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Mine is foward too, and when I got the boat there were cheapo bayonet round incandescent puck lights not fluorescent. On a 30 year old boat with many previous POs, the term "standard" is kinda moot. I changed all fixtures to LED, using a variety manufactures to fit the location: from Dr. LED, to Hella chart light to Luna Sea, to Alpenglow, which are my and Practical Sailor's favorite.

Mine is 3/8 in. zinc and in my laziness, just waited a bit too long before swapping it out. Always the case with me when it comes to working on my iron jib. PS-- Ken, it has been 7-mos and I still haven't installed my "new" Oberdorfer. Bout ready to tackle it before I regret it and learn the hard way.

No stray current...and no isolator. Well mantained electrical system at YC docks. After 8 mos. in salt water HX on a 2-1/2 in long pencil zinc it looks about "right" to me. I just let my HX zinc go too long. The HX is only 1-1/2 yr. old and I usually change zinc every 4-6 mos.I also have 3 other zincs (Flexofold prop zinc, prop shaft and strut). All are checked monthly by my diver and changed when they get to about 50%. Each one lasts a little different timespan. Flexofold zinc is ready to be changed next month after protecting 13 mos. that's an investment I don't want to skimp on!

Changed my HX pencil zinc today, after 8-mos.  Probably a little on the long side...ya think?! Looking really sharp!

I am not sure how truly important "enhanced" air filtration is on our marine engines. But I'm no mechanic. BTW- It is very easy to route the breather hose to the the top of the original OEM can/style  air filter to eliminate oil fumes, etc.

In my opinion you are over-weighting the seriousness of the smile/cracking. I would guess there are many older MK1s C34s that haven't had "significant smile issues". My boat doesn't. If this rose to the level of a serious safety design/manufacturing defect, rather than just a wear and tear, maintence and cosmetic annoyance in a 30-year-old mid/low priced production boat--I would think buyers, surveyors, and insurance companies would have raised the alarm years ago.

The "Catalina Smile" is really not a big deal, as far as mid-cost production boat building goes. Many of these boats are approaching 30 years old. I haven't heard of any sinking. I look at it as just a wear and tear maintenance item. Yes, they could have been built better/sturdier (and cost more money) but...

Once again I salute all you cold region sailors!

Another congrats! Bring'em on...

I agree with Jon. Very much a personal choice. I went with B&G  Zeus and Triton for all (with Simrad autopilot and 4G Radar) and am happy. When I did my homework 2+ years ago, Raymarine had some customer service issues. It may be different now that Flir bought them.

Hmm? Seems like not very much fiberglas there between the lead and the bottom of the boat, if that's correct. And what a PIA to dig the wood out from the inside! That doesn't sound right? Maybe I am missing something? Good luck on your exploration. Hope you find dry wood.

I would suggest building your block sandwich while the epoxy is still wet or at least not cured. Then you should not have problems with blushing. If you decide to build it with coated pieces that are already cured, any waxy blush can be easily cleaned off or sanded off.  Also, using the right hardener makes a difference too.

KEN, you mention GB Bros., inventors of WOOD/epoxy saturation technique WEST System and cold molded WOOD boat building, advice was helpful to you?  Note:They aren't afraid of wood in the bilge, as long as it is handled correctly.

Substitute Rice Krispies? Wheat Chex has a much stronger structure. 

That's more like it!!! May be different in NorCal.