Rockin' dinette table

[dpenz]

My dinette table now rocks and wobbles when in the upper position.  Tightening the clamp has no effect.  Also the table will not stay in the down position.  I'm guessing there's a bushing and a clamp inside the column that has come loose.  I removed the post, and indeed there is a rattling sound from inside.

Can the post be repaired?  The end caps appear to be pinned in place by upset marks on the tube.

It's a Zwaardvis #64160, if that helps.

[c34member]

I accidently took one apart at a boat show (one of those uncomfortable moments, D'oh!)and found there to be a little 1" x 1-1/2 x 1/4" rectangular metal plate with a slightly off-center threaded hole that the tension screw engages to form a clamp.  I don't know if all C-34 tables are the same arrangement, but you may have allowed that plate to drop when you backed the screw out, or it just vibrated out over time.  It will be in the base or on the floor (or in the bilge) somewhere.  It requires you to push the plate up through the slot from below while turning the screw to engage the threads.  Because the hole is off-center, there is an up and a down.  I think the hole is above center but I can't remember.  It's probably easier without a salesman glaring at you.

I also noticed that the factory or dealer shimmed mine with a slip of rubber or plastic (about like a credit card but softer) where the column meets the base, presumably to remove a bit of wobble.

By the way.  When I first went aboard our newly delivered boat before the dealer had prepped it I banged my knee on the edge of the table getting into the settee.  Later, when she was fully commissioned, the dealer asked if I had banged my knee lately.  I hadn't thought about it until then, but I had not.  He had inserted a 1-1/4" teak ring between the table and the column.  What a difference!  Apparantly, Catalina sends them on request to dealers for new boats.

[dpenz]

I took the bull by the corns and disassembled the pedestal.  My unit has a nylon bushing, 2-3/8" ID x 2-3/4" OD x 2-3/4" long.  There is a tab cut in the bushing, and the locking screw bears onto the tab.  On my unit, the tab was broken off and pieces of it were rattling around inside.

I have emailed Catalina to get a domestic source for the bushing.  Can anybody else help?  My internet search showed that Zwaardvis is quite a common name, there is even a Dutch submarine called Zwaardvis.

I figure I should be able to press the new bushing in, but first I need to determine how to get the old bushing out.

[dpenz]

All fixed!  It turns out that the pedestal is not repairable at home.  I had to ship the post with the collar to a shop in Florida.  The shop was very cooperative, and charged me $75 for the repair.  In case your dinette table ever starts rockin' and won't stay down, here's the contact information:

Taco Sport Fishing
98 NE 179th Street
Miami, FL 33162
Attn:  Pamela
305-652-8566 x.2362

This is a division of Taco Metals, apparently they are a distributor for Zwaardvis.

[grantreed]

I had the problem with my 2001 C34 that the Dinnette table would not stay fixed in the down position, but would drop about 2 inches below the rest of the "bed" surface. I tried nearly everything but could not get it fixed.

Catalina eventually sent me the teak 2 inch or so spacer ring which attached between the table and the top of the post. This is probably what Charlie's dealer did for him.

Two problems were solved at the same time. First I could get my knees under the table. Secondly it forced the table column to "bottom out" when lowered to make a bed and stopped the "slow sinking" problem I was having.

CALL CATALINA AND MAKE THIS ADJUSTMENT. It is well worth it.
grant reed
C 34 # 1519 TR, WK
"Patty Cake"
Little River, SC