1. I replaced the original front motor mounts by first separating the prop to engine coupler so I could later tilt the engine to slide out the mounts, one corner at a time.
2. I noted the number of stud treads exposed on either side of the up/down adjustment nuts and marked the new motor mount stud for that engine corner accordingly so I could duplicate the same adjustment setting on the new mount for that specific corner.
3. Traced the outline of the original motor mount as it rested on the hull engine grid ( stringer) to ensure the side to side bolts adjustment template spacing is recorded before removing the engine mount to hull grid by removing the hull attachment bolts.
4. I then removed the stud adjustment nut securing the engine to the mount so the engine could be lifted above the mount
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There has been some discussion on the Yahoo List regarding overheating due to fouling of the fresh water side (antifreeze side) of the heat exchanger. It turns out that this problem is not isolated to the C380/387. The May 2009 Mainsheet has an extensive article in the C470 section regarding a similar problem. It appears as a brown film, or sludge, on the freshwater side of the bundle. The source or origin is unknown. It had been proposed that this is a left over coating from the manufacturing process that is supposed to be cleaned during the commissioning process. However, I discussed that theory with Richard Mastry of Mastry Engines in St. Petersburg, who supplies engines to Catalina, and he was unaware of it. However, he did say that captains should be careful not to over-prop so the engines run at rated rpm’s, mix antifreeze to
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The list below provides links to owner websites and their descriptions of improvements they have made to various aspects of the Catalina 380 series. I include them in this post so that they will be available to the search routines of this site.
Boat repairs are like war; the plan only lasts until the first battle starts!
It all started when the boat was pulled at the end of last season. I noticed that the lower rudder bearing was loose – something new since the boat was last pulled. From there, I noticed a crack in the forward portion of the rudder so drilled a small hole in the bottom of the rudder and found that a small amount of water drained out. As with many projects, had I known at the beginning what I knew in the end, I would have done a different project. It was just one of those things that kept getting bigger as you went along.
Important to this discussion is that I have a C387 and not a C380. Evidently the length of the rudder post is different
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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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After about 10 years of light use of our shower, the sealant failed at the bottom of the wall in which the shower door is mounted. This resulted in water getting trapped along the bottom edge between the inner and outer seal of that wall. This only became noticeable when I was trying to replace the factory-installed sealant that had started to crack along its full length just below the shower door area in the head area. When trying to remove the old sealant, the Formica covering the area blistered off because the water leak had broken the bond between the wall material and Formica (see Photo 1). The real damage probably occurred during winter lay up when the boat is blocked nose up. This nose-up attitude causes any small amount of water or snow leaking into the shower
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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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John Szarek, C387 #129, Magical Dreamer, AnnapolisMD
Mainsheet, May 2010
I have always been amazed by LED’s, ever since that star wars LED watch I had as a kid so I thought it would be interesting to experiment with upgrading my lights to LED. Before I get to the fun part of replacing the bulbs, I want to explain a few semi-technical things about LED’s. I will be extremely general so all the EE’s out there please forgive over simplification of some parts. So the first problem I ran into was looking at my 10 watt halogen bulbs and trying to figure out how to match them to LED’s since LED’s are rated in lumens. One does not relate to the other directly as a watt is a measure of power and lumens are a measure of perceived light. On average most incandescent bulbs (DC) produce about 10 lumens per
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