[GeorgeB]

Despite the provocative title, is your "real' plan to sail the boat from Texas to the Bahamas? I cannot speak to the conditions in the Gulf, but based on my experience sailing C30's in the Pacific, a properly prepared boat should be up to the job. People on this site love to trash talk Catalina's and IMHO you will be hard pressed to get an unbiased opinion. I, myself have a favorable opinion of the boat and have actually sailed them fairly extensively, including offshore and way out of sight from land. I suggest you go to the C30 Owners website to find practical information on what kind of improvements you may want to make for your intended voyage (http://www.catalina30.com/).

The C30 has enjoyed an extremely long production run (something like over 25 years) and the build quality reflects the standards of the time the boat was built. Frank and Gerry's philosophy has been to evolve their designs based on the inputs from their vast customer base. Therefore, a boat built in 1975 will be much different than one built in 1985 or 95. What year is your boat? Your boat's "vintage" will ultimately determine what improvements may be necessary. What hasn't changed is the basic hull mold and sail plan. This was done to maintain the class's one design status. So (un)fortunately, you are stuck with the IOR influenced hull shape (pinched stern) which lends itself to a little squirrlyness downwind in winds of 25kts+. This was corrected in later boats by an elliptical rudder, a popular owner "upgrade". This boat has a relatively wide beam to length ratio, and many people make the mistake of sailing with a relatively deep heel angle. The boat really likes to stand up on her feet and the long traveler beam allows you to make the necessarily adjustments. Much has been made about the large companionway opening, but if you are familiar with the Cal 30, it has one just as large and the Newport's opening is larger, and it has practically no threshold to keep water out. I probably been "pooped" more times in a Catalina than most on this board, and feel that this "problem' is hyped way out of proportion with reality.

One problem boats with a short LOA all share is a lack of tankage, battery capacity and general storage space. That is something that you are going to have to figure out. I know a couple of guys who raced their Moore 24 to Hawaii last summer with only a pair of group 24 batteries and an outboard motor. So you should be able to work the logistics for a four or five day passage easily.

The Catalina 30 (mkIII) holds a Design Category "A" (Ocean) Certificate from the International Marine Certification Institute. The C28 and 270 hold the "B" certificate and the C250 holds a "C" certificate. I verified this on Catalina Yachts' website.[/font]

 

[GeorgeB]

Hermit, welcome to sailing and Sailnet! Sailing is one of those endeavors that appear simple and straightforward at first glance, but become wonderfully complex the more you learn. This lifetime of learning is one of the things that makes the sport so addictive to us. You are at the start of a very tall and steep learning curve. Enjoy the journey

In regards to Category A, yes, it stands for ocean. Below is the definition from ISO. When your boat was built, ISO standards did not exist and the Europeans did not like having to reference the US MILSTD so they developed their own. They vastly increased the scope of their standards with the advent of the EU. All boats sold in the EU mast have a certificate so builders like Catalina had their current models certified. However, because your boat uses the same hull molds (underwater portion) and sailplan as the 310, I'd guess that it is the rough equivalent to a Cat A boat (at least no lower than an A- or B+). I personally like the AYBC standards better as they are more specific and easier to read. Unfortunately, you must be a member and purchase them so there are only fragments published on the web. As was pointed out earlier, the "A" category is a minimum and you have to delve into the various sail and performance ratios to truly understand your boat's capabilities from an empirical standpoint.
<O
A. OCEAN: Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force 8 (Beaufort scale. Equivalent to 40 kts.) and significant wave heights of 4 meters (Equivalent to 13 feet) and above, and vessels largely self-sufficient.<O

You need to go on the C30 owners' website and do some research on your boat. 1979 makes it one of the early ones which may or may not have an issue with the keel stub. Those early boats had wooden fillets encapsulated in fiberglass in the keel stub. This is fine unless water has intruded via a crack and rotted the wood. Frank went so far as to develop a repair process so your boat may or may not have been repaired. You can call Catalina yachts customer service and give them your hull number and they can send a copy of your boat's warranty history. I don't recall when they switched over to solid material keel stubs but I think it was at the end of the 70's. I do know that by the early 80's all their boats had solid stubs. Other 'old boat' issues you may want to look out for: Upgrading the engine wiring harness; Converting your electrical panel's spade connectors to ring (screw) type; And check shroud chain plates and hull tie-ins. I recall that one of the shrouds chain plates to a wooden bulkhead? Check for rot there (and the deck too. The early Garhauer travelers were stiff and hard to use. Garhauer sells a replacement kit made especially for your boat. Before you start dropping some serious coin into your boat you may want to get it professionally surveyed. Too many people pour tens of thousands of dollars into a thousand dollar only to have a two thousand dollar boat in the end. Often times it is better just to walk away.

<OA little dissertation on wind: The side of the boat that the wind touches first is the "windward". The side farthest away from the wind is the "leeward". Westerly wind: blowing from the west. For example, a westerly wind will generally be behind you when you are sailing to Florida from Texas. Offshore wind: One that blows from the shore to the sea. This would make a "windward shore" Onshore wind: One that blows from the sea to land. This would make a 'lee shore". Lee shores are dangerous insomuch that you have to sail into the wind (and wave) in order '"claw off" the shore and get to deeper water. Sailboats wreck on lee shores all the time. Rarely on windward shores. "Wind forward of the beam" means you are sailing (tacking) into the wind. Remember that you cannot sail directly into the wind, the best you can do is 30-50 degrees "off" the wind. Wind on the beam is hitting you directly broadsides and "abaft the beam" is wind coming off your stern quarter.<O

Once again, you are on the steep side of the learning curve and I suggest you get some lessons, pay for a boat survey and find yourself a mentor who can guide you along the way.<O

 

[GeorgeB]

Hermit, it sounds like you are well on your way with your adventure (care to come out to California and help me and help me complete some of my long delayed boat projects?). Often, I read threads where the owner acquires an old, tired and distressed boat for practically nothing and thinks that without much effort or money he can turn it into a world class cruiser. From reading your responses, it sounds like you are taking the much more pragmatic approach. Good on ya! How the potential keel stub issue manifests itself is a deformation under the mast step as the compression forces crush and compress the rotted material. This wooden fillet lies just under the fiberglass in the bilge area. If you do not see any cracking or deformities there, and your shroud turnbuckles aren't at full stop, then obviously, not an issue. I still recommend looking into the Garhauer C30 upgrade kit. Those early blocks use bushings and after 30 years, could be way past their prime. I had an old style Garhauer vang block explode on me once so I am sensitive to the issue. Besides, the ball bearing blocks rock! They are much easier to adjust (thinking of your spouse).

I think the Achilles heel of cruising boats is their rudder and/or steering gear. This would include the steering vanes and auto pilots. As I recall, pedestal steering was an option in those early C30 boats and many of them had it added later. Back in 1979 I had a steering gear failure on a C30 where one of the cables jumped a block and jammed. Fixable, but disconcerting none the less. You will probably want to pay close attention to this area during your trip preparation. If you have Edson steering gear, they have a very helpful website on how to maintain it. You may also want to put in a mechanical stop on your quadrant in addition to the cable one as cables do stretch and a broken rudder will ruin your whole day. An auto pilot is invaluable to cruisers as it in effect becomes an additional crewmember. Constant hand steering may be fun and fast, but after a couple of days becomes quite fatiguing.

Have your questions on how your boat handles in a seaway been answered? Let me know if you want to keep the dialog going.