Messages

I agree Stu, no more Winnebaggo's.

Stu....I don't believe it is any longer than a 34 MK11. Catalina has gone to measuring tip to tip, over all length and using that for the model number, similar to other boat manufacturers. My 34 MK11 is 35' 8" overall length with includes pulpit/anchor roller. Also water line length is only a few inches longer.

It does look like a direct replacement for our 34's.

Look forward to getting all the actual specifications and seeing one at a boat show.

I agree Stu,

It's hard to replace a classic, we should hear more over the next 30-60 days.

If they follow the naming convention they have done on the 375 and 445 it should be a 345....34 1/2 feet, LOL. Maybe a redeveloped 34, a very popular boat.

I have also heard rumors of a new model coming.

Jim,

We have the ultra leather in blue on our boat. We really like the soft material, and always get positive comments when friends are on the boat. We spend alot of time on the boat (60-70 nights a year) and so far the cushion covers have held up very well and still look new. We have spilled things on them and the liquid does not stain or penetrate the material. The foam cushion is starting to compress, I suspect we will have to replace the foam in the next couple of years. So far no repairs have been needed.

I would include this upgrade on any New Catalina.

Tom,

The headmate bowl will bolt directly to the Raritan PHC LBA. Make sure you order the PHC LBA (link in previous post) as it is a direct replacement for compact bowls, and the Headmate. You will have to drill a couple additional holes for mounting the pump to the floor as the Headmates mounting holes do not line up with Raritan.

After 1 year and alot of use this is the best upgrade we have made to the boat. The Admiral is very happy with it.

IMO, don't waste your money on a Jabsco, 2 friends replaced theirs after only 1 year to the Raritan.

Bill,

I use a short box end wrench and go through the access panel in the rear birth. You have to do it by feel, and only get about 1/4 turn at a time. Once it is loose enough I turn the rest by hand.

Good Luck

Ron.....My first car was a 1955 Studebaker Champion, flathead 6, it also had the hill holder, a great feature. Another thing that my Studebaker had and was leading edge back in the day was electric windshield wipers....2 speed no less. Do you all remember the vacuum wipers...LOL.

I still miss this car......Lots of Chrome, the entire front end.

Steve,

Thanks for the update. We have been following your blog, and are thinking of a trip to Mexico within the next 3 years. First a trip to Alaska though, we are in the early planning stages.

Steve,

Great story on anchoring and what the proper tackle can do to hold the boat.

We were in the Gulf Islands last year in one of your Canadian protected coves with a stern tie. Protected...well on 3 sides.....LOL. We pulled into the anchorage at about 1:00 pm set the anchor in about 25 ft of water with a 5 to 1 scope, and put out a stern tie. We are now broadside to the open end of the cove, we had friends raft up beside us on the port side with their 36' Jeanneau as we have done many times(first mistake they did not put their anchor down). It is absolutely calm with no wind in the forcast so we went exploring on the island, came back and had a nice dinner on the boat. Friends went to bed at 10:00 and we went to bed at 11:00 again no wind and none in the forcast. At about 12:00pm I wake up and my buddy is out on his boat, I look out through the rear birth hatch and I see tree limbs......HHHMMMM those weren't there when I went to bed, and it sounds like the wind is blowing. I am sure you have personal stories about those Canadian northerlies that come up out of no where, we heard about them over the next 2 weeks as we related this story to other cruisers. The next 2 hours was a Chinese fire drill in the dark, first we had to get my friends boat off of mine so that I could reset the anchor...Oh did I mention there is another boat on our starboard side about 50' away (thank goodness for the stern tie), and we are trying to do this with a dingy and 25-30 knots of wind. We worked for 2 hours getting him off, anchored into the wind and my anchor reset, no sleep all night.

With the above story in mind I sleep very well with my 33 lb. Bruce and 60' of chain. This is the only time we have pulled loose in 4 years with the boat anchoring out 20-30 nights a year. I now have a pretty good idea what it takes to drag. I have spoken to one of our dock neighbors that has been to Mexico, we are discussing a possible future trip, he says get another 40' of chain minimum if we head there as he has been through a couple Chubasco's. 

Thanks for web updates, The wife and I throughly enjoy them and your humor through it all.

Roc,

I am enclosing a picture of Somewhere sailing last week with a swivel cam cleat we use on our MK11 furling line. It is convenient to both the helmsman and crew.

By the way it was a great day on the water. 14-18 knots gusting to 22 with full sails. hit a high of 9.2 knots, averaged 8-8.5. We had one gust of 24 knots downwind that pushed us to 8.5.

A sailing day I won't soon forget.

Thanks for that tip Ron. I will be putting my spare impeller in a zip lock bag, it is currently in the original box.

After reading some of the older posts it appears that the MK11's are coming in at 17,000-18,000lbs. Could it be that the change in the aft hull design above the water line of the MK11 added 1000-2000 lbs. to the boat?

I suspect the gauges were not calibrated on the lift that was used on our boat, the operator also did not subtract for any part of the hoist.

I really expected to see a weight in the 15,000-16,000 range as Ron has stated on multiple occasions.

Craig, you know the Admiral would never give up all of that canvas, even if it does add a ton to the boat.... and the canvas was dry when we weighed.....LOL

We hauled the boat last weekend and painted the bottom with Pettit Trinidad hard paint, waxed the hull and changed the zincs. We should be good for another 3-4 years as that is how long the last bottom paint lasted.

We had the hoist driver give us a weight on the boat..... 20,000lbs, 8,000 on the front 12,000 on the rear. I knew she was heavy as I have read previous posts about the C34's weight, but the total really surprised me. We only had 20 gallons of water and 12 gallons of fuel, a 2000 watt Honda generator, 10' rubber boat with 2HP Honda, and misc. other items on board, nothing with any real weight.

Now I know why she feels like a much bigger and heavier boat, and why it takes heavy wind well.

Our boat came with in-mast main no battens.
We purchased in-mast as most of the newer boats were coming with it. Our dealer also told us the requests for in mast mains were 10 to 1 for it. We felt the boat would be more marketable if we decided to sell in the future. I have had another C34 owner (1988) with standard main, sail with me. After being out twice he would not hesitate to get in-mast furling as he did not notice any performace difference.

One benefit we have found with an in-mast main sail is the multiple reefing points. We have also learned to reef on the fly. The Admiral brings the boat up into the wind until the pressure is released, I immediately reef, the Admiral brings it back down as I am reefing. Takes us about 5 seconds total to reef doing this.