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| The Owners' Corner |
1989 Catalac update written for the Bobcat and Catalac Association by John Lack
Your Honorable Secretary has a printable
short fail for this month's letter - so who should walk past, the door when
pressure was on but myself ! The timing is totally inappropriate as this is our
busiest time, coupled with my ineptitude towards written work, as many of you
will have encountered, but I wi11 do as I am told - after all, it may prejudice
a babysit one evening!
It has always been very difficult for me to
write to the association members via the letter without being seen to promote
the services I have to offer. However, this time I intend to be blatant with
that abuse, especially as the space is non-committed.
By ordinary class association standards, the
B.C.C.A. is very supportive and strong in voice when compared with others -
this, I am sure is, as many of you have already stated ad inf initum, due to the
"family" atmosphere created and obvious strong ties with the innovators of the
product. I too, although being a member of the family, stood with you on the bye
line, watching this grow. Obviously, I and my business benefitted from that
association and I would be hard pushed to deny it, but I trust that your
dealings with me have* proved beneficial to you as a Bobcat or Catalac owner.
Father and Mother, having created their
"ultimate" cruising vehicle, many of you now ask me .... are you going to?......
the response is still -How can I , we haven't yet finished repairing your
existing one! However, I am sorely tempted at times.
I digress and find myself using all that free
space! I feel it is extremely important for the
Association to continue that which has been
started, especially as, believe It or not, that strength enhances the value of
your craft.
We are all aware that the demise of the
various Catalac builders to date has been disruptive to the supply of spares and
advice and each time I have tried to fill that void where possible. I intend, if
you so wish, to continue to write with my comments, from experience gained
whilst working on the two classes - however, I do need your support and contact
- to be able to collate and pass on this information.
And now, to the absolute abuse. - Whilst I
supply many of you with class-associated spares, from which the association
funds benefit to some extent, I intend to offer a full supply service to you all
and will, in next month's newsletter, draw-up reference sheets, detailing
component items available. However, I will only do this if I hear from at least
30 of you, as an indication of the general concensus of opinion - as I can only
carry this abuse so far. If the response is not forthcoming, I will assume
either disinterest or a feeling that the Newsletter should not be used in this
way.
With the advertising put aside, may I
tediously repeat some earlier comments, hopefully to your benefit . These are
based on the season, i.e. The Relaunch.
1 . Have you bought the right size of
Marigold gloves for your wife to do the antifouling whilst you discuss the
merits of the latest Sat.Nav coupled with the new in-mast furling gear, which
might interface with the old mechanical log with the owner of the boat two along
from yours!!
2. here lurking under the floorboards or, if
you like to be technical, the sole - SEACOCKS -seized open, are they? - or
rusted? - wheels lying dejected, in a state of decomposition all alone in the
bilge? - Familiarity breeds contempt - it is not until you need them that you
kick yoursel f - "Well it was on my list last winter!" Please remember, lV or \"
apertures can create a spectacular influx of water. As a "Business
Interruption", replacement wheel valves are available in Alloy, as opposed to
coated metal, thus avoiding total replacement. However, as the cost Is low, it
might wel1 prove beneficial to replace. I favour ball valves as suitable, but
understand that, as yet, they are not recommended by Lloyds please check yours.
Your peace of mind, not mine
3. Mast raising. A continual reminder from me
- please UPRIGHT in the tabernacle, at all times. If you have any difficulty,
please contact me, in order, hopefully, to avoid any stress-related problems to
the deck structure.
4. Mast raising again. When tensioning the
bottlescrews, if open-bodied type, do not tighten by inserting a torque
mechanism into the body of the bottle, for this distorts the unit enough to
strain the line of the threads and produce a bound bottlescrew - which now will
cost in the region of £18.00/ to replace.
5 - Following my previous comments, how many
of you have checked your stemheads for movement or degradation of welds? N.B. if
Rotostay or similar Is fitted, that is one forestay to the centre web, please do
not offset when replacing, for ease of anchor handling, as this may lead to
unfair loading to the one side.
6 . Fixed Skegs and Rudders. Please do check
the fastenings, especially on the lower margins. In some cases, I have found the
s.s. bolts used severely wasted, as they are not connected to sacrificial
anodes. Replacements should be in M6 size of A2 or A4 stainless. This refers to
8m,9m,10m and 12m Catalacs. With the Bobcat having no lower shoe, but fastening
to the brass or bronze when withdrawn, will prove somewhat alarming (a thin
tapering point with a reddish dust residue, all that remains of the original
fastening).
7.Believe it or not, some of you Catalac
owners may now need a survey to comply with your Insurance Company requirements
for craft nearing the 10 year age group. For that you will want a full overall
survey ashore, undertaken by a professional person, i.e. not me, so be prepared,
8. Gel Coat Repairs. Whilst a potential
nightmare and minefield these, correctly under taken, should not detract from
the overall appearance - those that are dabbed with the car body fillers and
off-shelf colour kits, will -would you drive your car to the office looking like
that?
To achieve a good gel repair, the most
important ingredient, believe it or not, is cleanliness. Gel damage, as a rule,
will fall into one of three categories.
a). Minor impact, perhaps causing an over
thick gel application Co break away from the underlying substrate.
b). More serious impact damage, resulting in
loss of gelcoat exposing laminate, star crazing radiating out and evidence of
damage to the laminate itself .
c). Manufacturing defect commonly referred to
as a void or breakout.
So, let us attempt to achieve a reasonable
repair to item (a).
Materials required:
Pigmented gelcoat
Catalyst
Acetone
Wet
and dry sandpaper
Small
rubbing block
Masking tape or similar
Profiled hacksaw blade
PATIENCE
The
first requirement is to clean out the "wound", obviously we carry tooling for
this but a short 1ength of broken hacksaw blade ground at its end to suitable
profile, provides a miniature cabinet scraper which is ideal. We have now
scraped back the damage to provide a clean edge - DO NOT TOUCH IT to admire the
"workmanship" as the "grease" from your hands will expose itself on final
"blending".
Next
mix up a small quantity of gel with catalyst and apply to the affected area. If
deep, retain with masking tape to hold in place. DO NOT OVERFILL as it is harder
to remove the overspill later - indeed it is advisable to undertake with 2 - 3
fillings - by doing this you will also avoid air entrapment (large mass under
catalysation) which will prove evident on sanding down.
Hopefully having achieved a reasonable profile, we now need to rub down.
Firstly, to remove the tacky surface, wipe over with acetone, then start with
grade 320 wet and dry paper, using a small rubbing block NOT your fingers, as
these will ride over the raised area and create a dip local to that repair. Once
near a reasonable shape, change to 500 or 600 grade, then change again to 800,
then finally to 1200 grade. DO NOT rub 6" either side of the area, as
self-inflicted "scratching" is hard to remove and not time-effective. Once happy
with the overall proflie/shape, rub over with a burnishing compound, such as
Solvol Autosol, which is white in colour. Try to avoid using a car rubbing
compound, usually orange in colour, as this will deposit itself in the smal1
scratches not removed.
b) .
More serious damage may prove beneficial left with your local yard, but for
those self-inclined, you wi11 need to grind back the laminate to remove any
trace of stress to the substrate, both internally and external. Then back up the
laminate internally using c. s .m. in conjunction with generous overlaps onto
original structure. Externally rebuild to just below gel line and then proceed
as J tern (a).
c)
Manufacturing defects. Remove gelcoat until gel adheres to underlying laminate,
repair as item (a).
9.
Most of you with inboard versions are fortunate to have Yanmars of varying
models and sizes fitted - those that have Dolphins or Renaults are, in my
opinion, not so lucky, but I do know of cases where a good working relationship
has been achieved between Master and Motive Power.
My
next statement is not directed to any one owner in particular, as I know many of
you care "lovingly" for those items fitted below decks, whatever trade name they
have stamped on them -indeed, I find the most reliable engines, (namely the
Yanmar) are those that are most often abused. Please do not hide yours engines,
(although I know the designer gave you the space,) under barbecue sets, concrete
weights, dinghies, fishing rods, sail bags, fenders - you name it - we've seen
it. Accessibility is controllability. Abuse can only be carried so far before
expensive repairs are required.
I
write this somewhat disheartened, having undertaken last year a re-build of two
Yanmars, carefully re-placed and re-installed into the craft. To my horror this
year, on undertaking a minor modification in the engine bay, I lifted the
sound-deadening boards to discover the engine "festering" externally from lack
of ventilation, a short road back to the state preceding the £1,000 spent. Take
heed please , you who are abusers.
Meanwhile, hopefully not having painted too black a picture, may I wish you all
a very safe and rewarding season afloat. To those of you who seek advice, please
do not hesitate to ask, however small the problem. (We prefer the small ones!)
JOHN L.
How we earn a living
Amberdell Computer Technologies
Merritt Island, FL