Catalina 350 International Association

The following is from a posting I made to the other C350 list: The original fuses are KTK-30, which are intended for special environments where a spark ( e.g. when the fuse blows and the glass shatters ) might cause an explosion. Somewhere like our battery boxes. These are apparently real boogers to...

The Bench just about fits along the forward wall to port, when not in use. Barely. We usually toss it in the aft cabin ( read : Garage ) . We also found that neither of the stock table tops met our needs. The Large one is just too big for the two of us living aboard, and the cocktail table is worthl...

Do not confuse galvanic isolation (GI) with galvanic corrosion (GC). Most marinas are wired to have a common ground - it's code. That common ground in the shore circuit connects to the boats common ground and because the engine is grounded, that dang prop and shaft have the potential of being sacrif...

The DC system is unlikely to have any effect at all. The Zinc is there to protect from galvanic corrosion - that which takes place anytime you have two ( or more ) dissimilar metals in an electrolyte. In your case ( and mine ) we have copper, brass, aluminum as well as steel and a few other alloys, ...

Ken, I got four "near matches" from a Honda dealership and got two "almost perfect" from a marine dealership, the one that did the gearbox replacement. Seems that the actual machining on the gearbox is of such a tolerance, that the Honda ones did not quite fit right, and the mari...

You will get very different longevity if you are in fresh water than you will in salt. I have over a thousand hours on the engine and yes, I go through about 4 to 5 HE zincs a year. I check 'em every first of the month and when about 1/2 to 2/3 gone, they get replaced. One other note; we live aboard...

One more point... that is not a standard crowsfoot wrench - it is a Flarenut Crowsfoot. If you look closely, you will see that there are two small "teeth" that are machined into the opening of the wrench - that is so it will grip all six sides of the Flarenut - usually pretty soft brass an...

First book that I'd recommend is Nigel Calders " Boatowners mechanical and Electrical handbook" . Whereas it is not Catalina specific, it is a must have book. Attached is the image of the tool that I use to get access to the bottom sump plug. As for the washers, they go between the two ( t...

FWIW: I use nothing between the brass and the brazed on fitting for the HE anode. I check it often enough that I don't have a freeze up happening, and I have found only one of the brass plugs to not have been machined correctly and allowed a leak. I have found that if I replace the actual zinc often...

Glad our wee bit of wisdom helped out. We also changed the oil after 25 hrs, then have changed it with EVERY engine oil change. Before you do the 25 hour change, get yourself a few of the crushable washers - hard to come by and you will want to drain that first fluid change from the bottom, not just...

DuncanMcMillan, We had a rather similar issue come up last cruising season and it turned out to be the thrust washer in the transmission. The way that the transmission is designed is that in forward gear, the prop pushes against this thrust washer, slowly eroding it. When the washer is eroded enough...

Bill ( on Triumph ) , I followed everything except that last bit about the three way valve on the water heater and the 11 gallon tank - what 11 gallon tank? Quite curious about what you have going on here. Thanks.. Al

Only thought is a leak running down the chainplate system - but that does not address the aftmost stream completely. Get someone on deck with a running water hose and liberally water the chainplate / deck hardware - look for water running down the stainless rod. When we purchased Halona, that was on...

Just went outside and measured the thread. Outside diameter of the actual male part of the thread is just under 1 7/8". Like maybe 1 27/32" . Hope that helps. Al

Do you want the thread size for the stainless steel plug that fits the deck fitting? Or do you need some other thread ( like the thread in the cap itself for the screw head? ) . Al

Joker Valve - It was that time again - if'n you are squeamish, don't bother reading any farther. Yep, time again for the Joker Valve to be replaced - however this time I decided and planned on also replacing the sections of hose that rise up from the Joker to the top of the blackwater holding tank. ...

oh.. just gotta add two more points. when we had our Tanzer 22 surveyed, the surveyor said/claimed that it was a violation and a non-insurance clause to store gasoline ( in any type of container ) with direct air communication to living spaces and / or spark and fire. She wanted us to store our outb...

Decided to add a photo to my last posting, showing the placement of the Honda.
Al

We have used the EU2000i now for two full seasons. It has met our every need. We do not store it in a locker, nor do we store gasoline in any locker - just seems to be asking for trouble ( explosive gas fumes and all that ). The valve to allow the tank to "breathe" when running is not the ...

My two cents here. Save yourself and your next mechanic a bit of grief and take a gentle file to the lower edge of the threads, those underneath the deck, and file off the VERY SHARP AND ROUGH edges. When we had to drop the rudder while on the hard, both of the mechanics and I cut our knuckles up - ...