Cat 30 Hull Thickness

[David Garrison]

Hi. I have a 1986 Catalina 30 and have a Statpower 20 battery charger that I would like to mount on the starboard side of the aft quarter berth hull area. It will be mounted at about the same heighth as the electrical panel and about 3 - 4 feet aft of it.I'm not sure what the thickness of the hull is at this point. Do I need to epoxy or otherwise bond a piece of wood to the hull and then secure the battery charger to the wood? Is there a general rule of thumb I can use when attaching items to the interior hull surface?Thanks,Davids/v Kindred Spirit

 

[Ron]

3/8" on mine

1983 Cat 30. I believe you are talking about the area just below the small shelf aft of the navagation station. The inner (hull)? is 3/8". I am guessing it is that thick cause I cut out an area under the vee-berth to access some unused space. I would epoxy a piece of teak to the fiberglass and attach the charger to it. I am not sure how you would put a backing on the inside of the fiberglass to help support the weight. Besides it scares me to drill into the (unknown). But, I'm just careful.

 

[James M.]

Aft Quartberth Space

David,The Catalina 30 "hull liner" is roughly 1/8 inch thick at this area. There is a small space between the actual hull and the liner at this area, usually 1/4 or 3/8 inch of airspace. The hull itself is atleast 1 inch thick in this area of the vessel.Ron, in the previous post, correctly mentions an area of unused space in the hull liner that is just aft of the chart table and along the starboard side of the quarterberth. There is quite a usable amount of area inside this panel, but the factory didn't cut an opening here. I just did this procedure on our boat, so I know it is easy to do. I think inside the hull liner at this location would make an excellent location for the Statpower charger. You will need to trace the desired opening on the liner, I used 11 by 9 inches, and then with a saber saw cut out the panel. Your local upholstery shop should be able to order "pinch welt" for you to finish off the opening like the others in the boat. West also caries it in 25' rolls in their catalog.I've used 5200 without problems to mount bed mounting platform for equipemnt to the hull - just secure the mount adequately during the curing time. Then mount your charger to the platform. I'd use marine grade ply of 3/4 inch thickness.Good luck.James M.S/V TesoriDana Point, California