Luna, The Story of a Forgotten Catalina 30.

[Kingjim91]

So I wanted your all‘s thoughts on using Anderson Power Poles for the rebuilding of the panel and engine harness. I use these for model railroading and I am good at creating wiring harnesses with them. They come in 15, 30, and 45 amp versions that all use a common outer shell of various colors. They link together to form a solid plug, and the contractor is silver coated brass for the 15 and 30 amp, and nickel coated copper for the 45 amp. The only drawback I can see is the fact that these are not waterproof. The ends could be filled easily enough, but it will not stop water all together. Then again the factory plugs didn’t prevent water intrusion either.

The pic below is one of the harnesses I made for my trains. I would be building a similar style harness with the chaff shield around the wires.

View attachment 203326View attachment 203327

The harnesses you’ve built are awesome. I’m sure you can do something much better than Catalina’s standard rat’s nest.
You should consider the ABYC wiring standard. Not everything is “required” but it’s an industry consensus standard. It covers wire type, sizing, color codes, terminations, etc.
West Marine has a good summary. Standards and Practices of DC Marine Wiring | West Marine

That “Gummy Bear“ connector seems to be a common issue on Catalinas. Mine isn’t melted, but I intend to clip it out and reconnect the wires with heat shrink butt connectors. I’ve already run a few new wires that bypass the connector completely.

 

[mikeracca]

That “Gummy Bear“ connector seems to be a common issue on Catalinas. Mine isn’t melted, but I intend to clip it out and reconnect the wires with heat shrink butt connectors. I’ve already run a few new wires that bypass the connector completely.

From my research, and prior knowledge those ”Gummy Bear“ plugs are only rated for 5 amps max, but are ideal at around 2-3 amps. The red and orange wires carry 30 or more amps. Not a good combination. hey were included on all Catalina models, but only used on ones with an amp gauge. If you didn’t have the amp gauge that wire was bypassed at the alternator. It was still included in the panel wiring harness as well as the middle harness but not on the engine side. I have an amp gauge, it’s the one in the middle and it’s not hooked up… wonder why?

You don’t need to connect those 2 wires together with a butt connector, you can simply feed the alternator output to the starting battery, that’s where it goes after the gauge. If you use an isolator/switch then it would feed the input side of the isolator/switch first.

 

[jssailem]

Firstly, welcome to the club. You found an old boat with an old scheme wiring. You were aghast that the boat had been sailed for years and no one was killed. I know I was when I saw my nest. Just be satisfied, that when you get it cleaned up you will have accomplished something for the next owner. Who is the norm happens will have no idea the blood you shed disconnecting those old and fried wires, replacing them with new and safe design. Butt you will know you did good.

I was unclear how you were preparing your wiring. you mentioned something about wiring of the alternator, an isolator switch....

I have an amp gauge, it’s the one in the middle and it’s not hooked up… wonder why?

You don’t need to connect those 2 wires together with a butt connector, you can simply feed the alternator output to the starting battery, that’s where it goes after the gauge. If you use an isolator/switch then it would feed the input side of the isolator/switch first.

Here is a good diagram.

I have my alternator feed the House Bank. The start battery is charged using an ACR. Mainly because the batteries that discharge the most ( and thus are the first to be charged when using the motor/alternator) is the house bank. While the starter motor is used to start the engine, this function does not draw a lot of amps from the start battery.

The ASD switch... Is there to protect me while I am working on the battery. I used to just disconnect the positive lead ont eh battery. The switch is quicker and easier. So I am less likely to forget or not bother to disconnect the battery.

MaineSail has this article here on his website..

Balmar MC-614 Alternator Service Disconnect Switch - Marine How To

Incorrectly Wired Service Disconnect Switch This article is part of an on-going series on marine alternators. Our other articles can be found in the link below: MarineHowTo.com Category - Alternators (LINK) Terms used in this article: Alternator B+ = Positive Alternator Output

marinehowto.com

Service Disconnect Switch Best Practices​

1. Should be mounted near engine, in the engine bay (out of sight of your on-board guests)​
2. Should be clearly labeled as an “ALTERNATOR SERVICE DISCONNECT“​
3. The power for the regulator must be wired on the alternator side of the service disconnect switch!​
4. Use the ASD switch only when servicing the engine​

Yes, #3 is bold for a very good reason.​

Read the whole story at "Marine How To"

 

[mikeracca]

Well she’s a few pounds lighter. I got out the hose and sprayed down the decks and got most of the fuzzy moss of the boat. I also scrubbed the area where we board the boat and the cockpit seat in that area. Looks much better and best of all, it’s not slippery any more. The moss is coming off pretty easy with a scrub brush and Simple Green. I’m just waiting for better weather for doing the big stuff up front.

Yea, I know still a long way to go, but I’m getting there. It was sunny when I left the house but wouldn’t ya know, it rained about a mile from the marina, and did so the entire time I was there… it stopped on my way home tho…

So I confirmed without a doubt that I have solid core Romex wire in the boat, and best of all there is no ground circuit! Oh how that is just peachy! I hope it wasn’t this oxidized when it was being used. I do know it was installed in the 80’s as the receptacle had a Pay n Pak price tag on it… around my neck of the woods Pay n Pak went out of business in the mid 80’s.

I pulled out the Cedar slats out of the closet and exposed my hoses for my starboard water tank, and my clean out. Oh and the vent for the black water. These are nasty, and will need to all be replaced, as well as the through hulls replaced or resealed at least… prolly just replace them.

And the salvage.

Wow that table is ugly!

 

[mikeracca]

It’s been a bit since I have been able to get out to the boat… fixing my truck’s transmission may have had something to do with that. But today was a good day. I got quite a bit of work done. More cleaning of course. The bilge got drained completely, then scrubbed, then filled with water again, then drained again… now it’s all clean… or as clean as it can be. Sorry no bilge pics.

I plan on removing the engine so I can clean it up and take care of the rust on the bottom of the pans, then repaint. I plan on getting it to run on my workbench before I put it back into the boat. This will also give me the opportunity to clean the engine bay as well. In order to get the engine out I need to get the counter off the engine bay. This won’t bother me much as some of the wood near the icebox is rotted and will need to be replaced. In preparation I removed the oven and the drawers to the aft and started disconnecting my sink fittings. Behind the oven was a mess, it took a couple rounds with simple green to get it clean but it came out pretty OK.

Next up is an item I found that I believe is the plug for the transducer. One of the O-Rings has broken, but I still have the other to use as a template to get another one.

So I also removed the old battery charger as well today, and I am really glad I didn’t plug my shore power in. There is some black char pieces that fell out under the unit, and it smells like burnt electronics. Curiosity will of course kill the cat in this case and I will open it up to see what fried. I have my new charger ready to go, as with a new shore power port, but I have many other projects to finish before installing those. Well that’s all for now…

 

[mikeracca]

I had to find a few buried screws to dig out and then I was able to get my counter out. I found the water feed to the foot pump was still open to the sea, but it was a bit confusing on how it is hooked up. From the through hull there is a brass spigot type valve (not a ball valve) and that goes to a tee. The tee feeds the bathroom sink and the foot pump. On the other side of the tee is a where the drain for the sink is. Sorry, I didn’t get much for pictures of this setup. The handle for the spigot fell to dust when I tried to turn it closed, but a pair of pliers worked to get the job done. The water feed to the engine was also still open, I was able to close it without it falling apart (it was the same style).

I used a huge pair of pliers and got the prop shaft to turn, and thankfully it turns fairly easy. I have to soak the flywheel/balancer in something to get the bolts free. I really don’t want to have to cut my prop shaft to get it off. I’m still in water so that would be bad.

I also didn’t get any pics of the work I did in the lazerette, but I removed parts of the heater, cleaned up some of the junk in there, discovered my propane hose was resting right no top of the heater’s main body. I didn’t get a chance to get the propane hose out, I figure I’m going to want a messenger line attached to it to assist in feeding the new line through.

So here are a couple pics of my engine with the cabinet off.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Mike, don't know if you've ever seen this idea:

http://www.impatientlycrafty.com/2012/10/04/laminate-counter-makeover-for-28-with-epoxy-contact-paper-yes-i-really-just-said-that/

 

[mikeracca]

Mike, don't know if you've ever seen this idea:

http://www.impatientlycrafty.com/2012/10/04/laminate-counter-makeover-for-28-with-epoxy-contact-paper-yes-i-really-just-said-that/

I have been considering that direction as well. My original plan was remove faux wood Formica stuff and lay down new fresh white or granite looking stuff. I plan on removing the teak and refinishing it. All my teak is a dark dirty color, I want to try and make it bright again.

The area under the pantry near the ice box is all rotten and will need to be remade. This will be coming out of the boat here soon. Whatever I do I will be matching each piece.

For the table I’m contemplating making a compass rose inlaid in the wood using oak and black walnut. Then using Envirotex or something similar to give it a deep gloss finish. I lack the required tools but I have a close friend that loves woodworking that is all for helping make this a reality. I’m prolly going to use 1/4 birch ply as the base with a couple of aluminum bars buried in between for rigidity, then the top pieces would also be about 1/4” thick to achieve the required 3/4” depth the original table has. Then oak or teak for the lip. That should be more than strong enough for sleeping on. The Compass in the middle of the table would look awesome on the wall or as a table. I still need the mounting hardware, mine has all been lost to time. I have the holes in the wall, but no hardware.

 

[Hayden Watson]

As you have discovered, the original through hull fittings for the early mk1 boats is rather suspect. The gate valve is only the beginning. The pipe that it is threaded onto is just stuck through a hole through the hull with a mound of resin and chopped strand matt gobbed on around it. The same system was used on my 1980 C25 and one day when I shut the gate valve before loading the boat onto the trailer, the pipe started turning in its hole and leaking water. After the boat was safely loaded on the trailer, I gave the valve a little wiggle and it pulled right out of the hull. Needless to say, I installed all new thru-hulls with proper marine ball valves.

 

[DArcy]

Mike, don't know if you've ever seen this idea:

http://www.impatientlycrafty.com/2012/10/04/laminate-counter-makeover-for-28-with-epoxy-contact-paper-yes-i-really-just-said-that/

A friend of mine used that on his boat and it looked really good.

 

[Stu Jackson]

A friend of mine used that on his boat and it looked really good.

Mike and DAarcy,
I actually used this method on my cousin's kitchen counters. It really works.

 

[mikeracca]

Well my refit just took a turn… A good turn. I sold Water Lilly today, so I now have the money to haul out and fix the stuff below the water line.

As for my counter tops… well they are rotted and warped so they are getting replaced. The framework seems ok, just the top that isn’t. I knew the area around the ice chest was bad, but the little counter around the pantry was black and warped too.

Looking into the possibility as well with new sinks. Since I do have to rebuild this area. Not sure yet, mine are OK but one has a missing mounting tab, and it’s one of the ones needed.

 

[jeepbluetj]

On my c-30 I had always wanted to replace the small double sinks with a single larger sink. Dunno why they used doubles anyway, one of them always ended up just being storage for cleaners and whatnot. A bar sink would fit and be much more usable. (Same beef with the new boat... rather have one larger sink than two tiny ones.)

Never got around to it before I sold the boat.

I did redo the head counter with plain white laminate (Formica). Looked good. Was planning an epoxy top for the galley because removing all the fiddles looked like hours of work. Never got around to that, either

If your plywood tops are rotten, you've undoubtedly removed the fiddles or will do so, laminate is easy then on the replacement tops.

 

[mikeracca]

On my c-30 I had always wanted to replace the small double sinks with a single larger sink. Dunno why they used doubles anyway, one of them always ended up just being storage for cleaners and whatnot. A bar sink would fit and be much more usable. (Same beef with the new boat... rather have one larger sink than two tiny ones.)

Never got around to it before I sold the boat.

I did redo the head counter with plain white laminate (Formica). Looked good. Was planning an epoxy top for the galley because removing all the fiddles looked like hours of work. Never got around to that, either

If your plywood tops are rotten, you've undoubtedly removed the fiddles or will do so, laminate is easy then on the replacement tops.

If by fiddles you are talking about the teak lip around the countertops then yes I have removed them. They all came out in good condition and I can reuse them. This is where I discovered the blackened wood delamination and warpage.

 

[BigEasy]

I have seen a trim carpenter sand the tops of existing counter tops and bond new Formica to the old Formica with contact cement. . . Looked great. Unfortunately, with deterioration of the plywood underlayment , changing the plywood top is a necessity.

 

[mikeracca]

I have seen a trim carpenter sand the tops of existing counter tops and bond new Formica to the old Formica with contact cement. . . Looked great. Unfortunately, with deterioration of the plywood underlayment , changing the plywood top is a necessity.

That was my original plan. I knew the area by the ice box was bad but the countertops looked good… till I looked underneath, and seen the black, and then where the top slides into the pantry wasn’t happy either. This makes sense as that is the area that has the most damage on the other piece. Oh well, just means more work, and hopefully a better overall outcome.

 

[Stu Jackson]

On my c-30 I had always wanted to replace the small double sinks with a single larger sink. Dunno why they used doubles anyway, one of them always ended up just being storage for cleaners and whatnot. A bar sink would fit and be much more usable. (Same beef with the new boat... rather have one larger sink than two tiny ones.)

My wife watches some HGTV shows where they renovate kitchens. When they are done, her first comments are either "Oh, good, double sinks," or "How dumb, single sink." I think she has a preference, right? So I asked her "Why?" Expecting a rather simple answer, she replied: "If I could get you to do the dishes and pots & pans more often you'd know already, you dummy. With one sink, you've already got dirty water all over everything you're trying to clean. You don't have a clean sink and a dirty sink, one to wash, one to rinse. Usually the single sinks are wide, so you use more water to get the same depth you need to soak whatever is in there. Single sinks make no sense for us trained professionals."

We have double sinks on our C34 and I love them. I can use one side to keep my coffee thermos safe when it's full and I'm sailing, and still use the other to rinse stuff out. When doing the dishes on the boat, even after spaghetti, I can minimize water use. My pots are sized to fit in the ample size of the double sinks. I like 'em. Even have them at home. If a bar sink is a choice, it means to me you're not really cooking much on board.

Your boat, your choice. [for @jviss: this means you have options]

 

[mikeracca]

Oh I’m doing the double sink thing… just not sure if I’m keeping the existing sinks or getting different ones. I plan on living onboard, so I will need a place to wash dishes.

 

[Hayden Watson]

My wife watches some HGTV shows where they renovate kitchens. When they are done, her first comments are either "Oh, good, double sinks," or "How dumb, single sink." I think she has a preference, right? So I asked her "Why?" Expecting a rather simple answer, she replied: "If I could get you to do the dishes and pots & pans more often you'd know already, you dummy. With one sink, you've already got dirty water all over everything you're trying to clean. You don't have a clean sink and a dirty sink, one to wash, one to rinse. Usually the single sinks are wide, so you use more water to get the same depth you need to soak whatever is in there. Single sinks make no sense for us trained professionals."

We have double sinks on our C34 and I love them. I can use one side to keep my coffee thermos safe when it's full and I'm sailing, and still use the other to rinse stuff out. When doing the dishes on the boat, even after spaghetti, I can minimize water use. My pots are sized to fit in the ample size of the double sinks. I like 'em. Even have them at home. If a bar sink is a choice, it means to me you're not really cooking much on board.

Your boat, your choice. [for @jviss: this means you have options]

Stu, when did your wife and my wife meet?!?!? I have heard all of that so many times. If I ever suggested removing the double sink and replacing it with a single, I would be walking the plank!

 

[jeepbluetj]

...

Your boat, your choice.

Ooh! I disagree with Stu! This is quite rare.

Indeed, it's a choice thing. SWMBO had me replace the double house sink for a large single sink. We both like it significantly better. But we also don't hand-wash much so that may be a factor.