[C320-list] Mainsail Hard to Raise/Lower

Tue Oct 14 10:02:28 PDT 2008

David,

Vendor changes are usually not associated with conspiracy theories...in engines alone, the 320 has been equipped with Perkins, Westerbeke and Yanmars...on cuba libre 2--#112, I thought the Perkins was a fantastic engine---it's all about margins on boatbuilding...vendors fall over each other to get their equipment spec'ed on boats by builders like Catalina, Hunter, Beneteau...

As a builder, you get some huge economies of scale by using as many of the same types of products across your product line...

Every few years, everyone changes preferred vendor, it's all about cost accounting...

----------------------------------
Regards,
OD

Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

----- Original Message -----
From: "Henderson, David" [dhender at allstate.com]
Sent: 10/14/2008 09:45 AM
To: <c320-list at lists.catalina320.com>
Subject: [C320-list] Mainsail Hard to Raise/Lower

First of all, to Bob, I will indeed be sure to pass along anything I
learn from Charleston Spar, Catalina, etc.

I also thought some of you might appreciate the irony of the story of
why I have an in-mast system.  When I purchased (ordered) my 320 at the
Boston Boat Show in Feb. 2005, my intention was to order a regular mast
with the Dutchman system.  However, at the time, Catalina was offering a
"boat show special" which included a couple of freebies, including free
mainsail furling, if you bought at the show.  My broker and his boss
tag-teamed on me to convince me that I would be foolish not to take
advantage of the offer.   Regrettably, I went along with their advice.

Finally, to Dennis, I appreciate your input.  My plan is to give my
broker a day or two to see what he can do for me.  But then, if I am not
satisfied with his progress, I will certainly go directly to Charleston
Spar myself, and then Catalina too if need be.  

I also had previously given a lot of thought to your point about all of
the other Charleston Spar in-mast systems that have been in use on lots
of other 320's.  I admit that I have never seen this issue referenced on
this site before; and that is exactly the reason for my original post
about this problem  - to see if I could draw out any others who may also
have experienced it.  We'll see.  Maybe I am unique.  But if I were a
cynical person, I sure might wonder about the switch to Selden with the
Mark II.

Thanks for your interest.

Dave 
Dottie B   #1049 

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Message: 13
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:53:25 -0400
From: "Dennis Harris" <dharris02 at embarqmail.com>
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Mainsail Hard to Raise/Lower
To: <C320-List at Catalina320.com>
Message-ID: <2A64B411CB7143F98BAF9F76693722AA at Office>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="Windows-1252";
	reply-type=response

Dave, Robert,

Regarding the narrowing of the mast groove on your in mast furling
systems, 
why don't you contact Charleston Spar directly at 704 597 1502 and talk 
directly to them regarding the problem.  If it is a serious problem,
they 
probably have a fix for it, and perhaps a fix even if it is not a safety

issue.  While my own mast is the conventional one with full batten sail,

Catalina has been using the in mast furling system for many years now
(it 
was available in 1999, and not sure how much earlier it was used).  The
same 
basic design appears to be used on lots of models other than the C320.
With 
the large number of subscribers on the C320 list over many years, if
there 
was a serious safety issue (as in mast failure), it would have come to
light 
well before now.  Therefore, I believe you can feel confident that the
mast 
is not going to fail in normal use (assuming it is rigged correctly).
Since 
the masts are aluminum extrusions, it is probable that the same dies and

metal composition have been used for all boats using the C320 cross
section. 
It is not likely to be a quality control issue, but a design issue.
Where 
the spreaders join the mast is point of high stress.  Aluminum is a
ductile 
metal, and if overstressing is not too extreme, it will tend to deform 
(flow) locally to releave that stress ....that's what I believe has
happened 
here.  Still not very comforting and it shouldn't happen.

Jack, as to Catalina switching to another vendor for masts, it probably
has 
to do with who had the best bid for the job.  Charleston Spars are used
on 
lots of boats, not just Catalinas.  Your mast gate problem seems minor 
compared to the above concerns, and if you get the gate plate adjusted 
properly and raise the sail by heading into the wind, with just a little

pressure (sail) to the side away from the gate opening, that problem
will go 
away.  Not a reason to switch from one mast manufacturer to another.

 Hope this helps.

Dennis Harris C320#694

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