On my previous C30 I installed a 34" wheel with a teak rim. This made getting to the aft a bit awkward but allowed me to sit on the coaming and drive and have warm hands. Next year I plan to build a new wheel for Wavelength and would like to know what owners think is the optimum size for a MKI.
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Ross & Joanne
Wavelength
Saint John NB
RKYC
C36 #658 TR 1987
Ross,
Teak trim!!!???? Wow! That would be nice! My MkI (#659, next to yours on the assembly line) came with a 32" wheel from the factory, and I thought it was too small. I also like to steer from the rail, so I sold my old wheel on eBay and bought a slightly used 40" wheel. Couldn't easily walk past it, but it was very easy to step up on the seat to get past, and I thought the size was perfect. Others will probably have different opinions. I'm pretty sure that MkII's came from the factory with a 40" wheel, but that's a different cockpit and stern.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
Here is a link to my C30 page of photos. You will find a couple of pics of the wheel here. I am planning to put up a web site as I rebuild Wavelength just need to sort through a few details.
[URL="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Catalina30/photos/album/1140210241/pic/lis..."]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Catalina30/photos/album/1140210241/pic/lis...
Ross & Joanne
Wavelength
Saint John NB
RKYC
C36 #658 TR 1987
I put a 42" on my mark 1. I would actually go 44" if I was doing it again.
The 42" I got came off of a Cat 34, the owner thought it was too big.
I think the 42" is a pretty good fit, you can still climb around it easily and its just big enough for me to reach when sitting on the rail. This was the first thing I changed on the boat when I bought it.
Jason V
Vancouver, BC, Canada
A parallel discussion over on co.com
[url]http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=136464[/url]
Stu Jackson, C34IA Secretary, C34 #224, 1986, SR/FK, M25 engine, Rocna 10 (22#)