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With these threads in the block being tapered.... can I safely assume that a banjo bolt at the existing oil pressure switch spot won't be an option?  That has been my preferred connection where possible.

TTim

“Yes.”
I’ve done this 3-4 times.

There’s two ways - the first is to remote-locate the switch and gauge sender as Wb did on the “A” engines and is currently on the “B” engines.  Wb has a part that’s a brass tee brazed onto a bracket that mounts onto the unused engine mount land - there’s an angle adapter for the oil port and an extension hose to the bracket. 

The remote mount can be anywhere - the original M25s had an extension hose to a block for the oil switch and a gauge sender (an option on Universal engine panels) mounted to the Hx bracket. See #s 11, 20, & 14 below.  I moved my switch over to the engine block when at about age 15 the extension hose deteriorated and started weeping.

See the hose, bracket, (2-prong) switch that’s on the A engines on the next pic.

The 2nd way is to extend the port with a 1/8” pipe nipple, but the tee should be supported (maybe by a bracket hanging down from a strap bolted to the exhaust manifold studs?)  The pipe nipple busting off at the engine block due to the weight/moment arm created could ruin a sailing day.

The port and switch are 1/8” JIS thread (Japanese Industrial Standard) which is functionally the same as 1/8” BSPT (British Standard Pipe Taper.)  McMaster carries an adapter and adapter nipples and BSPT fittings.
So you need to either get an NPT switch for the tee or stay with JIS thread and find a JIS/BSPT gauge sender. ###

### (all that said, the key difference is that NPT thread pitch is 27/inch and JIS is 28/inch.  So practically speaking you could screw NPT into JIS and *it works* but it’s not the *proper* way.
I did that mismatch before I learned enough to realize the engine and oil switch were not NPT pipe thread.)

Yes, I've checked the cubby under the winch. It looks perfectly dry.

With a full enclosure and what appears to be multiple versions over the years, there are a *lot* of snaps on the outside of the cockpit coaming. When I look inside the access hatch, I can't see any of those screws. I'm wondering if that is the leak, how it gets from there to the access hatch.

Or maybe I just need to add sealant to every single one!

Thanks,

David

Have you checked the compartment in the cockpit coaming under the winch? On my boat it’s an insert of some kind, and I had a leak there. I spread some sealant I had and the leaking stopped. Do you have any canvas snaps screwed into the outside surface of the coaming fwd of the winch?

Hmmm--My photo looks a little weird.

I'll try again with a reduced size version that I've made sure is in Portrait mode.

Sorry 'bout that.

David

Hi Everyone,

Sea Bird is a 1993 model. She has a full cockpit enclosure. Because of that there have been few leaks at the back of the boat in the eleven months we have owned her.

With the recent rain storms and driving wind here in BC we have developed a leak from the circular access hatch right over where are heads go in the aft cabin. Right above the access patch are two (of the five) bolts for the starboard Genoa winch. I’ve tightened those and don’t think that’s where the leak is coming from.

I don’t know where that cavity goes. It is hard to reach or see very far. I’ve searched the forum for everything to do with leaks, but can’t find anything that seems to apply.

Any suggestions?

Cheers,

David Greer

I think what Ron was getting at is you should already have a volt meter on your engine panel, not an amp meter. If you don’t then your system has not yet been “properly” upgraded. Also, do you have the high temp alarm “upgrade” installed?
https://www.catalinadirect.com/shop-by-boat/catalina-38/electrical/high-temp-alarm-retrofit-m-18-m-25-m-25xp-m-35/

Tim : I hope that you, mean Voltmeter and NOT ammeter!!

A thought

Paul,
Thanks for the great information.  You are absolutely correct, do the cover right or don't do it.    You are the second to recommend Ship Shape, I requested a quote. Have one question and one request.  What model do you have?  If it's a MKll, at your pleasure, would you please reply with pictures?   One more question.  Did you buy the cover and have it shipped, or was it necessary for Ship Shape to measure and fit to your boat?
Thanks again,
Jim

Hi Jim,
When we bought Pleiades back in 2012, I covered her with tarps during the winter of 2012-13.  About every two weeks we would get yet another winter storm, and I would have to drive to the boat, re-arrange and re-tie the lines securing the tarps.  What a nuisance, especially trying to walk between snow-and-ice covered jack stands.  I vowed I would never do that again.  So, I began an extensive research effort involving checking products from six different sources.   I compared prices, reviews from real customers, features, and expected lifetimes.  After much evaluation I ultimately selected a custom Catalina 34 cover from Ship Shape Covers, Duluth, MN.  I purchased their deluxe model (about $200 more that included sewn loops rather than grommets at every stanchion and the bow pulpit and stern pushpit, as well as reinforced "double thick" layers along the cover's "spine" which fits over the boom).

Fast forward almost ten years.  Our custom Ship Shape cover still fits like a glove, sheds snow and ice, keeps Pleiades nice and dry all winter, and the reinforced "spine" was well worth the small price difference since no matter how tightly one snugs the lines - in strong winter winds the cover WILL move back and forth a fraction of an inch on each gust.  Happening hundreds to thousands of times per winter, multiplied by 10 winters so far, Nancy and I note that the underside of the "spine" is almost black, having rubbed against the upper surface of the boom so many times.

The Ship Shape cover does NOT extend down as far as your old cover.  Rather, it goes over the toe rails and down to about the cove stripe.  As I see it this has three benefits. (1) being smaller, the cover(s) weigh less.  (2) the cover (s) do not chafe against the topsides.  To keep the tie lines from chafing the topsides we use those inexpensive split foam thermal insulators used to cover basement hot water pipes. (3) the covers STILL keep all snow and ice off Pleiades.

A noteworthy point; I do not know about other covers, but our Ship Shape cover does NOT require a frame!    We simply tie a bowline in a former Dacron halyard around the mast just above the boom, run the line down to the port bow roller, through and up, tie another bowline loop, and secure the spinnaker halyard to the bowline loop.  Once we tension the spinnaker halyard on its winch this forms a very taut "spine" for the forward portion of the cover.  The boom then forms a "spine" for the mid portion, and the aft portion has its own zipper that comes downward from the aft end of the boom to the transom exit.  By simply unzipping this one easily gains access / egress when desired.

Final comments: (1) be sure to ask for the cover to be made in three sections, otherwise the aft section is very heavy.  We did not, and after Nancy and I struggled with the aft section for a few winters, I finally had a local canvas shop cut it more or less in half (avoiding the S&P "breathing ports").  This makes each section roughly equal in weight, and at ages 83 for me and 72 for Nancy, it took us only about 90 minutes to install all three sections earlier this month. (2) The price for the deluxe model, in 2013 was about $2300.  I suspect the price has risen with inflation.  Nonetheless the "break-even" time relative to heat shrink covers is still only about three years!    Since I suspect our Ship Shape cover will last about 15 years, not only does it work beautifully, but it is a bargain multiple-times over.  The ultimate compliment: would I do it again?  In a heartbeat!