Catalina 350 International Association

Replaced the motor, shaft seal and O ring. The old motor failed due to salt water damage from water leaking in from the shaft seal. The new motor is much quieter - which was one of my main complaints about the toilet.

My motor on the Sea Era electric head seems to be slowly packing it in. It is fine if used daily but seems to start very slowly if it hasn't been flushed in awhile. I suspect seawater has probably penetrated one of the seals. Has anyone sourced out a new pump or had it rebuilt?

You definitely can hear the pump clicking when it is working. I tried it and you are right it only operates when the glow position is engaged (when the engine isn't running). I'm amazed the engine would start easily without it - does it take lots of cranking to start?

The fuel lift pump normally runs anytime the ignition switch is on - not just when you twist the switch to the glow position. The purpose of the fuel lift pump is to provide positive fuel pressure to the engine driven pump. I'm not a mechanic but my guess is the engine may run with only the engine d...

Thanks Ken. I'll give them a call

My engine rpm guage has been erratic the last couple of times out (definately just the guage and not the actual rpm). I have had this issue once before and fixed it by adjusting the pot screw at the back of the guage to obtain an accurate rpm. When I went to adjust the screw again the pot screw seem...

Gotta ask - how long are the flushes. I cruise approximately 60 days per year with my wife and daughter. We can get by for 2 full days full time onboard without a full holding tank tank with "expeditious" flushing. It also makes a difference if your discharge line is not partially blocked ...

My guess is the water is coming in down the inside of the mast and then through the mast step wiring conduit and down the compression post on the inside. This happens to my boat as well when it rains and is more pronounced with certain wind directions. There are holes at the bottom of the mast by th...

Any saltwater environment will contribute to the problem. Happens in the Pacific Northwest and the Bahama's. Flushing once a month with vinegar will help but the buildup will still occur over time.

When was the joker valve and the discharge hose last changed? This happened to me - when I pulled the discharge hose off and looked at it I realized it was clogged to less than half its diameter. I replaced the hose and joker valve and now you can flush a rubber boot - OK not quite - but the differe...

I have not experienced this in my Catalina 350 but have had the issue on a previous boat. I would guess the vent is probably clogged from previously over filling the holding tank. When this happens the waste has nowhere to go except up the vent line overboard and solids can lodge in the vent line. I...

I refilled mine by dropping the bottom half of the gearbox. First remove the motor - then remove the 4 bolts holding the bottom of the gearbox housing. Just be carefull to keep it level as you drop it down through the inspection panel or the hydraulic oil will spill out (there is a sump that the oil...

I had the same thing happen. Use the cap from the forward water fill in the anchor locker for the diesel fill cap - they are identical. I used a wooden thru-hull plug for the water fill until I could replace it - its under the anchor locker lid anyway so it is out of the elements. I did get the repl...

I have a wing keel and the standard non furling main. This is my 5th sailboat I have owned from 27 to 47 feet. We bought this boat 3 years ago mainly because of the layout and amount of space onboard which is better than many 38 footers. We sail the boat in the Pacific Northwest 50 - 60 days a year ...

Thanks Richard. That helps a lot. I was looking at a used autoprop that came off of a Catalina 36 and in talking to AB Marine it looked like it might work on the C350 but it was a 408mm (or 16") which is larger than the one you have on your boat (380mm or 14"). My fixed prop was changed fr...

Thanks Richard. You said in your cavitation post you had to change the prop to a smaller size when you first got it. Did the first one cause vibration? Was the installation straightforward?

Looking at feathering prop options - has anyone installed an autoprop on their C350?

Thanks Ray,
Do you remember which seal kit it was. Nothing on West Marine's site references the VW800, which is our model. Is it the oil seal kit?

I just pulled the gearbox and changed the gear oil. My leak seems to be coming from the main shaft seal at the bottom of the gearbox. Ken, do you remember where you ordered the Maxwell gearbox seals from?

IMHO the C350 was a great layout (the main reason I bought the boat) and still sailed well to boot. I would not have bought the 355. I agree - my boat is a keeper!