Messages

Ron,
My 87 sits in the water all year in San Diego, never gets hauled and improperly blocked for the winter and still developed the "smile".
There goes another theory.................

Ralph

My exact sentiments...

Everybody has a "theory" about an issue like this and nobody can claim theirs is the "absolute truth" about the issue since they are all "theories" and "personal experiences" that involves so many variables to effect the outcome!

BTW Maybe you have too much of a gravitational force in San Diego? 

Just one thought!

Vendors with a reasonable pricing policy needed for :

- A decent Dodger

- Sail cleaning and reconditioning,

- Steam cleaning company for interior upholstery,

If you used or heard about any vendors in these fields with positive feedback, would you please let me know.
I have very limited options in my homeport area.

[nothing]

Capt Jim : The Catalina smile has nothing to do with either production or engineering!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It happens when a C34 is hauled out of the water and improperly blocked.  This has been posted a number of times.  Most yards do not allow enough boat weight to rest on the rear/middle jack stands. 

This has been proven by looking at C34s that are put back in their shipping cradles - NO Catalina smile!!!!!

A few thoughts

OK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

Jim, I apologize, bad use of words on my part.  "Perhaps reportedly widespread..." would have been much, much better.  Statistically, I don't know, but I'd venture to guess less than 5%.

See, the very purpose of these forums is to "get the word out" so skippers don't have to reinvent the wheel.  So, we have four pages of Critical Upgrades.  Does that make a C34 a "Pinto?"  Hell no, it just means we care enough to share material that new skippers may not be aware of, so they don't get stuck out on the water because "they didn't know."

Good example:  watch your engine while it's running.  Shoot, who does that with their cars anymore, right?  But for a boat engine, it's imperative to do regularly because it is NOT a new car engine.  We encourage safety, understanding of issues and options available to skippers so that once they leave the dock they can have fun, and do it safely.

100% Agreed ! 

I added the K&N filter for two major reasons:
* improve performance vs the original air intake because it increases air flow with an improved filtration system.
* so I could route the manifold to it to decrease Diesel engine smell while motoring.

I read all the posts about this change and it was relatively low cost for the benefits.

Did you notice any positive improvement in the engine power?

As far as I know K&N filters used to improve performance on many other engines.

Is that the reason some M25/XP models I see using them as an upgrade?

[on the majority of the product line]

......................
I agree about built quality and the price relation but my point was that when a product like a boat, car, airplane structurally fails at the same place, for the same reason, over and over on the majority of the product line, then generally manufacturer takes some sort of action to fix the problem, rather than saying " oh well they all do that"...

NOT.  Just not true.  It is widespread, but certainly not on a majority of them, on C34s and all others.

See the 101 Topics for a link that Dan did on his boat.  Truly a great writeup. 

Your boat, your choice.

But you might want to start thinking of it as a preventative maintenance item, rather than a flaw.  Kinda like chainplates...

Got it! It's not "majority" but rather "widespread".. Wheww what was  I thinking!  There is no problem at all 

I've found the 101 Series... Great knowledge base... Thanks!

Perhaps OP can give an example of a car company issuing a recall on cars that were manufactured 30 years ago. I'm not aware of any. Why should a boat company be held to a higher standard?

I was just asking.
I am not a Catalina expert.
I don't know if those Catalinas with the symptom are begin to smile at age 30 and not before.
I was just asking because I remembered that when I purchased my 1979 C30 in the year of 1991 I've dealt with the same issue on that boat too.

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...

Well, I guess lowering the bar to "at least no boats sunk because of this problem" is a little too optimistic for my understanding.

I agree about built quality and the price relation but my point was that when a product like a boat, car, airplane structurally fails at the same place, for the same reason, over and over on the majority of the product line, then generally manufacturer takes some sort of action to fix the problem, rather than saying " oh well they all do that"...

Just curious...

When Honda Goldwings in the early 2000s found out that mainframe cracks were appearing they were recalled.
Is there such a thing happened with Catalina @ Woodlands Hill ever?

I mean after all isn't this a production/engineering defect ?

Thanks Ron.. I will do that as soon as I figure it out what the heck I have.
Trust me this was kind of an "eyes closed" purchase... Hopefully it won't hurt much since I've purchased "as is"..
But I'll add that info on my signature line once I know..

My offer accepted today...I guess I'll never learn!    Currently own a commercial 60ft powerboat and like if it wasn't enough...
Oh well! Life is short! I decided to play the game fully!

This poor boat though, needs a lot of TLC and serious fixing but nothing is impossible.  ;)

_ It has the dreaded Catalina smile,
_ Bottom was neglected nearly 5 years at its slip and we scraped over a thousand lbs of growth,
_ M25XP Needs servicing (runs ok though)
_ Sails are at 50% of their life,
_ It doesn't have VHF radio, GPS/Chartplotter, Autopilot, Radar, Dodger... So I will be adding those...

But after all of that it could be a nice man cave for this poor soul...

I'll be digging your brains a lot... So don't claim I didn't warn you guys in advance!

Oh, I'll be sailing from Monterey Bay area...

Hello to all of you !

Still not enough info on what you/they mean regarding "smile fix"?

Scrape/grind the crack area fill with epoxy and paint with adjusting the keel bolt torques to the specs I guess...
Boatyard said they are familiar with the Catalina smile and it fix.

Capt. Jim : You didn't enumerate what the "$2000 bottom job" entailed???   
If it includes sanding, fix all blisters, apply 2 coats of epoxy barrier coat, and then bottom paint - that's a pretty good deal!!
The price is in the details of the job!!!!!!

A thought

Haha, you're right my mistake...

Just sanding/prepping and bottom paint + the Catalina smile fix + Cleaning the prop/shaft and zinc installations all together was quoted at $4500 ( No blister fixes included )

I am looking to a C34... It is a fixer upper boat... It needs whole a lot bottom job since docked for years without any bottom service or anything. Yesterday we pulled her out and bottom looked like a scene from National Geographic documentary.
After much of a scraping and pressure wash the bottom structurally looks ok so far.(Not completely cleaned yet)
But then we saw the dreaded signs of Catalina smile. Boatyard wants $2000 to fix it. Is it normal or excessive and another $2000 for the bottom prep and paint because so much cleaning and sanding need to be done as they claim.
Does it sound right to you guys?
If anybody had similar experience, especially in California (SF Bay area) please let me know.
Appreciated,