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.
Got up at six, and headed up to Lighthouse Marina with my squawk list in hand.
1 List to starboard. 2 Leaking Cubbyhole 3 Front Window Caulk Separating 4 Water Ballast Valve Stem Leaking 5 Gelcoat on Leading Edge of Rudder between pintles cracking and chipping.
It was an hour and a half drive, and nice weather, for a change. Met Mr Erik Sonsteby, the proprietor, who was most courteous. (I later learned that his octogenarian father had passed this morningÉ..poor guy.)
Found a spot and raised the mast. Just as I was ready to put her in, an elderly couple arrived, to launch their power boat. I went over and observed. The lady held the dockline, the gentleman backed her in the water (The boat, not the lady). Just as she floated off I casually asked: "Did you put the plug in?" (This is a phrase frequently heard at power boat launchingsÉ) He said: "Did you put it in?" She said "No, itÕs in the glove compartmentÉ" There was a rapid exchange of words (in Greek)É..the kind of words that people that have been married for many decades haveÉ..I took the plug from the man, ran to the boat, and managed to lean far enough out and into the (very chilly) water to get it into the hole, without falling in. It was my good deed for the day, and I was to cash in that chip not much laterÉ..
Last night, as per Frank ButlerÕs request I had removed our personal belongings. For the heck of it I weighed all the stuffÉÉ360 lbs !!! 90 on the centerline (v-berth and below), 160 on starboard (settee and galley), and 110 on Port (Head and settee). Dinghy oars, electric heater, vacuum cleaner, food/beverages, tools, cockpit cushions, Chapmans/Cruising guidesÉÉ ItÕs amazing how much it adds up. As the engineer at Catalina had said, the boat is very, very light. She floated about two inches higher than before, and a lot closer to level. Erik and I agreed that if we were to take the motor off, sheÕd be level or even a bit to port. In any case, like that I had no real argument. In my defense, I never saw her float without our gear in it, as we loaded her up in the driveway before we went to Florida this February, and put her in for the first time. Also, I have been sailing much heavier boats. Bottom line is that if youÕre as AR as I am and want this boat to sit level at the dock, putting in stuff requires a careful balancing actÉ..
Of course when she floats that high, the waterline is below the ballast valve stem hole, so it wonÕt leakÉ..and since it was 85 degrees the forward window had expanded tighter thanÉ.
I suspect that Catalina does not cover gelcoatÉ.and thus the rudder, so in the end my only real gripe was the leaking cubbyhole, and since I did not want to leave the boat IÕll fix that myself.
Some marginal design/QC stuff, which, when push comes to shove squeaks by with a C- and a few lessons learned for me. The biggest one of which came at the end when I was lowering the mast. I know I had properly secured the main halyard which keeps the strap from sliding downÉ..and I left everything the way it went up when she went in the water, we werenÕt going anywhere after all. So, I did not run my "checklist" before lowering the mastÉÉ..(the experienced 250 owner knows where this is going)É..yep, somehow the main halyard worked its way out of the cleat, and the last 10 or so feet went very, very fastÉ.noisy tooÉ..oh sh%*tÉÉluckily the mast landed on the support, bending it slightly, but not damaging anything else (This is where I cashed in my chip from earlier)É. The bent support will remain as a reminder!!!
WeÕve put all the stuff back on, tissues on starboard, books, beans and tools on port. I also have some old window weights, 2x2xlongxheavy if necessaryÉÉWeÕll see what happensÉ..Now that we know sheÕs not "bent" we can get back to enjoying the things we really like about the boat.
The aft berth has been bone dry ever since I drilled those holes. Meanwhile IÕll fix the leaking cubby, someone mentioned pouring epoxy in the cubby joint so it will follow the path of the leakÉÉsounds like a good idea.
Oscar: I have seen several discussions re: #4 and I think Mark Melchior on his Texas Sailor website had a fix for that problem (if you really want to fix it I will see if I can find some of the discussions. Mine leaks only when I fill the wb tanks, then no more. I am happy to hear that the list is no more. I have cracks in the gel coat on my rudder in the same location. My dealer said he would repair the cracks but, they would not do any dammage, so I ignore them. Bet you never forget to check that the main halyard is cleted off before raising the mast again. I got an eye opener one time when I was raising the mast myself and forgot to attach the guide cables. Nothing happened but a good scare and I never forget to put the cables on anymore.
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.