C275 Problems

Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
When we were given our own category under the Catalina forums, I had three threads that I had in mind for C275 owners to communicate to each other. This is the third thread so that other C275 can learn from others and avoid mistakes or beware of potential problems. Some of the problems I'll be listing are the fault of Catalina, some are my own.

I'll start with a simple one. When furling the self-tacker, do not roll up the 5-hole clew plate to wrap the sheet around the sail. It will bend and I popped one of the rivets. Not difficult to repair, but I no longer try to wrap the sheet.
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
Mold is another problem. This one is Catalina's fault because of the paint they use. I don't know what paint they use, but it is very susceptible to mold. If they used oil, that would be the cause of the mold. Originally, I was not aware they even painted the inside of the boat. I always thought it would be gelcoat. Bottom of the cabin locker hatches is the first place I noticed mold growing in the first year. I'm not a big fan of bleach and consider it the nuclear option so I tried vinegar. Did nothing and the dried residual did nothing to stop the growth. This winter, I tried to see if steam would remove the mold. To my surprise, I melted the paint. And both acetone and CitriStrip removed the paint and the mold as well. As CitriStrip is certainly a lot less toxic than acetone, I proceeded with that product, which was certainly less dangerous when working below. Here is a picture of the starboard hatch cover before:

P1030277.JPG


This is caparison after stripping the starboard side:

P1030281.JPG


You can see the 4-5 test patches on the port cover. The worst place for mold I found is the water tank compartment. Because this is sealed up I wanted to add a water level gauge. To my surprise, mold, mold and more mold. These are the before and after pictures with the CitriStrip (the "before" has some paint removal tests towards the left):

P1030257.JPG


P1030275.JPG


Notice on the far right of the "before" picture, you can see the gelcoat does not promote mold like the painted surface did.

I didn't paint the hatch covers and I'll keep an eye on them. It is always possible I'll need to strip a second time. But for the less accessible water tank compartment, I repainted with a well regarded latex acrylic with a biocide added to it. Time will tell if this was the correct choice. Here is the end result:

P1030287.JPG


So I know what I'll be doing this summer. I'll be crawling around the bowels of my C275 with the CitriStrip in tow.

It's funny, I always had a mold problem with my '89 Capri 22 gas locker hatch. I wonder if that was painted as well?
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,039
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
I'm curious but why avoid bleach?
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
I'm curious but why avoid bleach?
It is my opinion that bleach is a fairly harsh chemical especially when you get into the concentrations that kill mold. But even then, bleach may or may not have killed the mold but just whitened it. Bleach is not very effective if the mold is embedded. And I have never found bleach to stop the mold from coming back. This is why I experimented with the residual vinegar. But in my case, I was fighting a losing battle because the mold was embedded into the paint. No chemical can fix that.

I'm not anti-bleach, but I'd rather try everything else before that option. Sometimes, the long term damage (yellowing) caused by bleach is worse than the original problem.
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
I'm curious but why avoid bleach?
And I forgot to say, I used undiluted 8% Clorox bleach on the Capri 22 gas hatch cover (underside) and never was able to remove the mold. Lightened it a bit, but the mold was just as bad at the end of the season as to prior to my attempt to clean it. It was a never ending battle which I was losing even with bleach.
 

JRT

.
Feb 14, 2017
2,039
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
Cool thanks for the feedback and experience. The previous owner, who bought my boat at auction to fix up and sell, used it for cleaning and left it on board. This weekend I removed it as there isn't any mold, mildew or musty smell issues and I use Simple Green for almost all my cleaning.
 

PMK

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Dec 3, 2016
43
Catalina 275S Annapolis, MD
My new Catalina 275 Sport was launched last week and I went for a first sail on Saturday. All was fine, except the ice box drawer, which slides open on starboard tack and slams shut on port tack. What type of latch have other owners installed to secure the drawer? Thanks.
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
My new Catalina 275 Sport was launched last week and I went for a first sail on Saturday. All was fine, except the ice box drawer, which slides open on starboard tack and slams shut on port tack. What type of latch have other owners installed to secure the drawer? Thanks.
Please do me the favor and introduce yourself in the "Calling all Catalina 275 owners." Our numbers are going to be a lot less than either the C27 and the C270 and it would be nice if we can get to know everyone. If your boat is anything like #14, the cooler locker is really poorly designed. I suspect that based on my boat, that you just need to slip in the pin that locks in the locker which is under the sink. It only locks the fore side of the cooler and it's extremely inconvenient to deal with, ie., having to open the below sink cabinet. But that is the way Catalina designed it. Please hold on just a bit, because I have a "mod" coming up in "Pimp my C275" that addresses this. I have the parts, but just need to install them and to make sure it is a good fit.

In the meantime, put a small floor protector pad (1/2" x 1-1/2") against the stairs to protect scratching up the cooler locker when it slams against the steps (with or without the lock).
 

PMK

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Dec 3, 2016
43
Catalina 275S Annapolis, MD
Thanks. The pin on my boat was not attached and was in the top galley drawer. Now installed, it does the job of securing the ice box. I'll introduce myself and my boat in "Calling all Catalina 275 owners."
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
Apparently, Catalina has done some experimentation with either the jib length or the sheave box location or maybe just poor quality control. In some cases the jib ends up being too long. I believe in my case, I ended up with a jib that was 4" too long after Catalina lowered the sheave box. Looking at my first post in "Calling ..." you can see the top of the jib is very close to the sheave box and this was before pulling the halyard tight. Last summer I heard some squeaking which traveled down the mast and sounded like it was coming from the gooseneck or the vang. Never located it until the jib halyard frayed and the jib came down on the last sail of 2016. Once the mast came down, it was clear that the head shackle was rubbing against the sheave.

P1030269.JPG

Anyway, take a look at the sheave box for any signs of rubbing and also look at the head of the jib after rigging and see if it looks too close to the sheave box. If so, it is not complicated to have the head shortened (about $75).

Additionally, I question using the core to secure to the shackles on the three halyards. I question if the core is as abrasive resistance as the sleeve. And lastly Catalina is using the wrong luff rope for the Selden Furlex. Doyle Chicago said I have a 5mm luff rope in the jib and Selden uses a 6mm luff rope.
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
I had some problems with my port jib halyard slipping through the Lewmar D1 rope clutch. The D1 has two different domino set sizes. For the main and starboard jib halyard, which is the same line as the port jib halyard, Catalina used the smaller domino set. But for the port jib and the 4 other lines, Catalina used the larger set. My dealer came through and replaced the entire rope clutch, but only the domino set needs to be replaced. So if you are ever in a situation that the line is slipping through the rope clutch and the clutch is the 5/16 - 3/8" (9.5-12mm) size, replace the domino set with Lewmar part no. 28002296. It's hard to find but I believe you can get it from oysterbayboatshop.com or from p2marine.com (find lew28002296 using their advanced search). In reality, all of the clutches besides the vang could have been the smaller size.
 

PMK

.
Dec 3, 2016
43
Catalina 275S Annapolis, MD
Apparently, Catalina has done some experimentation with either the jib length or the sheave box location or maybe just poor quality control. In some cases the jib ends up being too long. I believe in my case, I ended up with a jib that was 4" too long after Catalina lowered the sheave box. Looking at my first post in "Calling ..." you can see the top of the jib is very close to the sheave box and this was before pulling the halyard tight.

I checked the hoist on my 106% genoa and it seems ok. I do have a problem with the LP of the sail and with the genoa lead track. The track has 5 holes for the genoa car pin, however the car does not move back far enough to access the aft most hole. The LP and foot of the sail seems too long. Close hauled, the leech of the sail overlaps and bends over the spreader by 3-4 inches and with the car all the way aft, the angle of the sheet with the clew is much too vertical, not pulling back enough. Do other have these problems with the 106% genoa? Is 106% too large for the boat, or perhaps mine is incorrectly too large?
 

Azure

.
Mar 5, 2017
27
Catalina 275 Sport 1 San Francisco
Apparently, Catalina has done some experimentation with either the jib length or the sheave box location or maybe just poor quality control. In some cases the jib ends up being too long. I believe in my case, I ended up with a jib that was 4" too long after Catalina lowered the sheave box. Looking at my first post in "Calling ..." you can see the top of the jib is very close to the sheave box and this was before pulling the halyard tight. Last summer I heard some squeaking which traveled down the mast and sounded like it was coming from the gooseneck or the vang. Never located it until the jib halyard frayed and the jib came down on the last sail of 2016. Once the mast came down, it was clear that the head shackle was rubbing against the sheave.

View attachment 136179

Anyway, take a look at the sheave box for any signs of rubbing and also look at the head of the jib after rigging and see if it looks too close to the sheave box. If so, it is not complicated to have the head shortened (about $75).

Additionally, I question using the core to secure to the shackles on the three halyards. I question if the core is as abrasive resistance as the sleeve. And lastly Catalina is using the wrong luff rope for the Selden Furlex. Doyle Chicago said I have a 5mm luff rope in the jib and Selden uses a 6mm luff rope.
 

Azure

.
Mar 5, 2017
27
Catalina 275 Sport 1 San Francisco
It doesn't look like your Genoa #1 halyard goes through a ferrule a few inches below the sheave. Hull #1 came with a plastic ferrule which tore off after a few sails in heavy air. I exchanged some information with you on another site regarding max hoist and rake. Have you made the comparison?
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
Close hauled, the leech of the sail overlaps and bends over the spreader by 3-4 inches and with the car all the way aft, the angle of the sheet with the clew is much too vertical, not pulling back enough. Do other have these problems with the 106% genoa? Is 106% too large for the boat, or perhaps mine is incorrectly too large?
Azure, just wanted to point out that you added your reply in my quote and it is easier to read if you keep it out of the quote. If you select more options and then preview, you will see what your post will look like. Been meaning to reply anyway. I think the real problem with the 106%, which I do not have, is that the track is not close enough to the outside edge of the boat. With the track on top of the cabin, I'm not surprised the 106% is bending around the spreader. I suspect these are design choices that comes with making the boat highway legal, ie. the boat is narrower than ideal design. And by your description it appears to not be far enough aft, which again maybe a factor of it being on top of the cabin.
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
It doesn't look like your Genoa #1 halyard goes through a ferrule a few inches below the sheave. Hull #1 came with a plastic ferrule which tore off after a few sails in heavy air. I exchanged some information with you on another site regarding max hoist and rake. Have you made the comparison?
No ferrules for either jib halyard. This supports my theory that Catalina lowered the sheave box because a ferrule would not be needed in that case. Unfortunately, they continued to use pre-ordered Doyle sails with the modification and that led to the problem I had. But talking to Doyle (Chicago), there's plenty of trial and error by the manufacturers regarding rigging so this is not unusual.

As for the measurement, it is on my reminder. Next time I'm tooling around the boat, I'll have to bring a tape-measurer and get the number for you.
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
I think the real problem with the 106%, which I do not have, is that the track is not close enough to the outside edge of the boat.
When I wrote this, I was thinking the 106% sheets would lead around the shrouds, but I now realize that is not the case. So if your 106% leach is bending around the front edge of the spreader, this would suggest the 106% is too big or cut wrong.
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
I suspect that everyone has been using the main halyard as a topping lift when not sailing. Unfortunately, the aluminum boom endcap is not strong enough to take the load in all conditions, ie. rocking. Instead of securing directly to the end of the boom, attach to a small line as shown. The stainless pin is much stronger than the aluminum.
P1030398.JPG
 
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Azure

.
Mar 5, 2017
27
Catalina 275 Sport 1 San Francisco
Thanks Codybear! I just had a second reef put in my Main (have had a couple of Beer Can Races with winds over 25 and gusting to 35). Was about to attach a sheave to that point on the boom end.
Keep up the GREAT posts.
 
Jun 6, 2016
204
Catalina 275 Wilmette, IL
Thanks Codybear! I just had a second reef put in my Main (have had a couple of Beer Can Races with winds over 25 and gusting to 35). Was about to attach a sheave to that point on the boom end. Keep up the GREAT posts.
If there is a sheave there and/or 2nd reef, I think wrapping the blue line around the sheave box would work as well. Anything to remove the load from the part that broke in the picture.

I've given a 2nd reef some thoughts as well. Was out last Monday reaching and kept the jib rolled up to keep control during the gusts. Let me know how much effort it is to add the sheave(s) to the boom for the second reefing line. Fortunately, there appears to be enough room on the port side to fit another clutch for the 2nd reef. Take a couple of pictures and add it to the "Pimp my C275" with your comments.

Thanks for the complement. Feel free to break something before I break it so I can learn from you.