My Surveyor Called It Settling!!
I have a bit of compression "fatigue" on my '88 Mark II, but for now I am living with it.....One of the major indicators to me is how well the door to the head swings open and closes as mast compression is directly related to some deck sag and therefore will cause a friction spot between the door frame and top of the head door. When I had the boat surveyed, the surveyor and I had a long discussion about the infamous Catalina compression post issue. It was not a deal buster for me as the rest of the vessel was almost bristol, being in freshwater for the last 18 years, pristine interior, and very low engine hours (below 350) and an excellent price. The surveyor felt the post settled as far as it would go and made no structural impact to the decking. You really have to look close to notice any settling, although I have a few small spider cracks on the deck that might have resulted from the loading.Their must be hundreds if not thousands of Catalina 30's that have suffered from the compression post problem. I do not know how you measure the severity or impact to the vessel relative to performance, deck and hull intregrity, standing rigging or even moisture damage in regards to post compression. The factory obviously waited til hull 6200??? to make a correction with a metal replacement. Opinions?Bob'88 Mark II 30 model