[C38] FW: Re: Cutlass Bearing Strut Faring

Sat Nov 13 20:00:52 EST 2010

Hello Max and group,

I went back through my photos and I couldn't find a good silhouette picture of my shoal draft keel.  The photo I enclosed in my last email did show the cutlass bearing location in the aft end of the longer keel trunk but none of my keel photos show the keel shape very well.

I know there are several deep draft keels that were shortened and I hope future buyers are made aware.  Even if a deep draft version is modified with the addition of a bulb keel, the mounting point and bolts to the keel trunk will be weaker than the larger, longer keel trunk of the shoal draft version which was designed for a heavier keel.

The center of gravity was about the same on both the standard and shoal draft versions but the deep draft version weighs 800 lbs more due to the heavier keel.  If the standard keel is shortened without the addition of a keel bulb, the center of gravity will be raised making for a very tender vessel.

Actually sailing a shoal draft version is very much like sailing the standard version but the lower aspect ratio keel won't point quite as well going close to weather and the extra 800 lbs is usually a performance penalty.  One place where the heavier keel of the shoal draft comes into play without penalty is punching through big waves.  The extra 800 lbs helps the boat punch through waves instead of over them making a more comfortable ride in rough waves and without much handicap in performance either in rough seas since the heavier weight tends to keep the boat moving through the waves.

Where I kept my boat in the Tampa Bay area, the water was very "thin" so the 7' keel would have kept us out of most of our favorite anchorages.  With a tide of only 3' average, we got rather used to where we could and couldn't go without fear.  One of our favorite anchorages was approached by a long half mile run in 6' of water and we never touched the bottom in 17 yrs.

Tom Troncalli
Recovering 38 owner

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Max Soto 
To: tdtron at earthlink.net;Catalina 38 Listserve
Sent: 11/13/2010 1:35:54 PM 
Subject: Re: [C38] FW: Re: Cutlass Bearing Strut Faring

I wasn't aware that  the confined strut configuration is the standard on a shoal draft C38. Marc's boat is a deep keel, so it was a modification, that's for sure, but I thought that the shoal draft model strut is just like a regular deep keel, just like the pic that I send from Chute the Breeze, and also from the attached pic.
Do you think that these boats were deep draft models with modified keels????
Do you have pics of Renata's keel?

Regards,
Max

2010/11/12 Tom T. <tdtron at earthlink.net>

Hello gang,

I've been following the thread about the shaft struts and as always, I find it interesting to hear from you guys.

As Phil Gay noted, my 38 was a shoal draft version. There are some deep draft versions floating around that have had their keels shortened making them both shoal draft and sometimes very tender also if they didn't add a bulb to the keel.

The true shoal draft versions had the cutlass bearing mounted in the Fiberglas hull and there was no exposed strut.

I had planned to put an angled end on the hull where the cutlass bearing was mounted so that the prop wash would be directed to port when in reverse to reduce prop walk but I ended up selling the boat before I hauled her again.

I've attached a photo of my keel.  As far as I know, no shoal draft versions ever had an exposed shaft strut and the hull was slightly different to accommodate the longer keel of the shoal draft version.  The keel trunk on a true shoal draft 38 is longer than on the standard deep draft version which made the strut unnecessary on the shoal draft version. 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Max Soto 
To: Catalina 38 Listserve
Sent: 11/12/2010 6:53:42 PM 
Subject: Re: [C38] Cutlass Bearing Strut Faring

Here's an example.. 

2010/11/12 Max Soto <maxsoto at gmail.com>

Hi Phil,  

I have some pics from shoal draft C38's, and the shaft and strut have the same exact configuration as the fin keel...

Max

2010/11/12 Phil Gay <eyriepg at comcast.net> 

Marc,

One thing that hasn’t been noted is that you apparently have a shoal draft C38.  I have never examined the prop shaft on a shoal draft version and so your photo was very interesting to me.  Tom Troncalli owned a shoal draft C38 BTW.  

I would think that you don’t have a structural problem if your shaft is firmly attached to the boat.  However, from a water intrusion point of view, I would want to have the area repaired as soon as practical.  We don’t think of fiberglass as being able to soak up water, but it does to some extent.  So the glass needs to be thoroughly dried before the area is repaired and bottom painted.

Phil Gay
C38 049 (deep draft) Que Linda
Everett, WA

From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] On Behalf Of Marc Stewart
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 9:22 PM
To: Catalina 38 Listserve
Subject: Re: [C38] Cutlass Bearing Strut Faring

Here is a picture - that shows not the crack but a side view of the faring that's "loose."  The loose section lies between the aft egg zinc and the leading end of the propeller assembly above (below in this pix) the visible cutlass bearing.  No, the boat's not upside down!

Marc Stewart
mstewart at sounddsl.com

On Nov 11, 2010, at 9:11 PM, Marc Stewart wrote:

Greetings,
I just hauled Palancar for biannual bottom work and discovered that the fiberglas faring that envelopes the strut that extends from the cutlass bearing up into the hull is split apart along the trailing edge and "wiggly."  Fortunately the bronze strut itself is firm.  Are any of you in the know:  is this a cosmetic thing that can wait, or is it a "gotta fixit now?"   And do you know what kind of Pandora's box it is likely to be?  The yard sent me an estimate for a cosmetic kind of repair....
Thanks, Marc

Marc Stewart
mstewart at sounddsl.com

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-- 

Max Soto
C38 #198 ESTANCIA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica

-- 
Max Soto
C38 #198 ESTANCIA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica

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Max Soto
C38 #198 ESTANCIA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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