Catalina 27 lower shroud eyebolt angle

[junaido]

So I recently bought a Catalina 27 (1976) standard rig. On her maiden sail, we lost the eyebolt on the lower port forward shroud while sailing in 20kts of wind. The eyebolt was totally corrorded and the other 3 show some evidence of corrosion as well.

My question is , how do I orient the replacement eyebolt if the old one is sheared off ? The other 3 appear twisted at unnatural angles , at least according to the rigger who looked at it. I am planning to do it myself but the eyebolt (or u-bolt) alignment is a big concern. Is there a rule of thumb ? Does the kit come with any instructions on how to orient the eyebolts ?
There is plenty of room in the turnbuckles so I can go with either eye or u-bolts. Just figured the eyebolts require less holes and if the originals lasted 35 years then new ones should last the remainder of this boat's life.

Thanks,
Junaid

 

[Time Out]

The eye/U-bolts should be aligned so that the toggle on the bottom of the turnbuckle is in line and not being pulled at an odd angle. If you can imagine a straight line between the base of the mast and the eye/U-bolt the axis of the clevis pin (the pin that holds the shroud to the eye/U-bolt) should be perpendicular to this line. (I attached a picture of my 87’ Catalina 27 with factory U-bolts to help show how they are aligned. It’s not great but it’s the best chain plate picture I have)
If you think about it the original eyebolts didn’t really last 35 years, they were long overdue for replacement and failed at 35 years. I would strongly recommend you upgrade to the U-bolts. They are stronger and cannot get out of alignment by turning in the hole. It really isn’t worth it to skimp on the chain plates. You’re lucky you didn’t lose the whole rig when the eyebolt failed and should the rig have come down someone could have gotten killed not to mention thousands in damage.

-Eric

 

[junaido]

Thanks for the info. Its a little hard to tell with the PVC cover over the turnbuckle but the U-bolt is clearly visible. I am thinking of the U-bolt orientation as almost along a radial line of a circle, with mast at the center of the circle . Does that sound about right ? Also the port aft lower has a small backing plate that kinda wedges up against the galley cabinetry on the port side. I wonder if the backing plate is going to be a problem if I go the u-bolt route ? Does anyone have any pictures (including the interior backing plates) of the retrofit they did on the 70's vintage dinette model C27 ?

Clearly CatalinaDirect is trying to steer people towards the u-bolt retrofit as it is almost the same price as the eyebolt kit. I would like to do u-bolts, just want to make sure the backing plates will fit, and to install at the correct angle.

Junaid

 

[Time Out]

The way you describe the orientation sounds about right. The clevis pin should be tangent to the edge of a mast centered circle. I was able to find a picture at this site http://www.sailingtexas.com/scatalina27131.html of a 1990 Catalina 27 with factory U-bolts that shows their orientation pretty clearly.
If your galley cabinetry goes that far forward am I correct in assuming the dinette interior is the one with a booth on the starboard side and the galley running the full length of the port side? The U- bolt backing plates are much more substantial than the original backing plates. They are aluminum angle iron with a footprint of 3ish by 7ish inches. I can’t confirm those measurements because my boat is still covered and winterized and I won’t be there for a few more weeks. If clearance is an issue the cabinetry could always be modified but without seeing it I’m just guessing.

-Eric

 

[junaido]

So I ordered the u bolts from Catalina Factory. They are a little different from Catalina Direct in that the backing plates are not L-shaped with u-bolt alignmenet holes already marked. The backing plates are thicker than the old ones but a lot smaller in area. Two of the u-bolts are longer than the others.

In this case it appears that the Catalina Factory solution is a lot more cumbersome than the Catalina Direct solution for the same problem. I was hoping the L-bakcing plate with pre-drilled holes would make is easy to align the ubolts. Has anyone done an install using this u-bolt kit ?

Junaid

 

[philwsailz]

Haven't done it but see this print from Gerry Douglas. It should help with getting it right. The u-bolt is aligned axially about the mast. The edge of the u-bolt cover plate will just align with the edge of the non-skid. Referencing the center of the mast, and drawing a centerline from it through the upper chainplate, the u-bolt hole(s) adjacent to the non-skid will be drilled a distance of 20" from said centerline.

Note the print shows an angled backing plate, but I am sure that a backing plate change will not have affected the dimensions as shown.