More on Spinnaker & Jib Poles Warren Elliott 5/1/2004 Hull #: 44
As a follow-up to Steve’s article, I did some further enquiries on spinnaker/jib poles and cars. For the older C380’s with Z-Spar masts, Julian Crisp at US Spars [was Z-Spar, tel: 386 462-3760] indicates that, for the standard [non-furling] mast, the cost is about $250 for a car and short section of track. They also sell the same track in a long version [4 meters], for those who want to store their boat’s pole on the mast. US Spars’ furling mast uses a simpler approach in which the car can be added directly to the mast groove, and is about $170; installing this car does not require stepping the mast. They also sell complete poles with fittings, at better prices than the big catalog stores, per Julian. [But remember that shipping long items means that a trucking company
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Basic “Go-Fasts” For The C380 Steve Dublin 5/1/2004 Hull #: 84
We’ve found our C-380, “Caretta” (hull # 84), to be a very able club racer, particularly in offshore events. When her skipper and crew are reasonably attentive, she can sail to her 120 PHRF rating.
The stock Catalina 380 comes well fitted out with sail handling gear. However, there are some basic “go fasts” (racing equipment), which can be easily added, to help the boat sail her to her full potential. I’ve described a few of these “go fasts” below along with some installation tips learned the hard way:
Adjustable Backstay
The C-380 does not have a “bendy” rig. However, a pincer block assembly (Photo 3), connected to a 4 to 1 block & tackle, will allow you to tighten the forestay and point a little higher in moderate sea conditions. You don’t have to drill any holes for
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As a follow-up to Steve’s article, I did some further enquiries on spinnaker/jib poles and cars. For the older C380’s with Z-Spar masts, Julian Crisp at US Spars [was Z-Spar, tel: 386 462-3760] indicates that, for the standard [non-furling] mast, the cost is about $250 for a car and short section of track. They also sell the same track in a long version [4 meters], for those who want to store their boat’s pole on the mast. US Spars’ furling mast uses a simpler approach in which the car can be added directly to the mast groove, and is about $170; installing this car does not require stepping the mast. They also sell complete poles with fittings, at better prices than the big catalog stores, per Julian. [But remember that shipping long items means that a trucking
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STEERING, BOOM HEIGHT, CLEATS, GPS
Wolfgang Doebel, Warren Elliott
2/1/2002 Hull #: 336
The following was emailed to me from a new 380 owner from Canada:
Hello Warren, Have you ever come across one of the following? Do you have any ideas to help?
The steering mechanism on my C380, at times seems, to get partially hung up, especially when moving through the neutral position. The problem is not severe but it takes out a lot of fun from steering. Also one must always expect some problems to happen if the cause of the concern is not fully understood. There is an Autopilot ST6000 plus connected to the rudder post, but it does not seem to be the cause, as the problem does not exist when traveling under power alone (no pressure on the rudder, not much tension on the cables). I have investigated the mechanical condition of the
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Those of us with hull numbers up to about 100 have masts made by Z-Spar [now US Spars]. One issue with them consists of a relatively high gate: the opened part of the slot or tunnel where our mainsail slides do their thing.
The gate allows the slides to enter or leave the tunnel for installing/removing our mainsail. With the sail installed, the gate is “closed” via an angled handle that locks into the mast just above the opening thus retaining the slides. Two problems ensue with this configuration: first, the 1st reef cringle cannot be brought down to the boom, as it should be for a proper reef; Catalina authorizing the installation of “jack lines” solved this on my boat.
Second, the height of the sail’s headboard requires climbing the two mast steps to attach/detach the halyard and
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The drooping spreader problem appears to be occurring in several boats, so I passed this along to Gerry Douglas at Catalina, who designed the boat. He advises that the shrouds should be seized to the spreader tips with stainless steel wire, and this should have been done when the boat was commissioned, again if re-rigged. “Down angle is not correct and loads the spreader base excessively.” He further advises that trying to fix this with discontinuous rigging is “not the answer as it requires turnbuckles in all segments to compensate for stretch, unless done with rod.”
We would all be well advised to check that our spreaders are level, and that the shrouds have been well-fixed to the ends with wire. Gerry doesn’t say so directly, but “loads the spreader base excessively” reads to me like a threat of buckling
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