For anyone considering the flat screen TV/DVD option from Catalina, consider this: They way they mounted the TV on my boat (delivered just yesterday) was to simply attach the TV flat to the wall with four bolts. I had previously thought they would use a swival bracket so the TV would be viewable from anywhere in the cabin. Make sense? Uh,wrong! They opted to mount it so it does not move, and the TV is viewable on essentially one side of the cabin only(port). How dumb is this? You can watch the TV only if you are sitting right at the Nav Station or sitting on the port settee with your legs up and your back leaning against the bathroom bulkhead. Two people can watch it at the same time if they are sitting on top of each other on the port settee. Or, you can also watch the TV standing in the middle of the cabin. Great! If you want to watch it from the starboard side of the cabin, forget it. The viewing angle is too extreme. Forget about watching it while you're working in the galley, which you could do if it swivaled. In short you cannot really see the TV picture from the two best seats in house, i.e. those 2 nice plush seats Catalina put on the starboard side of the cabin. What were they thinking? I'll tell you. What's the quickest, cheapest, and easiest way for the guys at the factory to mount the TV. 4 bolts and your done! Simple? You bet. User friendly? Uh, NO. I was so mad when I saw this rediculous installation, I wanted to rip the flat screen right of the wall with my hands. Then, I remembered how much I paid for it and decided not to. If Catalina really wants to market this expensive option to boat buyers, they are going to have to do a whole lot better than this. Letter to follow to Frank Butler and Jerry Douglas. I post the reply here, if I get one. Blair Dehuff Sierra Dream Hull #116
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TV location
Bummer. Nothing worse than being dissapointed at the onset. Bunch of questions. --Exactly where did they mount the TV? --If it's on the aft bulkhead by the nav station, isn't the screen visible from both the port & starboard seating? -Is the screen too small to be visible or is it just an issue of angle/height? --What model Sharp TV did they put in? --Where did they mount the DVD player? I thought they were going to install it on the forward bulkhead by the table. Thought that location was good because the screen would be viewable from the table, nav station, galley and even possibly the cockpit. Gary
Bummer. Nothing worse than being dissapointed at the onset. Bunch of questions. --Exactly where did they mount the TV? --If it's on the aft bulkhead by the nav station, isn't the screen visible from both the port & starboard seating? -Is the screen too small to be visible or is it just an issue of angle/height? --What model Sharp TV did they put in? --Where did they mount the DVD player? I thought they were going to install it on the forward bulkhead by the table. Thought that location was good because the screen would be viewable from the table, nav station, galley and even possibly the cockpit. Gary
Too Bad Contract
You have to love the Catalina's purchase agreement, you know, the part that says it doesn't matter what you think your getting and it doesn't matter what you saw, WE are going to send you what ever WE want, to bad, get over it. Nice?
You have to love the Catalina's purchase agreement, you know, the part that says it doesn't matter what you think your getting and it doesn't matter what you saw, WE are going to send you what ever WE want, to bad, get over it. Nice?
TV Location
Gary, The TV on the 350 is mounted on the aft bulkhead next to the Nav Station, just as you thought. I did not happen to notice the Sharp model #, but I will let you know. The screen is large enough (15 inch). However, the way the factory mounted it is outside any reasonable viewing angle for the starboard side of the cabin. The DVD player is conveniently mounted right at the Nav Station. I faxed Frank Butler and he phoned me in less than 24 hours. Understands the problem, and was very helpful. The dealer (Farallone) will reinstall the TV on a swivel so that it can be pointed into the middle of the cabin at a proper angle to be viewed from the starboard side seats. There is a swivel bracket available at Best Buy which swivels / tilts up to 45 degrees. Why couldn't the factory have mounted it this way in the first place? It's seems so obvious that this is the only way reasonable way to mount it. But, what do I know.
Gary, The TV on the 350 is mounted on the aft bulkhead next to the Nav Station, just as you thought. I did not happen to notice the Sharp model #, but I will let you know. The screen is large enough (15 inch). However, the way the factory mounted it is outside any reasonable viewing angle for the starboard side of the cabin. The DVD player is conveniently mounted right at the Nav Station. I faxed Frank Butler and he phoned me in less than 24 hours. Understands the problem, and was very helpful. The dealer (Farallone) will reinstall the TV on a swivel so that it can be pointed into the middle of the cabin at a proper angle to be viewed from the starboard side seats. There is a swivel bracket available at Best Buy which swivels / tilts up to 45 degrees. Why couldn't the factory have mounted it this way in the first place? It's seems so obvious that this is the only way reasonable way to mount it. But, what do I know.
Catalina's rolling changes
Apparently, Catalina's marketing philosophy is to make periodic changes so that potential customers won't wait for the next model year. Unfortunately, you are never absolutely sure if the boat you ordered is going to include everything you thought. For example, Catalina eliminated the 2 smaller opening ports in the main cabin roof from my boat. Too bad - I'm disappointed. Why would Catalina want to reduce the amount of light and ventilation in the cabin? I'm sure this change was not based on any customer feedback. Probably just cost reduction. Nevertheless, even without these two opening ports the 350's cabin is still very light and well ventilated. In fairness, most of Catalina's changes are improvements and you may find you are pleasently surprised by inclusion or improvement of things you did not expect when you ordered your new boat.
Apparently, Catalina's marketing philosophy is to make periodic changes so that potential customers won't wait for the next model year. Unfortunately, you are never absolutely sure if the boat you ordered is going to include everything you thought. For example, Catalina eliminated the 2 smaller opening ports in the main cabin roof from my boat. Too bad - I'm disappointed. Why would Catalina want to reduce the amount of light and ventilation in the cabin? I'm sure this change was not based on any customer feedback. Probably just cost reduction. Nevertheless, even without these two opening ports the 350's cabin is still very light and well ventilated. In fairness, most of Catalina's changes are improvements and you may find you are pleasently surprised by inclusion or improvement of things you did not expect when you ordered your new boat.
TV
Sounds like an excellent solution. I'm impressed that Frank Butler called you to resolve the issue personally. I spoke to the folks at Farallone yesterday and they were also very commited to resolving any TV setup issues. My c350 is scheduled to leave the factory on either Monday or Tuesday so hopefully, whatever solution they figure out for your boat will be applied to mine as well. Regards, Gary
Sounds like an excellent solution. I'm impressed that Frank Butler called you to resolve the issue personally. I spoke to the folks at Farallone yesterday and they were also very commited to resolving any TV setup issues. My c350 is scheduled to leave the factory on either Monday or Tuesday so hopefully, whatever solution they figure out for your boat will be applied to mine as well. Regards, Gary
Small Hatches in Cabin Roof
Blair, I've posted on this issue before. Your boat was not singled out for elimination of the two small hatches in the main cabin roof. We know Hull#1 had them because most of us saw lots of photos of this on various web sites. The owner of Hull #3 had them; he's listed on this web site, although his hull number doesn't appear. He confirmed their presence to me in an e-mail. I personally boarded Hulls 6, 20, and 59 and none of them had the hatches. My hull, #84, doesn't have them (I was scheduled to get #76 and it didn't have them). I asked my dealer to talk to the factory about installing them and they wouldn't do it. So that change was made a long time ago.
Blair, I've posted on this issue before. Your boat was not singled out for elimination of the two small hatches in the main cabin roof. We know Hull#1 had them because most of us saw lots of photos of this on various web sites. The owner of Hull #3 had them; he's listed on this web site, although his hull number doesn't appear. He confirmed their presence to me in an e-mail. I personally boarded Hulls 6, 20, and 59 and none of them had the hatches. My hull, #84, doesn't have them (I was scheduled to get #76 and it didn't have them). I asked my dealer to talk to the factory about installing them and they wouldn't do it. So that change was made a long time ago.
Opening Ports / Small Hatches
John, We may be mixing apples and oranges. What you are referring to as "small hatches" I am calling "opening ports" (aka "port lights"). When I toured the 350 at the San Diego boat show in January it had 2 large opening ports in the roof over the forward part of the cabin, and 2 more smaller opening ports toward the aft part of the cabin (about 1/2 the size the the forward ones) just a bit forward of the galley and the nav station. These latter 2 ports are missing from my boat. You can also see these ports clearly in several pictures in Catalina's 350 sales brochure dated 9/02. Are we talking about the same thing?
John, We may be mixing apples and oranges. What you are referring to as "small hatches" I am calling "opening ports" (aka "port lights"). When I toured the 350 at the San Diego boat show in January it had 2 large opening ports in the roof over the forward part of the cabin, and 2 more smaller opening ports toward the aft part of the cabin (about 1/2 the size the the forward ones) just a bit forward of the galley and the nav station. These latter 2 ports are missing from my boat. You can also see these ports clearly in several pictures in Catalina's 350 sales brochure dated 9/02. Are we talking about the same thing?
Gary, Congratulations! Your boat delivery is drawing near. I hope Catalina addresses the TV mounting issue at the factory right away so you won't have 4 bolt holes to fill in your woodwork like I do after they re-mount the TV with a swivel. Minor detail though. Frank Butler said that Catalina uses an independent contractor to install all the electronics on the boat seperate from the factory. I'm not sure he was actually aware of how this contractor was installing the TV. In any case he said that I was the first one to complain about it. He pulled the design and shop drawings, spoke with his design staff, talked to his suppliers, etc. all personally yesterday before he phoned me back. Yes, I was impressed too. However, I had previously heard that he does this about even the smallest details on all Catalina boats regardless of size. I guess if you can get this kind of attention from the guy at the top, that's one thing which keeps Catalina customers coming back for their next boat.
TV
My boat was scheduled for final inspection today so I suspect the TV has already been installed. The person from Farallone working on your boat this weekend will be handling my boat when it comes in. Whatever he figures out for you probably will be the same for me. Let me know how everything works and how your first sail goes. Congratulations on the new c350. Fair sailing, Gary
My boat was scheduled for final inspection today so I suspect the TV has already been installed. The person from Farallone working on your boat this weekend will be handling my boat when it comes in. Whatever he figures out for you probably will be the same for me. Let me know how everything works and how your first sail goes. Congratulations on the new c350. Fair sailing, Gary
Hatches
Blair, On hull #8 which we launched last June, I only have two opening overhead hatches in the main cabin. There is also one in aft cabin, the head and v-berth. It doesn't make sense to me that Catalina would have added two after my hull number and then removed them on later boats. Could be, but doubtful. Tom C350, #8, Graeagle
Blair, On hull #8 which we launched last June, I only have two opening overhead hatches in the main cabin. There is also one in aft cabin, the head and v-berth. It doesn't make sense to me that Catalina would have added two after my hull number and then removed them on later boats. Could be, but doubtful. Tom C350, #8, Graeagle
Hatches
Tom, You and John have convinced me (finally) I must have been halucinating when I saw the 350 at the San Diego boat show last January. I don't know what hull number it was, but it obviously was much later than yours, and could not have had these hatches. Thanks again, guys. Guess I'm starting to go a little bonkers.
Tom, You and John have convinced me (finally) I must have been halucinating when I saw the 350 at the San Diego boat show last January. I don't know what hull number it was, but it obviously was much later than yours, and could not have had these hatches. Thanks again, guys. Guess I'm starting to go a little bonkers.
Hatches Take Two
Blair, The "Admiral" showed me a picture in Sail mag ad of teh 350 underway and guess what? A hatch on the port side about where the nav station is. I'll bet that picture is of the original sea trial on hull #1 or 2 and they later changed the design. May have been a cost saving move as they moved to production, but I don't really miss it. There seems to be plenty of light and air movement with the available hatches and ports. Tom
Blair, The "Admiral" showed me a picture in Sail mag ad of teh 350 underway and guess what? A hatch on the port side about where the nav station is. I'll bet that picture is of the original sea trial on hull #1 or 2 and they later changed the design. May have been a cost saving move as they moved to production, but I don't really miss it. There seems to be plenty of light and air movement with the available hatches and ports. Tom
Hatches Take Three!
Here is a picture of Hull #1 on display at the boatshow, I hope this picture answers your questions about the hatches being removed on later Hulls. Fair Winds. clyde
Here is a picture of Hull #1 on display at the boatshow, I hope this picture answers your questions about the hatches being removed on later Hulls. Fair Winds. clyde
Attachments
Hatches Final Take
I guess Catalina doesn't want update their 350 advertizing to a later version (w/o the 2 little hatches). Pictures of (apparently) the very first hull still appear in their latest sales brochures, their website, and even the sailing magazines, as you noted. Their sales brochure and website also still show the original interior pictures including the original TV cabinet, which is now history. However, I suppose if they reprinted with every change it would never end. I agree the cabin is very light and well ventilated with the existing hatches. I don't really have a legitimite reason to gripe. In any case it seems I managed to perpetuate the world's longest thread on the subject of hatches. I sincerely appreciate everyone's input / clarifications (even a picture).
I guess Catalina doesn't want update their 350 advertizing to a later version (w/o the 2 little hatches). Pictures of (apparently) the very first hull still appear in their latest sales brochures, their website, and even the sailing magazines, as you noted. Their sales brochure and website also still show the original interior pictures including the original TV cabinet, which is now history. However, I suppose if they reprinted with every change it would never end. I agree the cabin is very light and well ventilated with the existing hatches. I don't really have a legitimite reason to gripe. In any case it seems I managed to perpetuate the world's longest thread on the subject of hatches. I sincerely appreciate everyone's input / clarifications (even a picture).
Hey...if you want the hatches, its not that hard
to add them. 1) Measure the spot 2) SabreSaw/Cut out the hole 3) epoxy Sides of the cut hole to prevent water ingress into deck coring. 4) Drop in hatch with caulking. Just like Catalina does it.
to add them. 1) Measure the spot 2) SabreSaw/Cut out the hole 3) epoxy Sides of the cut hole to prevent water ingress into deck coring. 4) Drop in hatch with caulking. Just like Catalina does it.
Hatches
Tom I take your point. However, there's just something about cutting big holes in a brand new boat. Ain't gonna happen, not if the Admiral has anything to say about it. Thanks anyway.
Tom I take your point. However, there's just something about cutting big holes in a brand new boat. Ain't gonna happen, not if the Admiral has anything to say about it. Thanks anyway.
setup
How's the c350 setup going? The way the weather is going, you may be doing sea trails in snow conditions on Lake Tahoe. Gary C350 #125 Duet
How's the c350 setup going? The way the weather is going, you may be doing sea trails in snow conditions on Lake Tahoe. Gary C350 #125 Duet
Commissioning
Gary, Rotten weather here, but 95% commissioning has taken only 5 days. We had the shakedown cruise today, and the final cleanup will be tomorrow. No problems of any significance. All systems work great. Is yours on the truck yet?
Gary, Rotten weather here, but 95% commissioning has taken only 5 days. We had the shakedown cruise today, and the final cleanup will be tomorrow. No problems of any significance. All systems work great. Is yours on the truck yet?
C350 aft hatch quandry
It just occurred to me that perhaps the aft small hatches were discontinued by Catalina because many people choose to install dodgers, and if the picture is accurate, and if they faced forward, they'd be no good anyway. So, no reason to cut holes in a new boat.
Stu PS don't you guys have a C350 association website yet?
It just occurred to me that perhaps the aft small hatches were discontinued by Catalina because many people choose to install dodgers, and if the picture is accurate, and if they faced forward, they'd be no good anyway. So, no reason to cut holes in a new boat.
Stu PS don't you guys have a C350 association website yet?- Status