[C320-list] rigging

[Timothy Osburn]

I just read in the Edson manual last week that Edson recommends replacing
the steering cable every five years, FWIW.
On Apr 29, 2015 12:07 PM, "Allan S Field" <allan.field at verizon.net> wrote:

> It's hard to believe that it has been 11 years since that tour but
> following
> are my entire notes of that visit!
>
> Catalina 320-Rendezvous Factory Tour – August 2004
>
> As part of the C320 Rendezvous in Marina del Rey, CA, Orlando Duran, the
> very capable host for the Rendezvous, arranged a tour of the Catalina
> factory in Woodland Hills, about a 30-minute drive away from the Marina in
> Anywhere, USA, but almost 2 hours in LA traffic.  We were greeted at the
> factory by designer Gerry Douglas.  According to others who have taken the
> “traditional tour”, we could expect to spend about 30-40 minutes.  Mr.
> Douglas and 2 members of his staff spent over 2 hours with us!  I think
> that
> we saw everything but the trucks that take the boats away from the factory!
>
> While pictures were not allowed, and free samples are not given (much to
> our
> collective chagrin) I did take notes throughout the tour that I would like
> to share with the newsgroup.  Mr. Douglas has been gracious enough to
> review
> these notes to ensure that I am not passing along inaccurate information.
> Following, in no particular sense of order, is a summary of what I heard.
> Warning: this is a long e-mail but hopefully, there will be something for
> everyone by the end!
>
> All 320’s are made in CA while the “big boats” are made in FL.  The company
> is vertically integrated meaning that virtually everything either is or can
> be made in-house.  For example, while spars may be outsourced, they also
> can
> be made in-house.  For the 320, the boom is made in-house but the mast
> comes
> from Charleston.  Of interest to many of us is that the boom on the 320
> also
> is the mast for the 25!  On-site production includes a keel foundry, metal
> shop, wood mill, sail loft, canvas shop, fabric shop, mattress shop, and
> rigging shop.
>
> Replacement sails are available from Catalina.
>
> New 320’s come with an inner spring mattress in both the forward and aft
> cabins.  These mattresses also are available for purchase for about $350.00
> and colors can be coordinated going back to about 1999.
>
> On average, between 2 and 2.5 320’s are produced each week.  Depending on
> the production schedule, 320’s take anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months to
> completion.
>
> A new boat – the Catalina Morgan 44 – will be introduced at the Annapolis
> Boat Show.  Mr. Douglas plans to be at the Show to show his new baby.  The
> boat will have a 55-gallon holding tank and 170-gallon fuel and water
> tanks.
> There will be a separate refrigerator and freezer on board.  Headroom will
> be 6-feet, 5-inches.
>
> Replacement hatches and rudders are available for just about every boat
> Catalina has ever made.  There are 6 molds for the Aqua Lift muffler
> therefore Mr. Douglas strongly encourages that when ordering a replacement,
> send the old one in and Catalina will send you a match.  For Sea Shadow, we
> probably will remove ours over the winter, send it in, and keep the new one
> for when and if needed.
>
> The new Catalina’s come with a Yanmar 3Y series engine, the 4th type of
> engine to go into the 320.  In response to a question regarding hot water
> heater failures, Mr. Douglas states that 90% of the failures are due to
> poor
> winterizing.  The question was 2-part with the second part being the
> failure
> rate of the ProMariner chargers but I did not note the answer.  In talking
> with virtually every Captain at Rendezvous, the opinion on the ProMariner
> is
> very mixed.  For every Captain that leaves the charger and refrigerator on
> 24/7 and has no problems, there are an equal number who have gone through
> at
> least one ProMariner and a battery bank – yours truly has been through 2
> ProMariner’s and 1 battery bank.
>
> There was much discussion regarding the rigging.  Most standing rigging
> failures occur about one-half inch below the swage.  In southern CA, Mr.
> Douglas recommends replacing the standing rigging every 8 years.  However,
> washing the salt off after every sail will increase the life expectancy.
> By
> contrast, in the mid-west on fresh water lakes, rigging will last 20-30
> years.  Catalina expects to do away with the lifeline cover in the next few
> years.
>
> The factory runs 3 shifts.  Gelcoat and keeling are performed at night due
> to a desire not to offend the rest of the businesses in the area (most of
> whom are closed at night) with these noxious odors.  While I saw #1023 in
> production, others saw #1030.
>
> Care of the galley counter tops is the same as for the gelcoat – compound,
> buff and wax to get the shine back.  When replacing the galley flooring,
> call Catalina for the new replacement material that is much easier to clean
> than that on the older boats.
>
> Since Catalina has been using the vinylester layup (1995), there have been
> virtually zero blisters.  Any that have occurred have been at either the
> keel to hull joint, where the shaft exits the hull, or on the rudder edge.
> Knit laminates, versus roved, are used on the Catalina’s.
>
> The lower 30% of the rudder is designed to breakaway in a hard grounding;
> the remaining stub should get you home.  Keel bolts should be torqued to
> 235
> foot pounds after the first year, then left alone.
>
> The infamous Catalina port list was discussed.  According to Mr. Douglas,
> the narrow water line at the beam makes for a faster boat with the downside
> being that the boat is sensitive to weight distribution.  His
> recommendation
> is to keep the weight down to control the list.
>
> The port side cockpit locker was designed to take a 10-speed bike in
> storage
> with the wheels off!  A yellow thong to anyone on the list who knew that
> little factoid already!
>
> This was our second 320 Rendezvous and something that Linda and I intend to
> keep on our schedule for the years to come.  While the opportunity for such
> an extensive tour of the factory made the trip worthwhile in itself, the
> other owners we met, the ideas we came back with from roaming through other
> 320’s, and the opportunities to sail in an area normally out of bounds to
> us, made the trip absolutely incredible.  I would strongly encourage all
> who
> can to consider the annual Rendezvous as part of their schedule.  I cannot
> imagine anyone returning home the least bit disappointed!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
> Of Michael Ferguson
> Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 9:17 AM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] rigging
>
> Thanks Allen
>
> Guess I need to get busy before a failure happens. What about steering was
> anything mentioned.
>
> Michael
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>
> From:"Allan S Field" <allan.field at verizon.net> Date:Wed, Apr 29, 2015 at
> 9:08 AM
> Subject:Re: [C320-list] rigging
>
> Following are my notes re: rigging from the factory tour we did a few years
> ago with Gerry Douglas:
>
> There was much discussion regarding the rigging.  Most standing rigging
> failures occur about one-half inch below the swage.  In southern CA, Mr.
> Douglas recommends replacing the standing rigging every 8 years.  However,
> washing the salt off after every sail will increase the life expectancy.
> By
> contrast, in the mid-west on fresh water lakes, rigging will last 20-30
> years.  Catalina expects to do away with the lifeline cover in the next few
> years.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf
> Of Graeme Clark
> Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2015 3:46 PM
> To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] rigging
>
> I have just finished replacing the standing rigging on my 1996 320, which I
> bought last year; the previous (original) owner had never replaced it. he
> claimed never to have been sailing in anything greater than 25knots but I
> decided not to risk it. I just didnt  want to be mid-passage somewhere, the
> wind freshen up and be always wondering what weakness might lie
> undiscovered.
>
> It used to be the case that insurance companies required standing rigging
> replacement evry 5 years, then it became every 10, then every 15 and so on!
> My company did not insist on it but they made the point that if I had a
> loss
> and it was attributed to lack of routine maintenece then there could be an
> argument about liability!
>
> So - what was the old rigging like - well, from the outside I couldnt see a
> problem and nor could the riggers but they made the point that in may cases
> there will be internal corrosion and even siophisticated tests like the
> eddy
> current test are no guarantee.
>
> Theres some good info about fatugue failure in rigging here
> http://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/Pages/Fatigue.aspx
>
> I decided to have the mast un-stepped and strip the old rigging myself,
> send
> it to a supplier to match up new, and refit it myself, employing a rigger
> only for the re-stepping and rig tuning which I wnst confident of doing.
>
> The unexpected plus side of this was that I got to really see how the rig
> was put together and undersatand how the spreaders are held to the mast,
> how
> the wires run through the spreder tips, how they are held in place and so
> on. With the amst down all this could be done eaisly with two feet on the
> ground and gave me the oportunity to easily run new wiring, fit new aerial,
> nav lights and examine the masthead components such as sheaves for repair
> or
> replacement if necessary.
>
> And I got to gibee everything a really good clean up!
>
> If you dont replace your rigging then at the very least you need to be
> happy
> regulalry going up the mast in a harness or chair to inspect the swaged
> ends
> of the riggings for any sign of broken wires.
>
> Finally the original rigging screws (turnbuckles/bottle screws) fitted to
> early Catalinas - the ones with the slide on stainless steel tubular
> covers)
> seem to be universally derided, these days, by any rigger as being the
> perfect design to retain corrosive seawater and hide what's going on.
> Hope this helps
>
> Graeme
> #366, 'Jaskar', Falmouth Cornwall, UK
>
>
>
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 05:51:42 -0700
> From: Michael Ferguson <coralman at bellsouth.net>
> To: 320 <c320-list at catalina320.com>
> Subject: [C320-list] rigging
> Message-ID:
>
> <1430225502.89251.YahooMailAndroidMobile at web181201.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Hi all
>
> Just a thought. Has anyone replaced their standing rigging our had any
> failures. Nauti Clew is 20 yes old and I use her often in 20 plus not
> winds.
> I check for stress cracks etc but worry about aging parts. Also the
> steering
> cable same age. Thanks
>
> Michael
>
> Nauti Clew 169
>
> Senbut rom Yahoo Mail on Android
>
>
>