BACKGROUND: Recently on the Catalina Yahoo web site, there was some discussion about the 3100 Schaeffer genoa furler that many of us have as factory equipment. My furler on C’mon Wind (Hull #255 vintage 2000) had been getting increasingly harder to turn over the last three years. When new, it was wonderful never requiring more than a modest effort to unfurl or furl the 155% genoa. I never used a winch. But age had its way with the furler and after several attempts at freeing up the lower bearing assembly, I recently gave up. [Editor’s Note – Remember never to lubricate the Torlon bearings with lubricating sprays, etc. Just flush with fresh water – Steve] I called Schaeffer Marine inNew BedfordMA (508-995-9511) and talked with Dave Anderson. He told me that Schaeffer had re-engineered the lower bearing unit into a single piece. So for $110,
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I have been having ongoing problems with the raw water pump leaking on my Westerbeke 42B. The engine has about 450 total hours, which is pretty low considering the age of the boat. The raw water pump started leaking two years ago during the 2008 season. On the Westerbeke, the pump housing has a set of weep holes which will theoretically drain any water that gets past the internal shaft water seal. This serves two purposes. First is to give you a visual indication of a leak, although the pump is unfortunately located directly over the forward port engine mount which will start to rust from the salt water dripping out of the pump. Second, the weep holes should keep salt water out of the pump bearings, which are protected by an oil seal on the other side of the weep holes.
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When we moved up from our Catalina 30 to a 380, the extra room and ease of boarding certainly made life easier for us, especially given our crew includes a 50lb Portuguese water dog. The two nice state rooms and ample salon means there’s even room for friends. This allowed me to justify a larger more stable RIB to carry all the people, pets, and supplies. While the 11’ RIB tows well, its bottom quickly fouls with growth if left in the water. I also don’t like hoisting a 120 lb. RIB on and off foredeck, squeeze around it, or trying to spot objects in the water over it. Towing the dinghy also overly complicates arrivals and departures, or docking, since we must reposition the dinghy often. My initial inclination that davits weren’t in our future dissipated quickly, and it
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Well, old man winter is rearing his ugly head again – at least for those of us in the northern climates. I finally broke down today and winterized Blue Heron. And she put up a good fight as I found a couple maintenance items that needed attention. So it was a long day.
This winter’s project list isn’t too long. Primary focus will be on solving the engine raw water pump seal leakage. This is the second year in a row that the pump started leaking after a rebuild with a new shaft, bearing and seals ($$). So that will require some discussions with Westerbeke. Then I have decided to go for a Stack-Pac mainsail cover. I got a very good price through Sail Care of Ford City, PA for the Doyle version. I will also get the main cleaned and re-coated while
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Recent discussions on the C380 forum have discussed actually removing the cockpit table but here is a project that goes in just the opposite direction – it makes it bigger!
Cockpit Table Extension
My wife and daughter and I often sail with our friends, the Corey’s, who own a C34 they purchased new over 20 years ago. When we throw the hook, we have happy hour and then dinner on one boat or the other. The cockpit table in the 387 seats four people comfortably but we typically have at least 5 – thus the project to add a portable extension to the table.
The project is fairly simple but has some interesting aspects that are worth discussing.
The first thing I did was to create a template of the shape I needed to butt against the existing cockpit table. One could just use a straight
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I get tired of the tangle of genoa sheet tails in the cockpit. They usually end up at the ends of the “T”, but they still get under foot and in the way. I also find the cockpit bins are too far forward to stow and easily reach winch handles from the helm area when tacking short-handed. I started looking at various options for pre-made sheet bags and various winch handle holders, but did not find anything that fit the bill. I have a canvas sewing machine so I also looked at making the bags mysef, including a kit from Sailrite. However, I quickly figured out I could just buy the materials and save some money versus the kit. Plus I could custom fit the bags to the “T” ends and include a pocket for the winch handles to
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This month we have two articles regarding portlight and hatch issues that tend to plague our C380’s. First, is an article from Captain Tim Porter on sealing those bothersome leaks around the Lewmar side ports. I can relate to this one and remember the rainy delivery cruise up the ICW when I bought Blue Heron. My crewman assigned to the middle cabin had a series of plastic cups positioned under the ports to collect the drips so he could keep his bunk and gear dry. We weren’t able to get pictures of the fix in time for publication, but I think Tim’s description is clear without. Second, is an article from Captain Skip Wilkins on replacing the plexiglass companionway slider with Starboard. It is a different approach versus trying to retrofit a fiberglass C387 slider onto the C380.
As always, I am looking for new ideas, or
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By: Tim Porter, C-380 #199 “Serendipity”
Mainsheet – August 2010
If you have an older Catalina, your Lewmar portlights are likely what are known as the “Old Standard” portlight. (note: these are NOT the overhead hatches, which are “Ocean” series hatches) These portlights can be identified by the split in the upper and lower frames on each side. If you have these portlights, you have probably been battling hard-to-find leaks. [My 1999 vintage C380, #194 still has the “Old Standard” ports. – Steve]
Most of these leaks are not from the seal or the latches, but rather from those splits in the frame I noted above. The frame itself is a hollow extrusion and the two halves are joined with a plastic insert that is pressed into them which is then staked into place by dimpling the backside of the frame. Over time, the sun and age takes its toll
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The sliding companionway hatch on “Bellatrix” C380 #43 was made of ½ “ smoked Lexan or Plexiglas and had become crazed and sagged. The sagging allowed water to lay on it and it had become very hard to slide. Looking for an alternative, I called Warren Pandy at Catalina. He told me they no longer made the Plexiglas slider but now made them of fiberglass and the new material eliminated the problems of the old. I ordered the new slider. After I received it and took it to the boat I noticed a couple of problems. The new hatch was domed and would not fit under the sea hood. It would require cutting the sea hood, raising the sea hood and trimming the new slider (See Photos 1 and 2). The color of the nonskid on the new slider was a fresh seagull gray
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I started the winter with good intentions and a pretty good list of projects for Blue Heron. Mostly in the “would be nice to do category.” However, with the exceptional cold and snow we’ve had, plus other commitments, I’ve gotten nothing done. Zilch. Nada. Sometimes that is just how things go. Then, if spring ever does come, it will be much too tempting to slip the lines and head out for a couple hours of sailing instead of tackling the project list. So I expect that many projects on the list will be waiting for me next winter! I hope you did better on your project list than I did and that you will be ready for some good sailing when the weather warms. I am looking forward to hoisting the new 135% genoa I bought at theAnnapolis boat show last fall. It should make our
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