[C38] Cutlass Bearing Strut Faring

[Chuck Finn]

Excellent discussion!  This is why our Association is so important to 
all of us!  Thank you everyone for contributing!

Here is what I know from my research on this over the years.

1.   I seriously looked into shortening my keel a few years back as 
there is a set of locks leading the the St. Lawrence Seaway that allow 
drafts less than six feet.    Mars Metals out of Canada has made 
"torpedo" bulbs for C38s and has the mold in storage.  Their calculation 
was I recall, that a five foot draft would require an additional 500 
pounds of lead.

2. The Yankee 38s did not come in a shoal keel as far as I can tell.  
But, their fin keel design was different than Butler's, so we can 
probably surmise that Catalina experimented a bit with the keel in the 
beginning.  I certainly would if I were them and kept seeing the 
"Catalina Smile!"

3. Until this discussion, I had not seen a shoal draft version of our 
boats that had the keel faired the way Tom T. describes.  The ones I had 
seen looked pretty much like the 1981 model at this website: 
http://boats.iboats.com/1981-catalina-38/664532.html

4.  When I was investigating a shoal draft modification,  I had been 
told by someone at Catalina that the shoal keel bolt configuration was 
the same as the deep draft keel.  About 10 or so years back, I recall 
that Catalina even had some shoal drafts keels available....  I have no 
way of verifying any of this other than my old and sometimes faulty memory!

My best guess then is Catalina had two keel molds and could choose which 
one to bolt on to their standard hull based upon the order.  Fairing the 
keel to the hull is a labor intensive job, which probably allowed the 
workers and designers some latitude to experiment.   And that is what 
they did.....   probably to see if they could reduce the prop walk.   I 
don't think there is any structural aspect to this modification as the 
two support points for the prop shaft are the motor/transmission mount 
and the cutlass bearing (packing gland is about keeping water out and 
does not support).

Tom, how did you keep this long shaft tunnel clean?  Zebra mussels up 
here would soon pack this tunnel over a summer.

Thanks again to everyone who contributes!
Chuck Finn
Commodore



On 11/14/2010 10:27 AM, Max Soto wrote:
> What a Dilemma!!
>
> Dan, do you have a pic from Blonde Starnger's keel??? There are only 
> 13 boat from Renata to Blonde Starnger, and both are 1981 models..
>
>
>
> Renata's keel with skeg is the most different one that I have 
> seen.I've been collecting pics from C38's for sale, because Estancia 
> was such in bad shape and modified when I bought it, that I needed 
> lots of pics in order to tell what was original and what wasn't, and 
> of course to get tips from other  boats..
>
> Tom, I'm going to put a production change on the table for the 
> following reason:
>
> The  silhouette on the original brochure does shows a slightly larger 
> keel trunk, and one of the most notable differences is the back edge 
> of the keel (just forgot the technical name!) is perpendicular to the 
> water line. Let's call it straight!!!!  The deep keel version is 
> angled, even if the keel draft has been reduced, you'll be able to 
> tell because of this, but if you look at the attached pic from Chute 
> the Breeze or the other one I sent a couple of days a go, it looks 
> just like the shoal keel on the brochure, straight down! without an 
> angle, that's why I always tought that I had these pics from shoal 
> draft versions!
>
>
> One more thing, Estancia is 1982, and came with the 1982 brochure 
> (which is older than the one on the C38 web), and shows no  skeg either.
>
> My opinion, evidence shows two shoal draft versions, so who will be 
> able to confirm a production change???????????
> Just found another  shoal draft pic on Calatlinaowners.com, has been 
> attached also..
>
> Tom, there is  a known cure for the loss of a C38, but it requires 
> lot's of money in order to get a newer and bigger boat!!!! Just make 
> sure that this boat is faster than a C38, other wise, not worth it....LOL
> Regards,
> Max