Catalina 350 International Association

Our swim ladder ( hull #17 ) has the steps riveted on with stainless steel rivets. Last haul out, we needed to re-rivet two of the points as they had simply rusted away. There was evidence of a bit of adhesive, but I suspect it was to aid in the manufacture rather than actually hold the step on.
Al

Answering in a different order: Yes, the pump can spin and not pump water if: a) there is insufficient depth of water in the bilge to allow the pump to "self-prime" b) there is too much resistance to flow, e.g. check valve is stuck/blocked/gunked up. These bilge pumps are not positive pres...

I can totally support TBOT422's final paragraph, with the following additional thoughts. Basic anchoring is not what you should plan for. Rather you should plan and equip for the extremes. Do as TBOT422 says and 90 percent to 95 percent of the time you'll be golden... but... What if the weather goes...

Dave, I need to voice a couple of things here. The stock engine / gear did not come with the cooler. The cooler is nothing more than a cast piece of metal with a number of fins on it for heat dissipation that bolts directly to the side of the gear box. Nothing more, no plumbing or fittings. So it's ...

Our two cents on the design change, based on our experience when we moved aboard full time and the aft cabin became a garage. Halona dropped about 1.5" at the stern when we had all our stuff aboard, enough loss of freeboard that the end of the 'sugar scoop' was below water. It affected all poin...

We did not cut and hinge the table. Rather we just 'organically' created a new one. I am finishing version 3 right now. By Organically I mean that we started with a table made of mdf , cut to be about the size of the original and then over a period of only a few months we cut it down to the "pe...

If the Catalina's came with a holding tank lower than the head, I would feel that a non macerating system would be ok. However, because we have an "updraft" system, where the holding tank is higher than the head and the outflow from the head gets reduced from 1" or 1 and 1/8" dow...

0. Absolutely replace the 4D's with golf cart batteries. 1. Since you are on the hard, there is a fairly easy ( I said fairly ) method to get the batteries to the ground. Once they are in the cockpit, rig a block and tackle off the end of the boom and then swing the boom off the side and lower the b...

Yes, four golf cart type batteries fit just fine beneath the nav seat. Much easier to handle and to deal with. You will have to add a pair of correctly sized cables to jumper the new batteries. You will also need to make a new brace (wood) to keep the batteries in place should you roll. Most folks j...

When we had our cutlass bearing replaced, we had to drop the rudder, and pull the shaft. Unless your bearing is quite proud of the deadwood, there is nothing to grab to pull it out and you can't pound on it from inside the hull with the shaft in position. al PS: Agree with Ken, about a gallon to a g...

Hull #17 has the bench seat ( still wrapped in factory paper ) and has no cutout , groove or other shape to allow it to hang. We're soooo jealous.
al

We also thought that we could make use of this space, but we found that 1) it was wet, 2) it was damp , 3) it had a lot of excess moisture in the space. :D I'm sure you get the idea. Any leaks at the forestay drain into this space as do leaks from around the windless system. So, what we've done is t...

I can think of two issues that would give rise to your complaints. 1) Simple cavitation is a really good ( and inexpensive ) answer. Coming down the Malaspina in 20+ knots of winds on the nose, with three foot seas, we had to throttle way back as every time Halona came up on a wave and slammed down,...

Two nights ago, our joker failed. Of course it was the night before we were to take three guests out for a day of sailing/dining and fun. So... I have now had the chance to actually install the Raritan C253 red joker valve in the Wilcox Critt Newport and I am happy to say that it fits perfectly, sea...

Hull 17, replaced the Seward with an ITR diesel fired unit. Seward came out vertically with an 1/8" to spare after removing the shelves ( which we completely remodeled to offer the clearances for the new heater. Disconnect all hoses and power, remove the three outer casing pieces ( a small chal...

Just to add to the discussion. The holding tank vents are the same devices that vent(drain) the LP tank cockpit areas. I've disassembled the two on the stern a number of times as neither propane nor water was draining. There is a small circular wire screen inside the actual vent, that collects a lot...

Okay. I followed up with Raritan about the diff's between the C-253 and C-254. Here's the reply: Hello, The C253 and C254 are used in different model Raritan units. Although they both will fit in each other place, they are optimized for our specific model pumps. I hope that helps. Thanks Mac McCoy S...

Good news for all you jokers. That is to say for all you folks that own Thetford / Dometic / Wilcox Crittenden Newport heads. Yep, I made my trip to Seattle and spoke with the good folks at Marine Sanitation. Of the two joker valves that they thought would work, the Jabsco with the triangular valve ...

Thanks Leigh, my parts diagram does not have any form of rubber gasket between the bracket and the engine body. Considering the nature of the vibrations, a fore and aft damper of that small a gauge will do little to stifle the moment of the ( relatively speaking ) heavy heat exchanger. Those thought...

The problem lies with the simple fact that the style of bilge pump that we have is NOT a positive displacement pump. That is to say the pump only throws water towards a port with enough pressure to make the water flow. The back flow is all of the water between the pump and the anti siphon valve fall...