[C38] water hole

Wed Apr 6 09:46:09 EDT 2011

Hi Tom Good to hear from you how is your cat rehab going? I do have a hot
water tank in the area you talk about. The reason I would want to move it is
to access to the work space without having to take  the tank out, or save
the labor dollars. But if the access is improved by taking out the floor no
big deal. I went back and reviewed old e-mails and I think the trans is OK,
the problem is it will stick in reverse. I adjusted it last year after
laying out a thousand on a new cable and installation. The crew was totally
useless in this repair,and i got screwed. My adjustment worked pretty good
but seemed to fail at the end of the season. Right now we are checking the
strut, shaft and cutlass bearing. It appears the  shaft is out of line and
rubbing on the hull where it exits. I have more confidence with this crew,
it is at the yard who restores old Bertram's you may have read about them,
they are used to solving problems. We shall see. The heat exchanger is no
big deal, but I must be real dense as can not figure out how to cut out the
floor in the locker. I wish there were some photos of this. Let me see if I
can describe what has to be done. If I am sitting in the locker facing the
cut out looking in at the hot water tank etc. I would cut down on both ends
of the opening until I hit the hull and then turn around (now facing out)
cut out the floor until it reaches the area where the floor is glassed to
the hull, and then straight across. One last question sitting the locker
facing in again the cut out, is there any reason it can't be cut straight
across not at the same height as the larger part to allow removal of the hot
water tank. Thanks again Tom. You know I may sound like a dope but I am
really pretty good at this stuff having owned about 20 boats. But my 63 year
old  frame is not as flexible as it once was.

Bill

On Tue, Apr 5, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Tom T. <tdtron at earthlink.net> wrote:

>  Hello Bill,
>
> 1.    Hot water heater location
> I can't answer your question about putting a hot water heater under the
> sink but even if it will fit I wouldn't think that would be the perfect
> place.
>
> I built a mount to locate my hot water heater between the transmission and
> steering quadrant.  This kept the weight low and this area is wasted space
> otherwise.   The engine compartment is usually warmer  than the salon so
> thermal efficiency is enhanced.  This also keeps the engine coolant hoses
> short.
>
> 2.    Replacement transmission
> Why do you think you need a new transmission?  Unless your gear case is
> totally destroyed, a gearbox can usually be rebuilt for a small fraction of
> a new box.  I rebuilt mine with a soft pack which included all clutches and
> drive disks and I replaced the bearings.  I don't remember what the parts
> cost but I'm sure it wasn't more than a few hundred dollars.  I did the work
> myself but any transmission technician should be able to rebuild the box for
> you if you so elect.
>
> On this note, most problems associated with the Hurst gearbox are caused by
> improper shift adjustments.   There is very little room for error in the
> adjustments.  One adjustment involves making sure the transmission shift
> lever is tangent to the cable at neutral.  The other and most often
> overlooked adjustment is adjusting the flange holding the shift lever.  To
> adjust the shaft and lever you loosen the bolts holding the shift lever
> flange to the transmission.  There is some play in these bolt holes which
> allow a slight movement to get the shift shaft lined up correctly with the
> case for a more positive shift.  Skip this step if you achieve good results
> adjusting the shift lever on the shift shaft.  This step is only needed if
> your flange is not in the correct position in relation to the inside shifter
> fork.
>
> Our transmissions are fairly simple but they are a marvel in technology in
> how they actually work.   The input shaft has spiral splines to hold the
> clutch pack, drive and driven plates.  The torque of the engine actually
> binds the clutches like a giant bolt and nut.  This is why we can shift our
> transmissions with only a slight finger touch while a similar horsepower
> used in a car or truck would require a pressure plate and a strong clutch
> leg to activate the clutch.
>
>
> 3.    Replacement 3" heat exchanger.
>
> I made my own 3" heat exchanger and if you don't want to build your own
> as I did I would certainly give Yacht Power Products in St. Pete, FL a
> call.  If they have a suitable exchanger, remind them you are a Catalina 38
> association member and you will get 10% off.  The owner's last name is
> Lloyd.  You may still need help in fabricating a suitable mounting bracket
> to hold the larger 3" diameter exchanger.  The original mounts were not only
> made for the smaller diameter original heat exchangers, they were fairly
> weak and prone to fatigue cracking.  Any good weld shop should be able to
> modify your original bracket to hold the larger exchanger and also beef it
> up some for additional strength.  Both the bracket and exchanger were weak
> points of the Universal engines but both are fairly easy to correct.  When
> you do mount the new exchanger, mount new hoses on the exchanger BEFORE you
> mount the exchanger to the transmission.  Hose is cheap so attach more than
> you think you will need and just trim as needed after the exchanger is
> mounted.
>
>
> 4.    Locker floor removal.
>
> This modification is a must on any Catalina 38.  I sawed out the floor in a
> rectangle shape except for the aft outboard side of the cut where I only cut
> within about 2" of the hull which made the cut out not a true rectangle.  I
> carried the cut so that the cuts joined the already present access area on
> the port side bulkhead of the engine compartment.  I used 1 1/2" lightweight
> aluminum and built a lip under the edges of the hole so that the cut out
> piece could be returned by sitting on this lip.  I mounted the aluminum
> angle lip with #10 stainless countersunk bolts which gave a flush surface to
> the floor of the sail locker.  I used Nylock stainless nuts to secure the
> aluminum lips.  I left about 1' of floor at the fore and aft ends of the
> locker but use your own judgement on the size of your cut out.  Just make
> sure you leave enough of the floor to mount the lip under the edges to hold
> the cut out section back in place.  When I remove my transmission, I
> actually sat over the flex coupling in the engine compartment.  I am 5'9"
> and 200 lbs and I had room to work.  I can't imagine removing a well rusted
> in transmission without this access modification.  Even good access didn't
> completely eliminate colorful words trying to get the old Universal flex
> plate off.  I replaced that heavy old ball of rust with the lighter,
> stronger PYI flex coupling which greatly improved the smoothness of my
> drivetrain.  You will need to purchase a 1" shaft flange collar since the
> original Universal coupling coupled directly to the shaft without the need
> of a flange.
>
> Good luck
> Tom Troncalli
>
> P. S.  If you decide to install your hot water heater in the engine
> compartment aft of the transmission as I did, make this job last or you will
> surely regret it.
>
> Remember, "Nothing difficult is ever easy"
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* William Knowles <whk1965 at gmail.com>
> *To: *Catalina 38 Listserve <listserve at catalina38.org>
> *Sent:* 4/5/2011 10:12:17 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [C38] water hole
>
> This is a somewhat related thread. I was down with the yard repair guy, to
> try and find out why my strut shaft and bearing seem to be out of line. We
> are also  going to try and fix the ongoing transmission shifting problems.
> Here are my questions
> 1 I thought I read that the hot water tank will fit under the sink. True or
> false.
> 2 Where is a good place to get a transmission?
> 3 We will go to a 3" heat exchanger where is a good place to get one of
> them? Yacht Power Products?
> 4 I keep reading that some of you have cut out the locker floor, mine seems
> to be glassed in place, do you mean the part covering the muffler? and the
> vertical wall coming down from the cockpit floor.
>
> As always thanks for your help in advance
>
> Bill Flying Goose
>
> On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 12:03 PM, Don Strong <drstrong at ucdavis.edu> wrote:
>
>> The water hole has let me understand where leaks come from. When they came
>> from the rudder post, the hole held salt water; fixed that. When the cockpit
>> drain fittings were leaking, the hole held water after washing down the
>> deck; fixed that. The hole is a pretty weird feature, at any rate.
>>
>> On 4/4/11 8:55 AM, S Orton wrote:
>>
>> Steve S,  That is exactly what I did (foam & glass) years ago!  I could
>> never get an answer why that "water hole" was left standing from the
>> factory.
>> Cheers, Steve O
>> ------------------------------
>> Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 22:35:04 -0700
>> From: SSmolinske at rainierrubber.com
>> To: listserve at catalina38.org
>> Subject: [C38] Strut Blister
>>
>> After crawling into an area smaller than my frame and laying in a puddle
>> of water to remove the steering and drop the rudder I then started working
>> on the bottom.   After some sanding near the strut I found a wet spot
>> directly above the strut, needless to say I was surprised after barrier
>> coating the bottom last year, then it dawned on me that it was in the same
>> area as the puddle I was laying in.   Im going on the assumption that its
>> not an osmotic blister as It was not raised from the outside, just wet
>> inside, that water cant be good sitting in the recess all year long
>>
>> Has anyone else seen this and any comments on why its not a good idea to
>> fill the area with foam and glass over the top so water runs into bilge?
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Steve
>> #312 Peregrine
>> Seattle
>>
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>>
>> --
>> Donald R. Strong
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> W H Knowles
>
>
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-- 
W H Knowles
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