Saving Another Catalina, An abandoned Catalina 36.

[mikeracca]

Things are starting to look much better. I spent several hours with a bottle of Simple Green and some scotch bright pads and the results were good. Found some rotten meat in the fridge, that contributed to much of the smell. The chart table got a good cleaning and I vacuumed out the aft Berth removed the last of the cushions. The mattress for the aft berth was completely rotten and barely made it off the boat in one piece. I didn’t have enough light left to clean any further, so I packed up everything and headed home. Sorry no pics of the aft area, I didn’t have enough light for that.

 

[thagan1]

I have a non working M25XP with new injectors, cylinder head and a fairly new exhaust manifold if you are interested.

 

[Sail22Capri22]

You are brave. I hope to see you turn this thing around like you did with Luna. I love seeing boats being brought back to life.

 

[mikeracca]

I have a non working M25XP with new injectors, cylinder head and a fairly new exhaust manifold if you are interested.

I am very interested. I need Head, intake, injectors, pushrods, and valve cover. Those are the pieces I know to be missing. I don’t know if anything internal is dead yet. I would love to just get a known good or rebuildable engine that is complete.

 

[mikeracca]

She has a new name. Serenity. I brought 3 names to my kids and wife, wife said she doesn’t care, it’s my boat, my daughter didn’t care either so it was my son and I working it out. The top 3 names were Serenity, Celeste, and Phoenix. Serenity won mainly because we are Firefly fans. My Mermaid logo will be used on the boat but the Luna name will be removed. I think I will name the Mermaid Celeste.

 

[mikeracca]

So I just got back to WA and went to check out the boat. I took stock of some of the wood parts I have removed and discovered I’m missing the center teak sole to the cabin. I have the one under the table, in the forward berth, under the chart table and the one in the galley but no center one. I know there is a boat graveyard in Lynden but they just say I will have to come out and look. That’s a 3+ hour drive for me. Any ideas where I can locate this piece?

 

[Hayden Watson]

So I just got back to WA and went to check out the boat. I took stock of some of the wood parts I have removed and discovered I’m missing the center teak sole to the cabin. I have the one under the table, in the forward berth, under the chart table and the one in the galley but no center one. I know there is a boat graveyard in Lynden but they just say I will have to come out and look. That’s a 3+ hour drive for me. Any ideas where I can locate this piece?

You might take a photo of the required location to insure that anyone who has something will know where you mean.

 

[jssailem]

Did the marina remove it? It is likely a piece of plywood with a veneered Teak & Holly surface like the other deck pieces.

There is a wood store in South Seattle. I think it is called Crosscut Hardwoods. You may be able to find what you need.

 

[mikeracca]

I’m not sure who removed it, but the more I research this the more I’m leaning to 1/4” marine ply and some synthetic teak/holly. I will get pics of what is missing here in a few I’m heading there in a bit.

 

[mikeracca]

*HAPPY DANCE*. I am a very happy sailor if you didn’t notice, or is it happy mechanic? Happy either way, I have a complete and rebuildable engine. A local guy on the Catalina 36 page on FB said he had a cylinder head for me, but if I wanted it I would have to take the whole engine! … um twist my arm a bit more? So now I have a complete and good condition engine. Imma have to send it to a machine shop for some work but I think it’s all fixable. He gave up on it when he was unable to get the crank pulley off, it only took me a few minutes trying to have it free, a trip to the hardware store for the correct size bolts to use a gear puller with and the pulley was in my hand. Thankfully whoever had it off the last time used anti-seize on it and it came off easy. The front cover came off easy and I’m working on the injection pump now. It doesn’t want to lift out so Imma gonna check out the service manual he gave me too. Oh, yea, I got a service manual and parts catalog both for the engine! Win win for me!

As for Serenity, I got some more garbage and wet crap out of her which should help with the smell. I left a couple rags in strategic locations to see if there are any more rats onboard, hopefully they’re all gone somewhere else. The bilge pump works, BUT the line is broken under the stove so it simply pumps up to that point then it drains back into the bilge. I have a new pump coming and will get some hose to get the water overboard.

 

[mikeracca]

I found a part I need for the new engine that isn’t present on my old engine. That’s the coolant flange, part #13 in the pic below. The one that came with the new engine was corroded to the point of non existent in a few places. I will need the gasket for this part too. (#14)

 

[Hayden Watson]

What I did was go to my local parts store and ask for permission to spend some quality time prowling around in their hose section. I found one that was 3/8" diameter and had two 90º bends in it and now I have a spare. Cost less than $5. I did the same for all of the prebent hoses and it was much cheaper than getting them from a "Universal" parts supplier.

 

[mikeracca]

What I did was go to my local parts store and ask for permission to spend some quality time prowling around in their hose section. I found one that was 3/8" diameter and had two 90º bends in it and now I have a spare. Cost less than $5. I did the same for all of the prebent hoses and it was much cheaper than getting them from a "Universal" parts supplier.

I used to be a counterman and would do the same for customers and let customers do this as well… problem is, part 13 is not a hose, it’s the lower thermostat housing/flange. I found one similar on Westerbeke’s website but they want almost $300 for $5 worth of aluminum.

 

[Hayden Watson]

I used to be a counterman and would do the same for customers and let customers do this as well… problem is, part 13 is not a hose, it’s the lower thermostat housing/flange. I found one similar on Westerbeke’s website but they want almost $300 for $5 worth of aluminum.

I looked at the red circles and didn't read the part number asked about. I have not been able to find if that is a Kubota part or something made speical for Universal. I suspect Kubota so I would check with the Kubota parts suppliers.
Another option is to see if anyone here has a junked engine that it can be pirated from. Did that part not come with either of your engines?

 

[mikeracca]

I looked at the red circles and didn't read the part number asked about. I have not been able to find if that is a Kubota part or something made speical for Universal. I suspect Kubota so I would check with the Kubota parts suppliers.
Another option is to see if anyone here has a junked engine that it can be pirated from. Did that part not come with either of your engines?

The engine in the boat doesn’t have it, most likely it was attached to the head when the head went missing. The new engine has one but it is so corroded that there are parts of the structure completely missing and other parts that turn to powder as soon as you touch it. I hope it is a Kubota part, Westerbeke wants $277.95 for it .

I finally have the new engine completely disassembled and ready for the machine shop. I am pretty sure I know what killed it. Lack of maintenance in the cooling system lead to overheat and death! I found a rusted washer inside the water jacket, as well as about 2” of sediment, some powdery some solid needing a good scrape. I will have the engine hot tanked to get everything cleaned out properly. I will post pics tonight, I’m still out working, I just stopped inside for some lunch.

 

[Hayden Watson]

The engine in the boat doesn’t have it, most likely it was attached to the head when the head went missing. The new engine has one but it is so corroded that there are parts of the structure completely missing and other parts that turn to powder as soon as you touch it. I hope it is a Kubota part, Westerbeke wants $277.95 for it .

I finally have the new engine completely disassembled and ready for the machine shop. I am pretty sure I know what killed it. Lack of maintenance in the cooling system lead to overheat and death! I found a rusted washer inside the water jacket, as well as about 2” of sediment, some powdery some solid needing a good scrape. I will have the engine hot tanked to get everything cleaned out properly. I will post pics tonight, I’m still out working, I just stopped inside for some lunch.

I am assuming that you will be doing a long block overhaul. The kits that are available are a really good value with replacement of all the wear items. including the cylinder sleeves.
Here is a video on how to remove them DIY. Most attempts that I have seen to use any type of puller were unsuccessful because the liner is so thin. Kubota D750 replace sleeve without puller and installed - YouTube

 

[mikeracca]

I am assuming that you will be doing a long block overhaul. The kits that are available are a really good value with replacement of all the wear items. including the cylinder sleeves.
Here is a video on how to remove them DIY. Most attempts that I have seen to use any type of puller were unsuccessful because the liner is so thin. Kubota D750 replace sleeve without puller and installed - YouTube

That’s the same video I was watching the other day. Imma still gonna have the machine shop do the instal of the sleeves. I found a kit for the rebuild, it doesn’t have everything gasket wise but it does have all the important hard parts. I have a pic of the serial number for the parts guy at Kubota when the time comes. Catalina Direct wants over $400 for the water pump, but I found several on tractor part sites for around $30. I’m hoping the same goes with the coolant flange and other oddball gaskets.

I was unable to get the pins out of the deck for the machine work, I‘m pretty sure the machine shop will be able to get them out one way or another and if they mess them up, they should be able to locate replacements easier than I can. I will need to have the crank done first so I can order the right undersized bearings, then the block and heads. Since the rebuild kit comes with valves and guides, I’m going to have them replaced, needed or not.

 

[mikeracca]

Not much for updates this week, I have been doing a little work on Luna, her starter kicked the bucket so I offered my help to her new owners getting that squared away. I should be able to install it tomorrow and have them back in the running.

As for Serenity, I have placed a couple rags in places I know that rats have frequented in hopes to find out if there are any still onboard and so far nothing, the rags have not moved. That’s good! The new bilge pump has arrived and the hose is ordered so I will soon have the ability to drain that nasty water out! Not sure if I am going to be able to this weekend or not. And lastly I have taken the engine to a couple shops and most can’t do it because their equipment isn’t small enough. One shop says if I get the sleeves out, they can press in the new ones and also hone them, they just can’t bore it. I may be able to handle that. They were able to machine the crank so my next paycheck I will prolly send them the crank and get that refinished.

That’s all for now.

 

[mikeracca]

Luna is running again, her new owners are really happy. Discovered a leaking injector seal so I tasked them with getting a couple and I will swap them out. They need exhaust gaskets too so I directed them to a Kubota dealer for the parts, it will be a lot cheaper than Westerbeke.

As for Serenity, I got a bunch of crap (literally) out of her tonight. I found 3 long dead rats, that was yummy and I was able to get quite a bit done cleaning wise. But this brings me to a question for you guys with a C36...

The rectangle holes in the main passage way, are they connected to the bilge? Mine have water in them and it didn’t go down as much as I thought they would with vacuuming.

 

[mikeracca]

Well this wasn’t the most productive week on Serenity but it’s getting better every day. Another bag a trash out, a couple more compartments cleaned out of the junk in them, and I got some time to pump out and wash out the bilge. A ton of foam and bloated corn bird feed came out, some mud and whatever else nasty that was in there. I got a scrub pad and cleaned the holes in the passageway and in the bilge as well. The old pump was a Rule 2000 so I was able to just pop it off and pop my new one in the spot. The red mounts a a little different and it looks like the new one has a baffle in it that will prevent stuff from getting into the impeller. I did experience stuff getting into the impeller a couple times and had to run the pump backwards or fish it out by hand to get the pimp working again. I think the new base will help prevent this in the future… but since the bilge is 90% cleaner now I may not have to worry.

You guys are lucky that you cannot see how bad it smells in the pictures I post. I took up the pedestal for the table today and it was stuffed full of mud, and then I decided to remove the teak decking to take it home and clean it up and see if it could be refinished. It was super dirty mainly from mud caked on so I had my hopes up that I could. Off came the bilge cover which was attached with a piano hinge and next came the floor. By this point I had removed my respirator as the cleaning of the bilge really reduced the smell inside. Well up came the floor and OMGWTFBBQ I got hit full force by the smell of dog piss. I did mention the last owner of this boat abandoned his dog inside right? Well if I didn’t before I did now. That whole piece of wood stinks of dog piss and it was thoroughly disgusting underneath. There are 2 more of those rectangle holes and these were filled with a foul smelling mud and there was pee stains all over underneath. The respirator was put back on, Simple Green came out as did a scrubby pad and I went to work. The wood came home and imma try to pressure wash it but something tells me this piece is going to just be a pattern for it’s replacement. I cut out that rats nest of wires before I set off for home. Here are a couple pics showing the area worked on today.