Hi everyone, I've just put an offer on a '83 C36 and looking forward to getting her and having some good fun. However, I will be getting a survey done before closing the deal. Can someone please help me and let me know if there any areas on the boat I should have the surveyor pay special attention to? I did some research and believe the hull is solid fiberglass and not core however this was contradicted by a friend of mine. Can someone please confirm this for me? Thanks, Geoff
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Solid
Geoff, The hull is solid fiberglass. The deck is cored in certain areas with plywood. Good Luck with the new boat!
Geoff, The hull is solid fiberglass. The deck is cored in certain areas with plywood. Good Luck with the new boat!
C36
Geoff 1. check that the cockpit panel has a voltmeter, not an ammeter 2. confirm that the new wiring harness has ben installed - the related link gets you started on this subject 3. check that the alternator bracket has been replaced with the new model (the old one will fail catastrophically) see: http://c34.org/projects/projects-alt-bracket.html 4. check the stuffing box Our boats are very similar in systems, so you may want to puruse the C34 website in more detail, since there is a tremendous amount of technical information available there. The C36 Association also has good info. Good luck Stu
Geoff 1. check that the cockpit panel has a voltmeter, not an ammeter 2. confirm that the new wiring harness has ben installed - the related link gets you started on this subject 3. check that the alternator bracket has been replaced with the new model (the old one will fail catastrophically) see: http://c34.org/projects/projects-alt-bracket.html 4. check the stuffing box Our boats are very similar in systems, so you may want to puruse the C34 website in more detail, since there is a tremendous amount of technical information available there. The C36 Association also has good info. Good luck Stu
C36 Mk I
Hi Geoff - I have a lot of experience upgrading a Mk I C36. Great boat! I kept the piece of deck I cut out near the bow for the windlass I installed - very thick! Tom is right, the hull is solid and the deck has some cored areas. I had some voids in the deck that I always meant to repair but never did. As Stu mentioned, there are several recommended upgrades, but if they haven't been done, you can always do them yourself (lots of Catalina support out there!). One other one to look for is whether there is a turnbuckle on the mast inside near the ceiling. I think some early C36s didn't have them and they help support mast movement. Also, check carefully that the fuel tank isn't leaking (they have a tendency to develop pinholes in the bottom since they basically sit in the bilge and can corrode). It's hard to get hurt financially on a C36, as they hold their value well. Have a great time! Trevor
Hi Geoff - I have a lot of experience upgrading a Mk I C36. Great boat! I kept the piece of deck I cut out near the bow for the windlass I installed - very thick! Tom is right, the hull is solid and the deck has some cored areas. I had some voids in the deck that I always meant to repair but never did. As Stu mentioned, there are several recommended upgrades, but if they haven't been done, you can always do them yourself (lots of Catalina support out there!). One other one to look for is whether there is a turnbuckle on the mast inside near the ceiling. I think some early C36s didn't have them and they help support mast movement. Also, check carefully that the fuel tank isn't leaking (they have a tendency to develop pinholes in the bottom since they basically sit in the bilge and can corrode). It's hard to get hurt financially on a C36, as they hold their value well. Have a great time! Trevor
rudder bearing plate
i had a '96 36 mkII. a friend had the same year and model. what i am going to tell you happened on both boats. the upper rudder bearing support plate broke free and caused the boat to leak at the bottom due to unsupported movement. upon inspection, i found the plate to be only 3/16 thick with a span of about 3 square feet. the plate was only glued to the frame, not laminated with cloth and resin! in addition, upon pulling the boat to repair it, i discovered the rudder to be misaligned with the keel by over 5 degrees. the reason i missed this in the survey, was because the boat was pulled from the slip with the rudder too close to the water to back up and look at it. catalina offered to pay $300 to fix it. i declined the offer. my neighbor took the fix. they smeared caulking on the inside of the boat to stop the leak and re-glued the plate. the plate will surely break again as they still did not laminate with cloth. (this would have been an admission of poor design). the caulk on the inside will allow water to come in through the outside and deteriorate the laminate at the most important place in the hull. after $7,000 at my own expense, my boat was repaired correctly except for the rudder misalignment. i am a degreed mechanical engineer with 30 years experience with sailboats. i have probably owned 15 or more boats. i have never dealt with a company as crappy as catalina when it comes to admitting an error and paying to fix it. this does not negate the fact that they have made a lot of really good boats. i hope yours is one of them. sincerely, robert taylor
i had a '96 36 mkII. a friend had the same year and model. what i am going to tell you happened on both boats. the upper rudder bearing support plate broke free and caused the boat to leak at the bottom due to unsupported movement. upon inspection, i found the plate to be only 3/16 thick with a span of about 3 square feet. the plate was only glued to the frame, not laminated with cloth and resin! in addition, upon pulling the boat to repair it, i discovered the rudder to be misaligned with the keel by over 5 degrees. the reason i missed this in the survey, was because the boat was pulled from the slip with the rudder too close to the water to back up and look at it. catalina offered to pay $300 to fix it. i declined the offer. my neighbor took the fix. they smeared caulking on the inside of the boat to stop the leak and re-glued the plate. the plate will surely break again as they still did not laminate with cloth. (this would have been an admission of poor design). the caulk on the inside will allow water to come in through the outside and deteriorate the laminate at the most important place in the hull. after $7,000 at my own expense, my boat was repaired correctly except for the rudder misalignment. i am a degreed mechanical engineer with 30 years experience with sailboats. i have probably owned 15 or more boats. i have never dealt with a company as crappy as catalina when it comes to admitting an error and paying to fix it. this does not negate the fact that they have made a lot of really good boats. i hope yours is one of them. sincerely, robert taylor
Thanks
Hi everyone, I'd like to thank everyone who responded to this posting! The information is great and I'll definitely be printing everything and taking it with me when I go with the surveyor. I'll cross my fingers everything works out and the next time you hear from me I'll own a well surveyed, and safe, C36
Thanks again, Geoff
Hi everyone, I'd like to thank everyone who responded to this posting! The information is great and I'll definitely be printing everything and taking it with me when I go with the surveyor. I'll cross my fingers everything works out and the next time you hear from me I'll own a well surveyed, and safe, C36
Thanks again, Geoff- Status