The cockpit table braces are Mobella part# MT-05-330-7, available from
www.southco.com for $19.95 each. To order, you need to telephone them at
321-638-4990.
The bridge clearance for my tall rig is 61′ 3″. My 380 specs say the standard rig is 4′ shorter than the tall rig. My clearance also includes a 2′ 7″ for a VHF antenna. So if have a typical sailboat VHF antenna. Your bridge clearance should be about 57′ 3″. If don’t have a VHF antenna then your wind vane is the tallest point and you can subtract another foot for a clearance of 56′ 3″. By the way I used 5′ 9″ for my water line to base of the mast measurement. I have the Charleston Spar conventional mast. All these dimensions were taken with the boat hauled and the mast unstepped.
Paul McManus
Sea Sea Rider C380 #185 Port Orchard, WA
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I’ll chime in here as I have been doing a lot of research to upgrade my A/H. This is all Raymarine info, as I have no experience or knowledge on Furuno units.
I have a 1999 C380 with (factory?) installed ST6000 and a Type I linear drive (electric ball-screw type ram drive) mounted under the transom step and connected to an Edson arm (this part is readily available from Edson, and is specifically designed for linear drive units).
The ST6000 is an old unit with no other unit other than the control head, where all electrical connections are made. It does not handle heavy seas very well at all, and forget quartering seas. It will steer to a waypoint (if properly connected to a GPS), or a wind angle, as well as a simple compass course. It is a basic A/H.
The last (now retired)
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A recent exchange on the Yahoo list where one of our owners was venturing into unknown territory (for him) prompted me to raise this subject. We sailors in general tend to be a pretty independent lot. We also tend to be a bit “frugal,” so we look to get a lot of “bang” for the boating buck – especially versus our powerboat friends. For the price of a small power cruiser with a single V-berth we get a luxurious 38 foot sail boat with two sleeping cabins, a nice galley and head. Plus we benefit from free wind so our fuel bills are pretty minimal.
This frugalness tends to carry over into maintenance and upgrades to our boats. As a result, we are largely do-it-yourselfers, and hate the thought of calling in someone from the boatyard to do work for us.
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Many of us have struggled with what to do with the stock C380 helm seat insert. It is too low to sit on while steering the boat, the rubber hasps do not hold the insert securely enough (just step on the rear lip to see what I mean), and it is cumbersome to handle when you want to access the stern step. Several skippers have considered the “Helmseat” advertised in Mainsheet. Bob Bierly, our Association Secretary/Treasurer and who skippers C’mon Wind, shares his solution:
Attached are a couple photos of my helm chair. Photo 1 – “The Chair” shows my complete seat assembly in place. Photo 2 – “Chairbase” shows the wooden box (or bridge) I built to replace the factory provided fiberglass seat insert behind the helm, to which is mounted a simple fishing seat. The bridge also allows fore and aft
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When I purchased my 1999 C-380 in 2008, the steering was very tight. I later determined someone had greased the lower rudder bearing with petroleum-based grease, which is very detrimental to Marelon, the material from which the bearings are made. Petroleum grease causes Marelon to swell, which caused the bearing to contract on the rudder post. My only option was to replace at the minimum the lower bearing. What follows is what I learned in the process, and how I did the replacement. The notation [WP] refers to information I received from Warren Pandy at Catalina inLargowhen he helped me determine the problem and what I needed to know to fix it…thanksWarren!
First off, there are two bearings on C380’s and C387’s, upper and lower, plus a mid-shaft packing gland. Here are some specifics about each:
[Editor’s Note – See Catalina
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I am very pleased to be taking over as Technical Editor for the C380/387/390 Association. I had considered taking the similar position back when I owned my C34, but work and other commitments prevented doing so. Being “semi” retired now allows time to take on other interests. I’ve done a lot of “hands on” work on my Catalina 22, 34 and 380 over the last 25 years (with an unmentionable “H” boat in there too). Plus I have read, and maintain a file of, countless technical articles from various sailing and boating magazines over the years. So I hope I can bring my knowledge to bear on your problems.
Warren has been doing a wonderful job as Technical Editor and I thank him for his service to the Association. Even though he is “retiring” as Technical Editor, he remains active in the Yahoo list so we will
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Sometime in 2000 or 2001, the Catalina 380 Mainsheet Tech Editor did the unthinkable: he purchased a different boat!! This apparently shocked me into raising my hand when the Commodore asked for a replacement editor. And so began my tenure, starting with one big article on our through-hull valves – this in the August 2001 issue.
Since then, I’ve been amply rewarded with plenty of help including all sorts of articles about upgrading our boats. Most of this came through our very active email chat group, formerly on Sailnet, now sponsored by Yahoo. There have also been many more technical articles – a few of these affecting boat – and also personal safety. I’d like to emphasize the safety aspect, encouraging all of you unhesitatingly bring up any related situation or aspect of our boats.
But it’s time to give another the opportunity, as Admiral Jeanne has
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These are a couple ideas from Bob Bierly who captains CMON WIND, C380 #255 out of Reedville, VA.
Forward Shore Power Inlet
All C380’s came with a 120 volt shore power inlet, usually mounted on the transom on the starboard side. This is not a convenient place to run dock power to when traveling, particularly if you prefer to dock bow first into a slip. To simplify this, I installed a 30 amp shore power inlet in the anchor locker facing forward in the vertical fiberglass face under the windlass controls. Photo #1 shows the location.
Running the #10 by 3-wire 120v cable back to the electrical panel was simple because that area behind the wooden panel at the forward end of the vee berth is directly open to the molded chase along both sides of the boat. Just run the new cable along the starboard
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Repair of the C-380 Cockpit Table Leaf Support Bracket
by Steve Riddle
Mainsheet, August 200-9
The cockpit table leaf support on the C-380 will eventually separate due to chafing of the internal cord that connects the two support tubes. The cord is also spring loaded: (1) to make it easy to snap the two support pieces together one handed and (2) to keep the two support pieces snugly together if someone bumps the underside of the table leaf. Because the male and female tips are crimped into the body of the support tubes, replacing a broken cord is not normally possible since the cord ends are located several inches down inside the support tubes. Thus, the only apparent option when the cord chafes through has been to buy a replacement support from Catalina.
Yes, if your cord has broken, you can continue to use the support, albeit with some difficultly
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