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Volume
29,
Number 4, December
2011
(This
is only a fraction of the Technical content found in each issue of mainsheet.
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Catalina
470 Technical Editor Jim Wohlleber
Anchor Chain Twist
Onward spends about 200 nights a year on its anchor so I get lots of practice. Anchoring usually goes quickly and without incident using a Manson Supreme anchor with 300 feet of all chain rode. However, occasionally the chain deployment does not go as smoothly as it normally does. I have had chain strippers bent under mysterious conditions and jams. The problem is exacerbated for me because as a single-hander I do much of the chain deployment and retrieval remotely from the starboard helm station and thus I’m not on site to intervene. After a dicey incident at St. Marys GA, I decided it was time to understand what was going on and I spent 3 to 4 hours on the bow watching how the chain and windlass interacted before figuring out how to fix things to reestablish a workable anchoring system...
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CM400
Association Editor Brian Mistrot
Dining Table Conversion
One evening while spending the evening anchored in a secluded bay with another C400 couple and having cocktails and dinner in the cockpit the conversation turned to the dining table below. Both Admiral wives agreed the next upgrade to be made onboard was to change the table, thus making it easier to covert from a table to berth. This meant getting rid of both sets of long and short interchangeable table leg tubes and replacing with something else. But with what and how?...
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Catalina
42 Technical Editor Gene Fuller
I received a few more comments on dinghy transport and storage, including a description of a really robust set of davits from Dick Ackerman. Rod Williams received a few inquiries about his dinghy storage system on the front deck, and he has sent along another photo to help clarify the setup.
Now that we have multiple solutions for taking the dinghy there is one more item that catches some of us from time to time. Roger Elliott describes a straightforward way to modify the ladder so that it can fold to be deployed or retrieved under the hoisted dinghy.
Taking the Dinghy Along
Part 2
Dick Ackerman sails his C42, Free Ride, out of Long Beach, California. He had problems with a set of ordinary commercial davits, and he decided to build a really robust set of davits. In his words:
My goal was to keep my hard-bottomed dinghy with 9.9 horsepower engine ready to use and attached at all times. The total weight was approximately 180 pounds....
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Catalina
380/397/390 Technical Editor Steve Riddle
“Bobstay” Strap for Asymmetrical Reinforcing the Anchor Roller for a Spinnaker Tack Point and Running Gear Ideas
The forward end of the C380 anchor roller is 20 inches ahead of the forestay attach plate, 10 inches ahead and clear of the bow pulpit, and on Serendipity was just begging to be used as the tack point for an asymmetrical spinnaker! The only issue was the upward load put on the anchor roller attachment in anything more than a light breeze. I solved this problem by having a “bobstay strap” made which attaches to the bottom of the anchor roller and the existing stem fitting for the forestay. The strap has the additional benefit of strengthening the anchor roller in the downward direction, making it less likely you’ll damage it with excessive loading while weighing anchor (stuck anchor, pulling up a log, etc). I should note that in order to do this project, you must have the access plate in the forward end of your anchor locker to enable access to the nut for the stem fitting on the inside of the hull. ...
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Catalina
38 Technical Editor Steve Smolinske
It Is Time To Take A Look At Your Cooling And Exhaust System!
Something breaks: fix it now? later? never? or include it in a bigger project? Something looks like it may be a problem: wait until it breaks? can I afford it? fix it now? Routine maintenance: do I really have to grease the winches every year? The reasons for taking on a project number as many as the projects themselves. Sometimes we find ourselves addressing a problem because of a failure or as a preventative measure because the item made it on our radar. With our boat approaching her twenty fifth year, there is quite a list of items that range from “that would be nice” to “I really need to ………...” I along with several other members of the Catalina 38 association recently upgraded our original equipment heat exchangers. In each instance we decreased our operating temperatures by 30 degrees from 195 to 165. Our boats came with a 2" x 16" heat exchanger. For those who may be reading this and have no idea how the cooling system works don’t worry, neither did I when I started...
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Catalina
36/375 Technical Editors
Pre Mk II hulls: Steve Frost
MK II Hulls: Larry Brandt
C375 hulls: Francois Desrochers
Universal Diesel M-25 Alternator Upgrade
In 2002 I upgraded the charging system on my Catalina 36. She was powered by a Universal (Kubota) M-25 diesel engine. This post is about the alternator installation. For this upgrade I used the Leece-Neville 90 amp 8MR2069TA alternator.
This boat was originally outfitted with the stock 55 Amp internally regulated Motorola alternator. The future system was to include an update to the house battery bank for more total amp hours. If I increased the capacity I knew the stock alternator would certainly be maxed out.
The photo here shows the alternator I used and its sales and model number. I chose this alternator, over many others, because it was the only one using the identical case size that the original stock Motorola did. Leece-Neville also used to build many of the alternators for Balmar and they build tough units...
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Catalina
350 Technical Editor Bill Templeton
Full Cockpit Enclosure With Screening
From Tim Ryan
Since we purchased our C350 nearly 5 years ago, we have always believed in the notion that we will only add features and improvements as they become necessary. Since day one at St. Simon’s Island, when we were introduced to the irritating and messy phenomena of swarms of Love Bugs, we felt that a cockpit enclosure would be a necessity. However, we were planning a trip to the Bahamas, therefore items such as a dinghy and outboard became the immediate needed features on our BOAT (Break Out Another Thousand) improvement list. The cockpit enclosure would have to wait.
Shortly after returning from the Bahamas, we began talking to canvas people about our enclosure options. We quickly learned that the quirky and unique aspects of existing hardware and canvas, make for an interesting and involved (read expensive) project. Around this time, while underway in the rain, I learned that what we really needed was the ability to see through the canvas connector. One of the canvas people we were conferring with said that this could easily (read cheaply) be accomplished with the addition of a window. This would allow me to see through the connector while at the helm, an obvious need. We opted for a Strata Glass window to be stitched into our connector, and continued our use of citronella and DEET in our war against the bugs.
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Catalina
34 Technical Editor John M Nixon
Wooden Ships And Iron Men Didn’t Have Microwave Ovens
While the lore and romance of the era of “wooden ships and iron men” has set many a young sailor’s imagination running wild with thoughts of sailing off across the deep blue in search of adventure, the reality of that era leaves much to be desired in a world in which creature comforts and electronic marvels are the norm. It seems that most of us these days are not ready to leave behind all the convenience and utility of our electronic gadgets at home just because we want to spend time on our boats. In addition, local climate can make using a microwave oven or an electric coffee pot far more desirable than open flames in the galley in those parts of the world where trying to keep the inside of a boat cool is a constant battle for almost half the year. (Did I mention we live in Texas where the summer of 2011 was the hottest on record?) Besides, my little red 1 gallon shop vac that lives on the boat needs to be used constantly, both at and away from the dock...
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Catalina
320 Association Editor Chris Burti
Snap Davits Installation on the C320 MK II
In this issue we are very pleased to offer an excellent article written by David Swanson, #1107, Emily Ann. This article thoroughly describes the installation of Weaver Snap Davits on the stern of his Mark II C320. As the hardware mounts on the portion of the transom generally unchanged from the MK I hulls, we suspect this article should serve well for all C320 hulls that have the seat molded into the stern. We are very appreciative of Dave’s willingness to document the procedure for us. –Chris
Cruising Southern California and the Puget Sound on our 2007 Catalina 320 MK II Sailboat requires that we carry an inflatable dinghy. To make the process of carrying the inflatable easier, I mounted a tilt-up davit system that is traditionally used for power boats to our Catalina 320 sailboat. The tilt-up davit system was manufactured by Weaver Snap Davits (www.weaverindustries.com) and adapted to our C320 MK II. Our inflatable dinghy is an Achilles LSI 2.90 (www.achillesinflatables.com). The length of the Achilles inflatable is 9’-6" which is well within the 11’-9" beam of our Catalina 320...
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Catalina
310 Technical Editor Bill Lewis
No column this
issue. Comments and/or questions for next issue? Contact your Tech Editor
today.
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Tech
Talk with Catalina 30/309 (edited by Max Munger)
No column this
issue. Comments and/or questions for next issue? Contact your Tech Editor
today.
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Catalina
28 Technical Editor Dick Barnes
Thanks to Ray Pink of Perth, Australia for the following:
I have owned Sheer Magic for four years and she has always had an overheating problem.
My M3-20 motor would start easily with minimal pre-heating and normally run at 175 to 180 degrees but would gradually heat to 190 to 200 degrees. Other owners of Catalina 28s powered by M3-20s reported that their temp sits on 165 degrees and rarely goes above. If the other owners could get these temps, why couldn’t I?
I had replaced the impellor in the Sherwood pump as well as the hoses leading from the raw water intake to the pump and back to the heat exchanger. I had cleaned out the heat exchanger and the injection elbow, all to no avail.
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Catalina
27/270
Technical Editor C27 John Ebell
Technical Editor C270 Phil Agur
No
column this issue. Comments and/or questions for next issue? Contact
your Tech Editor today.
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Capri
26 Technical Editor Art Harden
No
column this issue. Comments and/or questions for next issue? Contact
your Tech Editor today.
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Catalina 25 Technical Editor Paul Zell
Catalina 250 Technical Editor Randy Kold
No
column this issue. Comments and/or questions for next issue? Contact
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Catalina
22 Technical Editor Donna & Louis Plaisance
Six Pack Project
This past winter I reworked the reefing lines and topping lift on our 1988 New Style. The single line reefing system we were using was difficult to deploy unless at the dock or under calm conditions on the water. The topping lift was fastened to a mast cleat and I wanted it run to the cockpit. Conversion of the reefing system to two lines and a handy relocation for the topping lift has been a big improvement.
I ran the reef tack line from the base of the mast to starboard and installed a pinch cleat on the hatch rail. The topping lift followed suit on port. Long screws fasten rubbing strakes through the teak rails and into the hatch giving the cleats a robust anchorage. The pinch cleats were left over from a previous project so cost was minimal. The redesigned control lines are a big step up over what we had been using so I was happy with the upgrade. I didn’t like the two lines crossing over the sliding hatch, but I knew that it would not be long before fairleads on the deck would clean up this trip hazard. .
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Catalina
18 Technical Editor Erik Van Renselaar
No column
this issue. Comments and/or questions for next issue? Contact your
Tech Editor today.
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Catalina
16 Technical Editor Richard Ede
No column
this issue. Commentss and/or
questions for next issue? Contact your Tech Editor today.
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Catalina
15 Technical Editor Paul Vance
No column
this issue. Comments and/or questions for next issue? Contact your
Tech Editor today.
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Capri
14.2 Association Editor Ed Jones
No
column this issue. Comments and/or questions for next issue? Contact your
Tech Editor today.
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