Everyone makes mistakes, myself included of course. But I think there's more to giving advice then just "call the manufacture." As far as Hurth they are no longer in business, & ZF is in the business of selling you a new transmission, not servicing the old one. I frankly don't expect every manufacture to be obligated to help me with products of a boat that are over 30 years old. While Catalina itself is obviously still in business, their business is to sell new boats, not just service the old ones, or else they would go out of business. Unfortunate for them that our boats are just so damn durable, as classic plastic seams to last forever. But a lot of folks have already tried calling the manufacture, & other then Catalina, many have gone out of business, as boat building is a fickle business that is of course, affected by the economy. If they can't get an answer from the manufacture, that is probably why there are asking advice from fellow sailors, that have hopefully already been through their predicament, & can offer constructive advice, based on direct experience. I have had many boats over my sailing life such as O'Day and S 2, that while are good boats, are no longer manufactured, & when it comes to repairing can be daunting to repair, when you can't call Catalina.