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31

Main Message Board / Re: A word of thanks

« on: April 06, 2021, 04:36:40 AM »

Ron, I seem to remember learning very early on that #564 was made in perhaps August or Sept. 1987 as a 1988 year model boat...I wish I knew where that came from but it seems to back up your comment about her being an early model 1988.
As for the wiring harness, yes the boat came with the "upgrade"....although it was very shoddily installed...wires were just cut, twisted together and taped. The fun surprise was that apparently the harness upgrade came with rather long wires....I found the excess coiled up into a thick loop between the fuel tank and aft cabin outer wall. Sooooo......I pulled the entire engine panel, rewired it and shortened and re-routed everything. I added a terminal strip in the engine compartment to make any future work easier to do...and of course while I was elbow deep in there I also did the glow plug solenoid upgrade so that end of the wiring system is already sorted out and working great.
Oh...and I guess I'll just work with the broken eyebrow's I've got...I did hear from the other fellow that he might have one to spare, but I haven't heard anything since then. Not a big deal.

Stu, sometimes you just gotta say "Thanks"!!! And I also did this to reinforce what a valuable resource the C-34.org site is....like folks don't already know that, eh????

32

Main Message Board / A word of thanks

« on: April 05, 2021, 12:56:10 PM »

I just had to do this....as I'm probably known for mentioning in a few of my posts, My wife and I have spent the better part of two years "bringing back" our pretty neglected 1988 C-34 "Ohana" from a boat that as I reflect back, was probably too far gone to be worth the effort. (like that has ever stopped me before......)
This past Saturday I buttoned up yet another pretty major improvement/rehab project and I just feel I need to reach out to many of you and to Rod at Compass Marine ("Mainsail") with a heartfelt word of thanks for the countless bits of information I used to successfully complete this project.
This particular project was upgrading the old and worn out group 27 batteries to a much more robust battery charging/management system including (4) Trojan T-105 batteries...along with a new alternator, Balmar 614-H external regulator, Sterling Battery Charger, Blue Sea ACR-I and Balmar SG200 battery monitor. I also added a new dedicated start battery located behind the engine just underneath the aft cabin berth.
After I ran the last wire(s), I did a final check of all connections and basically realized I was at the point where starting the engine and seeing how I did was all I had left to do.....and guess what???....everything worked as it should!!!!  (Yeah I know....it SHOULD if I did it all correctly.  )
I really do owe this feeling of success to two sources of information that helped me have the confidence to take this particular project on.....Compass Marine ("Marine How to") and the C-34.org message board and Wiki pages. Everything is there.....you just have to be willing to dig to get to the answer(s) you need......and sometimes don't want.
I'm not timid about tearing into anything....It's in my nature...I love the learning, and the work itself....but electrical work just doesn't come naturally to me and is just something I've never excelled at so I approached this project with caution....and a lot of studying.
So again....THANKS!!!! The support of this group, it's members, and to you Rod. You really do have a customer for life. (BTW....also LOVE the Bed-it butyl tape too...but that's another subject entirely. 
Time to go sailing!!!!!

33

Main Message Board / Re: Vberth limber holes/bilge pump?

« on: March 31, 2021, 04:44:02 AM »

Love that bulkhead under the aft cabin area and already have that on my oh-so long list of projects. I think that's a great place for tool storage too but with water sloshing around under there they will live elsewhere until that bulkhead is done. Thanks for the pictures!!!! (inspiration!!!!)
Interesting thoughts on limber holes, as is often said on this forum...YBYC....but I do like the different perspectives.

34

Main Message Board / Re: Vberth limber holes/bilge pump?

« on: March 30, 2021, 08:42:41 AM »

And then I woke up and searched the main message board and found the discussions you mentioned....sorry for the false alarm. 

35

Main Message Board / Re: Vberth limber holes/bilge pump?

« on: March 30, 2021, 08:37:48 AM »

I did a quick search of "limber holes" and "limber hole" and the only hit I got was this discussion.    Not sure what's up with that but I'd be interested in reading other opinions.
As for me, I've never been a big fan of trapped water anywhere on a boat except in its water tanks. Water should not be allowed to collect (if an above deck leak forms) in any storage locker, I personally believe it should drain to the bilge for removal by the bilge pump system. It's true I want to know there is a leak (should one form), but finding probably 20+ gallons of water sloshing around under my v-berth because there wasn't a limber hole to the bilge didn't seem like a good overall design execution.

36

Main Message Board / Re: Electrical Connections under Pedestal

« on: March 30, 2021, 05:09:07 AM »

Not sure if you have a pedestal guard on your boat but if you're resealing the pedestal I wouldn't ignore those thru the deck penetrations. From what I've learned they can leak as well and often the leak looks like it's coming from the pedestal when the water is actually coming thru those pedestal guard bases.

37

Main Message Board / Re: Vberth limber holes/bilge pump?

« on: March 30, 2021, 05:04:54 AM »

Funny you should mention that spot behind the engine, we have that same problem....there was a small hole there leading to the pan under the engine but it was clogged when we bought the boat. I found that the only way this area would drain was when we were sailing and heeled over to port the water would drain around the port side and find it's way thru that spot under the head that's open for wiring, hoses etc..... if we heeled to starboard the water found its way all the way into the starboard locker under the seat in the aft cabin.....and that's where I was storing my tool bag until I found it soaking wet on the delivery trip. Now we have to be careful with what we store under there until I can fiberglass a bulkhead under there to isolate this compartment.
I did clear and enlarge that original small drain hole somewhat but it's up high and water still collects there, but not as much. One day I'll see if I can make that hole drain UNDER the engine mount pan but I'll need to determine if water can get all the way to the bilge before I do that.  This step would also involve a drill bit in close proximity to the hull again...and I'm thinking I'll wait till the boat is on the hard before I start making fiberglass drill bit dust.

38

Main Message Board / Re: Vberth limber holes/bilge pump?

« on: March 29, 2021, 12:49:06 PM »

We had the same problem immediately after we bought our 88 C-34. Covering the last few miles of the delivery trip to our home port (about 110 miles) I discovered water under the v-berth about 2/3 of the way up to the bottom of the center drawer.
After a quick recovery from an understandable near heart attack I found a hose and drained the water into the bilge to be pumped out by the bilge pump.
Long story short, the seemingly intact anchor locker drain thru hull was cracked and when traveling with a bone in her teeth, our boat was taking on water into the v-berth storage area.
Like Noah, I replaced the fitting while the boat was in the water and it was pretty straight forward and not a complicated job at all. I did do ours on a very calm day though....that thru hull isn't very far above the water line.
I've since drilled a 1/2" limber hole at the base of the v-berth locker so water will now drain into the bilge and not collect should another leak develop. I did hold the location of this hole up off of the hull perhaps 1.5" simply because using a drill bit near a boats hull while said boat is in the water is inviting disaster.

39

Main Message Board / Re: small ding on prop blade

« on: March 12, 2021, 04:59:42 AM »

I ding that small probably won't affect performance or balance too much but if you have a prop shop near you and the boat is already out of the water then it won't hurt to have it re-balanced. We took our 15x9 three blade prop off this past spring and I had it re-pitched to 15x10 and balanced, the cost wasn't all that bad and I now have piece of mind that the prop is good to go....unless I wind up a crab pot or something equally as fun.
A balanced prop will also help your cutlass bearing last a bit longer. The cost in our area was less than $200 for this work so it was worth it to me. Just balancing the prop should be a good bit cheaper. (re-pitching was the expensive part)

40

Main Message Board / Re: Heavy steering?

« on: March 09, 2021, 03:40:00 AM »

Actually....that's not the pic I thought i was going to post and in that shot it looks like the tube is there.

41

Main Message Board / Re: Heavy steering?

« on: March 09, 2021, 03:36:41 AM »

Not sure what's going on there but the fiberglass tube sticking down onto the quadrant head looks a bit odd. For your reference here's a shot of ours when I had the aft cabin torn apart. As you can see, the rudder post doesn't have that tube sticking down. I'd definitely investigate this issue further.

42

Main Message Board / Re: Leak at companionway

« on: March 05, 2021, 05:09:55 AM »

Our MK1 has the half round teak strip as well. It still leaked like a sieve at the ends where the sealant had failed.

43

Main Message Board / Re: Leak at companionway

« on: March 03, 2021, 05:46:24 AM »

Sorry I didn't document this work any better than this.
Let me know if you have any questions.

44

Main Message Board / Re: Leak at companionway

« on: March 03, 2021, 05:39:21 AM »

I see people who own Catalina's making those companionway covers and they do a nice job of protecting the whole area, but I don't feel it does anything to stop this leak.....and the problem can be fixed permanently.

The problem:
The teak threshold leading into the cabin is fastened with screws thru it's face and horizontal surface and those screws are then covered with teak bungs. It does have some sort of caulk under it but the way the threshold was cut underneath leaves a pretty big gap in the corners and over time that caulk breaks down and starts to leak. If you look closely there isn't much of a bevel on that threshold to shed water so it collects and finds its way in.
 
Remediation:
Pretty simple...but a bit involved. Drill out the teak bungs in the face and vertical surface of the threshold and remove the screws holding the wood on. I used a 3/8" forstner bit I bought at Harbor Freight for the bungs and it worked great. I also removed the vertical pieces on both sides of the companionway to reseal them as well. The caulk underneath should be holding the wood on...but it's so old by now it won't be holding anything. I cleaned up the old caulk/adhesive and 1/4" thick dirt that had worked its way into the gap at the ends and sanded the gelcoat where the caulk would be, then sanded the back side of the teak to clean it up and promote better sealant adhesion.
Tape off the area surrounding the threshold and apply caulk liberally, Honestly I cannot remember if I used black 4200 or 5200  but I never want this to come up again so 5200 would be fine by me. I put enough caulk down so that when I pressed the threshold back down it pushed out the sides and ends so I know it filled the gaps and gave me a good seal.
Pull up your tape after cleaning up the excess and walk away for a day or two to let the caulk dry. Insert new teak bungs and trim them flush after the adhesive dries. I've since refinished all the exterior teak on the boat and am happy to report that the leak from the threshold is gone, hopefully forever. Not a drop gets inside no matter how hard it rains.....We've even had snow and ice this past winter and that area is still quite dry just using the companionway boards.

I'll post a few shots of the work shortly, I just have to find them. I didn't get many of the work as it was underway..probably because I was wearing nitrile gloves covered in black caulk....
Hope this helps!!!!

45

Main Message Board / Re: A perfect February day in San Diego

« on: March 01, 2021, 07:36:47 AM »

Okay Noah.....you're a tease. 
At least the snow and ice has melted off of the boat for now....and I can sorta tell that nice weather is right around the corner....and then some dude posts some pics if him enjoying what most of us can only dream of right now.......
Can't wait to be "out there" too....