[C38] Cutlass Bearing Strut Faring

Mon Nov 15 08:55:54 EST 2010

Here are a couple pics of the shoal draft keel on Zephyr, our 1982 Catalina 
38, production #181.  She performs extremely well (as apparently they all do 
:-) and has won all 6 regattas she has been entered into since we moved her 
to Panama City, FL.  Hope this is useful info to this discussion.

Bill Haynes
Athens, GA

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom T." <tdtron at earthlink.net>
To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2010 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: [C38] Cutlass Bearing Strut Faring

> Interesting discussion on keels as Chuck points out.
>
> Chuck, the long keel skeg on my 38 was actually an extension of the bilge
> so zebra mussels would not be a problem unless I sank the boat.
>
> The keel on my boat was low aspect ratio and longer fore to aft than it 
> was
> deep.  I am not sure but I would expect the shoal draft version has more
> wetted surface than the deep keel which is more efficient.
>
> I wish I had a photo of my keel but my keel bolts extended into the keel
> forward next to the head to just fore of the engine door aft.  The long
> skeg trailing from the keel to the cutlass bearing/prop also helps the
> shoal draft version avoid the famous "death rolls."
>
> I'm pretty sure that photo linked below is for a deep version that has met
> a saw somewhere and time since leaving the California factory.  That
> remaining little stub of a keel shown is about half the size of  my keel.
> The profile shown on the brochure at the C38 website shows the lines of 
> the
> shoal draft keel but fails to show the skeg extension of the bilge to the
> prop.
>
>
> Tom Troncalli
>
>
>
>
>
>> [Original Message]
>> From: Chuck Finn <charles at finn.ws>
>> To: Catalina 38 Listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
>> Date: 11/14/2010 12:50:31 PM
>> Subject: Re: [C38] Cutlass Bearing Strut Faring
>>
>> 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
>>
>>
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>
>
>
>
> 
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