Don, In your book you mention that the Catalina 30 outhaul is a poor design and that you've changed it on your boat. I find that I can't seem to get any adjustment out of my outhaul ('93 Cat30) either. Is this due mainly to the standard foot main (should I convert my main to a loose foot) or due to the internal outhaul mechanism? Thanks for your help, Jim
Outhaul adjustments
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C30 Outhaul
Jim: Here's part of the problem I (and just about every other Catalina owner) has with the outhaul system on the C30. First of all it is chessy. There is a block system with a swivel inside the boom and something happens to this system over time. I don't know actually what happens to it but just about every older C30 I've been on the outhaul is stuck in one spot. That is a problem because the outhaul is one of the most important mainsail sail trim controls. In fact, it is the main control for draft depth (belly). My boat was a C30 1981 and to get inside the boom it is near impossable to get the boom end caps off without breaking one of them. They are made of cheap pot metal. There is a bit of a funny story that goes with my outhaul repair. One day I had just had it with the outhaul and decided to remove the boom and bring it home to work on it. There was one problem - I had my wifes new Toyota Camry. I thought why let that stand in my way so I took off the boom. You can't belive how heavy that sucker is. My slip was 70 from the end so it was a long walk to the parking lot. Try as I would I could not jamb that boom in her car so I had to lug it all the way back to the boat. Later I got my pickup and took it home that way. At home I first attacked the screws all of which stripped out. I then drilled them out but could not get the caps off so I decided to forget it and just painted the boom. Another problem with the system, even if it worked,is the poorly designed slug car. The pulling motion of the outhaul line, which is downward, causes the car to dig into the boom adding to the difficulty of adjustment. My way around the problem was to install 2 small Harken triple blocks and make it an external sytem. It works great and there is plenty of mechanical advantage. So to answer your question, I would convert to the external system. It will take you longer to go to West Marine to buy the stuff than it will take to install it. I would not invest in a loose footed main. If I had a loose footed main, I would use a system developed by my friend Max munger(sec't of C30 National). What he did with his loose footed main was add a short track at the end of the boom and had Garhauer build him a car for the track. You can't use that system with a bolt rope sail with out doing some sail surgery to get the clew to clear the track.
Jim: Here's part of the problem I (and just about every other Catalina owner) has with the outhaul system on the C30. First of all it is chessy. There is a block system with a swivel inside the boom and something happens to this system over time. I don't know actually what happens to it but just about every older C30 I've been on the outhaul is stuck in one spot. That is a problem because the outhaul is one of the most important mainsail sail trim controls. In fact, it is the main control for draft depth (belly). My boat was a C30 1981 and to get inside the boom it is near impossable to get the boom end caps off without breaking one of them. They are made of cheap pot metal. There is a bit of a funny story that goes with my outhaul repair. One day I had just had it with the outhaul and decided to remove the boom and bring it home to work on it. There was one problem - I had my wifes new Toyota Camry. I thought why let that stand in my way so I took off the boom. You can't belive how heavy that sucker is. My slip was 70 from the end so it was a long walk to the parking lot. Try as I would I could not jamb that boom in her car so I had to lug it all the way back to the boat. Later I got my pickup and took it home that way. At home I first attacked the screws all of which stripped out. I then drilled them out but could not get the caps off so I decided to forget it and just painted the boom. Another problem with the system, even if it worked,is the poorly designed slug car. The pulling motion of the outhaul line, which is downward, causes the car to dig into the boom adding to the difficulty of adjustment. My way around the problem was to install 2 small Harken triple blocks and make it an external sytem. It works great and there is plenty of mechanical advantage. So to answer your question, I would convert to the external system. It will take you longer to go to West Marine to buy the stuff than it will take to install it. I would not invest in a loose footed main. If I had a loose footed main, I would use a system developed by my friend Max munger(sec't of C30 National). What he did with his loose footed main was add a short track at the end of the boom and had Garhauer build him a car for the track. You can't use that system with a bolt rope sail with out doing some sail surgery to get the clew to clear the track.
Thanks Don
Sounds like what I'm facing as well. I just never can seem to get any movement with the outhaul. Looks like I'll be adding this upgrade to my list for this year. Thanks for your help. Jim
Sounds like what I'm facing as well. I just never can seem to get any movement with the outhaul. Looks like I'll be adding this upgrade to my list for this year. Thanks for your help. Jim
Outhaul
Jim: The swivel is jambed. If you want to see a picture of my external setup drop me a line at yankee3223@juno.com. I think Rick MacDonald published the picture once for me but I can't find it in the archives. This modification is one of the cheapest mods you can make - cost about $50 and will take about 15 minutes to hook up. Most every other thing you do to a boat start at a minimum of $100!!
Jim: The swivel is jambed. If you want to see a picture of my external setup drop me a line at yankee3223@juno.com. I think Rick MacDonald published the picture once for me but I can't find it in the archives. This modification is one of the cheapest mods you can make - cost about $50 and will take about 15 minutes to hook up. Most every other thing you do to a boat start at a minimum of $100!!
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