[C320-list] shaft alignment after haulout

[Chris Burti]

The hull flexes in the slings and more so if weight is rested on the
keel. When the vessel goes back in the water it largely returns to its
former shape after a couple of days, but not always. It's not hard to
check alignment and not hard to adjust if not far out of spec.

It's very difficult to align if the faces on coupler are not square
with the shaft and parallel to each other.

We published an article on this in Mainsheet a couple of years ago and
it may be on the website.

Thanks, Chris BurtiFrom: bev.wright
Sent: ‎4/‎22/‎2015 8:43 AM
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] shaft alignment after haulout
Chris,

What about the haulout causes the shaft to go out of alignment?  Does
this happen on short-hauls or just the end-of-season when she goes on
the stands for a while?

I ask because it (a) Whoosh is being short-hauled for bottom cleaning
and anode inspection in 2 hours (she was in the water all winter) and
I was not planning on having to realign the shaft when she is put back
in the water (b) alignment is apparently not an easy task-it took six
tries by three mechanics to properly align the shaft after she had
been on the hard for 10 months last year (for sale) and a new cutless
bearing installed based on the purchase survey.

Thanks.
Bev Wright
s/v Whoosh #15
Edgewater, MD

Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse touchscreen errors.

> On Apr 22, 2015, at 7:46 AM, <clburti at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Graeme,
>
> The practice in this area when hauling is to rest the boats on their keel and shore up with jack stands. I’ve seen no adverse issues with the hull layup. That said, it is my opinion that you need to realign the prop shaft after she goes back in the water, Commitment is always a bit out of spec after a haulout.
>
>
> As an aside, I had  picture of a C-320 sitting unsupported on her keel  at a shoreline somewhere after a tide ad left her high and dry….but I can no longer find it.
>
> Fair Winds,
>
> Chris
>
> Commitment, #867
>
>
>
>
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>
> Sent from Windows Mail
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Graeme Clark
> Sent: ‎Wednesday‎, ‎April‎ ‎22‎, ‎2015 ‎5‎:‎13‎ ‎AM
> To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
>
>
>
>
>
> I’m not sure if I have asked this before - if so my apologies
>
> In Britain it is not uncommon to have a tidal range of 15ft or more and most locations will get at least 6 to 8 ft as a minimum
>
> It is thus common practice for boat owners to ‘dry-out’ a practice I gather is not that common in the US?
>
> picture here img_1344.jpg
>
> For those that dont know what this is, it bascally means tying up along side a harbour wall or what are ofetn called ‘scrubbing posts’ - wooden piles driven into the seabed - and allowing the boat to settle on it’s keel as the tide ebbs, having taken suitable precautions to prevent it toppling over, of course!
>
> This  saves the cost of a lift and gives  a good few hours to scrub the undersides or make some minor below waterline maintenance task.
>
> I wrote to Catalina to ask if the boat was designed to do this and the initial repsonse I got was that they didnt know what i was talkinga bout, so is ent them a photo and then they said “oh, we’ve heard of people doing that sort of thing in Alaska, but no, we didnt specifically design the boat for this”
>
> We dont have many catalina owners in the UK, but I know of at least two who have dried out their boats at least once or twice.
>
> This year when mine was hauled out for winter, the new yard I am using doent use a cradle but ‘shores up’ the boat with timber shores. As she was being lowered to the ground and the keel started to take her weight I noticed a significant degree of flex in the hull -  basically it starts to squash as the weight - normally supposretd equally along its length by the water - is supporte donly at the hull-keel join.
>
> Which makes me wonder whether it is a safe practice, or is that flexing likely to crack and/or delaminate the GRP?
>
> There are other issues, like the fact that the tip of the rudder is about the same depth as the keel (I think?) so if the seabed is uneven, a proportion of the laod will be taken by the rudder.
>
> I realise the simplest and safest answer, is if in doubt, dont do it -  but if someone somewhere says “I have been drying out every two months for the past ten years” then I know its not an issue.
>
> msny thanks, as always, for any comments.
>
> (By the way, not sure what the costings are in the US bit in the UK, to have a 320 craned out and craned back in, will cost in excess  of US$600 - so there is a good reason tio want to do this!
>
> Graeme
>
> #366
> Falmouth
> England