Catalina 350 International Association

I installed a couple of 130W panels on my bimini a couple of years ago. I built the mounts originally out of aluminum and then a set out of stainless. The cost of building out of stainless was not that great. I used 304 stainless for the tube (I sail in fresh water so 316 was not necessary). And ove...

If you suspect the hose, why not get a garden hose, attach the correct ends to the hose, attach one end to the manifold, run the hose above the floor, and into the lazarette, down to the water tank, and attach the other end to the water tank. Pressurize the system and see if it still leaks. Try both...

The instructions that come with the RAM say that you can cut and splice the wire. So you can cut the connector off, run the wire and re-splice it at the radio.

Here is something I had in my notes that may help: Testing the Paddle Wheel Transducer Testing the Speed Sensor: • Verify that the transducer’s paddle wheel is free of marine growth and rotates freely on its shaft • Power down the instrument • Disconnect the GREEN and SHIELD transducer leads from th...

I believe it is paint. Have you tried wet sanding it and then polishing it up again?

There is an excellent post on how to prep and polish your boat here:
http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/sh ... p?t=117266

We used to use the round Magma grill as well, but for the reasons mentioned above, we did not want to get the new enclosure sooty or greasy. We now use the Weber Q110 portable BBQ. Much better heat and surface area. It fits in the aft cockpit lockers for storage. When we grill, we put it up on deck ...

I found the loud clunking to be the groove in the anchor roller. As the wind pushed the boat to one side the rode would pull out of the roller groove and up to the edge of the roller. Then when the boat swung the other way it would clunk back into the groove. It would be very loud if the weather was...

I just rewired my switch so my guess is that it would be similar to mine. It was wired directly to the 1 2 Both Off battery switch. The lug behind the number 2 which is the number 1 (arrow on selector points to 1). It is one of the smaller gauge wires attached to the lugs on the back of the switch. ...

Brett,

I am not considering this change, I use a cup or the shower wand for flushing. I only mentioned it because I have read that some others have made this mod. I leave my thru-hull closed for the season. If anything I will eventually repurpose that thruhull for a future wash down pump.

Since you mentioned keeping an eye on the voltage for a battery state, here is another article that may interest you: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/battery_state_of_charge I still maintain that adding a good battery monitor, will give you more peace of mind while out, and maybe let you run your...

Unfortunately increasing your battery charger size will not give you the 1:1 boost or increase in charging time that you may be looking for since batteries charge on a curve. Here is a good article on battery chargers: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/installing_a_marine_battery_charger A good too...

The drain from the sink is "used" or "dirty" fresh water that will be drained over board anyway, so using it to flush the toilet would seem to be a good use for recycled water. So instead of opening the sea cock for the sink drain, you leave it closed, filling the drain hose and ...

What some people have done is re-plumb the sea water hose to the sink drain and only use fresh water if needed. The 2 benefits are 1) you control the amount of water you use to flush and 2) you don't have sea water standing in the bowl, which eventually causes an odour. I guess an additional benefit...

Usually mast jams are caused by the angle of the boom not being correct. Adjust the vang so that the leach is not too tight when furling. Otherwise the increased diameter of the rolled up sail will be forced against the aft, inside of the mast making it harder and harder to continue furling.

I had problems with the check valve in the whale connector too. And finally removed it. I have not had any issues with the hot water heating since then. If you are having issues with the engine, heating the water, check to make sure you don't have an air lock in the coolant lines heading to the wate...

I guess before you can diagnose the problem you need to figure out where it is coming from. Use a mechanics stethascope to try and pinpoint the areas that may cause the whine. eg. dripless seal, transmission, alternator, water pump etc. Look for telltale signs of wear, extra dust around the engine, ...

Hi Russ,

If you are rebedding the traveller I would use a good butyl mastic, but if you are just removing caulking for sealing I would use a non-silicone based sealant. Something like Sikaflex 291 or other UV -resistant caulk.

I went to a lock smith and found a blank. An italian key with the initials CAS.

Hope that helps

Sounds like you have a blockage somewhere, possibly a stuck thermostat or blocked heat exchanger. If you have a laser thermometer you can point it along the water system to see where the temp is not high enough or too high. If you don't have one or can't borrow one; if you are careful and the system...

There is a service bulletin
http://www.westerbeke.com/ServiceBulletins/sb_125.pdf

Suggesting that a special socket is required. I have not removed it myself so don't have any experience.