Considering to buy a Cat 30.... Need advice...

[Capt.JDavis]

Hi guys...
I've found a 1978 Catalina 30 and owner is willing to give it to me for $10k.

Boat has:
- M25 Universal Diesel engine around 500 hrs.
- ST2000 Tiller Pilot
- 276C Garmin GPS...

and these are a plus for me...

But few things bothered me and sales guy didn't have the answers for them so I decided to ask you guys.

Mast has been re-stepped and where it sits on the cabin top there is a plastic looking square thing underneath.
Why it is there and what the heck is that thing for?
BTW it is a tall rig but there was few more Catalina 30s around tall rig or not none of them have something like that underneath the mast.

Plus when I stand on the cockpit floor the boom was nearly at my shoulder level. I am only 6' tall and don't remember any other Catalina 30 booms being that low.

We did not play with the rigging or open up the sail covers or raise the sails. Just looked at the overall condition of the boat.
Rudder has been upgraded to new design factory rudder.

But is mast stepping/low boom a real important issue?

Before spending $750 for a survey I wanted to ask you guys here first.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[txtowman]

picture is worth a thousand words. I intend that to be a friendly suggestion.

best of luck to you.

the boom may be adjustable, it is on my cat 22

the "plate" may be someones repair of the cabin top after a demasting or stepping accident

I would at least have a very knowledgable person look at it or speak to the prev owner and find out exactly what it is and exactly why it is there.

otherwise I'd find another boat

 

[Capt.JDavis]

http://gallery.me.com/capt.jdavis#100146/DSC_0040

Here it is... I never saw this before on any other Catalina 30.
What is this and why it is there do you guys think?
Owner/Seller is not around to answer the question.

 

[Stephen K]

I have never seen a deck mast plate like that on a Catalina...doesn't mean that it is not sound, it is not the metal plate like the factory used. Was there any work done to rebuild or improve the compression post support?...if so, maybe this deck plate was put on at the same time. I would examine around the deck for any "compression" and also look from inside the salon.

Regarding the low boom, shoulder height is not normal...mine clears my head and I am 6'1". It may be as simple a solution as cranking up the topping lift. I would also raise the main to a full hoist and then release the topping lift to get a true picture of the boom height under sail.

 

[foolproof]

I have something similar on my old Catalina 25. Apparently there was some corrosion at the bottom of the spar at some point, so the PO cut off about 1" to be rid of it. When he stepped the mast all of the stays were too long, so he made up a block from 1" aluminum and put it under the mast, and suddenly the stays were the right length again. That may be your answer, but the only real way to know for sure would be to measure the spar from top to bottom (a little impractical). If the stays all look "normal" I bet is just a spacer like I described above.

 

[Team118]

A spacer looks like a good guess. From the picture, its hard to tell if the mast sits on top of it or the spacer is acutally a boot arount the mast.

I have a 77 Cat 30 and I'm 6'5". My boom barely touches my head, I know that there is play where the boom meets the mast (gooseneck?) and that this section slides up and down. My boom is tied to the mast through a ring in the front of the mast which keeps the boom up.

I paid $9.5k for my boat, but it needed/needs a lot of work. Especially interior, wiring, etc. Might be worth the expense of a survey, maybe owner would split cost with you, that way if you don't buy it he can keep it for other potential buyers...