We are probably all familiar with the famous Catalina Smile. I recently had my (1998) C 36 hauled for a bottom job and to change a transducer. When it was hauled, a small smile was found. The boat yard manager said it was so small that it wasn't worth fixing (by grinding down and glassing in). I figured since his interests would dictate that he'd want to do any work possible, that I could rely on his judgement on this.
Any thoughts?
How do you deal with the Catalina smile?
P.S. for those not familiar with the term - this is a hairline crack that develops around the leading edge where the keel meets the hull. It develops, from my understanding, because no matter how well the keel may be bolted on, it will flex slightly, thus cracking the fiber glass.
SF Bay
1998 C36
John
I look forward to suggestions to your problem from the group. Having read many experiences on the various C36 forums, I planned to check the keel bolts on my 2005 Mk11 when I took delivery about a year ago. While I don't have access to the C36 Tool Kit here in Australia, I planned to buy some 1-1/8 inch sockets and weld them together as the posts have suggested.
The problem is, I can't see how it is possible to get access to all the bolts to tighten them - particularly the forward one and the 2 behind the mast. I have attached a photo of the forward keel bolt (which I guess takes some of the strain of the leading edge) and its is simply not accessible with a large socket. (The photo is not clear as I stirred up some water in the bilge which runs down the furling mast (don't start me on that design fault!!!).
Anyway, to fix your "smile" I would assume you will need to tighten all the bolts however I would be interested to hear how anyone has ever done that without drilling some significant holes in the cabin floor. (at least on a Mk11)
Peter Taylor Melbourne Australia. Altair #2227 2005 C36 Mk11
I too have a small "smile" about 10 inches long. I did a half hearted attempt to fix it, but it looks pretty bad. My plan is to do a better job of hiding it and would like suggestions from others. Having just pulled the boat for winter, the site of this smile is bothering me.
Richard
1994 C36 Tall Rig M1.5
Waukegan Harbor
Lake Michigan
The Catalina smile I thought was simply a distortion of the hull when the boat was out of the water and is pronounced if the the bow is not supported when the boat is sitting on its keel. It was most ponounced on the C30, I had not heard of cracking of the fiberglass or gel coat.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas
I had pretty much the same thing when we last hauled about three years ago. Greg, the yard manager (same place John hauled) looked at it and said: "OK, we'll grind away a bit, patch it up and torque the keelbolts." Done. The Catalina Smile is written up so many times that it shouldn't be either a surprise or anything to worry about. I'm guessing a Google search will give you pages of hits, and the simple answer: unless you have a way old C30 with plywood support under the mast, I believe, it's not a big issue. Consider it a "right of passage!":cool:
[Added] OK, I just did a Google. Over 10 pages and even a wikipedia hit! [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_30[/url] I'm amazed that folks are still surprised by this phenomenon. Well, maybe not surprised, but a knowledge of even the phrase "Catalina Smile" is almost assured of finding the answer. BTW, the wikipedia answer isn't perfect either, 'cuz it's not only pre-1988 boats, and the treatment for the older C30s isn't necessary for newer boats: just gouge, fill, fair and paint.
[Added] And the other side of the coin for me: Our cable TV wasn't working properly, it took over 5 seconds to change between channels. Drivin' us nuts! I called my son-in-law who is a tech genius. He said, unplug it wait ten seconds and start over! Just like rebooting a computer. One of the "I guess it shoulda been obvious" moments. So, I guess the smile is going to be NEW for second, third and now fourth generation C36 and other Catalina owners. We started a CRITICAL UPGRADES topic on our message board, might consider putting this on there, too. Thanks, John, for the heads up.
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)
Unless there has been known damage, such as a rock hit, the "Catalina Smile" is a purely cosmetic phenomenon. Think about it...the keel is cast lead; the boat's hull is fiberglass. How are they gonna' mate? After torquing the keel bolts, a slather of "bondo" is applied to the keel/hull joint to make a cosmetic fairing.
Absolutely non-structural.
Over time, things move a bit. Maybe it's time to check the torque of the keelbolts. See the article on torquing keelbolts in our website's Maintenance section. Alas, Peter brings up a point about accessing the forward keelbolt, just forward of the mast step, that I would like to hear more about. Surely there is an elegant solution to this, as neither the factory nor our owners are drilling access holes for this one bolt.
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
No, I wasn't surprised by the smile; I've seen it before, including on my previous Catalina (C30). I just wanted to double check. Also, LC Brandt commented that there's no need to worry... unless you've hit a rock. Well, actually...
We were in Moneterey harbor, wanting to head out early, early the following morning, and were rushing to get to the fuel dock before it closed. Also, my depth gauge was not working. I KNEW I shouldn't go to get fuel, my inner voice told me that, but I did it anyway... and hit a rock!
Fortunately, it was at the very bottom of the keel, and it took a fist-size piece of lead out. Again, the yard manager said it wasn't seriious at all. But I felt mortified (still do). I had an experience some 30 years ago where my inner voice said, "don't do this" and I ignored it and paid for it with a broken arm. I could have ended up being killed, so it was a cheap lesson. I learnd from that to listen to my inner voice, but ignored it this time.
I guess if I hadn't gone I'd never know, and it could have been a whole lot worse... but anyway, lesson learned.
Back to the smile - as I said, I can see no reason why the hard manager would say to just ignore it unless in his experience it was nothing serious. His self interst would dictate the opposite.
SF Bay
1998 C36
Been watching here what others were asking and saying. Last spring I had the same issue with the smile so I went and torqued the front bolts and what other ones I could. While at it, I cut off at least 3 inches of extra stud on 6 of the studs.
Ground out the crack and re-patched it and all was well when I seen it today out of the water. No more crack, at least for this season.
Randy
Randy Sherwood
Mutualfun 1990 # 1057
T/R W/K M35a
Home. Charlotte, Mi.
Boat. St Augustine,Fl.