Catalina smile, or more?

[kayakerChuck]

This is the school boat I use for teaching. It's a 1984 Catalina 30. She's been in fresh water her entire life, and has gotten very, very little maintenance.

I think I'm looking at a mild version of the Catalina "smile", but the first pic makes me nervous. The vertical crack and the 2 horizontal cracks don't look like the pics I've found on the web.

Does anything here look like it needs immediate attention or anything beyond a simple "grind & fill"?

(It's a school boat. She's been grounded many times in sand or mud.)

[michaeld]

Next haul out have the keel bolts tightened. Grind out the crevices, fill and finish. Keep an eye on it. It's highly unlikely that the keel will fall off without warning.

[Cheechako]

My understanding is the original 'Catalina Smile' was a crescent shaped cracking in the hull just forward and aft of the keel, from flexing the hull with the keel lever arm. Thus the name "smile". If you hit hard, the rear of the keel stub at the hull transition goes up into the hull and the forward of course pulls the hull down. Possibly from grounding or hitting a rock etc.

Now days "Cataline Smile" seems to be used regarding any crack near or around the keel.

Bottom line is probably with next haul out grind deep enough to see what's going on, especially with anything weeping.

[psk125]

Some of those cracks could also be layers of paint coming unstuck underneath the outermost one. Perhaps time to have a look-see, as @Cheechako suggests.

[bil56]

it's time to lay it all bare, and check ...

(counselors are not payers)

[kayakerChuck]

30 seconds with my pocket knife reveled this:


She's been on the hard for about 6 weeks, and that crack is still leaking. I usually have alcohol in my truck, but not today. I did have some orange windshield washer fluid, so I poured some in the bilge. It took a few minutes before it started leaking out.

Looking at the keep step, it's been abused. There are several holes. Apparently they mounted something at some time. They were never sealed. There are many more than pictured. Pushing a wire into the holes & probing for wood core finds only mush.


The keel bolts are loose, the washers have sunk into the 'glass, and the glass has concentric cracks around some of the bolts. I'll cut out the rotten core and repair. Thankfully, Catalina has a service bulletin on this repair.

The leaking seams to be at the aft keel bolt- the one buried under the motor. The motor will need to come out. The M25 motor only has about 2,000 hours on it, but it has generally not had decent care. We'll have a local mechanic give us an opinion, but we are leaning strongly towards having it rebuilt or repowering.

Yes, the repairs will approximately equal the value of the boat. (Again.) I've been pushing for a new(er) boat, but it won't happen. We're in Detroit, and have classes starting mid-May. It's unlikely that we can find a suitable replacement, have her ready for charter inspection, and in service by May.

[fox9988]

My Catalina has a smile that looks like your second picture. I torqued the keel bolts until the washers started pulling into the fiberglass (previous screw holes in the bilge like yours), and headed for the Caribbean.

[Tsuru]

Sometime in 1988 Catalina changed the laminate schedule under the keel on the Catalina 30. Prior to 1988 they used plywood to stiffen under the keel bolts (between the laminates) to add strength. This all worked out pretty well until a little moisture passed by the keel bolts saturating the ply causing it to break down. As the ply failed the keel bolts sunk into the laminate and the keel started to move around. I believe the recommended repair is to cut out the ply and re-glass the area.
To be transparent this information came from memory investigating a Catalina 30 that was being purchased by a friend many years ago. At that time I called Catalina and they were very helpful.
There is probably a Catalina 30 owners site that can provide more specific repair advice.
I’m only bringing this up because simply tightening the keel bolts may not provide a repair.

[kayakerChuck]

Tsuru-

Your memory works very well and that is exactly what is happening. Here are the links to the Catalina bulletins:

Keel stub repair:
https://www.catalinadirect.com/image...CEF53EAF9D52A3


"Smile" repair:
https://www.catalinadirect.com/image...77BEC8C3E7CFEB

I'll cut out the rot and fiberglass as recommended.

This boat is in commercial service & will be fixed "by the book". I'll document things as we go.

The current headache is how to get the motor from the boat and into a truck. The boat is on the hard, packed in pretty close to her neighbors. The back is over grass in an area that's inaccessible to lifts or equipment. The yard does not have a forklift big enough to reach from the front. They are closed for the holidays. I'll need them to move the boat, or (hopefully!) to use the travel lift to pull the motor. A 30,000 lb lift is overkill for a 300 lb motor, but I think that's the only piece of equipment they have that can get where it needs to be. I can build a gantry, but by the time I'm done it will probably be smarter to pay the yard a few hundred dollars to use the big lift.

I'm used to working in a different yard run by long time friends. I'm spoiled by having easy access to BIG forklifts and skilled operators. Just to tease me, I can see my friend's marina from this boat. It's on the wrong side of a big river.

Boats are fun.