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Barberis Post-Purchase Update

7K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  blt2ski 
#1 ·
It was asked that I do a post-purchase review in the earlier purchase thread as well as someone was looking for advice on a 34 foot model.

I'll list the quirks and problem areas first:

1. Chainplate leaks. These are hard to track down actually, even though it can be exposed in the cabin by removing a wood cover. So - easy access, but due to the metal framing the boat uses - water if it sips through goes behind. To check for it - remove the settee upper cushions and reach behind and rub your fingers (forward). You will most likely get your fingers wet if there is a leak. It doesn't drain - so usually gets wicked down into the bulkhead / flooring joint at the forward companionway. I rebedded the plates and punched a small hole where the water was forming so it drain down under the settee and down into the bilge. Also, note the condition of the base of the saloon table. Mine was rotted out, and so I pulled it - it has 4 bolts that secure it to the horizontal mast frame support.

2. Bilge. The Keel bilge is an interesting design. There are the metal frames that run every 2 feet as well as fiberglass frames that run adjacent to them. The fiberglass frames which extend to the floor level have holes for distributing the water collected into the other sections. There is only one pump and it is located aft at the galley line. The pump doesn't efficiently remove the water especially if the boat is rocking back and forth. To fully drain the bilge you need to snap on a extender hose by removing the suction plate for the current bilge hose - and manually go to each bilge segment. Or carry a shopvac - which is what I do (faster but more labor intensive).

Another note on the bilge - if you do not keep it dry, when sailing.... if heeled excessively - water will pop up over the floorboards. Not too much a issue if you add it to your pre-sail checklist. I wonder for a fix if there is a way to kind seal it in a bit where one way valves are used that can trap the water to keep it into a "sump area"... but not currently on my short list of McGuyver modifications to try yet...

3. Electrical system. It met the 1983 requirements. But, uses some 50 german style glass fuses.

Cable management Electrical wiring Electrical supply Patch panel Technology


Note the glass fuses. I yanked this system out. Lotsa corrosion of the terminals and visually - there was NO WAY to look at the fuses and determine they were blown. Good news - the boat came with the electrical blueprints as well as cheat sheet - and everything mostly match the numbers that were labeled on the wires.

Electronics Audio equipment Technology Electronic device Electronic instrument


This was the old Nav panel that was in the access door to the electrical distribution board. Not a very efficient use of space, and note again - not a single AC meter or circuit breaker. There is actually two of them - they are the white boxes in the right of the picture. More on that later...

Cable management Electrical wiring Electronics Computer hardware Technology


Here is a snapshot of the replacement in progress. I went all Blue Sea for circuit breaker panels. They get fed by the one in the door, which has a master breaker to cut all power to the sub panels. Next phase after rigging all the positive leads is extending the negative leads so they go into the panel as well... still work in progress.

Electronics Technology Electronic device Cable Electrical wiring


Here you can see the new Nav Station setup. It used to be pretty much bare with exception of an old Standard Horizon VHF and Jenson stereo that was mounted to the ceiling. The Nav door contains the custom panels I did. I now have the ability to cut off AC in the cabin as well as to outlets. The DC Panel contains the circuits for battery metering and the navigation lights since they are the most used. Bottom switch of the DC is the cut-off for the subpanels.

Enough about that. The electrical system is fairly easy to access in terms of wiring and the likes. Well documented.

4. Forward Head shower. The sump pump is located under the port settee. Mine is rusted to all get out. I haven't used the shower as of yet, as I either have to get a shower curtain in there or epoxy the area for waterproofing.

5. All hatch covers - crazed. They also are hard to crank down and when washing the boat sometimes water will leak in. Minor issue...very...

6. Check the ceiling. The white inserts that make up the headliner are just Velcro in. Pull them off especially around the windows and the mast. I found mold and evidence of previous leaks here.

7. Ducers are located in two locations. Underneath the floorboard in the v-berth and the floorboard directly aft of the v-berth. Luckily they all have wooden plugs as well as the blanks so they can be pulled and cleaned without going for a haul-out. ...

8. Aft head has no holding tank. all the cut-offs are located under the starboard aft berth. Water heater is also here aft. I found leaks from the hoses ( it will drip on the berth cushion).

9. Heater in cockpit aft port storage area. Kinks in hoses and the exhaust are most common issues. Same goes for most hoses running back here.

10. The entire plumbing system is controlled from under the galley sink. It took me a while to figure out what everything was. The sinks are equipped with overflow outlets. They drain into the bilge. The house battery setup is located here as well (hence why I am not fond of the overflow going here and will be addressed later).

11. Battery charger is located in the cabinet inboard of the galley. Its a large storage space - and its mounted on the wall in the back. I am not fond of this location and nor do I particularly like the Pro series model. I will be replacing it with my Xantrex 40 Amp that has remote LED status indicators.

12. All lights use halogen style bulbs. On almost all of the lights I pulled - the plastic mounting had either melted the canvas behind it or cracked when coming off.

13. Cockpit wise. Mine had a custom dodger installed which put out oc commission 3 winches (you do not need them but I can see where they can be handy.

14. Rigging. All of the Halyards are wire to rope. And the only real issue I have with the rigging set-up is that for some reason there is no method to raise and lower the topping lift properly. Its basically just cleated on the mast with no routing to a winch in the cockpit (this is a must do item). But I like the Dutchman system it is rigged with.

15. Anchor locker. The winch solenoids and electrical connections will most likely be rusted out. Mine are and that will be yet another item on the must fix page.

I really like the fact I have a full galley with stove and two coolers. Plenty of storage space as well. The other really awesome deal with this boat is full engine access from three sides. The whole compartment is soundproofed as well, which makes it very quiet in the cabin and topsides when underway.

Sailingwise - its a dream. Light wind she loves (just the no wind condition - well...drifts on point backwards nicely). The few times I have taken her out now - I have been able to run down other sailboats plugging along and that is a fun feeling knowing one can sail in light winds as with the Catalina, I motored more than anything.

Managing the trim though is the tradeoff. LOTS of lines and controls to bend the mast and create the perfect sail shape. But, the cockpit is large and comfortable enough to handle the mess of lines (although I just bought a ton of Blue Performance items to hopefully clean up the lines laying all around) as well as crew. In fact the cockpit is really nice in that aspect as one can have 6-8 people all hanging out there comfortably.

So, all in all - less some of the quirks (which I more or less pointed out for the person looking to buy the 34 footer version), couldn't be more pleased with "Hello Gorgeous"....

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask....
 
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#6 ·
Very nice post. The electrical work is way beyond what I woudl attempt. Getting zapped in the past gives me a flinch factor that is high. Good work.

Question on the hatches that leak when you are washing the boat. If they leak with a hose, how are they are minor issue when water is coming over the bow? A little explanation may clear this up for me. You can get some big stuff, so imagine walls of water over the bow could be in your future.

Again, nice post and beautiful boat.
 
#7 ·
Very nice post. The electrical work is way beyond what I woudl attempt. Getting zapped in the past gives me a flinch factor that is high. Good work.

Question on the hatches that leak when you are washing the boat. If they leak with a hose, how are they are minor issue when water is coming over the bow? A little explanation may clear this up for me. You can get some big stuff, so imagine walls of water over the bow could be in your future.

Again, nice post and beautiful boat.
Because usually when washing - its pressurized. The amount leaked is not what I consider a large volume (few drips here and there). Thus far no amount of heavy rain has shown evidence of leaking down below (and believe me we have gotten a ton of it lately). Additionally I plan on replacing them in July anyways when I get more boat bucks. But, in full disclosure for those whom may use this thread as springboard for items to check on a related Barberis model search - I thought it should be included :)

Thanks for the comment....
 
#13 · (Edited)
Still - you crack me up - luckily the coffee was nuking in the microwave!:D:p

Thanks Anthony :)

So, may as well update the update of updates with another update:

Roller furling is toast due to mangled steel halyards (of which the rollers jib halyard sheared) last weekend. Investigating options and no longer in a rush to fix for this Thursday's last race of the season. Instead will use my Kevlar hank on from the catalina at least to just participate in it.
  • Replaced the mainsheet 4:1 system with a 24:1 system - all Harken carbo blocks.
  • Added another Harken carbo high load pully to the vang to double its purchase power.
  • Added dual Harken Quatro Winches just aft of the mast for spinnaker and jib hoisting.
  • Upgraded existing life vests from 6 to 18 - all auto inflatables with tethers.
  • Added bilge pump counter and alarm, and new Blue Sea bilge pump switches.
  • Replaced existing bilge pumps with higher capacity ones.
  • Installed CFN lights and LED lights. For those of you using the old style auto bulb circular lights - I found that the LED lights for the port nav light work well. The boat is now getting a three way lighting system that consists of blue / red / and white for mood / night time vision and regular lighting needs.
Major projects coming up:
  • Replacing the furling system
  • Getting new tricolor at mast.
  • Replacing the Datamarine instruments with my Raymarine gear (masthead and ducers)
  • Finishing the cabin ceiling - its being done with aluminum instead of canvas.
  • Adding a macerator and tank for the galley as someone stuffed bread down the sink and still can not get it flushed clean and as a result get a backwash into the sink.
Most of the work above will be done in the yard when I get it hauled out for insurance work.

Otherwise, David - you'd be proud to now she's getting a work-out and I think I have sailed more this summer alone than I ever did the other seasons combined. I'll post up some new pictures later in the week...

Thanks again guys...
 
#14 ·
Jody-

By a 24:1, do you mean a 4:1 or 6:1 with a 24:1 fine tune?? A 24:1 would have a lot of line in it.
 
#17 · (Edited)
SD, I'll get ya a pick when it is finished.

However...

Here is something that maybe never got covered on my boat purchase and that was the bottom paint.

The owner and the Swiftsure Yachts (the broker) advertised it with a racing bottom - VC 12.

It never was done that way.

When we hauled the boat for the survey - the first thing I noticed was that there were spider cracks in the ablative that was applied. I also knew then that such was not VC 12 because that is an hard coating and not a soft ablative.

I inquired with the surveyor that this was a concern to me. It just happened to be where we got hauled out was the same place that the sanding and new bottom was performed just months before.

They stated it was "normal"...

Here are some pics now Oct of what spidery looking cracks in the ablative means:

Vehicle


Blue Cobalt blue Sky Azure Aqua


Blue Water Sky


Transport Vehicle Naval architecture Flap


I contacted the surveyor - because this simply should not be happening within this time frame. I basically feel lied to and not quite sure what recourse I have to address it other than suck it up...This was supposedly (by receipt that I have) sanded bottom and new ablative.. shouldn't be peeling in the amounts it is period and that job was done in Feb of this year....

Thoughts?
 
#18 ·
Jody-

If the wear is mainly along the front edge of the keel and the waterline, it may just be that the ablative has worn through in those areas. Those are higher wear areas, since the water flow is more turbulent there.

Generally, when coating a boat with an ablative paint, it is a good idea to put an extra coat or two on the waterline, front and rear edges of the keel and the front and rear edges of the rudder.

However, I think that the prep job wasn't really as good as it should have been, because of how uneven the wear along the waterline area is.
 
#21 ·
Bad prep, put on the wrong paint of what was there, and then it did not stick to the base, ie back to bad prep.

Looks like it is down to the gel coat in places, and not to thick at least. On Amoretto I may take the paint down this summer to gel coat, and it looks to be an 1/8" thick thru the whole bottom despite micron extra on her since new.

Some where I have a pic of the keel two summers ago with it was taken out. I'll see if I can find it and print it for when you get to shilshoal later today.

Charlie, want to come racing sunday?

Marty
 
#23 ·
We're doing the seattle grand prix today thru sunday. sat and sunday first start is 10:30, so shilshoal about 9am or there abouts.

Not sure which position at this time per say, but probably a cockpit ie genoa sheets, or a main trimmer more likely as wife will do today and sat, but will not be there sunday.

If you want to come out sat too, that would be kewl also.

I'll send a pm with ph#, or jody has it too, as he will be onboard all three too.

marty
 
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