Giving the old girl a facelift

[Twice Around]

Fellow C-30 people,

After a little coaxing from Old Skool Neil, I am posting up a few pics of my progress over the winter. Cleaning up and painting the settees, & a chart table replacement. No trim or anything on it yet, just took the parts down to the boat (hopefully for the final time) and screwed it all together this weekend. The table top is formica to match the rest of the counter tops I've replaced already. The boat is still in a million pieces, but it is slowly coming together...now to start the re-wire project...I have #511, so the original panel is over near the ice box...I moved the batteries (see pic #7)..now I just need to start stringing wires from the new panel.

Most of these are crappy cell phone pics, but it is better than nothing. I am doing things in stages..it is just too hard to completely strip the entire inside of the boat and paint the whole thing all at once..hence the "patchwork" look of the interior..I painted most of the galley & port side of the boat, while I had the furniture out. A little bit of varnish work too of the interior teak/drawers, etc.. Eventually, I hope to do all of it, but it is sailing time too..Gotta get her moving again!

 

[LuzSD]

I am in awe of all of you who take on such a big job, you have my complete admiration. Looks beautiful so far and it's fun to see the barebones of a C30.
Looking out your starboard ports, it looks like a beautiful setting!

 

[Twice Around]

Yeah...not too bad...this shot is from 2009..you can see why I don't mind working on the boat too much! Just me, some osprey down the creek & noisy ducks usually.

 

[LuzSD]

oh that is so gorgeous. We are constantly seeking peace and nature quiet, as much as possible, but this is as close as we can come!

You are sooooo lucky.

 

[jrowan]

Looks like your boat is coming along nicely. You won't regret doing all the bare bones hard work now, the dividends will pay off later with less break downs. I noticed you mentioned rewiring. Make sure you get rid of that wiring going to your Ampmeter in the cockpit if you haven't already. That's my next project: to reduce that meter's current robbing from the batteries of charging power from the alternator. Good luck & post more pics as you're coming along. We all enjoy seeing the before and afters, & the bare interior shots are great for refence. Cheers, Jeremy

 

[Team118]

Shawn,

Looks great. It's just so funny I never EVER thought about painting the actual interior and the floors of the boat until your past posts.

I always envisioned tracking over a freshly painted cabin sole and lifting the paint up.

Ah well, maybe someday I'll tackle it (doubt it). Hopefully you'll get some sailing time in between sanding!!

Chris

 

[Twice Around]

Chris, thanks..as with most things Catalina 30 related, I am not the first. Talk to Old Skool Neil if you want to see how to do it correctly. I don't have the patience, so I am doing it in pieces and using whatever gets it on the quickest, usually a 3" brush..I really should remove all the furniture and trim, mask what's left and sand & spray everything exposed..I won't even need to tent the boat..just close all the hatches. - I'll comment that I did rub the leg hair on a couple spots around the engine box, & it took days to scrub it off, so hopefully the paint is adhering to the boat just as well.. You do have to be a little bit careful not paint yourself into a corner. :bang:

The interior is just being done with an oil based 'killz' type primer & gloss white top coat. This was recommended from the local paint guy at Lowe's, who is an out-of-work boat yard guy. Some places needed two coats, some only one...everything was roughed up with sandpaper to promote adhesion & wiped down with acetone. Some places I haven't painted yet, because they require other cosmetic work (filling holes from P.O. crap installations). At any rate, slow going and a work in progress. Some parts of the boat are nice and white & shiny, and some parts still have gelcoat peeling off in the corners. I haven't even started on the exterior...I can't see that when I am on board anyway.

The cabin sole I am still undecided on. The boat had carpet when I got it, and it smelled to high heaven. I may actually spring for a quart of 2-part marine polyurethane for that in the hopes it may be more durable, & maybe throw in some sand for a little non-skid..right now, my wife just tosses down some rectangle indoor/outdoor carpet, which is easily removable if it gets wet & can be cleaned up before it smells.

Baby steps!! work in progress.I like working on the boat..I like sailing it too.

Looks like your boat is coming along nicely. You won't regret doing all the bare bones hard work now, the dividends will pay off later with less break downs. I noticed you mentioned rewiring. Make sure you get rid of that wiring going to your Ampmeter in the cockpit if you haven't already. That's my next project: to reduce that meter's current robbing from the batteries of charging power from the alternator. Good luck & post more pics as you're coming along. We all enjoy seeing the before and afters, & the bare interior shots are great for refence. Cheers, Jeremy

Jeremy, Yes, thanks...I removed that years ago. Actually, I added it back into the circuit this summer just past the alternator...you may be able to see it in the forward edge engine bay in the pics (obviously not installed..just a pile of wires & stuff on top of the motor at present). I had a diode based isolator there as well..so, I replaced the original regulator (13.8v) on the Motorola 35 amp alt with an adjustable one, to overcome the voltage drop in the isolator. The charging circuit is 10 gauge wire that was about a 30" run total..alt post to ammeter, to isolator and a 12" run from the isolator to the batteries...I put a voltmeter in the cockpit and figured if I saw 14+ volts the alternator was working..if I REALLY wanted to see the current going in, I had to pull the cushion..which is a pretty frequent occurrence anyway with the old Atomic 4 - - With the battery relocation to the stbd settee, I'll have to re-engineer this circuit...I may go back to the more conventional way of running the charging feed to the starter post, to avoid duplicate long runs of heavy ($$!!) gauge wire. My new panel has a fancy ammeter in it..I just need to figure out what type it is & how to wire it up. (hoping a shunt type)

Thanks for the replies...suggestions & comments are always welcome. I don't claim to be an expert at anything & one of the nice things about the Catalina 30 is that someone's done almost everything already...we just have to copy the things we like. It is funny though...about 80% of the white surfaces are covered with cushions when this is all done. :neutral:

 

[Twice Around]

here is a newer port side pic. progress!

 

[Bob S]

Shawn,

Beautiful job! Like everyone else, I admire your tenacity. I wish I could take the time to do that. How many hours do you estimate it will take for the whole job?

 

[Twice Around]

Bob...I am not counting...& my wife wants to go sailing.

Right now, I have "several days" (maybe 15 spread out over the winter) in the painting project, but, I've probably made 25 trips to the boat to "work on it" & it usually it goes something like, "Well, if I just remove this other panel, or this section of counter top, or this shelf here, I could get to the entire the port side. Then, I'd have to take all that home clean it all up, varnish it while out of the boat, and do this trim and that trim..oh crap..that broke on the way out, stupid Catalina! Well, I guess that has to go home now too.." - it really can be never-ending if you let it. So, add to those 15 days, the countless evenings staring at my $$ teak ply with a jig saw in my hand & trying not to waste it while building the chart table, and sanding & varnishing and sanding & varnishing (HURRY UP & WAIT!) sanding & varnishing..another 40 evenings over the winter maybe? I am getting pretty good at getting out the major pieces of furniture pretty quickly now though!!

I am trying to get the motor back together now..I took it all apart to paint. And now of course, while it is in pieces, I want to fix the leaky side-plate and add a new alt. bracket (one evening of fabricating) & some new fittings to prep for FWC (studs for the side plate, another evening standing in front of a bench grinder & Dremel tool) & then painting the engine pieces, add an Indigo Oil Filter kit I bought last year..etc.etc.etc.etc.

I am just blindly stumbling thru this...Old Skool Neil is much better at documenting his procedures..I bet he could tell you how long all this stuff takes.

 

[Old Skool Neil]

I am just blindly stumbling thru this...Old Skool Neil is much better at documenting his procedures..I bet he could tell you how long all this stuff takes.

I'll try to answer the question (how long does it take?) but I'm afraid my answer is more of a non-answer. Okay, my answer is (drum roll . . ) it depends (groan from the audience) for the following reasons:

Doing any project piecemeal always takes longer than grabbing the bull by the horns. Using Shawn as an example (I don't think he'll mind), he's painting an area here and an area there. I gutted my entire boat and did the whole thing at once. See last paragraph for the drawback.
Available tools and equipment and the ability to use them. Reference the interior painting project, do you have spray equipment available and experience with it or are you rolling/brushing? Spraying is way faster especially with the texture print in the fiberglass.
Skills and experience. Learning a new skill will take longer than jumping into a project with seasoned hands. Shawn's new nav station is a work of art but taking on this project meant learning how to make patterns for complex shapes. If you examine his pictures, particularly the side pieces of the nav station, you'll see his pattern making skill is spot on. Those pieces fit the curvature of the hull, the sloping angle of the side deck and the hull/deck joint hide'm triangular shape on the underside of the side deck. His side pieces fit all those shapes in a single piece. Beautiful work, but learning the technique takes time.
Work habits. Do you maintain a clean work area or is it cluttered? Do you finish a project before starting another or do you have a ton of loose ends to tie up? Do you have all the supplies and tools on hand or does it take 10 trips to the hardware store? In a single word, are you organized? All these things are time factors.
Climate. Self explanatory.

So, how long does it take? The majority of my refit took 2 years although I continue to tinker. It was aggressive (bull by the horns approach) and the drawback was giving up use of the boat for that time. Shawn is trying to keep his boat in usable condition (totally understandable) so he can't really strip it down to bare bones. I'd estimate my interior painting portion at about 10 - 15 full days for the entire interior, including repairing 200 holes in the fiberglass, 200 more in the teak, refinishing the teak and repainting the fiberglass.

 

[Twice Around]

Compare the pic in #3 with this one I took yesterday...The moon is only at first quarter too! Our tide swings are usually about 12-16 inches around here..this is probably 8-12" above normal.

I really need to learn how to stop shaking my phone when I take pictures..sorry it is so fuzzy.

 

[Bob S]

Twice & Niel,

I admire your tenacity! I planned on being launched before the end of the month but it's looking less likely every day. This years projects include:

• A new VHF radio and antenna.

• New Garhauer adjustable fairleads which includes removing the track and drilling/epoxy/re-drill 48 holes also having the track stripped and clear anodized.

• New Campbell Sailor 3 blade Prop.

I spent 4 hours Sunday trying to pull Ø1/4 cable from the nav station up to through the pedestal guard and into my Navpod with no luck. I can get an electricians snake down but every time I get to the bend in the guard the wire separates from the snake. The dam Raymarine Radar cable measures Ø.550 which takes up the majority of the 7/8 ID. I do understand how a planned 8 hour job takes 16+. Now I'm debating whether I should come up the Edson pedestal and drill a hole using grommets and run the wire external to the Navpod. All this to hook the radio up to the GPS. Next I will be playing with baud rates and praying I'll get the thing to work right.
It's funny how the imagination runs wild when sitting there contemplating what I need to do and what I want to do. I didn't plan it but removed a bunch of teak trim that I started to sand and refinish. My list seams to get bigger after each item is completed. I don't think there ever will be an end to it .