Category Archives: Mainsheet

Mainsheet Articles

2008, Customizations, Dinghy Davits, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain, Stainless

Caution- Davit Stress Corrosion

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Caution- Davit Stress Corrosion
Richard Herbst
February, 2008 Hull #: C380 #93

According to Keith at Kato Marine (katomarine.com, 410-269-1218), earlier models of their davits were built using 304 stainless steel (including early 1998 when my boat, hull #93, was built). If they are continually stress-loaded (i.e., carry the dinghy all the time on the davits) while used in the tropics or similar climate, they may develop stress corrosion (i.e., cracking) of welded joints. If stress corrosion is evident, his advice is to have a qualified welder re-weld it and, in addition, add a gusset (about 1-inch triangular piece of filler metal) on each side of the broken weld. The gussets provide extra insurance against joint failure; it is impossible to know what is going inside the tubes by way of additional deterioration. For the same reason, Kato also suggested not drilling holes in the davits [eg: for wiring].

My

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2008, Mainsheet, Mast, Repair/Replace/Maintain, Rig, Sailing, Stories

Eliminating Dismasting Possibility

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Eliminating Dismasting Possibility
Warren Elliott
August, 2008
Hull #: 44

Simple Repair Eliminates Dismasting Possibility

I don’t mean to worry our C380 captains–the chances are pretty remote for a dismasting–but one of our fleet did suffer this “fate”, so I thought some relevant info would be helpful to at least a few of our members.

The particular unhappy event took place with winds gusting to 30+ kts. Before departure, the rig appeared normal per the captain’s brief check. Early conditions had winds in the low 20’s, so the C380, which had a Z-Spar tall rig, was reefed accordingly. Just after coming about, the mast folded to port/aft about 10 feet above the deck. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Subsequent inspection revealed all stays, shrouds & chainplates to be intact, with no obvious fault. It was noted that a lower-spreader tip had been dislodged, and was “hanging” in the now-loose rigging.

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2008, Customizations, Dinghy Davits

Davits Alternative – Weaver Davits

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Davits Alternative
Craig Spear

February, 2008 Hull #: C-380 #273

A much simpler and much less expensive alternative are “Weaver” davits, whose description is included here to present a more complete picture of dingy storage. For a much more detailed description, refer to our section in the November 2005 Mainsheet; that article is also included on our Tech CD. –Warren

I installed the eyes that attach to the side of my inflatable (RIB). The other half of the system is a pair of hooks that are mounted on the stern of my C380, just below the swim platform. To raise the dingy, first maneuver it to attach the two eyes on the dink to the hooks; then pull a line attached to the far side of the dingy, rotating it into the vertical plane with the bow and stern athwartships. (See Davits photo).

The advantages include much less weight

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2008, Customizations, Sailing

“Noodles” Stop Wave Slapping

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“Noodles” Stop Wave Slapping
Bill Weaver
May, 2008
Hull #: C380 # 54

 My wife and I have sailed our C380 on Lake Michigan since it was delivered to us new in early 1997. Since I retired two years ago, we’ve logged about 1,000 miles over several weeks each of the two summers.

There are few things that annoy us about our C380, the main one being water slapping noise in the stern cabin. It seems that we too often end up with an aft wind, causing small ripplets or larger waves to slap against the hull. We’ve solved this problem by using swimming “noodles”. We string two noodles onto a line and secure it to the stern cleats or to the stern rail. One seems to work well if there are only small ripplets; otherwise two will usually do the trick. The photo shows our boat after a rough

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2008, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain, Water

More on Anti-Siphon Valves

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More on Anti-Siphon Valves
Warren Elliott

February, 2008 Hull #: C380 #44

Although there is more than one of these devices on our boats, the anti-siphon valve for our engine is very important, as discussed in the previous few Mainsheet issues. If it fails in the closed position, water is likely to back up into the exhaust manifold and damage the engine. At least one of our C380s engines was badly damaged this way, and more engines out there may be in trouble.

In case some of you are not aware of this device, it’s mounted on the forward side of the bulkhead just above the engine. See our section of the May 2007 Mainsheet for the original article on this subject, including photos.

 

In the previous [November] issue, it was concluded that the best way to monitor the valve’s operation [engine off] was by inserting a small screwdriver,

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2008, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain

Eliminating Bilge Odor

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Eliminating Bilge Odor
Richard Herbst
February, 2008
Hull #: C380 #93

My Catalina 380 had excess water collecting in the aft bilge area which resulted in unpleasant odors. This bilge is adjacent to the galley counter and its door/trash bin, and includes one keel bolt. Removing the floorboard that wraps around the galley island is the only access to this area. [Ed note: this is the third bilge section; the first section is immediately aft of the compression post and contains the bilge pump and/or pick-up for the pump; a small hatch provides easy access. The second section is immediately aft of the first, and also has easy hatch access on boats newer than about 1998 (older boats have no access hatch)– Warren].

Adding a small a bilge pump in this section is possibly the easy way out but would not get rid of all water; due to the

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2007, Customizations, Electric Winch, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain, Winches

Electric Halyard Winch Conversion [C 387]

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Electric Halyard Winch Conversion [C 387]
Dale Hartwig
August, 2007
Hull #: C387 #85

 Powering Up Footloose

Regardless of where we sail, how we sail, and with whom we choose to share our sailing, I suspect most of us spend time evaluating options to make our experiences easier, simpler, and safer. Bottom line for me is: anything I can do to increase my time on the water is a primary consideration – physical effort included. When we moved from our C320 to our C387, we chose the Forespar LeisureFurl mainsail boom furler option. This article is not about our “learning” experiences with the boom furler but about our decision to replace the standard manual halyard winch with a powered winch. In discussions with Forespar, while “Footloose” was in production, we understood a powered winch was recommended, to make raising the big main a snap. However, we had missed the opportunity

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2007, Companionway, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain

Companionway Slider Replacement

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Companionway Slider Replacement
Michael Barry

May, 2007 Hull #: C380 #53

Drama Queen, C380 hull #53, came with a gray, “full-size” Plexiglas companionway sliding hatch, as did all early 380s. After a few years, our slider needed replacing due to the appearance of some cracks. I spent a great deal of time shopping plastic supply companies to have a replacement made, but I had no luck. I then contacted Catalina and ordered a new slider [about $250].

The newer sliders are made of fiberglass with a small Plexiglas insert. I was told that the new slider would fit the older boats. Well, it sort of fits. [Note- the original allplexiglass design had a tendency to sag or warp, especially in southern heat, thus the new design– Warren]

To replace the sliding hatch, first I removed the screws that secure the large hatch cover, then slid the cover out

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2007, Mainsheet, Repair/Replace/Maintain

Waste System Mods

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Waste System Mods
Mike Kenny/Bob Goldman/Steve Krazinski
November, 2007
Hull #: C380 # 77/243/102

Following are probably the best methods towards eliminating unpleasant head odors from our C380-390’s. [Note that C387’s have a completely different waste system, one that uses only the new “odor-safe” hose, so most of the following does not apply.]

The basic approach here is to eliminate the older black hose and install rigid PVC piping wherever waste is continually present and doing so is practical. PVC is considered non-permeable so, properly installed, there should be zero odor from it. Alternatively, where not practical, installation of the relatively new “odor-safe” or “noodor” hose is the approach of choice. With regard to the tank egress plumbing, the only part which is continually in contact with waste is the main tank-output line, so this is the primary candidate for upgrading to PVC. Replacing other hoses with PVC or with

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2007, Customizations, Mainsheet

Companionway Doors

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Companionway Doors
Warren Elliott

November, 2007 Hull #: C380 #44

As many of our stalwart Sailnet chat group members will recall, a few months ago we got together a group buy of doors for our boat’s companionway. These particular units are made by Zarcor [.com], a frequent Mainsheet advertiser. They are fabricated out of starboard, a white plastic. While the well-known alternative doors are made from teak [Glebe Creek, sold by Cruising Concepts, also a Mainsheet advertiser] and look very nice, I, and presumably all of our group buyers, do not want to deal with the upkeep required by their wood construction.

So, we purchased and installed the Zarcor version, which have been in place now about a month. I thought some readers would be interested in how the installed doors look on a C380, [specifically mine], which you can see in the two accompanying photos.

Installation is quite simple.

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