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New Member Intro & questions!!

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TwistyMcFisty
Deckhand

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16 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/28/2022 : 09:54:35

Hello all!!
I am in the process of buying a Cat 25 from a lovely lady a handful of hours away.
I went to see the boat, loved it, and will return with the rest of the money and a truck to bring her home. Very excited!!!

1977 hull #81

This will be my first boat and the first time ever on a sailboat other than my Sunfish.

A few questions�
The knot meter transducer is apart. The little paddle wheel has a broken fin and a few small barnacles on it. Not too worried about it being super accurate as I will most likely be using some sort of electronic speedometer.
The question is, do I need any sealant on that connection or does it seal fine without any??
Is the little paddle easily replaceable??
Pretty sure there was a plug to just plug it off if I wanted to as well. Maybe I should just block it off???

Also, the boat doesn�t have a bilge pump at all�seems a little odd. I think I would rest a little easier if it had one, as it will be in the water all of the time.
Should I get one?? Where would it go??

Another question�the boat has a 9.9 Johnson Sailmaster outboard.
I will most likely be keeping it in a canal at a friend/neighbors house.
How tight of a turn can I make in this boat?? Tight enough to u-turn out of there?? Not sure of the width of the canal.

Thankyou guys so much!! I really don�t have anyone locally to ask all of my new guy questions yet�.

1977 Catalina 25
Standard rig, swing keel

Outer Banks, North Carolina

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5882 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2022 : 10:39:34

Re: the knotmeter. Whether replacement parts are available depends on the make and age of the instrument. I'd install the plug until you get it sorted out. The plug probably has o-rings which should seal it. A working knotmeter is nice to have, but not indispensable.

I sailed my C25 for 24 years without an electric bilge pump. It had a manual bilge pump that was seldom used. Big, diesel powered boats have several through hull valves and hoses that can cause problems. (eg. engine intake and exhaust, toilets, air conditioning, sinks, deck wash pumps, etc.) Most C25s have outboard motors, porta potties and fewer amenities. There aren't as many holes through the bottom that are capable of leaking. IMO, a manual pump is uncomplicated, doesn't rely on battery power, is less prone to clogging and sufficient.

Most sailboats can rotate almost within their own length, give or take 2-3 feet. With an outboard motor, from a dead stop, you push the boat's tiller hard over in one direction and push the motor's tiller hard over in the opposite direction, and gently apply the throttle. It's good to practice this maneuver once or twice in open water before you have to do it in a closely confined space.

When maneuvering around docks, I always have a very long, telescoping boat hook in the cockpit ready to use if needed. If your motor suddenly stalls or your boat is hit by a strong gust of wind, it lets, you grab onto or fend off of a piling or even a docked boat. With a dead engine, you can move a boat to your slip by grabbing a piling with the boat hook and pulling the boat forward until you can grab the next piling.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

hlprmnky
1st Mate

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USA
41 Posts

Response Posted - 08/31/2022 : 09:57:55

Welcome to the family, Twisty!

Specifically about an (automatic) bilge pump, I am 80% through adding one to my 1986 fin keel C25 and I have been documenting the process with an eye toward writing up a post here and maybe even submitting it for consideration as a tech article in Mainsheet. Should I actually get to *get up to the boat and work* for the couple hours I need to finish mounting in the bilge and setting the wiring I will be sure to mention the post here.

1986 C25 SR/FK/Trad. �Puffin III� - #5040
Sailing Lake Michigan out of Michigan City, IN

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9047 Posts

Response Posted - 09/01/2022 : 08:13:38

Welcome Twisty! This place is one of the best features of the C-25, with old owners and new ready to help with any questions! To help us help you with many of them, it will be helpful to add an automatic "signature" to your profile, as you will see on many posts here. We suggest including the year, rig (SR=standard, TR=tall), keel (FK=fin, SK=swing, WK=wing), and normal sailing venue. For example, a bilge pump is rigged slightly differently in a swing keel bilge from that of a fin keel. (There were no wings in your vintage, although a very few have been retrofitted to replace swingers.)

You might have a bilge pump and not know it... Standard in the C-35 was a manual Whale pump attached to the side of the port cockpit seat, with the bellows inside the seat locker (often referred to here as the "dumpster"). It's operated by a tubular stick you slide onto the nipple in the cockpit and then pump up and down. The intake hose goes under the galley bulkhead and into the bilge, and the output hose runs back to a transom thru-hull fitting. If none of that is there (you do have a very early model), well.......

My paddle-wheel knotmeter never worked, because of the instrument. I only relied on a hand-held GPS, which tells you how fast you're going over the bottom, not necessarily through the water (if there's a current). I didn't race, so the through-the-water reading wasn't important to me.

Turning, as Steve says, shouldn't be a problem. A little reverse thrust can help pivot the boat in place. One mistake I've witnessed is pushing the tiller (on the rudder) too hard over, at which point the rudder becomes more of a brake. Unless you're standing still and have the motor turned hard over, avoid pushing the rudder past about 45 degrees to get the best effect. The same is even more true if you're trying to back up, where the rudder wants to go hard-over.

Your experience on the Sunfish (my all-time favorite sailing!) is priceless--you "get it." Everything from here is just getting to know the systems and controls, and dealing with 4500 lbs. of boat. The fine points of sail trim will come along. But do you have a "big boat" sailor who can go with you to introduce the systems--rigging, lines, winches, hoisting, dousing, tacking the jib, etc.? I strongly recommend it. Little things like where to run the jib sheets can bring surprises...

All the best!

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 09/01/2022 08:20:12

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.