The Catalina Smile

[Bob]

Can anyone give me a detailed description on repairing the infamous Catalina smile Tx. in advance!!!

 

[Bob]

Suggestion from my surveyer

I recently bought a '79 Catalina 30. There was a small 1/4" gap between the lead and fiberglass near the leading edge. My surveyer felt it was not a concern as long as the keel bolts held. He recommended that I clean it out and use a high grade caulking compound to fill the gap. The seam will flex and so should the caulk.Good luck

 

[Ron F.]

smile fix

I purchased a C-27 last fall and the boat came with the "Catalina Smile". Also, per my surveyor, the fix was to scrape out the layers of paint around the "crack" and to form a vee groove along the separation. I used "Marine-Tex" which is a two part structural epoxy to fill in the crack and the vee groove. This material, when cured is sandable, so I was able to fill in and feather is to match the surrounding area. It was a little messy at first but workable. After sanding, I bottom painted over it. I just took the boat out of the water this past week and inspected for the return of the SMILE... there wan't any. The repair job worked. As far as the comment made about letting the keel "flex"... it doesn't seem correct to me. Load that can cause the keel to move relative to the keel stub sound like trouble.

 

[Jeff Walker]

Catalina technical advice on-line

Bob,I asked the question to Catalina and they sent me a drawing showing the proper repair and materials. You grind down the joint and fiberglass in a 6" strip. I tried to put the PDF file in the photo section but it didn't work. Give me your e-mail and I can send it to you directly.Jeff