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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

I have an idea and want input from the group

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djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/06/2006 : 10:20:13

Hi All, in a different thread I was saying how I now keep my fuel tank on the cockpit sole up against the transome as this, for me, is unused space and I don't have to worry about fume build up in the cabin. So, I just now had the thought of splitting that fuel/sail locker in two, horizonily, at the cockpit sole level, then adding a vertical hatch near the front of the cockpit at the level of my calf (I don't know what this is actually called) for better/full access to the new top level of the sail locker, then just knock out the bulkhead in the quarter birth and leave it as open storage. See any flaws in my thinking? or, problems with the construction? Cheers.

Dennis
No Boat
S.E. Michigan

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2006 : 11:36:01

Hi Dennis,

I don't think that teak panel between the quarterberth and the "dumpster" is load-bearing, but I don't think I'd want to remove it ... it just wouldn't look right to my way of thinking ... 'just a personal preference. I do want to cut an access door through it and use the cut-out piece to fashion a sliding hatch, but I haven't worked out the details yet.

Anyway, here are a couple of ideas for making that huge lazarette easier to use. I think this idea is in our Tech Tips somewhere, but I don't know exactly which one ... here is a photo of a shelf that someone installed in there:

I thought that was a great idea, but I did something similar and simpler (I think). I used some lifeline netting to make a "false floor" in the lazarette. It is supported by hooks that I attached to the insides of the locker. The netting can be adjusted so that the depth is wherever you want it, and it keeps stored items up high enough so you can easily reach them. It also keeps things off the floor of the locker, in case you've got some rain leaks in there

.

Also, in order to more easily access the front part of the "dumpster," I installed this hatch:

Since I have wheel steering, I had to use a fairly small hatch so it wouldn't hit the steering pedestal when opened ... since you have a tiller, you could use a bigger hatch. It makes it MUCH easier to get in there!

'Hope that gives you some ideas you can use. Let us know what you decide to do, and good luck!

edited for spelling

Edited by - Buzz Maring on 09/06/2006 11:38:00

PZell
Admiral

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USA
548 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2006 : 11:50:09

Sparky is a '79 with the shelf aft in the port compartment. I wanted to be able to carry more fuel if needed, so built another shelf butting up to the original gas can shelf but lower (just above the teak panel down there). I used some aluminum angle irons and an angled brace on the port most side that goes from the new shelf up to the old shelf. Sorry, no picture. Hope this is clear. Anyway, I have a shelf there that holds a six gallon tank. It leaves enough room between the shelf and the hull bulkhead to store a couple of fenders. You still have to dive to the bottom forward of the new shelf for other stuff though.

Edited by - on

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2006 : 13:19:18

Thanks Buzz and Paul. Maybe I am being a little to paranoid, but I just hate the thought that if the I get pooped and the new hatch fails, it could swamp the boat so I am planning on a solid divider glassed in so it is water tight.

Buzz, I see your sole does not look factory. Did you rebuild it? Mine has become soft and I am thinking about rebuilding it. Cheers.

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Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2006 : 13:27:48

Dennis,

The following doesn't precisely address your question, but might still provide you with some ideas.

In my opinion, the plywood divider between the quarterberth and the sail locker (a.k.a. The Dumpster) is structural. If you look aft under the cockpit from in the cabin, you'll notice there's not much supporting the weight of the cockpit (and up to an additional 1/2 ton of occupants). The stairs, a corner of the galley counter, and that vertical piece of plywood are about it. The stairs also support the raised swing keel. The stairs bear on the cabin sole, but there's not much under that to stbd except some stiff plywood core (unless it's gotten soggy around the bolt holes for the stairs). Similarly, there's not much under that inboard corner of the galley transferring vertical loads to the hull and keel trunk. (In a swing keel C-25 the keel trunk also serves as a hull stiffener, similar to the way the drive shaft tunnel in a rear wheel drive unibody car stiffens the floor pan.) So I'd be cautious about removing any of the original support under the cockpit without adding something to compensate.

I divided the dumpster of my 1979 C-25 into a handful of separate compartments to make the space more usable. A complete description might give me finger cramps, but here's a brief list of the cubby holes. Starting at the bottom, a fresh water bladder below the level of the quarterberth platform. A small 'closet' to port of the quarterberth just aft of the galley. A 12 gal internal fuel tank just forward of the hatch in the cockpit seat. A shelf behind the galley sink to store pots, pans, etc. A cockpit locker directly under the existing hatch. The old fuel tank shelf was cut away and replaced by a cranking battery in a box. A vertical compression post was added inside the galley cabinetry beneath where the top step meets the galley. I'd stil like to add some support in the bilge under the stbd leg of the stairs, and some serious tabbing where the stbd wall of the dumpster meets the hull (below the piece of plywood which started this whole rambling tangent).

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2006 : 13:43:04

Buzz, I see your sole does not look factory. Did you rebuild it? Mine has become soft and I am thinking about rebuilding it.

'Nope ... that's the original cockpit sole ... I haven't had to rebuild it. I remember that someone did rebuild theirs, but I don't remember who it was. I DO remember it was quite a job ... maybe you can do a search and find it in the archives.

'Hope that helps ... I'll see if I can find the thread about the cockpit sole.

Edit: 'Found it. Dan (AKA "Happy D") had to re-core his cockpit sole. Here is a link to the thread where he talks about it: [url="http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=12251&SearchTerms=sole"]Cockpit Sole[/url], and here is a link to his website where he details the repair: [url="http://home.wmis.net/%7Edhapp/cockpit/cockpit.html"]Cockpit Sole Repair[/url]

Edited by - Buzz Maring on 09/06/2006 13:55:52

RichardG
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 09/06/2006 : 23:53:40

I've done a couple minor repairs to small cracks at the corner where the sole meets the vertical sides. There is no wood core there and I was quite surprised at how really thin it is there. I agree with Leon -- I think the plywood divider provides much needed support to the cockpit.

Edited by - on

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2006 : 10:18:33

I took a long look at the plywood divider does bare weight. That is not a problem though, four very large lightning holes will allow total access and still give the needed support. If I leave 2 inches of material top and botton of the lightning holes, that should be plenty. There is a formul for lightning whole, but this will be close enough as it is in straight compressioin with no lateral or longitudinal forces. Cheers.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2006 : 11:24:29

IMHO (and I seldom add that disclaimer...)
As many of you know I play with that bulkhead a lot because of my airconditioners. I let that bulkhead sit out the entire first winter and worked on that 82 constantly. I never had a sense of the any compromise to the structure. The screws that hold the bulkhead in go into liner glassthat is not very thick. The edges of the bulhead are not pressed into place but sit in the opening with no pressure on the edges. I think the cockpit support is more of a suspension event where the rigidity of the entire thing is provided by the molded shape of the deck/cockpit. Most of you know how big I am, 300lb, and I often have another 3-500lb in the cocpit with me. I have never seen any sign of the bulkhead bearing weight. I currently have short bulkheads on either side of the airconditioner for isolation purposes, the AC is an inch short of the cockpit sole so it does nothing to support it. After several years with these boats, I am convinced they are very strong and the hull and deck together probably provide all the structural integrity that is needed. I am not sure the main bulkheads needed to be there if the deck was adequately reinforced with coreing.

Edited by - on

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 09/07/2006 : 13:02:47

Hi Frank, the only issue I am having with mine is the sole of the cockpit has become soft and so I see a lot of movement when someone is in the cockpit walking back and forth and I am in the Q birth observing. Maybe rebuilding the cockpit sole would help this. Cheers.

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dblitz
Navigator

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240 Posts

Response Posted - 09/12/2006 : 20:20:45

I resolved the dumpster problem in the port locker by:
Putting all my lines in a collapsible wire/mesh laundry basket like they sell at the drugstore (sometimes the 99 cent store has them). That's the furthest in.
Next comes my backup anchor/rode/line in the biggest wastebasket that will fit in. The anchor has the tennis balls on it so, if it bangs around nothing gets damaged.
Next, comes another wastebasket that fits 3 bumpers.
That pretty much is it for the port locker.
What does everybody else keep in there?

Edited by - on

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 09/12/2006 : 20:34:33

I adhered a strip of teak, horizontally, to the vertical side of the fuel can shelf, and screwed in some SS eyes. I've got the garden hose for rinse-offs tied up and on a lead back to a hook. The bumpers are in the mesh bag they came in, on a lead back to a hook. A spare (and empty) gerry can w/ a lead back to a hook, the scrub bucket w/ brush and boat soap on a lead back to a hook. Basically anything stored in the locker is easily retrievable via a lead line.

Jerry

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/12/2006 : 20:50:26

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dblitz
 
What does everybody else keep in there?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">my airconditioning

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