We currently have a 310 on order and we are very interested in making use of the salon table as a berth for the odd occasion that we need the extra bed. In a interesting and lengthy thread on the 310 vs 320 I think Kurt said that he had the modification done by the factory. So far two emails to Catalina haven't brought any joy. Although I will keep onto Catalina I would like to know just what modification were done on Kurt's 310 and from anyone else who has tried the modification. Malcolm
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Jon W
Salon table conversion.
Hello Malcolm, Interestingly enough, our C310 came with a short version of the table support tube in addition to the regular tube. This is to allow the dining table to be at the same height as the adjacent seat without cushion. I'm guessing that the opposing cushion should go on the table, but I'm not sure how well it fits, and how effective (comfortable) it would be since I haven't fully set it up yet. Maybe I'll give it a shot and post the results.
Hello Malcolm, Interestingly enough, our C310 came with a short version of the table support tube in addition to the regular tube. This is to allow the dining table to be at the same height as the adjacent seat without cushion. I'm guessing that the opposing cushion should go on the table, but I'm not sure how well it fits, and how effective (comfortable) it would be since I haven't fully set it up yet. Maybe I'll give it a shot and post the results.
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Jon
Now that I've tried it....
I set up the table/bunk conversion this afternoon. I guess it does work to a degree. I wouldn't want anyone too heavy or active on it. It doesn't feel very secure with just the one center support. The starboard cushion doesn't fit all that well, and I would add protection to the table top as also. I don't plan on using it myself, but let's hear from others.
I set up the table/bunk conversion this afternoon. I guess it does work to a degree. I wouldn't want anyone too heavy or active on it. It doesn't feel very secure with just the one center support. The starboard cushion doesn't fit all that well, and I would add protection to the table top as also. I don't plan on using it myself, but let's hear from others.
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Kurt
Ordered it but haven't seen it yet.
Malcom; I did indeed order a custom conversion from Catalina for this table-to-berth. We are closing on the boat next Friday 6/16, so as yet I haven't seen it yet. I had to argue very vigourously with the dealer and then with Gerry Douglas (the designer) for this option and they reluctantly agreed to do so. I am told it will employ the short leg that comes with the boat a custom cushion and a few securing latches to keep the table from wobbling. That's the way I was told it's going to work but I won't know until I see it. If it works, it should sleep a teenager or short adult. That berth seems to be just shy of 6'. I'll let you know what happens. Kurt I did have to pay extra for this too.
Malcom; I did indeed order a custom conversion from Catalina for this table-to-berth. We are closing on the boat next Friday 6/16, so as yet I haven't seen it yet. I had to argue very vigourously with the dealer and then with Gerry Douglas (the designer) for this option and they reluctantly agreed to do so. I am told it will employ the short leg that comes with the boat a custom cushion and a few securing latches to keep the table from wobbling. That's the way I was told it's going to work but I won't know until I see it. If it works, it should sleep a teenager or short adult. That berth seems to be just shy of 6'. I'll let you know what happens. Kurt I did have to pay extra for this too.
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Malcolm
Thanks Jon & Kurt
Jon and Kurt, Thanks for the info, I will keep a watch out for further developmens. Kurt hope all goes well with your new boat. regards Malcolm
Jon and Kurt, Thanks for the info, I will keep a watch out for further developmens. Kurt hope all goes well with your new boat. regards Malcolm
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Kurt
Thanks for your good wishes
Malcome; Thanks for your good wishes. I can hardly wait to get our 310. How do you like yours? What words of wisdom or advice can you impart? Kurt
Malcome; Thanks for your good wishes. I can hardly wait to get our 310. How do you like yours? What words of wisdom or advice can you impart? Kurt
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Malcolm
Still Waiting!!
Kurt, Like yourself we are still waiting for our 310, with late July the likely delivery date. The yacht has a long way to come so its hard to tie down the dealer to an exact delivery date. I enjoyed Jon and your comments in the "great 310 vs 320 debate". I have sailed a 320 and its a great yacht but we can hardly wait for our 310 as it will suit our needs perfectly. I am currently planning for any extra work that I need to have done when the boat arrives, at this stage a battery monitor and alternator/regulator upgrade are high on the agenda, what are your thoughts on this? regards Malcolm
Kurt, Like yourself we are still waiting for our 310, with late July the likely delivery date. The yacht has a long way to come so its hard to tie down the dealer to an exact delivery date. I enjoyed Jon and your comments in the "great 310 vs 320 debate". I have sailed a 320 and its a great yacht but we can hardly wait for our 310 as it will suit our needs perfectly. I am currently planning for any extra work that I need to have done when the boat arrives, at this stage a battery monitor and alternator/regulator upgrade are high on the agenda, what are your thoughts on this? regards Malcolm
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Kurt
Didn't think of those
Malcom; I thought the 320 vs. 310 "debate" was fun. How can you go wrong with either choice, right? Like you, my wife and I loved the 310's layout best because it better suits our needs. I've test sailed both boats and there's really no appreciable difference between the two. But interestingly enough, we found the cockpit on the 310 to be slightly larger. Any way, I'll let you know how we like the boat once we get it. As to upgrades, we're new to large boat sailing. Our current boat is a Capri 14.2. Consequently I had't given much thought to upgrades as yet. Why do you consider a battery monitor and alternator upgrade to be critical? Is it something I should consider down the road? Why? Good luck in all! Kurt
Malcom; I thought the 320 vs. 310 "debate" was fun. How can you go wrong with either choice, right? Like you, my wife and I loved the 310's layout best because it better suits our needs. I've test sailed both boats and there's really no appreciable difference between the two. But interestingly enough, we found the cockpit on the 310 to be slightly larger. Any way, I'll let you know how we like the boat once we get it. As to upgrades, we're new to large boat sailing. Our current boat is a Capri 14.2. Consequently I had't given much thought to upgrades as yet. Why do you consider a battery monitor and alternator upgrade to be critical? Is it something I should consider down the road? Why? Good luck in all! Kurt
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Jon W
Battery Charging
Kurt, If I could just jump in to relate my battery system experience with the C310. We moved up from a Catalina 25 that had minimal electrical and charging systems compared to the C310. I was a little nervous about what the refrigerator, stereo, and all that cabin lighting would draw if I was away from shore power for several days, and I have heard a lot about minimal charging from stock alternator / regulator systems also. Our first overnighter on our C310 was may 6th for the opening day of boating season festivities in Seattle, were we rafted up with a million other boats for two and a half days. With the previously mentioned electrical needs, we used 48 amp hours from the #2 battery in the first 24 hours. The Link 10 battery monitor readily showed this. Without this information I would have been overly concerned about the state of battery charge. I then ran the engine a bit over idle for an hour and a half (which I’ve heard isn’t very good practice). The stock alternator / regulator started supplying 35 amps, but began dropping after about 10 minutes. It was soon supplying only 10 amps or less and then less than 4 for the last half-hour. But the battery monitor did confirm that 35 amp hours in all were returned to the battery. We spent another day and a half monitoring the battery with no further charging, and then were still able to start the engine off the same #2 battery. I consider the ability to monitor in and out battery current and state of charge necessary for my peace of mind. There is also additional information available from the unit I installed. I will be installing a higher output alternator and three-stage regulator this weekend. I don’t consider these last items as necessary as I once did if you primarily use shore power or motor for extended periods, but the option to sail a lot and stay away from the marinas without running the engine more than you need to will be a nice option. Now I have to go fix some leaks, good luck.
Kurt, If I could just jump in to relate my battery system experience with the C310. We moved up from a Catalina 25 that had minimal electrical and charging systems compared to the C310. I was a little nervous about what the refrigerator, stereo, and all that cabin lighting would draw if I was away from shore power for several days, and I have heard a lot about minimal charging from stock alternator / regulator systems also. Our first overnighter on our C310 was may 6th for the opening day of boating season festivities in Seattle, were we rafted up with a million other boats for two and a half days. With the previously mentioned electrical needs, we used 48 amp hours from the #2 battery in the first 24 hours. The Link 10 battery monitor readily showed this. Without this information I would have been overly concerned about the state of battery charge. I then ran the engine a bit over idle for an hour and a half (which I’ve heard isn’t very good practice). The stock alternator / regulator started supplying 35 amps, but began dropping after about 10 minutes. It was soon supplying only 10 amps or less and then less than 4 for the last half-hour. But the battery monitor did confirm that 35 amp hours in all were returned to the battery. We spent another day and a half monitoring the battery with no further charging, and then were still able to start the engine off the same #2 battery. I consider the ability to monitor in and out battery current and state of charge necessary for my peace of mind. There is also additional information available from the unit I installed. I will be installing a higher output alternator and three-stage regulator this weekend. I don’t consider these last items as necessary as I once did if you primarily use shore power or motor for extended periods, but the option to sail a lot and stay away from the marinas without running the engine more than you need to will be a nice option. Now I have to go fix some leaks, good luck.
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Malcolm
Battery Charging etc.
Jon, Thanks for the feedback on how your power needs are working out in practice. Based on this I may just go with a battery monitor as the first step and see how we go, however, we won't be able to access shore power often so minimum engine time to charge could be good. Kurt, my estimation of what might be a good idea is based on just reading magazine and on-line articles on marine power. Based on this it would appear that the 51 amp standard alternator is a little undersized, also a 3 or 4 stage regulator seems a good idea as this provides more efficent charging. However, Jon's experience of actually monitoring what is going on with power consumpion and charging has got me thinking that I should do this with our boat before upgrading the charging system. Any thought Jon? Malcolm
Jon, Thanks for the feedback on how your power needs are working out in practice. Based on this I may just go with a battery monitor as the first step and see how we go, however, we won't be able to access shore power often so minimum engine time to charge could be good. Kurt, my estimation of what might be a good idea is based on just reading magazine and on-line articles on marine power. Based on this it would appear that the 51 amp standard alternator is a little undersized, also a 3 or 4 stage regulator seems a good idea as this provides more efficent charging. However, Jon's experience of actually monitoring what is going on with power consumpion and charging has got me thinking that I should do this with our boat before upgrading the charging system. Any thought Jon? Malcolm
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Jon W
C310 Charging Summarized
Oh Yes! I always have a thought, right or wrong. The points I was attempting to make in my last post concerning engine charging were; 1) If you are going to run the engine two or more hours a day anyway during your normal boat usage, then the stock alternator / regulator will probably keep up with moderate electrical needs. 2) The last 20% to 30% or so of charging with the stock setup is painfully slow and thus your batteries may seldom see a full charge unless you have very long periods of charging, or plug in to shore power. 3) Also, the 3 stage regulator is probably a more important addition than the alternator upgrade, although they do work together and the stock alternator would need to be modified to work with an external regulator. 4) With an external regulator ( the Alpha in my case ) you can usually adjust not only the charging voltages, but also the bulk and absorption charging times to match your motoring patterns, i.e. short engine running until you get the sails going, or long days of motoring. This will be healthier for your batteries. Installing the battery monitor and evaluating your situation before further upgrades sounds perfectly appropriate, and although not planned, is essentially what I have done. The battery monitor in itself is a great addition and has contributed tremendously to my peace of mind. But since I halve already purchased the additional equipment, I will be going ahead with the installation this weekend. I will post results when I’m done. To start with, I am going to do a simple (I hope) replacement of the alternator / regulator with a minimum of wiring changes, leaving the two 4D’s wired as is. When I get the courage, I plan to wire them together and add a separate starting battery. I also only knew from what I had read, which are primarily opinions based on other boats, and other peoples needs. But for me, a lot of the fun of a new boat is discovering, learning and trying to improve the boat to suit me. I am happy to offer my C310 opinions for what they are worth, and am glad this forum offers a chance to do so.
Oh Yes! I always have a thought, right or wrong. The points I was attempting to make in my last post concerning engine charging were; 1) If you are going to run the engine two or more hours a day anyway during your normal boat usage, then the stock alternator / regulator will probably keep up with moderate electrical needs. 2) The last 20% to 30% or so of charging with the stock setup is painfully slow and thus your batteries may seldom see a full charge unless you have very long periods of charging, or plug in to shore power. 3) Also, the 3 stage regulator is probably a more important addition than the alternator upgrade, although they do work together and the stock alternator would need to be modified to work with an external regulator. 4) With an external regulator ( the Alpha in my case ) you can usually adjust not only the charging voltages, but also the bulk and absorption charging times to match your motoring patterns, i.e. short engine running until you get the sails going, or long days of motoring. This will be healthier for your batteries. Installing the battery monitor and evaluating your situation before further upgrades sounds perfectly appropriate, and although not planned, is essentially what I have done. The battery monitor in itself is a great addition and has contributed tremendously to my peace of mind. But since I halve already purchased the additional equipment, I will be going ahead with the installation this weekend. I will post results when I’m done. To start with, I am going to do a simple (I hope) replacement of the alternator / regulator with a minimum of wiring changes, leaving the two 4D’s wired as is. When I get the courage, I plan to wire them together and add a separate starting battery. I also only knew from what I had read, which are primarily opinions based on other boats, and other peoples needs. But for me, a lot of the fun of a new boat is discovering, learning and trying to improve the boat to suit me. I am happy to offer my C310 opinions for what they are worth, and am glad this forum offers a chance to do so.
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Kurt
Good Ideas for me to consider
Jon and Malcom; Thanks for all the very good food for thought. I don't imagine a retrofit upgrade on these issues is that big a dea for me down the road or is it? Kurt
Jon and Malcom; Thanks for all the very good food for thought. I don't imagine a retrofit upgrade on these issues is that big a dea for me down the road or is it? Kurt
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