Messages

That's great news, Bob.  Thank you so much.  Every paid membership helps support the Association's activities, including this site.  And, yes, you'll get Mainsheet every quarter, which is a whole lot better than a newsletter, because it's a fairly significant compilation of news and, importantly, tech tips and ideas from not just C34 owners, but from all Catalina owners.  You'll find the Tech Notes sections from similar boats such as the C36 and the C42 especially relevant, but there are good ideas from all of the models.  Plus a CD of C34 Tech Notes archives (just up through 2003, but we're working on an update this year) as well as access to them online through a members-only password. 

Thanks again, and welcome aboard!

Just to build on Stu's original posting, do you know that you don't have to have a PayPal account to use it to pay for your C34IA membership?

We use PayPal to process regular credit card payments.  Even if you don't have a PayPal account, you can still join the Association online using PayPal, because PayPal will process any major credit card securely and privately even without an account, and you'll become a C34 IA member in good standing almost instantly. You should also know that we don't share our members' information with any third parties (except obviously PayPal and your credit card issuer during the transaction). 

If you have any questions about this, don't hesitate to PM or email me. 

Big thanks go to our Treasurer, Ken Heyman, and to our Chief Technology Officer (formerly our "webmaster," but that's such a dated term, and he does so much more), Dave Sanner.  But also special thanks to Stu Jackson, who is dealing with the new sign-ups, and so now has to juggle two types of processes.  (It'll get better, Stu... we promise!)

I'm assuming by "Catalina Direct," you mean the separate company from Catalina Yachts.  Just to state the obvious, I would call CY. 

I think (and "thinking" may be overstating my capability in this area) any of them would work.  I'm not a fan of Marinetex only because I'm not exactly sure what it is.  I suppose it would be easy enough to find out, but I never felt the need to.  I think you'll find that 5200 will be easier to apply because you can squeeze it in, though I wonder how well it will cure inside.  I also like it because it has good adhesive properties, while West System requires bonding (which I don't think will be a problem in this case).  That said, I think I would go with WS or some kind of two-part epoxy, because I would feel better about its curability inside the rudder.  But if I were you, I'd listen to everyone else's advice before I took mine ;0

Jon sold me on the oyster colored "see through" tank.  For $230 I can eliminate the possability of doing the job twice.

Man, I'm calling Catalina Direct tomorrow to collect my commission!

The LED question was discussed by one of the local (very good) dealers.  He said the festoon bulb replacements, due to an array of LEDs verses a single vertical filament, would not give the correct arc of visibility. 

Interesting... I would think just the opposite.  The problem with LEDs is that they don't disperse light; they direct light in one path.  That has been the problem with getting USCG approval; there are gaps due to the linear path of the beam.

Not rude at all.  Looks like I was charged $231, but it's listed on CD's site as $242.  Hmmm... can't imagine this would be a sale item.  There was probably shipping on a separate ticket.  I didn't get any fittings; I'm reusing the ones I've got.  Say >$275 when all was said and done.  Took about three weeks to get.

Lance, I'm not sure I'm really following your question, so Stu and others will probably do a better job answering, but you never connect both the pos and neg to the selector switch.  The selector switch interrupts the positive line only.  So, you would take the one pos cable from Stu's schematic and run that to the either the number one or two position on the selector switch (whichever one wasn't be used).  You would run the neg cable from Stu's schematic to a negative post on your standard 12V bank if that post also served as a conduit to the engine ground (it's likely to go to a bus strip behind your panel with a branch off that bus to the engine as a ground).  Simple as that.  Oh, except don't forget to fuse the positives near the batteries. 

I haven't repaired one, but I did recently receive a new one from Catalina Direct.  Very nice.  Double the thickness of the original, although it's a sort of translucent oyster shell color.  I think I liked the opaque black of the original better.  Does anybody really want to see its contents?  Smells great, though it's not installed yet

Oh Lord of the Bilge, a point of clarification: the cunningham won't so much make your old baggy sails new again as it will shift the draft aft (upon tensioning).  In doing so, that may also decrease the size of your draft somewhat as well, but if your sails are blown out, they will remain blown out.  Another sewing project.

Did this one not meet the criteria: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,3091.0.html

I have added the WM batter accessory terminals so I simply clip in my bilge pump and solar charger to the appropriate +/- terminal. With it being in serial, would I put the + on one end of the series and the - on the other end?

That's exactly right, although I've never been able to rationalize in my head why it matters, since the whole grid is 12V.  Guess that it's theoretically a better flow of electrons. 

Now my ignorant question.   My boat is cunninghamless.   I have a lived 2 years of happiness without a cunningham (hell, I even lived one year without a vang.)   Why do I need a cunningham?   In what circumstances do you use it?    Are you a happier man with a cunningham than without one?

Sorry to hog your question to Stu, but yes, you will be a happier sailor (not sure about the man part) with a cunningham.  You absolutely need a cunningham to control lower draft in the main.  You really can't do it without one, and if you rely upon the halyard, you won't get as a effective control in the low draft, and you'll be stretching the hell out of the luff bolt rope.  Come to think of it, when I tune my main using the cunningham, I am a happier man. 

What would be a stronger attachment point than the chainplate at the base of the shroud?

There's no doubt that that would be a strong attachment point, but I wouldn't want to do it, because it would adding a lateral force to the chainplate when it wasn't intended as such.  I'd leave them alone and let them serve their single purpose.  If you need an alternative to Stu's suggestion, I would go with thru-bolted, back-plated pad eyes on the deck.