Any warnings appreciated

[Erik]

Considering the purchase of a 1975 Catalina 30, decent condition for how old she is, is there anything in particular I should watch out for other than obvious flaws? Will have it hauled of course to check hull, have heard of some reference to the prop bushings at thru hull failing. Any other major points of concern for this model year?

 

[Brian Ranniger]

Problems I Found

I got a '76 C-30 last fall which was in reasonably good shape. Mostly, I found that all the thru-hulls needed replacing along with the seacocks. They looked OK outwardly, but were badly corroded inside. I also had to replace all of the rigging which was in pretty poor shape. The previous owner didn't know how to adjust the clutches in the reversing gear of the A-4, which made it seem like the tranny was shot, but was no big deal at all. It takes about 15-30 min. Also don't be scared of the howl when it's in reverse. That is normal for the A-4 engines. They are actually quite reliable and easy to work on if you have any mechanical aptitude. Good luck.

 

[Melody Miller]

Brian - How did you find . . .

that the seacocks and thru hulls needed replacement?Hi BrianI looked at my thru hulls from the outside and they the bottom paint covers them up.As regards seacocks, how can you tell if they are badly corroded? Mine are a little hard to turn. Do you have to take the hoses off to determine their condition?Melody

 

[hp]

Check fiberglass

Eric,If you are not paying a surveyer, tap out the hull looking for delamination in the fiberglass.Shake the prop shaft and check for excessive movement at the cutless bearing in the strut.Look at the keel to hull joint and make sure it is sound.Look for white discoloration on the prop tips. (electrolysis)Tap the rudder for delamination.Look for pits in the shafts(mostly near the strut and rudder)Look for blisters.Check the zincs.Hope it's a good boat!r.w.landau

 

[Richard]

few ideas

Things to look out for:Atomic 4 engine compression (if all are about the same and near 100 psi then you are not needing a rebuild).Blisters on the hull. Some are likely to be there but the early 80s boats have tons. Hopefully the 70s are better.Mast step. Mine had the step put on a stainless steel plate with no insulation and it was toast.Excessive dripping of the shaft packing gland.Bilge! Look for rusting keel bolts. It was around 80 or so when they switched to stainless steel ones.Look for any signs of leaking deck hardware and windows. Any one of these could be leaking into the wood deck core and cause soft spots. Look for any depression on the deck including around the mast. A rotten compression post will cause the deck to collapse at the mast.

 

[Mike Turner]

Mast Step

I just bought an '81. Check the mast at the deck -- see if the deck is compressed; look for 1/4" to 1/2" compression. Practical Sailor says this is common, but it can't be a good thing. Any cracking of the deck is particularly bad. Continue checking the entire "compression sandwich" below -- integrity of the compression post, and most importantly integrity of the block the compression post rests on the in the bilge. Check for any softness; make sure there's good wood in the block in the bilge.Mike TurnerS/V Amity