Looks like my kind of fun. I took a winter to strip the interior, replace a bulk head, redo all of the windows and most of the electrical. Sailed for a summer and then some more work last winter. The admiral is happy. Her only request other than clean and not smelling was an electric flush head. Better than I thought, by using fresh water, I have 3 tanks, it eliminates those nasty head smells. This winter are small nice projects.
Best of luck. Lots of answers on this site, and a lot of experience.

Do not forget to add an automatic signature to the post in the user CP.

Hi, plabel. I agree that a real name will be nice when you get a chance. We don't bite. :D

You have surely taken on a challenging project, but your post comes across with a great attitude towards boat repairs. The fact that you know making the admiral happy with the boat is the key to happiness afloat confirms your wisdom.

Best of luck with all the repairs and many years of enjoyment with the boat.

When it comes to wires their is a simple solution. My original plan was to work slowly and try to save some.... it is simple, take it all out and re do all the wiring. The original wires are undersized and not tinned. After pulling it all out I was able to salvage some pieces but it can be scarry what people do and use. I found more hidden splices than I want to know.:(

Good for you Paul & Ann! Early Cat 36`s are not ready to just go away they are great boats and deserve a second chance on life! Definitely use the association for info as I have owning an 86 MK I a lot of info if u dig into the site and if u can`t find it ask! Good Luck and good sailing

The original wiring is often in the deck stucture on early boats, my C30 was like that. The wiring circuit consistis of a common ground and then a #16 or smaller wire to a large group of lights. The wiring scematic can be found in the manuals for C36 MKI.

Attached is a pic of what I converted the nav station to and a pic of what was behind the electrical panel and why I scrapped all of the wiring. Gutted interior as well :)

Thanks for the pics, Ross.

I have done my share of boat projects, but your photos bring back fond memories of all the times I have never had to go THAT far! :D

Paul, Ann welcome to the forum! Lots of great information here so enjoy. I did an electrical upgrade last winter, information can be found [URL="http://www.c36ia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2172&highlight=projects"]http://www.c36ia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2172&highlight=projects[/URL]

Let me know if you need any tips, glad to share them with you.

Deep down within every neglected boat lies a weeping soul.

Good on you for bringing her back! :)

Mike

Hi Paul & Ann:

Welcome to the forums, this is without a doubt the best source of information for the new C36 owner. Regarding your fuel tank, we had a similar situation with our original equipment fuel tank. Imagine getting a call from the boatyard in February saying that they noticed diesel dripping out of the depth sounder transducer through hull and had just pumped 15 gallons of fuel out of the bilge. Being on a relatively tight budget, we looked at our options and decided to glass the outside of the tank. I sanded the entire exterior of the tank, wiped it down with lacquer thinner and applied West System epoxy. We used 2 layers of glass cloth on the bottom, one on the sides and top, and an extra strip of glass around the bottom edges. No more leaks and after one season on the water there is no evidence of the glass separating from the aluminum.

I am looking forward to reading about your experience with the wiring system!

Paul,
I am not sure how much wiring you have done but a few things to invest in besides a lot of patience:
A professional set of crimpers for all of the connections... about $80.00 do not waste any time on cheap off shore stuff.
Use Dialectic grease or similar material for all connections. You will be happy you did this after a few years when normally start to get corrosion.
For wiring there are lots of alternatives to the official marine wire. I use tined wire from a local industrial supplier, I think it is designed for installing sound systems. My minimum size for any run is 16 and that has to be a small draw instrument. any lights get 12 gauge. All lines get there own negative line run back to a common buss bar.

Paul,
AN idea for wiring. I ran 2" ABS from the mid section of the boat forward and from the panel area aft. I then drilled 1"holes along the pipe at various locations to pull the wires out. I ran the pipe just under the deck. Makes a great wire chase for all the wiring.

Paul,
Here's another idea for re-doing the electrical panel. To free up some real estate on the panel for additional breakers and gauges, I moved the battery switch to the area just below the elec panel (I also added a dedicated battery switch for the start battery). No need to extend battery cables. While you are at it, you might want to swap out the daisey-chained switches and fuses for breakers. Makes the panel a LOT more reliable. I used the original frame, and bought a piece of plexi to make my own panel. Here's a link to some pix:
[url]https://julandra.shutterfly.com/[/url]
Details in pictures 2B, 2C, and 2D. Hope this helps.

Tom,

Every time I look through your shutterfly images I am always amazed and inspired. Great ideas and every project is well though out and very nicely done. One question I have for you is where did you get the front water tank and did you remove the ones in the back when you installed it? Also, did the performance or handling under sail or motor change when running with it full? I would think that the bow would be pushed down a bit with that kind of weight all the way up front, was it?

Larry,
I bought the tank from Catalina Parts Dept. It was listed as a 34 gal tank, but based on the time it took to fill, I think it was a 24 gal tank. Either way, it helped a lot. I did not change the aft tanks. I built a manifold to control which tank was used. As far as I can tell, it did not effect trim. Possibly a tiny bit, but not enough to notice.

Paul,
One thing I noticed in one of your pix should be fixed. The pic showing the inside of the fuel tank. If you re-use the tank, make sure you take the small filter screen off the end of the pickup tube/hose. That screen has been the cause of problems for many owners. It has caused fuel starvation when it clogs with gunk in the tank. The fuel filters should be used to filter the fuel, and not that screen. Just a thought. Good luck on your projects!!

18 loving years!

Paul ,what part of North Puget Sound are you in. If you happen to be in Sound Sound ,we are in Fair Harbor in Grapeview north of Shelton 10 miles and I have a 1990 that we have done lots of mods,golf cart batteries lighting ,electronics battery monitors,bow water tank ,change out of nav station ,new tables,Dolye stack pack,replaced windows,seperate shower like Tom did ,single lever faucet in gallery and head replaced all lights with LEDs and much more

Paul,
since you have everything stripped out I will give you a suggestion on a very efficient method for cleaning the interior and eliminating the fuel smell that I am sure is evident. This worked very well for me and made refinishing the teak relatively simple.
Use a pressure washer.
- Round 1 - spray everything in a section with the detergent,
- Rinse with pressure washer getting rid of all the big lumps. Start at the cabin top and work your way down.
- Round 2 scrub everything with deck brush , water and detergent
- Rinse with pressure washer
- Round 3 mix one gallon of white vinegar with about 3 or 4 gallons of water.
- Scrub everything you can get to.
- Rinse with pressure washer.
End result... sore arms and back... very clean boat and any smell should be gone.

This processes has worked very well for me on a couple of restoration projects. All of the teak is clean and ready for a fresh coat of varnish, no sanding required for the most part.

I used a small pump on a drill to keep up with the water flow. Actually pressure washers do not use that much water.

NOTE: Where gloves and a face shield, just plan on getting wet.:D

Sounds like you are having fun. I can not imagine anyone leaving that mess in the bilge, it would be totally uninhabitable.

I would not advise skipping the AC side. Our boat had 12ga wiring for 30 amps (from factory)! The main breaker was a single pole instead of the double pole required (neutral/hot). Would highly recommend a Smart Plug for your shoreside connection, when I pulled mine I saw how close it was to catching fire.
Our boat had the alt bracket break and the whole bilge is still covered in a thin layer of oil. I am looking at the oil eating microbes also. Anyone used these yet?