New Sailor with a few questions!

Stu Jackson · Oct 30, 2011

Sean, welcome and congrats on your new boat.

A couple of resources for you:

www.catalina30.com Lots of spreader info.

Our C34 Tech wiki, has a lot of information about boat systems that are similar to yours, especially if you have an M25 engine: http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

mortyd · Oct 30, 2011

take care of the spreaders, then get some life vests and take professional lessons with dirty sails. a good teacher should be able to advise you about the state of your sails without trying to sell you anything. a local sail maker once told my genoa was shot and the next year told me the same sail was just fine.

bustedrudder · Oct 30, 2011

I would be more concerned to make sure the spreaders are structurally sound. Any failure there and the sail is the least of your problem.
A bossuns chair will help you figure that out

This article may help on sail maintenance:
http://www.fxsails.com/sailcarearticle.php

Bad Obsession · Oct 30, 2011

Sails are very expensive. If they are dirty and ugly so be it, the spreaders can cause a demasting if they fail. If the sails fail you can simply turn on the engine.

The sails may be stained. If so there really isn't much you can do with it. New sails for a Catalina 30 will probably run out around $4000.

Another option for sails is used sails. You can check bacon and associates and other places for them. Ebay will sometimes have them as well.

This is a good place to ask questions and there is a wealth of knowledge. Congrats on your new boat. Post plenty of pictures and questions!

jimmcgee · Oct 30, 2011

Sean,
New spreaders aren't cheap but if one of the old ones fails it will bring down the rig.

Here's a complete retrofit kit from Catalina Direct
Aluminum Spreader Retrofit Kit C-30 $575
http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=1416

and an old thread on this forum about the subject
http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=20344

That thread references a kit from Catalina and a kit from JSI. I did a quick Google on JSI and it appears they're out of business.

I think you can still get patterns from Catalina if you want to make wooden spreaders. A couple of online posts referenced this but they were a few years old.

Best of luck with your boat,
Jim

mortyd · Oct 30, 2011

i suggest before anybody on this forum buys something from catalina direct, they try catalina itself; i have found the prices lower and the parts original quality.

rbmcintire · Oct 30, 2011

Welcome and congratulations. This is an excellent place to find info on your boat. I was in your similar position not long ago and I've chosen to work on structural improvements and engine upgrades while I learn the sailing. My sails are the original 1984's and certainly need replacing, but I figured I wouldn't appreciate the difference if I replaced them straight off. I just washed them in the backyard this past spring after soaking them a few days in a big plastic barrel of water and Woolite. Just take a 2 x 4 and stir it around a bit. I then had them looked over at a loft for minor repairs and reapplying a few numbers, (about $130) but they're just fine for us at this point.

Rob

Anonymous 121765 · Oct 31, 2011

PJ,
Welcome aboard pal. There is alot of good advice from people on this site.

Remember sails are a "throw-away" item when owning a new boat. Most boats for sale have been decided on for a year or more to sell by the owner. many times when an owner decides to sell it's because of money. After his decision, not much upkeep is done until he sells.

If you have looked at alot of boats, I'll bet you came away dissapointed. This is normal and a well cared boat stands out.

Look at your sails closely. Do you see loose threads or worn edges? Does the sails have a general stiffness as opposed to to feeling soft/thin? Do you have staining or green mildew stains?

A well made main can run you $2500.00, so it is an investment. It's no fun having a panel tear as the conditions are probably not the best, but it happens. I had Rolley Tasker make my 155 genny recently. They have a loft in Singapore but I saved $600.00 and they made me a nice sail. You can do it online, but have someone with you who KNOWS sails when you order so you know exactly what you're getting.

I had wood spreaders that looked beautiful from the deck. The top was rotted so I had JSI make me all-aluminum spreaders and they are beautiful & heavy duty. They're price back then was very affordable.

Just make sure you always do your due diligence before you have any service of purchase. The boating industry can be a wild west show....

CR

Barnacle Bill · Oct 31, 2011

The spreaders most likely were made from Stika Spruce, but perhaps the Catalina forums will prove me wrong. If they are in good shape, then varnish them up and keep using them. If rotten, make new ones out of wood, if you are handy enough), or purchase aluminum replacements, but then you will have to retrofit new spreader roots, etc.
Sails are the horsepower of your boat. If they are old and blown out, they will still work, but not very efficiently in comparison to new sails. Like an old automobile, it will get your around the block, but a new car is zippy and excellerates quicker and more efficiently (and looks better too). You can clean sails, but that will not change the shape or improve performance. If your sail material is in good condition (not sun degraded, etc.), then you might want to bring them in to a sail maker and get an opinion if they are worth recutting, which will improve performance without the price of a new sail. If you don't care about performance and just want clean looking sails, then clean them. There is a company you can send sails to for refurbishing and they will come back looking like new, but the shape is still the same. If they are blown out (shape is gone), then cleaning will not help. Dacron sail material, will last a long time, but the shape that the sailmaker puts in when new, does not. Other more exotic materials hold the shape longer, but the material might not last as long as dacron. A racer is interested in sail shape lasting. A cruiser might be more interested in the sail holding up, but is not concerned if it is efficient or not. There is no question that a boat sails better with new sails. But, it is all what is important to you and your budget.

inarathree · Oct 31, 2011

JSI = newjsi.com

They are very much in business. They make custom sails, cushions, and rigging. They are based out of St Petersburg, Fl. They have been helpful with everything I have brought them - sunfish mast, Hobie mast and rigging, cushions and sails for my Hunter 22, rigging for a Catalona 27, 30, and 36, as well as some larger racing boats I have been on. Everyone there sails, a boat of some size so they know their business.

I know I sound like an add, but they have been helpful to me.

Hippie Sailor · Nov 1, 2011

Hi Sean,

Sounds like we are on similar budgets. If your sails are merely dirty as mine were ("rust", dirt from wasps and some mildew) a large plastic garbage can with water and some dilute OxyClean can work miracles. "Professional" sail cleaning often gets your sails really clean but seems to change the feel of the material, so whatever they use is harsh enough to affect the fibers. I'm pretty happy with my mostly clean sails that still feel "normal" to the touch, and now, having scrubbed every square inch, I know exactly what stitches are worn, where that little fray is, how the reefing points are set in, etc.

Doing things yourself, and learning how it's done, is the way of many sailors, and can make you a better sailor. If I hired out everything on my boat that needed to be done I would be broke. Also, if I hired out everything that needed to be done I would have missed out on many small details that have led to a greater understanding of the systems on my boat. Working on my boat myself has formed something of a metaphysical bond between myself and the boat. I know it's just a machine, but it is a machine that I am now in tune with, and sometimes it almost seems like it speaks to me. Hope that makes some sense. I'm not trying to go all Shirley Mclain here, but there is something to it.

mortyd · Nov 1, 2011

why are so many of you acting as if catalina is out of business like pearson or cal? the first place i suggest one go with a technical question is catalina; they've always been professiona with me.

shipwreck66 · Nov 3, 2011

Hang around the racing fanatics if you are looking for cheap sails. Some of those bozos will buy a new set and if they race poorly will blame the sails and get another fancy set. that's why you sometimes see these boats with 4 mains, 5 genoas, 4 jibs, and a couple spinnakers, all in bags, all nice and crisp. Apologies to anyone who just recognized their own boat described.

pencema · Dec 9, 2011

If the spreaders are wood, they're probably original. That's 33 years old. I made replacements for my 75 this summer out of sitka spruce, epoxy-coated and painted with white urethane. Cost was under $200 for all materials. Got the plans from Catalina (not Catalina Direct). No aluminum direct replacements were available for the earliest boats (different mount configuration from later ones).

jim paris · Dec 14, 2011

Sean,
Good choice of boat. I have a 79 Catalina 30. I'm refitting the boat now in a boat yard in Punta Gorda, FL. The mast is down and the wood spreaders looked very bad and I was going to make new ones. After sanding them down I was happy to see that they were in very good condition. I have installed new wire, LED lights, RG8U, halliards, steps and I am now refinishing spreaders and hope to step the mast Monday.
Good Luck with your boat.
jim

Twice Around · Dec 19, 2011

The real issue with wood spreaders is as you are looking up at them from the deck you are seeing the GOOD side.

If it was me, I'd get aluminum..the rig on my boat came down in the mid 80's, so I was lucky and the P.O. got alum. spreaders with the new rig.

Bluetangent · Mar 12, 2012

wood or aluminum spreaders

My original spreaders are shot (C30 1982) Im wondering whether to go for the aluminum spreaders at $585 or replace with wood (basically free) - Does the lighter weght and better aerodynamics of the alumnium justify the cost>? love to ehar anyones opinion on this

PS I race PHRF semi serious, not cutthroat or I wouldnt be asking.

Bluetangent in Massachusetts (see y'all at the Figawi!)

Bad Obsession · Mar 12, 2012

Trust me....replace with Aluminum.

AERORAM · Mar 16, 2012

I have original wood on hull #1975, built 1982. If yours look ratty. Chk for dry rot.Especially around the fasteners. If they are solid refinish them with good epoxy paint and they should last. Key is good paint and check them yearly. save the money for beer for the race crew.