Microwave choice for C30?

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Feb 26, 2008
603
Catalina 30 Marathon, FL
A built in microwave is something I've kicked around. A friend put one in his 30 in the same location and uses it all the time.

I kind of enjoy cooking when I'm on the boat. I'm in a laid back frame of mind so I'm generally not in a hurry.

Pan seared scallops and fresh asparagus anyone?
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
jimmcgee said:
A built in microwave is something I've kicked around. A friend put one in his 30 in the same location and uses it all the time.

I kind of enjoy cooking when I'm on the boat. I'm in a laid back frame of mind so I'm generally not in a hurry.

Pan seared scallops and fresh asparagus anyone?
Sounds perfect, I'll have to cook that this weekend!
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
LuzSD said:
Longterm, no matter what you eat or how you prepare it, you are going to have a great time. If this is your first boat, you really have no idea of the joys ahead of you, congrats and just enjoy every minute.:D
Thanks, I'm pretty excited! I've been crewing on Saturday races on my friend's J105, but getting out and cruising is going to be great. Lots to learn; my long-term goal is a trip to the Bahamas in a few years...
 

LuzSD

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Feb 21, 2009
1,009
Catalina 30 San Diego/ Dana Point, Ca.
Loving a sailboat

there will be so many many parts about owning your own that will floor you. We literally say goodbye when we walk away from her (our boat!) and we usually look back at least once and count our blessing aloud. The sunsets with a glass of wine.......the cozy warm look of the interior wood under the glow of the lantern that we almost always light. The warmth of the V berth when it is cold outside..... and the cool evenings when it is warm. My personal favorite is staying out with pillows and a blanket and my ipod in my ears......until all hours and just being connected to everything I love about the water and music.. together. Really, it's all good. I love that we work on it ourselves so even I know how to do some of the mechanical things....... and just solving some of the problems is fun. Sorry to gush, but after 5 years I still am completely in love.:redface:
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
so even I know how to do some of the mechanical things....... and just solving some of the problems is fun. Sorry to gush, but after 5 years I still am completely in love.:redface:
And electrical!

Ditto and now it's 13 years with this boat, 12 years with the previous C25 and a few before that with a C22.

Have fun, don't overthink things until you've spent some time on board.
 
May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
I don't keep any electric things on the boat other than the microwave that I don't use. The pressure cooker is for the burners. It is a good way of cooking food in the galley when it is warm outside and you don't want to superheat the cabin.

Mac and cheese can be cooked in the old fashion way on a burner. I do this all of the time. Left overs can be heated on the burners as well. It is nothing for me to cook mac and cheese on the stove while I am out sailing (cook it for lunch from time to time). The nicest fish that I have caught while trolling bit while I was cooking it underway doing 5.5 knots between Oxford, MD and Solomons, MD.

The less you depend on AC power the easier it gets for you to break the ties to the dock and get out and cruise. The Catalina 30 is a great boat to cruise. It has a lot of room and it is fairly comfortable for long cruises.

One time when doing a look at budgets I discovered that it is cheaper when I am cruising the boat. I spend most evenings on the hook, spend less in the boat on fuel than I do with my commute, and eat about the same in groceries.
 
Mar 11, 2010
292
Catalina Tall Rig/ Fin Keel Deale, MD
Hey Bad, now you've leaked the secret Chesapeake Bay Mac & Cheese fishing technique! :D

Rob

(Thanks!) ...so looking for a rockfish this year
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
Bad Obsession said:
Mac and cheese can be cooked in the old fashion way on a burner.

The less you depend on AC power the easier it gets for you to break the ties to the dock and get out and cruise. The Catalina 30 is a great boat to cruise. It has a lot of room and it is fairly comfortable for long cruises.
True that mac&cheese can be done on stovetop, but we're talking an impatient 15-year-old boy!

My boat has a 1000-watt inverter, so I can actually run the microwave without shore power. The owner also made a neat setup for a small generator that stows in the cockpit lazarette; to use it, I place it on a small shelf that straddles the swim ladder. I won't use it much, just to cool down the cabin on a hot summer night (boat has A/C) before going to bed.

Bob
 
May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
You are so lucky to have AC!! I would love to have that on my boat but that is so far behind a lot of other high price jobs that I want to do to mine.

DC fans are a great thing.

Do you have the standard battery arrangement? I highly suggest adding another battery to the boat. I added a second group 27 house battery and it was a cheap upgrade. It was worth every penny too.

@rb.....There is nothing like trying to haul in a 26 inch striper when doing 5.5 knots. I ended up turning off the autopilot and dumping the sails to haul the fish in. I ate it that night.....grilled it right after I cleaned it. It was the best fish ever!
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
Bad Obsession said:
You are so lucky to have AC!! I would love to have that on my boat but that is so far behind a lot of other high price jobs that I want to do to mine.

DC fans are a great thing.

Do you have the standard battery arrangement? I highly suggest adding another battery to the boat. I added a second group 27 house battery and it was a cheap upgrade. It was worth every penny too.
Yes, I'm thrilled to have the A/C and heater; it's in the little nook at the entrance to the V-berth, 3 vents in the main cabin.

I have 3 batteries, which I assume is standard? Batts 2 & 3 are connected to each other, so if I select 2 on he panel I use two batteries. The former owner also put in 2 nice small stainless-steel DC fans, and a halogen fixture for reading--which I'll be glad to have.

Bob
 
May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
Two batteries are standard. It sounds like your boat has had some serious upgrades.

You may want to look around and see if you can find a Dr. LED bulb for your halogen light (it is just as bright and the power savings is huge.

Is there any way you could add a few pics of the AC unit where it sits. I am curious to see this. I have always wondered where people put those and if I ever did it I had even considered sacrificing my hanging locker.

Do you have an autopilot? I had to get one installed on mine and it was an absolute pain in the butt. Once I got it working it was great, but it took a bit.
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
Bad Obsession said:
Two batteries are standard. It sounds like your boat has had some serious upgrades.

You may want to look around and see if you can find a Dr. LED bulb for your halogen light (it is just as bright and the power savings is huge.

Is there any way you could add a few pics of the AC unit where it sits. I am curious to see this. I have always wondered where people put those and if I ever did it I had even considered sacrificing my hanging locker.

Do you have an autopilot? I had to get one installed on mine and it was an absolute pain in the butt. Once I got it working it was great, but it took a bit.
I'll take some pictures of the A/C once I get the boat; it's still in Kentucky until the 27th, when it'll be transported here to Nashville. The unit's in that space just ahead of the bathroom door; the seller put it in himself, did a beautiful job. He didn't want use the locker space.

What he told me was that he would run the A/C an hour before going to bed, and then shut the generator down. With fans and a windscoop for the hatch, he said it stayed pretty cool.

I do have an autopilot, the Autohelm 4000, as well as a depth sounder and knot gauge; he told me the autopilot compass sometimes seems to lose its direction, but that it works well most of the time.

He also put in a DC refrigeration unit for the ice box, an inverter, a custom table for the helm, and really nice rail trim on the shelves in the cabin. He also built inserts for plates and cups, which keep things secure in the drawers.

Best of all perhaps, he learned to sew and made canvas covers for the teak grab rails, and a cover that covers the companionway all the way to the mast; the teak looks great. The boat also came with a gas grill, bimini, a 155 jib, a 110 jib, and a storm jib. The one thing it doesn't have is a furler, but he demonstrated how he could easily put the jib up in under 3 minutes.

This guy was so anal about this boat; everything was spotless, even the bilge. The survey came out perfect except that it needed a bottom job, which he agreed to pay for. No blisters on the hull at all.

I sound like a proud father--which I am!

Bob
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
Here are the pictures from the original ad for my boat; if you look thru, you'll see the A/C air intake at the head of the boat, and if you look at the end of the couch, you'll see the black air vent. There's another on the right side, and a 3rd in the galley area on the back wall.

Here's a link:

http://www.bobpatin.com/boat.htm

Best,

Bob
 
Mar 11, 2010
292
Catalina Tall Rig/ Fin Keel Deale, MD
Hey Bob, keep an eye on that starboard chainplate/bulkhead location. One of my previous owners cut in the stereo system in the same location as your air vent. My vent is lower, but the radio! Personally, I just wouldn't have cut a hole next to the chainplate bolts in the main bulkhead. I'm trying to figure out how to patch, blend, and strengthen it so it looks and functions right. Anyone have any good ideas on how to pull it off? Here's a pic of when I had the galley cabinet out. You see the radio and starboard vent. The return air grill is up at the vee berth The A/C is forward of the water tank up there.

Rob
 

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May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
You have a very nice boat. I thought that my 1990 was in good shape. He even kept the hull waxed. You are lucky to find such a boat.

Here is the upgrades to mine:

Raritan PHII head
Garmin GPS Map 441S networked to the autopilot (Fish finder with removable transducer)
Raymarine S1 autopilot
Bimini
Dodger
Connector
Covers for the dodger windows
Gas Grill
Covers for all exterior wood (made them myself)
Life sling with cover
Cockpit Table (teak)
AM FM CD Aux stereo with MP3 input
155% jib
100 Jib
Profurl
Full batten main
Front hatch sunbrella cover (I really suggest this one to keep your hatch from crazing)
Screens for all hatches and companionway
Bruce #33 anchor with 30 foot of chain
Depth Finder.
Battery upgrade (added another house battery)
Water Accumulator Tank (This is great for keeping the pressure even).
Water shut off for shower.
cockpit cushions
New halyards (just put them on last season).

Another cool trick is to get a king sized eggshell crate mattress cover. Cut it to fit the V-berth. It is much nicer to sleep on.
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
Wow, you guys must have been reading off the same page!

Other than the dodger, he did almost all those things--covers for teak, front hatch, screens, cockpit cushions, safety line pads, screens for Bimini, windscoop, autopilot, grill... No stereo, although he put in a TV and DVD player.

I crewed today on a J105, and it's the antithesis of my boat--spare to the max, but what a fast boat... my plan is to race on the J, cruise on mine.
 
May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
Racers are bare bones to save weight. Cruisers are the opposite end of the spectrum. I also tow a 8' fiberglass dingy and I have a 2.5 hp outboard on the rail.

The gas for your oven and stove will last a very long time. I leave my grill on the rail and store the propane tank for it inside of it when the grill is cool. With the cover over the grill it is secure.

My lazzerette holds two folding bikes. They fit nicely in it and I have them in the bags so they are easier to move out of the boat and into the dingy.

I am considering adding a spare jib halyard or maybe a spinnaker halyard. It would double as a halyard and also use to hoist the dingy on the deck of the boat for rough weather.

Refrigeration is a nice add. I would love to have that in some ways but I think that I would want to add some more support for my house bank, maybe in the form of a small solar panel. That is a high dollar affair so not going to happen anytime soon. I will probably wait for the next boat to get the fridge.

I have a Link 10 battery monitor on my boat. I highly recommend this as it gives you real time information on your batters. It is great when you cruise to know exactly where you stand with your house bank.
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
Bad Obsession said:
I have a Link 10 battery monitor on my boat. I highly recommend this as it gives you real time information on your batters. It is great when you cruise to know exactly where you stand with your house bank.
I think he put that; there's a gauge on the breaker panel that shows a battery's charge...

Very cool idea on the bikes...

There's an Italian guy at our marina who has 2 solar panels on the stern of his C30; he says it'll keep his batteries topped off, but wouldn't run an A/C. IMO, they're rather unsightly.

I'm still learning a lot about sailing; the guy I crew with has been teaching me, and tried to get me to consider a smaller boat--but once I saw the C30 it was love at first sight...

Where's your boat? I'll be on Old Hickory Lake in Nashville. My C30 makes 5 of them in this small marina...
 
May 23, 2004
3,319
I'm in the market as were . Colonial Beach
I am off of the Potomac River in Virginia. My cruising grounds are the Potomac River to the Chesapeake Bay.

There are two Catalina 30s in my dock. I am hull number 5800 and he is 5808. Both are 1990s.

Solar will never run AC. Solar is for topping off the house bank. There are several ways to mount them. I would consider it if I had refrigeration since I do extended cruising and stay off the grid for a while.

The gauge on the breaker panel is a separate thing.
http://www.goodboatgear.com/detail/3473/ Link 10 and Link 20 Battery Monitors

Another thing that I may add in the future is lazy jacks. I have some big things that I want to do coming up, like a bottom job where I leave it out for a while so I can repair some blisters knock off all the old ablative paint.
 
Feb 5, 2012
183
Catalina 1990 Catalina 30 Mark II Harbor Island Yacht Club, Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN
Bad Obsession said:
.

There are two Catalina 30s in my dock. I am hull number 5800 and he is 5808. Both are 1990s.
Your boat and mine are first cousins; mine's hull 5861.

The guy with the solars has two panels off the stern, attached to the stern rails.

Instead of solar, the previous owner built a wooden platform for a generator; he made a cable to hold the ladder horizontally, and then the platform, which is padded for vibration, sits on the ladder. Then he strapped the gennie to it with a thick strap. The gennie is small enough to stow in the lazarette; I bought one just like the one he used. From what he tells me, it's not too loud--will have to wait and see. Once I have the boat I'll post some photos. Feb. 27th!
 
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