I came across this on another Catalina site and thought it would be of value to our members as well. The following analysis comes from U.S. Master Marine Surveyor Rob Scanlan and is presented courtesy of RCR Yachts.
Key-numbers as to how likely the problem:
[1]-Very Common.
[2]-Common.
[3]-Possible.
[4]-Rare.
[5]-Very Rare
Black Smoke is caused by partially burned fuel. When the fuel/air mixture increases there is insufficient oxygen present in the cylinders to complete the combustion process. Large quantities of carbon are then produced which appear from the exhaust as minute black soot particles. Engines with turbochargers have additional sources of black smoke.
Black Smoke Insufficient Air: Causes: Air intake filter clogged [2] – Air intake restricted [3] – Exhaust restricted [3] – Leaking inlet or exhaust valves [4] – Poor engine room ventilation [4]
This past weekend we lost reverse when maneuvering to anchor. On investigation it appears all is well with the transmission, however, the transmission cable (called a clutch cable by Edson) is not communicating in the push direction with the transmission shift lever. We removed the compass and pedestal cover which revealed the steering chain and clutch cable and throttle cable attachment points. All appears intact. The problem is the cable sheath appears to have come loose from a mounting point below the shift lever (perhaps 6 inches below the shift lever crossbar). The cable doesn’t move inside the outer sheath at the transmission.
My question is, how do you replace the clutch cable and in particular how is it attached inside the pedestal? I didn’t see anything on the Edson website on how to gain access inside the pedestal.
FYI. Removing the black plastic compass base was a nightmare. There
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On my C387 #96, there is a blower switch on the engine control panel at the helm that has always baffled me. It simply gives you control over the blower when the engine is running but doesn’t allow you to control the blower when the engine is not running. Personally, I can’t see a reason why I would want it turned off at all when the engine is running. I would always want it on. Then again, the plastic cover on the switch is clouded over enough that you really can’t tell whether the switch is turned on or off so your only indicator is hearing it come on when the ignition switch is first turned on.
I want the blower to always run when the ignition is on but also want the ability to turn it on independent of the ignition switch. When I arrive at an anchorage and
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Warren Elliot
C380 #44 My Bride II. Mainsheet Summer 2012
How can this be, you ask?? We’re talking about a pretty simple hunk of metal…so what’s the story??
The story starts back in mid summer last year, when the admiral and I were cruising our C380 in waters just short of Cape Cod, about 100 miles east of our Long Island Sound home port of New Haven, CT. Our mission was to do a bit of visiting/exploring for several days before heading into New Bedford, MA for the Catalina East Coast Rendezvous.
This was, by most standards, a pretty nice day except that, even with the sails set, it unfortunately required mechanical horsepower to attain any reasonable forward speed, particularly as our destination was quite a few miles off. The day passed uneventfully until I decided to do one of my “daily” engine checks. So the admiral took over the
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The replacement sender unit from Ezell is a totally improved design with a rigid ss vertical bar that a magnetic or something floats up and down on. Unlike the current unit with the resistive electronics in the fuel tank, everything is now external to the fuel tank. Much better design, and for a mere $29 well worth the upgrade. The current unit is a flimsy float hinged on a dangling peice of thick wire that connects to a peice of plastic that changes resistance based on how the flimsy wire happens to be dangling. Not too impressive in my fuel tank. I would replace even if its working!
Ezell is at (850) 578-2558, assuming they are the manufacturers of your fuel tank. I have the 26 gal tank, newer boats #179 on have the 34 gal tank. My part number was WEMA-11 Sending Unit (C380- 26 gal). It is a
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I’m sure many know this trick and issue but the boat next to mine didn’t so I thought I would post it.
The symptom started with their Xantrex Inverter having trouble starting. It would simply shut down as soon as it looked like it was beginning to start. The battery monitor on the panel really showed the problem – a DC voltage of 12.2 volts on fully charged batteries – not enough for the Xantrex to work. Though the problem was first recognized as the Xantrex not working, there would ultimately be other problems showing up as well with electronics not working or the engine not starting.
Using a digital volt meter, I could show him that the voltage from the battery terminals was 12.9 volts simply by putting the red lead on the positive terminal and the black on the negative terminal. What was not obvious to the captain
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From a post on the C-320 list a few years ago on this very problem:
Well this has turned into an interesting project. For those late to the telling, my fuel guage is reading ‘Full’ all of the time, so I replaced my float unit in the tank and that didn’t cure the problem.
With no input from the list on my query as to whether there was any advice other than ‘replace the guage’, I turned to Catalina to order a new guage. They promptly referred me to Seaward where I wound up with Lonnie (562-699-7997 ext. 213). He was extremely helpful to me and when I expressed my intention of posting this report to this list, he volunteered that I should provide his contact information in the event anyone had further questions. They are very proud of their products at Seaward and clearly dedicated to customer service.
It
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Hi,
My throttle has started to slip a bit. If I set it for 2600 rpm, it will slip down to 2400 after a few minutes a hold there. A piece of string held it at 2600 for 2 hours the other day. Is the slippage at the engine or in the pedestal? Is there an adjustment for movement of the throttle??
Thanks in advance.
Bob
Xanadu C380 #243 Pelham, NY
The throttle cable does have an adjusting screw inside the pedestal, which would be the obvious fix for this. Unfortunately, in our case, the navpod is positioned so that the compass cannot be removed without removing the navpod for the chart plotter/radar. It can be done, but takes more than just a few moments. The clamp my wife mentioned to you works great, is visible for inspection and only puts a small amount of pressure on the cable.
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