 |
Pan Pan Page |
|
|
Pan Pan Page |
|
Important: The opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors to this page, and not those of the Catalina 380 & 390 International Association or Catalina Yachts, Inc.
It is also important to note the hull number of the boat referenced in the comments by the owners. Catalina is continually making changes to the design of the boats. Changes that were made on an older or newer boat by an owner may not be needed on your boat.
| Spreader Horizontal Position | ||
| Submitted by: Dave Peffer | 1-00 | |
| Subject: Rigging | ||
| Greetings:
The drooping spreader problem appears to be occurring in several boats, so I passed this along to Gerry Douglas at Catalina, who designed the boat. He advises that the shrouds should be seized to the spreader tips with stainless steel wire, and this should have been done when the boat was commissioned, again if re-rigged. "Down angle is not correct and loads the spreader base excessively." He further advises that trying to fix this with discontinuous rigging is "not the answer as it requires turnbuckles in all segments to compensate for stretch, unless done with rod."We would all be well advised to check that our spreaders are level, and that the shrouds have been well-fixed to the ends with wire. Gerry doesn't say so directly, but "loads the spreader base excessively" reads to me like a threat of buckling the mast. Dave Peffer Hull #20, Spindrift |
||
| Special
Letter from Catalina on Report of Rudder Weakness |
||
| Submitted by:
Patrick Turner (Edited, format only, by Jim Jaeschke) |
4-99 | |
| Subject: Hull | ||
From: Patrick Turner [Patrick@catalinayachts.com] To: C380 Owners RE: C380 From: Catalina Yachts Date: April 22, 1999 We wish to thank the owners and dealers who forwarded to us copies of the Email received from Michael Donian regarding his reports of a rudder failure on the C380. The information you sent us was appreciated because for reasons known only to him, Mr. Donian will not communicate directly with us. Many of you expressed understandable concern about your rudders after receiving the e-mail report of the failure. We delayed responding to your inquires until we receive the rudder post weldment back and could examine it and review our engineering documents and shop procedure. We are pleased to report that the rudder blade and weldment received were built to specifications and performed as designed. The weldment of the returned rudderpost was not bent and the weldment and surrounding foam were intact. The rudderpost and weldment are approximately 55% of the blade depth, which is approximately 39", not the 29" reported. The intent of the rudder design and construction is to "Fail Safe" by allowing the lower portion of the rudder blade to break away upon severe impact with a solid object. This protects the post from bending which could jam the blade against the hull, making the boat unsteerable or damaging the rudder tube to hull connection causing a loss of water tight integrity. It is our belief that at some time, during or prior to the incident described by Mr. Donian, the rudder blade was damaged by impact, which weakened the blade sufficiently to cause the failure described in the Email. This blade did not break due to sailing loads. The broken blade did have sufficient area to allow the boat to safely complete the remaining twenty plus miles of the trip. The rudder design is similar to over 1,000 other Catalina's in service and no similar incidents have been reported. Many other builders use similar designs. The Safety of Catalina owners is very important were any reasons to doubt the integrity of the rudder we would take the initiative in addressing it. We want Catalina owners to have confidence necessary to enjoy your boats to the fullest. Thank you for your patience and allowing us to present the facts. Good Sailing Catalina Yachts |
||
| Auto Helm 6000 Auto Pilot Problems | ||
| Submitted by: Scott Brear (Edited by Jim Jaeschke) | Hull # 31 | 1-99 |
| Subject: Elecrical | ||
Scott has reported that his autopilot went into a mode where it was asking for the code to unlock it. Scott has never used the lock mode. He tried several basic codes, 0000, 9999, but with no success. The control/display did not function, but he found that the remote control would still work. He called Autohelm and was told that he had to send his control/display and course computer into Autohelm for software revisions. There is no other way to recover from this fault in the control/display. His course computer was on revision 8 and was updated to 10. The 18 month old control/display was updated from revision 2 to 11. These revisions fixed several other problems as well. |
||
| Westerbeke 42B Engine Notification | ||
| Submitted by:
Westerbeke, Tom Sutherland |
Hull # | 1-99 |
| Subject: Engine | ||
Westerbeke has sent a letter to Catalina 380 owners of record recommending that modifications be made to the exhaust and cooling systems of their boats. These important modifications will result in the engine running cooler and providing reliable service. If you own a Catalina 380 and have not received this letter, please contact as soon as possible Joe Joyce, service manager or Russ Hagan, assistant service manager. The phone number of Westerbeke is (508) 588-7700. Russ also has an email address of russh@ziplink.net. |
||
| Fuel Tank Size | ||
| Submitted by: Jim Jaeschke & Many Others | Hull # 73 | 10-98 |
| Subject: Propulsion Systems | ||
| The
fuel tank size is quoted in the original manuals as being 30 gallons. The fuel
tank's name plate shows that it is a 26 gallon tank. webmaster's Note: Additional information can be found on the Engine & Propeller Page |
||
| Sea Water Hose Wear | ||
| Submitted by: Scott Brear | Hull #31 | 5-98 |
| Subject: Propulsion Systems | ||
| I was poking around my engine this past weekend looking for a way to mount my new Ferris 125 amp alternator. I was bothered to notice that the sea water hose was being chaffed by the engine stop control. They were close enough to allow for vibration to wear the hose. This is at the very end of the stop cable. The wear was significant. I would have gone another few months at the present rate before holing it completely. This would have either caused a slow manageable leak into the engine pan, or a burst. I do not want to think about it, but this is a damn good reason to keep all through hulls shut when not attending to the boat. | ||
| Middle Aft Cockpit Seat Stability | ||
| Submitted By: Jim Jaeschke | Hull #73 | 5-98 |
| Subject: Hull | ||
| I found out the hard way that middle stern section cockpit seat latches do not latch the seat securely on Electra. I stepped on the back of the seat and managed to launch it out into the lake while I fell onto the swim platform. I am correcting this design with one that will securely lock the seat in place and also make it very visible that it is locked. This is accomplished by making aluminum J hooks that are attached to the inside of the seat such that they will hook under the front of the bar that the seat rests on. Another section of bar was added at the back of the seat to reduce the potential for pivoting. I was lucky that this occurred in the slip and not out in the lake. | ||
| Boom Vang Pivot | ||
| Submitted by: Dave Peffer | Hull #20 | 5-98 |
| Subject: Rigging | ||
| The pivot at the mast end of the vang turns on a pin held in place by only a cotter pin through the center. Nothing else holds it in place, and the cotter pin is liable to shear, dropping the pivot pin completely out of the fitting and releasing the vang from the mast. Pending a ‘fix’ for this problem, please check the cotter pin for wear and replace it at least once each season. | ||
Home - Tech Page - Membership - Pan Pan - Photos
06/11/05 Revised
Sailors have passed this way since 11/1/98