1973 Catalina 22 restoration winter project

[whatcaneyedo]

I've been searching and reading through many of the old threads on this forum for the last few months and found a lot of great information. I'm realizing now that I should have begun posting much earlier as it would have saved me some time and money but whats done is done.

So here is my first boat, its in relatively good condition (or at least I've seen a lot worse) but its obviously an older model. This winter I've been fixing a lot of things on it and learning a lot in the process. Here is a list of things I've done so far:
1. New trailer wheel hubs.
2. New trailer winch.
3. New trailer wiring and signals.
4. New trailer hitch receiver.
5. Cleaned all vinyl cushions.
6. Minor fiberglass repair in several interior spots and on the rudder.
7. New laminated mahogany and ash tiller.
8. New SS mast base.
9. New keel hanger assembly (not yet installed).
10. New keel break winch.
11. Removed all visible interior plywood (the compartment covers that are under the cushions I'm leaving alone for now) because of unsightly water damage.
12. Cut and currently painting oak interior plywood with Cetol Marine: bulkheads, table, step, ice box lid, crib boards etc. (I'll post pictures soon)
13. Removed and sanded all solid teak and oiled with Cetol Marine Natural Teak.
14. Replaced the scupper hoses.
15. Added a head.

And here are the things I'm still working on or hope to have finished by May 2013.
1. Drop, strip, fix the elongated pivot hole and epoxy the keel.
2. Paint the bottom, keel and rudder with bottom paint.
3. Paint everything upwards of the rub rail. My father thinks that the product RC 2000 by Inland Coatings which is a durable rubberized paint for fibreglass camper roofs would be a good idea. But I'm open to recommendations.
4. The cockpit floor is damaged through the fiberglass to the embedded plywood. So I've cut some 5/8" fir which I plan to lay down and glass over the entire cockpit floor.
5. Purchase an outboard motor. I'm thinking of either a new Tohatsu 6hp sail pro or a used 8hp Yamaha high thrust long shaft.
6. Add a windex 15, 4" Solar vent, Jib car, and new cockpit lid butt hinges.
7. Buff and polish the hull. The jell coat has a neglected chalky finish to it right now.
8. Replace the trailer's rubber Y stops.
9. Do some additional fibreglass touchup.
10. Learn the proper names for all of this stuff.

And here are some additional things I'd like to do but I don't know if I'll have the money/time for them this year:
1. Install a battery, panel and get the boats lighting working again.
2. Add a stereo
3. CD's bow eye rebuild kit and stem reinforcement assembly.
4. Upgrade the boom traveller blocks/system.
5. Add a tiller stay controller.

By the time the spring comes and I get this in the water I figure I will have spent around $6000 plus whatever the outboard ends up costing. These pictures are from when I originally purchased the boat in September. I'll take some new pictures the next time I go out and work on it in my fathers shop.

FYI I live in central British Columbia Canada and this is what it generally looks like outside right now.

 

[Chris Patterson]

My GOD!! Head south immediately! What is that white stuff everywhere, nuclear fallout?

Nah, very good looking boat, man. I have seen a helluva lot worse, so you're ahead of the game.

What's wrong with the little Merc. on there? On a lake, it is probably pointless, but I could use a larger motor. I went with the advice of the largest motor Catalina recommended, which was a 6hp., and that was a huge mistake. It's the horsepower equivalent of throwing rocks at a tidal wave. It DEFINITELY needs a 9.9 horse. But the Cape Fear has some mean currents, so...

You can get an economical panel from Sea-Choice for about 25 bucks that will work for a good while, certainly as long as that Mickey Mouse panel Catalina decided to put in the worse possible place on the boat. Blue Sea is better, but regardless, mount the thing somewhere else, or every time you set foot in the boat, you'll break one of the switches. That's why the original panel is so short lived, that and it being mounted so low where water can get in it if you take on any. Might as well have mounted it in the floor. (Not proper marine terminology, it's the sole).

But I like objective number 10. I HAD to laugh at that. Don't sweat it man, it'll come to you..

But cool boat.

 

[agprice22]

Hey, when it comes to "buff and polish the hull", you might consider an acrylic coating. No buff, no polish... Wipe on. Wipe on again. Wipe on again. Wait 3-4 years. Wipe on again... You get the idea. By the way... I have read posts by people with RV's who have compared PolyGlow coating to Acrylic floor coating. They say the acrylic floor coating is EXACTLY the same, only it costs 1/10 the cost of the PolyGlow. It's UV protective, water repelling, high gloss, scuff resistant, and long lasting. You need less than a quart for your C22. I'll be using it this Spring. My C22 was polished last Spring, and after one season on the water, it needs it again, not as bad as last time, but it needs it.

If you use the acrylic coating, be sure to scrub off ALL the remaining wax from your hull, or the acrylic won't bond, and it'll flake off.

Andrew

 

[agprice22]

By the way Chris... There is two feet of that white stuff on the ground outside my house right now.... Time to go snowboarding. I miss living in Florida.

 

[agprice22]

Oh, but my boats are snug in their shed! Ahhhh. No snow, no frozen scuppers, no water infiltration into the decks. I overheard the big one say to the little one, "What? No heat in here? Hmmmph!"

 

[whatcaneyedo]

The seller decided that he wanted to keep the little merc in the picture for his other boat which has left me looking for an outboard of my own. For now I only plan on sailing some of the many lakes around where I live so I don't have to worry about tides or currents. If I can find a used 8hp Yamaha that is what I'd like to get but if I have to buy something new I'm leaning towards the Tohatsu sail pro.

 

[sailingandsuch]

Looks like a great boat as is to me! lol

6k is quite a bit to drop on a little sailboat. I probably dropped 3 on my Montgomery 17 before heading to the Keys this past year.

What if you did without about 1k of those upgrades and used the $$$ to take trip down south to the Keys and do some real cruising? Just a thought.

I see a few places you could trim some fat from that spending budget.

Just a thought.

 

[jfrench]

IMHO, a Cat 22 and trailer resurrected to A-1 condition is going to have $9000 or more in it by the time you're finished. I'm considering items like new cushions, new standing and running rigging, replacing all the broken hardware, new wheels, tires, and bearings for the trailer, rejuvenate the exterior or repaint it, new electrics throughout, plus the cost of the boat and all the accessories we end up buying. Of course, it will sail just as well with few of these things done and with the current availability of nearly free boats there is a price point for everyone's budget.

 

[whatcaneyedo]

Everything is more expensive where I live. Similar boats here list for $2000 to $8000 depending on if they have a trailer, outboard, etc. If I had the time during the summer I could drive down through the US and pick something up for the change in my pocket but then I'd lose a weeks wage, burn through a lot of gas and have to pay a bunch of importing fees etc... in the end I don't think there would be much savings.

Thankfully the sails, cushions, covers and much of the rigging is relatively new and in good shape. What I'm working on is a lot of small time consuming but not very expensive fixes. I'm nearly a journeyman carpenter so most of this stuff is actually pretty enjoyable for me. However, would I do it again? Not likely.

Here it is in my fathers large heated shop. I forgot my camera at home so these were taken with my cell phone. I've been busy removing everything and doing small touch up jobs everywhere. Once all of the dings and holes are filled and the rest of the hardware is off I'll figure out the painting part.

The cockpit floor was one of the biggest issues. It looks like someone laid the outboard down on it and then pulled the boat down a rough road. My plan is to glass a new layer of 5/8" plywood overtop of it and then repaint.

I've already sanded down and re oiled all of the solid teak with Seakens Cetol Marine Natural Teak.

Here is most of the oak plywood which will replace the damaged interior fake teak plywood. I've painted it with Seakens Cetol Marine which produced a lighter colour that I would have liked but at least it will match the boats traction areas and covers.

One of the cockpit storage hatches was broken in the middle. This was my first attempt at fiberglass repair but at least it looks a lot better than it did when I bought it.

My keel cart still needs its casters but it looks tough enough. Hopefully I'll get that wretched thing off soon. We tried out the keel hanger bolts and so far all of them turn so I've got my figures crossed that they don't break.

 

[StanFM]

...heated... garage... shop... big enough to work on a boat...
Wake up, wake up! Oh yeah, uh, anyway, looks like you are doing a great job! Dang that old 'teak-like' ply stuff is ugly and dull... Top notch taking the time to replace it! Carpentry gods will smile on you!

sf

 

[sailingandsuch]

Looking good!

I took on a project boat similar to yours once. Unfortunately I gave up on it half way through and it sat under a carport for a couple years. Then I bought my little 17'er, all the while having the other boat up for sale. I sold the motor that came with the project boat, then someone came interested in it and bought it. I lost a little money, like $300 I think so it wasn't to bad of a loss.

I got extremely lucky on my 17'er, although I did drive 10 hours one way to pick it up. I gave $2600 for it which is a wicked deal for the Montgomery 17. The owner said it had some gear with it that was packed away on the boat, I didn't look through it all upon purchase since the boat was in pretty darn good condition and the price was right.

But, once I got home I went through all the awsome gear and looked it all up on the internet and it was worth about $2700 I believe it was! Most of it being new in the packaging!

I was truly blessed to have found my little boat, after waiting for one to come up for sail for probably 2 years...... Thank you Lord.

GOod luck with yours, I hope you get to sail it sooner than later!

Oh yeah, are you sure you want to just glass down some plywood on the floor? Might not be to difficult to fix. Did the core rot out? Or just get wet? If it's still in there you could strengthen up the underside with some fiber glass bracing (not hard to do) getting it level again and then pour some epoxy in that big crack. Then just fix the crack and your done and still have a good floor.

I think you may be better off going that route.

 

[whatcaneyedo]

The cockpit floor around the cracks is a little bit soft but not too bad. When viewed from inside the cabin you can see that some of the fiberglass at the end near the scuppers has parted and the plywood is rotten. I found another thread where someone had the same problem and just glassed a piece of plywood over top which is where I got this idea. My original plan was to add more fiberglass or epoxy to the floor but adding plywood seemed like a stronger option.

Last year I saw this 17' Montgomery look a like for $2900 that probably wasn't more than 15 years old. But the interior space was so small it wouldn't be useful for anything other than storage. I wanted a boat that I could possibly use as a weekender not just a day sailer.

The lake won't be clear of ice and the sailing club beach won't be open until May so that still leaves me about 4 months to fix up the keel, cockpit floor, paint and reinstall everything.

 

[KingAirDriver]

Don't bother with casters... Run to Northern Tool and grab a pair of these. You won't find casters that are cost effective. My keel is sitting in its rack now going on 6 weeks, roll it around all the time, no problem!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200318267_200318267

 

[sailingandsuch]

Montgomery 17 just a day sailer?

I spent a week aboard mine in the Keys this past year, and had a blast! Headed back this year too!

 

[whatcaneyedo]

The boat that I looked at was advertised as a Montgomery even though it obviously wasn't. The interior space on it was extremely small. The real deal is probably much better.

I just spend the latter part of another weekend working on the boat. The rest of the deck hardware is off, one of the windows is out for re sealing, the cockpit floor plywood is epoxied down and ready for fibreglassing. I've been slowly going around and touching up all of the nicks, dings and screw holes with body filler. Most of my oak plywood now has 3 coats of Cetol Marine, the table is pictured. If I wasn't so broke right now I would have loved to do something fancier with solid wood.

The improvements to the trailer are pretty much done as well. When I bought it the lights were broken, not wired right and held on with duct tape and zip ties. The hitch receiver was also pretty ugly. The old one was extended out unusually far and had remnants of a hydraulic break system incorporated into it. I can't weld so my father helped me out by cutting it off, welding on some reinforcement and mounting this new receiver in its place.

I can't wait to get some new paint on this so that I can start putting everything back together... sailing it would be nice too. I think I've already mentioned that I'd like to leave the traction areas their retro colour. It matches the new interior wood, the sail covers and the pop top cover so my plan is to tape it off and only repaint the white.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Steady as she goes man. That's how you eat an elephant; one bit at a time.

Nothing wrong with solid wood. Sealed correctly, it'll last years. Don't fall into the "wood snobbery" category, people having been building wooden sailing ships for centuries, long before anyone ever heard of teak.

 

[CaptGregg]

Hello English and American Oak ships!!!!

Steady as she goes man. That's how you eat an elephant; one bit at a time.

Nothing wrong with solid wood. Sealed correctly, it'll last years. Don't fall into the "wood snobbery" category, people having been building wooden sailing ships for centuries, long before anyone ever heard of teak.

 

[whatcaneyedo]

40 years of corrosion and all it took was an hour of my time, several rags and a lot of Mother's Aluminum Polish... is there an easier FASTER way of cleaning these up? One down nine more to go!

I'm also trying to decide whether I should buy an outboard that I see for sale right now. Its a 2007 (or 08) Yamaha long shaft high thrust electric start 9.9hp listed for $2300 CAD. It would be all the motor I would ever need for this boat but for lake sailing it also sounds like its a little overkill.

 

[agprice22]

Yes, a 9 hp is A LOT of motor for lake sailing. What are your wind conditions? Do you normally have to enter or exit the marina against a strong wind? I have a 4 hp, and it has power to spare on my '83. It moves the boat at 6 knots at 1/2 throttle. I have only come close to opening the throttle one time, exiting the marina headed into a stiff 15 knot breeze. It was a fun day to sail, but I wasn't making a lot of headway against that wind on the way out.
I know I wouldn't have smaller than a 4 hp on any water. But you could probably save some money with a 4 or a 6 hp.
Consider the weight of the motor too. Bigger motor means more weight.

Andrew

 

[Chris Patterson]

Man, you are killing yourself with that Mothers. Go to about any hardware store, and get a "cloth" buffing wheel, like you can chuck up in a drill motor. Tie wrap, or clamp down the drill on a table of some sort so you don't have to hang on to it, buy some white rouge to apply to the wheel, done.
After getting the hang of it, man, you'll be polishing everything you can get your hands on.
Oh yeah, maybe about ten bucks total.