New to Cat's...used to the furry ones though!

[Alan]

I recently purchased a 1970 22' Catalina for refurbishing at a remarkably cheap price (the amount would astound you). I have been working on it for approx. 2-3 months with a lot of personal sweat equity and obvious aggravation,expense, and satisfaction. Now I am close to baptizing "my baby" in the water and I have a few questions of a "newbie" to this class.1. No bilge pump, drain plug. (I must be stupid but I think I need a manual pump will be needed. Obviously, I'm a newbie to older boats.)2. No mass light plug. (There's lights/wiring but no plug for the mast. Again I assume I'll need to upgrade this as well since the running lights work but mast doesn't have wiring harness.)3. Swing keel (There's no crank to raise/lower the keel so should I assume it's a truly free swing keel? There is a bolt to lock it down however.)4. Towing weight. (The title registers at 3000lbs total w/trailer...is this correct?) My dear wife is scared to death that our new SUV cannot handle this weight although it's capacity is 1 1/2 tons.5. The only fixed motor mount! (I've found a lot of parts at the local hardward store for most things however, does anyone have a home built idea regarding lowering a fixed motor mount for a standard OB motor? $250+ for an fully adjustable mount is just a little too high but if necessary, I'll have to eat the cost. God, the expense goes on and on...hehehe.)Thanks for your information....hope you find a strong windward sail!

 

[chris]

I've been there

Alan: As far as the swing keel goes, I'm not sure what model boat you have but unless it's a fixed keel you've got to crank that 550 lb keel up into the trunk of the hull or you can't trailor it. Moreover, you have to crank it down into the water. Are you sure ther's no crank? How bout a cable? Anyway, don't worry about your trailoring weight with your SUV. I towed my 3000lb c-22 120 miles from San Diego Ca. with a Toyota pick up (4 cylinder, 22R engine!) Wouldn't advise it normally but the boat trailors very well for its weight.

 

[John renfro]

keel

hello alan, no winch handle Leeds me to ask about the keel system itself. Is the winch there?, is the cable hooked up?, is the cable hose ( about a foot long, looks like an automobile radiator hose, boat will sink with out it )installed?, is the " turning ball " ( looks like a bronze ping pong ball ) in place in the cable through hull?, if it is, does the cable run on the aft side of the ball?john

 

[Butch]

oh ya!

Alan,Oh YA BABY! What fun! To start off, always have a manual bilge pump, no matter if the boat has an electric one-nice back up! As for the keel, if it ain't got a cable running just aft of the companion way there are two reasons 1) the cable is missing 2)it's a fixed keel. Has the boat been out of the water easy answer for #2! For #1 installing a cable is pretty easy if you are the handy kind of a guy- been to catalina direct web page- get the book!MAst lights, I had to install it on my boat too. Easy, drop the mast, have light waiting, I used my fish tape for the wiring,took about one hour from dropping to raising the mast. If you need ore help, just drop another post and give your email address, oh ya one last thing, have had my 22 trailored by a 88 dakota since I have had the boat five yrs now, your suv= no problems even if it isn't equiped with the tow package, tell wife to take deepbreath.

 

[Scott]

Great times

Alan,If you noticed that everyone was worried about the swing keel - no winch is a bad thing. Like John pointed out, if you have a swing keel, but do not have a properly assembled winch assembly, you will really need that bilge pump because that baby is going to sink! I am a cheap Cat 22, weekend project kind of guy myself. Did a lot of work last spring and have so far made it through the summer season with the boat still floating. Have an entirely new list of projects awaiting this winter. I do not have a bilge pump though I could not live with the thought of not at least having a portable, manual pump. I imagine that, at seven gallons a minute, I've got about about 35 gallons in me before it is time to relax the arm and step into the water. I leave my boat in the water all summer and have never had even a moist bilge, except for the Coke I spilled - which I check frequently given the amount of bottom work I did last winter. I ended bringing a plug up through the deck with next to the mast step - plenty of goop and silicone to seal it - and have the female portion of the mast coming down from the mast head. Unplug it to lower the mast, plug it in once the mast is raised. There should be plenty of room on the running light circuit to add the extra amps - just check the fuze and wire ratings...SJK SENDS

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the info...

Thanks for the info...we're getting this puppy wet Aug. 15th. I found the keel winch thank you, but I still can find no bilge or drain for the hull. In any case, I left it at the marina for launch and berthing just to be on the safe side. Once again, thanks for your help. Good sailing!