A little help for a new Catalina 27 owner

[pmac]

I picked up a 1985 Catalina 27 three weeks ago for a great price. It has a diesel inboard, roller furling, wheel steering and a good set of sails. However it does have a few issues. First the port forward cleat is loose and it looks like the shelf in the v berth has to be removed to access the hex nuts. How do I remove the small shelf? Second I have to spray a single squirt of starter fluid into the air intake to start the engine. Anyone have this issue ? And lastly , and probably the most costly , she is missing all the cushions inside. Any one out there know the best place to find foam to make them? My wife and I can cut foam and sew fabric to make them. Finding good quality 4" thick foam is my issue. Thanks for any help and good sailing.
Gary "pmac" McCracken.

 

[Stu Jackson]

1. First the port forward cleat is loose and it looks like the shelf in the v berth has to be removed to access the hex nuts. How do I remove the small shelf?

2. Second I have to spray a single squirt of starter fluid into the air intake to start the engine. Anyone have this issue ?

3. And lastly , and probably the most costly , she is missing all the cushions inside. Any one out there know the best place to find foam to make them? My wife and I can cut foam and sew fabric to make them. Finding good quality 4" thick foam is my issue.

Gary, congratulations, nice boat.

1. Find the bungs with the screws and remove them, the screws will be underneath the bungs.

2. What engine do you have? Most likely a Kubota block. learn more about it at www.marinedieseldirect.com. Never use starting fluid on a diesel. You most likely have glow plugs. Use them.

3. Google or the yellow pages to find foam in your area.

Good luck.

 

[The Garbone]

An electric knife and a foam mattress off of Amazon, I like the reviews.

 

[weinie]

For the cleat you will have to use a hole saw bit and drill a hole thru the anchor locker. Replace with an inspection port from WM.

I had my cushions remade by a local boat canvas/upholstery guy using the old ones for size. Ran about 3k.

 

[Meriachee]

Further to the great advise from Stu, and lacking details pertaining to your knowledge of things diesel, when you start it, you have to hold the key in the "start" position for long enough to heat up the glow plugs before pressing the starter button. That number will vary wildly depending on the condition of the plugs, and any of 100 other things, but a decent number is between 15 and 30 seconds. If it won't start based on that, get them checked out, the issue could be bad plugs (unlikely all of them bad) or something in the electrical system. If even one plug is good, the engine will start, although it may run like a serious cripple until all of them light up.
If you have one bad one, or one lazy one, you may have to hold the key on for a few seconds after you start it to get it to wake up, but that's a good indicator that one (or more) need attention.
Please don't use starter fluid on a boat.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Meriachee is right.

You should be aware of these issues:

Critical Upgrades http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5078.0.html

Many of them apply to you. Especially the wiring harness posts.