Socket – T3.25 Socket. (I didn't check to see if this base socket would fit in the older gauges).

Does anyone know the procedure to adjust/check the chain plate tension rod is installed correctly? Thanks for the help.

The hour meter in my tach has stopped working. The tach works fine so will install a separate hour meter near the Nav Station. I don't see engine hour meter listed in my ABYC DC wiring color code chart. Would it be orange for "Accessory Feed", violet/purple for "Ignition", or something else? Thanks for the help.

This past Friday San Diego Bay was opened for recreational boating. Today I went for a solo sail. I intended to stay in the bay with full main and jib to check for gremlins after sitting for a month. I couldn't resist the view so kept going out to the ocean. WNW wind varied between 10-16 knots. Reefed the main and jib right before the point, everything balanced, a great sail with typical swell. Unfortunately it was tack city coming back due to wind direction, so ended up motoring most of the way in (against the tide).

Thought I'd pass this on and maybe save someone some investigating.

The wire on the ICOM CommandMic that came with my boat has been falling apart. The mic still works great so I decided to get the wire replaced. Turns out the cost was just under $200, might as well get a new one. Unfortunately the new HM-195 ($150) does not work with my old ICOM 422 fixed mount VHF. I called ICOM and they told me only an HM-127 or HM-157 are compatable.

For anyone facing the same problem, and likes the convenience of a full function remote microphone in the cockpit, I was able to find an HM-157 at Binnacle.com for ($150). It includes a 20 ft extension cable, and sst mounting plate. (I've already got these, but no harm in a couple more spares.)

FWIW -
Even if you're not looking for a remote mic, it's worth checking out Binnacle.com anyway. Lots of stuff, some prices are better than other places, the service is good, and delivery was quick. Stay safe.

Recently my oven burner quit working. The pilot would light and stay lit, but I could not get the burner to light. In looking for help, I found a troubleshooting guide on the Sure Marine Services, Inc website.

Using the guide identified that the oven thermostat was not working and the pilot orifice was dirty. I cleaned the pilot orifice. Using their exchange program, I bought a remanufactured oven thermostat, and sent them my old oven thermostat as a core exchange.

I installed it today, and the oven works again. Unfortunately the PDF of the guide is too large to add to this post. For reference I added the troubleshooting guide to the "Galley" section, under the "Stove / Propane" category in the Tech WIKI.

I was reading the new magazine and saw that a C36 owner installed a remote oil filter system. Removing  the lube oil filter from the engine and locating on a bulkhead is a very interesting idea. Has anyone with a C34 done a similar installation?

I originally posted this as a reply on the Fuel Calibration message. I deleted it from there, and moved as it's own topic to make searching easier for anyone that may be interested in this type data in the future.

I've removed my diesel fuel tank to clean the inside and check for any corrosion of the aluminum inside the tank that may lead to a future leak. Since I have everything apart, clean and at home I thought it would be worthwhile to determine the volume on a per inch basis inside the tank. I marked off inch increments externally on all sides, subtracted the material thickness as appropriate. This should provide the best estimate of the internal volume at each 1 inch section. I then converted that volume number to the number of gallons in the tank per inch. Sum up the gallons at each inch increment and I get 25.16 gallons. Considering there is a lot of distortion from the tank fabrication process, I was very surprised to get this close to the advertised 25 gal capacity. I plan to do an actual measurement with gallons of water per inch to compare the two.

The main reason for this exercise is to have a story pole with number of gallons per 1 inch increment. The story pole will be kept on the boat as a manual back up to the fuel gauge. If needed, I can dip the tank through the port cockpit locker using my new tank access plates to check how much fuel I have in the tank.

So for what it's worth, the attached PDF is my attempt to characterize this odd shaped fuel tank. I'd be interested in comments to make this a better document.

I've been planning to remove and clean the inside of my diesel tank since I bought it in 2015. With the recent posts on tank leaks, I decided to move this to the top of the project list to not only clean but also check the condition of the aluminum. To get into the tank, I cut holes in the top for 2 8" access plates I bought. The attached photo's are what I found.

The first photo is inside the forward end of the tank. The silver tube is the new fuel pick up I put in when I removed the OEM hose and strainer. It turns out what I removed wasn't the original. As you can see the original was still laying in the bottom of the tank along with a float from an old level gauge sender.

The second photo is the baffle inside the tank looking forward. I've read where folks said they cleaned their tank by pressure washing without top access plates, but don't see how they got by the baffle.

The third photo is the pile of old growth I removed from the bottom of the tank today after soaking with water and simple green for three days. Those pieces are all a minimum of 1/8" thick!!

Ron, you seem to know all of these historical types of details so thought I'd ask.

My galley faucet has a small leak. I thought it was a Scandvik product, so sent a photo of the faucet and called Scandvik this morning. The gentleman I spoke with said it wasn't a Scandvik product, and he wasn't sure what Catalina used back then.

Do you know who the galley faucet supplier was in 1987? Thanks for the help.

What automatic transmission fluid do you guys use when you change the transmission fluid? Thanks

Hi David, I sent PM's to you but when I check the sent items in my message folder nothing shows so I don't know if the messages were actually sent.

I am creating a project write-up with photos called "1987 MK 1 Catalina 34 Aft Cabin Tool Storage". It is saved under the Storage category. I've added photos like I had for other project write-ups but get the following error -

Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: /usr/local/bin/convert: No such file or directory
Error code: 127

I would appreciate it if you could help me out. I have another write-up I want to add to the Tech WIKI but will wait until I know what the problem is. Thanks for your help.

[Proof Coil]

I may be the only surprised by this, but wanted to pass along to the group as an FYI just in case there is another beginner like me.

As the last step of adding an electric windlass to my 1987 MK 1, I ordered 200 feet of ACCO 5/16" G4 HT galvanized chain, and 200 feet of 5/8" Yale 8 brait spliced together from West Marine/Port Supply.

When I got the new chain and rode home I noticed it was stamped G3, not G4. They had sold me Proof Coil, not G4 HT. I brought it back. They apologized and expedited the correct 200 feet of G4.

About 1 week later, I picked up the corrected order. I verified in the store it had the G4 mark. I decided to lay it all out in the parking lot and verify it was 200 feet chain, and 200 feet 8 brait. It was 180 feet of chain and 210 feet of 8 brait. Wrong again.

I decided to keep the 180 feet of chain and 210 feet of 8 brait. Long story short – Check that what you're buying is what you ordered no matter how reputable the supplier.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year

Now that Sue has moved on, who do we contact for questions about adding content, links, etc in the Tech Wiki? Thanks for the help.

I've gotten a few emails from Catalina Direct and a local Ulman Sail loft advertising a 15% discount on their main and headsails.

Anybody bought Ulman Sails and can share their experience with the quality, durability, effectiveness, etc. of Ulman Sails sold by Catalina Direct? Thanks for the help.

I'm installing a new electric anchor windlass. The windlass has a 600 W motor connected to a 50A breaker/isolator. I have a choice of using either my 4 golf cart battery ~450 ah house bank, or my ~80 ah 650 CCA reserve battery. The reserve battery uses an Echo Charger to stay fully charged.

Is my reserve battery a viable choice for this windlass or will it drain the battery and not get back to full charge without running the engine for a long time? Ron Hill what size is your start battery?

Thanks for the help everybody.

I have a question regarding wire sizing for an electric windlass.

I'm installing my Maxwell HRC FF8-8 horizontal electric windlass. It has a 70A breaker/isolator and 600 watt motor.

My complete positive/negative cable circuit will be between 40-50 feet. From my ABYC chart, that circuit with 10% voltage drop can be a 4 AWG cable.

The Maxwell owners manual provides gauge sizes for a 10% voltage drop. For a circuit length between 33-56 ft it suggests using 3 AWG.

How do I determine the start up current under load of the 600 watt motor and the demand it will put on the circuit? Should I design for that, or for steady state and 10%?

Thanks for the help.

I need to add an anchor windlass to my MK 1 which has the double door anchor locker. The various Tech WIKI write ups have either installed the windlass inside the anchor locker, or drilled a hole in the deck just aft of the double doors and mounted it to the deck.

I decided to replace my large double OEM anchor doors with a center support structure, and smaller doors on each side. I will be using a Maxwell HRC FF8-8 horizontal windlass that will mount on the center support structure and drop chain/rode directly into the center of the anchor locker. I've attached a few photos of the plywood mock up installed.

I'll be shopping the mock up around to local welders to get estimates. The center support structure will be a weldment of marine grade aluminum. The doors will also be aluminum.

I recently had a leak from my macerator pump and thought I'd pass on what I found as a heads up to others.

Turns out the studs holding the pump housing and pump to the motor failed due to severe corrosion. I attached a couple of photos for reference.

I found that Jabsco has a kit to replace the original brass studs with SST bolts. That tells me my experience is not unusual. Long story short I replaced the whole pump/motor assembly and relocated it higher up on the bulkhead to make maintenance next time "cleaner" and hopefully easier. FYI - the new Jabsco macerator pump comes with the SST bolts instead of the brass studs. Another indication this is a systemic problem.

I put a short write up in the Tech WIKI in the "Head" section, but don't think it will be uploaded until tomorrow.

Does Pureayre have a shelf life?

Unfortunately I have a macerator pump problem so will need to clean up the unmentionables afterwards.

They only offer a 22 oz which might not be enough and 1 gallon which might be too much.

Looking for opinions / experience with electric windlass. I will be installing an electric windlass on my MK1. I'm looking at Maxwells rc8-8 vertical or HRC ff-8 horizontal.

Defender has great prices until tomorrow. What are your thoughts on horizontal vs vertical electric windlass? Thanks for the help.

Thought I'd post a couple photos of the propane locker I have almost finished. I'll follow up with a couple more photos when I install in the boat. The new propane locker will hold an 11# tank for the galley, and a 5# tank for the rail mounted grill.

Anybody know what gasket material can be used to seal the lid on a propane locker? Thanks for the help.

Just replaced a damaged piece of teak that was covering the holding tank pump out hose. The new teak I have does not match the interior color at all. The original has more of a typical boat reddish tint to it. Did Catalina use a stain then varnish over it in 1987? Thanks for the help.

Was going to buy dex-cool to have onboard. Got to the auto store and wasn't sure which to get. Full strength or 50-50. Does it matter? Is dex-cool the right stuff? Thanks for the help.

[Note]

I've read several comments about water run back into the bilge without the in line check valves in the hose so thought I'd pass on what I have found. Note - regardless of in-line check valves, when I intentionally filled the bilge to test the pump system, the 1500 always left ~ 1 1/4" of water in the center bilge section that had to be sponged out. The pump discharges out of the transom up high on the starboard side near the back stay chain plate. See 1st photo.

I've just finished adding a Rule 3700 GPH electric bilge pump for redundancy of my original Rule 1500 GPH. The primary pump is the 1500. The 3700 sits high in the bilge and expect it will never be used in anger. I ran continuous runs of 1 1/8" and 1 1/2" Trident # 147 Marine Bilge and Baitwell hose, each with a Marelon vented loop. I removed all of the in-line check valves.

I installed a 1 1/8" vented loop between the bulkhead and galley sink just under the counter top. (See 2nd photo). When I did a test run of the new pump system, the run back without the in-line check valves was only the water in the hose from the pump to the vented loop. About 1/4" of water which is well below the switch activation point. The pump did not cycle after waiting ~ 30 minutes.

While cursing when adding a 1 1/2" bilge pump hose from the head sink locker to the bilge for a second bilge pump, I noticed the hot and cold water hoses to the head sink could be re-routed into this same area. Previously my hot and cold water hoses ran through the engine compartment, around the aqua lift muffler back and up to the head sink.

So what does this have to do with the electrical upgrade I recently finished?

I used the two holes the hot and cold water hoses used to run through for the starter, and alternator out. I drilled a third 1" hole for the main negative to run through. The result is the alternator out cable is 8 1/2 feet shorter, and the starter cable is 7 3/4 feet shorter. The negative is unchanged. Can't get shorter than a straight line from point A to point B. A couple of photos attached.

Was looking on line and saw a ratcheting Greenlee K-111 and a ratcheting  Burndy Y1MRTC crimper for $234 and $212 respectively. This size crimper would cover the rest of the cable sizes I have on the boat. Do these make a good crimp for occasional use on 8-1 AWG boat cable with tinned lugs? Thanks for the help.

Anybody in San Diego have experience with or heard from others about Pacific Offshore Rigging, RigWorks, CC Rigging? Others I should look into?

Thanks appreciate the help.

Would appreciate feedback from anybody who has used a Dye Liquid Penetrant Kit when checking their chain plates during the re-bedding process. I'm looking at Spotcheck®SK-416 Spotcheck Visible Red Dye Liquid Penetrant Kit (from Magnaflux).

Thanks for the help.

The recent post about bilge pumps reminded me of a question I had for everyone.

For those with bilge pump hose(s) that run aft, do they exit through the transom or through the hull where the cockpit drains connect? If through the transom, hi or low? Thanks for the help.

I plan to change my Racor fuel filter this weekend. Although I can see the shutoff valve on top of the fuel tank from the head sink door, it is conveniently to far away to reach. The engine will not have been run since last weekend.

If the valve is left open when changing the filter, will fuel siphon from the tank? or Will only the small amount of fuel in the few feet of hose between the tank and filter flow out? I'd prefer not to close the valve on the tank, but don't want to end up with a continuous stream of diesel. Thanks for the help.

Jon W.

Hi Stu,
     I recall seeing a wire diagram you made of the AC terminal block behind the nav station in one of these recent posts. I've been searching for a while, but can't find it. Can you attach here or point me in the right direction of where it is? Thanks.   Jon W.

Is the BMV-700 the same as the Xantrex LinkLite except that the Xantrex LinkLite can also measure voltage only of a second battery?

Jon W.

Anybody have a Maretron wso100 ultrasonic wind instrument installed or know people that have? Would like to here about their accuracy, durability. etc, from real users. Thanks for the help.

Jon W.

Getting ready for the next big event. I've looked through lots of info on this site and others, have copied others ideas, modified to fit my needs and attached a draft schematic to this post.

Currently I have little to no electronics installed on the boat. However, one of the next projects is to add electronics (radar, chart plotter, wind/speed instruments, depth), and auto helm. So need a design that will accommodate.

The wire and fuse sizes in the attached are a blend of what I found in others schematics. Not sure they are correct for my application. I'd like to take advantage of all of the experience and knowledge on this forum, and get feedback on the attached first draft. What did I miss, where am I over or under designed? Thanks for all of your help and insight.

Jon W.

Anybody know who makes the flooded batteries sold at West Marine? Are they re-branded Trojan or US Battery? Thanks for the help.

Jon W.

[Except]

Thought I'd pass on some findings to other new old boat owners. I came across the following doing back to back projects. For reference I have a 1987 MK1, hull #493.

1.   While cleaning up the mess from the original engine compartment insulation I replaced, I noticed that the throttle linkage
     interfered with the heater hoses. A slight adjustment to the routing of the hoses fixed it. No more interference.

2.   While replacing the fuel level gauge wiring, I had left the port cockpit lazarette open even though it was raining. I noticed
     water leaking into the aft cabin. Looking around I found that the floor of the lazarette and aft wall of the lazarette are not
     sealed. They had gaps I could see through from the inside of the boat. I used a tube of above the waterline waterproof sealant
     from Home Depot to close all the gaps.

3.   The aft water tank vent hose connects to the top of the tank with a ½" hose. Come to find out the other end of the hose
     connects to a 5/8" hose barb on the end of the silver vent cap on the starboard side of the cockpit. I changed the tank
     connection to a 90 deg fitting with 5/8" hose barb and ½" MIP to screw into the tank, and a 5/8" hose.

4.   While attaching the hose to the cockpit vent fitting, the propane locker limits access. While figuring out how to get in there I
      noticed the propane fuel line that goes to the galley.  My locker has top and bottom vents going overboard, a very small
      propane tank, and all the other bits inside the locker with a lid that seals all of it shut. Except for the propane line to the
      galley which was screwed onto a fitting attached to the outside of the locker. I plan to replace the whole thing with a 10#
      tank, room for a few smaller BBQ tanks, and move it to starboard corner under the corner of the cockpit with some way to
      slide it toward the centerline to remove the tank to refill when the seat is opened. Haven't designed it yet so don't know how I
      will keep it from sliding when I don't want it to. I've read what others have done on this forum and will be copying previous
      ideas. Should be an interesting challenge.

Jon W.

I just finished the last of the critical upgrades which is the harness upgrade and adding a voltmeter to replace the ammeter. A while back someone was asking what everyone was referring to when they say "Gummy Bear". I've attached a couple of photo's of the Gummy Bears that I removed from my 1987 hull #493. The first two were at the engine, the third was at the cockpit control panel.

Also attached a photo of the fuel pump positive the goes to the control panel with it's original ring terminal. I posted this because the second day of doing the upgrade it literally fell off the crimp. Same thing happened with the blower motor positive. No tugging/pulling/rough handling. Just fell off. Might want to think about this.

The last photo is my control panel, engine running with a voltmeter! Still need to clean it up and reseal with bed-it butyl tape.

Hopefully all attachments show up.

Jon W.

What size is the diesel fuel line from the deck fill to the main fuel tank? Getting ready for the harness upgrade so looking at the vent and fuel fill hose and noticed small cracks at the bend where connects to tank. Thanks for the help. Jon. W

When visiting my daughter in Kuai'i last week I took a few minutes to look at Hawaii boats on the internet. I found a 1986 Catalina 34 with an interesting approach to adding a windlass I wanted to pass on.

I did not see the boat in person (different island) so have no details, but have attached two pictures copied from that site.

I hadn't thought of replacing the double doors with a SST plate bolted to the top of the well. It looks like it has a lot of positives.

Jon W.

I've been talking about the engine harness upgrade lately, but today was check whether the in line fuel strainer in the fuel tank was there. I thought I'd pass on what I learned today in case you haven't checked for it and are wondering whether you should. The Critical Upgrade says it's to remove the strainer to avoid clogging and unplanned engine shutdown. In my case I've run across two other reasons. One more critical than the other.

The suction tube line is threaded into a tank flange on top of the tank. The OD of the hose on the tube is slightly smaller than the ID of the tank flange. The beckson port above the tank does not line up with the suction line.  To get the line out of the tank I had to take it out on an angle. As luck would have it, the hose fell off into the tank. I then removed the tank level float switch to try to get. Looking forward see 1st picture – the suction port is on the right and the float switch is on the left.

After a few hours of fishing blind, I found a couple of presents in the tank from a previous PO.  I retrieved an old level float switch and a small plastic tube. No idea what the small tube was for. The old level switch could interfere with the working level switch at low tank levels. See 2nd picture

I kept fishing and was finally able to get the hose. One end was severely split open (no strainer). So I turned it around and pushed the not split end onto the suction line. I reinstalled the level switch. When I went to reinstall the suction line, the other end of the hose had split open in that short amount of time. Now neither hose end would work. The hose is a seamed hose and the failure is on the seam. Hard to tell, but see 3rd picture

This is why I'm passing this on. You may not have any fuel concerns, but the hose may be dissolving and fall off with no warning. You think you have fuel, but no fuel can be drawn because the tube suction is now above the fuel level.

This must be a special hose (½" ID and looks like 5/8" OD). I can't find one at WM or SD Marine Exchange. So far Auto parts stores haven't had submersible hoses. The hard tube section of the suction line appears to be ½" copper. If I can't find a hose, I may see if a ½" tube coupling will fit on the suction line. Then sweat/solder the OEM tube to flexible copper tube to get the length back. If you know where I can get the correct size submersible hose, or a better idea on how to fix this, please I'm all ears.  Jon W.

I've received the harness upgrade Kit A with volt meter. I was looking over the engine to get an idea of how to approach making the change. I noticed a couple of things that I'd appreciate some help on. The wire harness has 9 wires. 4 are 10 AWG, and 5 are 14 AWG.

Questions -
    When I remove the orange wire from the original setup, there will only be 7 left to interconnect. What are the other two wires for?

    Per the Kit A schematic, the yellow/red wire to the engine panel push start button is 14 AWG. The wire harness sent is 10 AWG. Will
    using 10 AWG be a problem going up and down in wire size?

    The Kit A schematic has the glo plug wire as gray 10 AWG. The closest to gray in the harness sent is a white 10 AWG. Is the white
    10AWG for the glo plug?

    The orange wire from the output of the alternator to the engine panel is to be removed and attached to the positive side of the start
    motor. On my boat, the orange wire runs from the alternator separate from the plug directly to the engine control panel as 14 AWG. It
    returns in the plug to the starter as 10 AWG. Shouldn't the new orange connection from the alternator to the start motor be 10 AWG, or
    per Mainsheet should it be 6-8 AWG? Also the wires appear to connect to the start solenoid, not the start motor. Is the connection on the
    solenoid or is there a hidden connection on the actual start motor?

    The purple wire is listed as the igntion switch, but on my boat is not connected to anything on the engine or starter. It has a push on
    type connector and some electrical tape around it, but is just hanging out in the air. Looking through the head door, I can see what looks
    like a tab on the lower start motor solenoid post below where the red positive wires connect to the solenoid. Is the purple wire supposed
    to be connected on the lower post? The engine started fine the last time I started the engine. I didn't try it today. Could it have just
    fallen off today? The previous owner did replace the alternator.

Any help is appreciated.

Regards,  Jon W.

I'll be checking the fuel line for the filter screen soon. I read about how to do it but didn't see anything about what to use to reseal the tank when closing it back up. What is recommended? Jon W