[paul-e]

Thanks denr and h2onut. Separation of hull and "bonded" liner is the very kind of thing I''m worried about. I know that 95% of my sailing will be in kind weather. It''s that 5% when I must sail in nasty stuff to get home (I need that job) that I''m concerned about. My sailing friends (Cape Dory 36, Alden 44, Southern Cross 35) all say when we''re in the bad stuff, "this boat''s a better sailor than we''ll ever be". I need to feel that way about my next boat. Just got a reply from Cap''n Hugenot (Naval Architect, SF Bay area message board) about my conerns with catalina 36 hull integrity. He assured me that he has sailed many catalinas in the pacific with no problems, and had just delivered a catalina 36 from victoria to san fran. he referred me to david gerr''s new book "elements of boat strength". should be good reading. cap''n hugenot also mentioned that catalina''s long-term reputation is good. so, i''m still baffled. sqeaky sole in a relatively new boat sounds ugly. enjoying the exchange. thanks again.