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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

keel cable

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rclift
Navigator

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USA
152 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/17/2007 : 15:27:37

I replaced the keel cable 5 or 6 years ago and at the time it was believed that the cables being supplied by Catalina Direct were inferior to those being supplied by Catalina Yachts. I haven't heard any complaints about the CD cables in many years so can I assume that those concerns have been taken care of?

Ray Clift
Buzz 1361 sk/tr
Oregon

Edited by - on

djn
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 01/17/2007 : 16:27:14

Hi Ray, I don't know about past quality issues, but if you are running in salt water, it might be a good idea to change the cable every three years. Cheers.

Edited by - on

Jay Schkloven
1st Mate

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USA
84 Posts

Response Posted - 01/20/2007 : 09:29:43

It is important to inspect the cable whatever the age may be. I had a cable that had 3 broken strands and it was only 1 year old. The cable got pinched on the winch and the cable strands broke. This was noticed on the last sail of the season. The ball needs to be checked too to make sure the cable is turning it and not dragging across a surface. I have used Catalina Yacht cables and have not had any other issues.

Edited by - on

georgiaboater
1st Mate

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USA
72 Posts

Response Posted - 01/23/2007 : 22:37:58

Catalina Yacht....Catalina Direct....what's the difference on the older boats...90 and older....I thought we kind of had the blessing of Catalina Yachts in using the CD ordered parts

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 01/24/2007 : 12:25:09

Ray I seem to remember the discussion that you are referring to and if I remember correctly the person making the original claim later reported that the problem was because CD had mistakingly sent him a c22 cable. Perhaps the fellow will clear this up when he sees your post.

Val on the hard DAGNABIT # 3936, Patchogue, N.Y.

Edited by - on

Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts

Response Posted - 01/24/2007 : 21:25:45

Ray, I have had a problem two years ago with Catalina Direct sending me what I thought was an substandard keel cable which lasted a week in fresh water,than broke. I called and spoke with Lowell about this and even sent the broken cable back AT MY Expense

, so he could examine it. I than called him and asked him what he thought. No answer.. No satisfaction

. I also just had a problem with them again regarding the New Roller Furling I just bought from them...Again after my initiated calls to them regarding follow-up they wanted to place the blame on some one else

. I personally feel at this point if I could order from someone else I would and I intend to. It appears to me they are not interested in the customer.

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 01/24/2007 : 23:12:52

For what it's worth, I have ordered many parts through Catalina Yachts factory parts department, and have taken up hours of their time with nit picking technical questions about an entry level boat decades out of production. I've been very satisfied with the service they've given me. Whenever it looks to me like my choices have come down to dealing with either Catalina Yachts factory or Catalina Direct, I try the factory first. Their level of customer support and value provided is in my experience not just exceptional, but uniquely superior.

Oh, and just to stay on topic, I get my swing keel cables from Catalina Yachts.

-- Leon Sisson

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dave holtgrave
Captain

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USA
427 Posts

Response Posted - 01/25/2007 : 10:31:41

alan and leon
you said it all.

100% in agreement.
alan thanks for your boldness.
leon i'm with you.

i stop by catalina's factory for parts and get hands down service.

there are many places looking to give good service.

dave holtgrave
hard and dry near carlyle lake in southern illinois.

Edited by - on

rclift
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
152 Posts

Response Posted - 01/25/2007 : 21:40:49

Many thanks for the advice. I've always had great service from Catalina Direct and really appreciate the ease of making a purchase from them. That said, I need to have a really high degree of confidence in the quality of the cable so I'll be buying this one from Catalina Yachts.

I keep my boat in fresh water and check the cable closely whenever the boat comes out of the water and probably wouldn't even be changing it this year except for the incident when hauling the boat. We had extremely high water this year in the late fall with a tremedous current in the river and lots of debris in the water. When I finally hauled the boat onto the trailer I noticed I was having a heck of a time getting the boweye up to the winch post. Even though I had cranked the keel all the way I got back on the boat and cranked again. Something gave way and the keel retracted a few more turns.
As soon as the trailer came up out of the water the reason for all the difficulty became clear. A two inch diameter branch was wedged in the keel cable and trunk. As far as I can tell the branch broke before the keel was damaged but just to be safe I'll be taking it all apart just to make sure.

Edited by - on

georgiaboater
1st Mate

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USA
72 Posts

Response Posted - 02/01/2007 : 21:56:50

Well....all of my experience in ordering parts has been with CD and I have generally been satisfied with the order service.....but. alas, their technical service is another matter...the guy I always get is essentially rude....or lets just say relatively condecending much like the techies you get at many of the 1-800 help desks or your company's tech support dept...lol

Edited by - on

pete454ss
Deckhand

Members Avatar

USA
24 Posts

Response Posted - 02/01/2007 : 23:10:27

I just purchased a keel cable from CD... after reading through this thread i am concerned about quality issues. Has any body used one of these cables in salt water with out any problems? I also ordered a new winch from CD are there any issues with this item as well? I checked the Catalina Yachts web site and couldn't find any parts listed on the site.

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Brooke Willson
Admiral

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USA
983 Posts

Response Posted - 02/02/2007 : 05:22:02

I've installed two cables from CD, my boat stays in the Chesapeake, and I've had no problems. I've had great relationships with CD over the years -- when I ordered my new motor mount, Lowell called and asked if I wanted the backing rails too, since I hadn't ordered them. Dionne has been always delightful. Whenever I've had a question, they've been very responsive and polite.

Brooke

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 02/02/2007 : 06:33:00

All cables are swaged (unless you use stay-loks like Leon), so any cable from anyone can fail. I was very impressed with the cable I got from CD but would never trust one from my local guy. If you have a local guy you trust then have them make one. All of my standing rigging is from CD and I am very comfortable with it.

Edited by - on

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 02/26/2007 : 19:54:16

Some of you mention ordering parts directly from Catalina Yachts factory. How do you do this? I could not find any website or phone number. I'm going to be replacing most of my swing keel hardware soon and would like to compare prices to Catalina Direct.

Thanks,

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 02/27/2007 : 06:30:57

Try Chris
Chris@catalinayachts.com

Edited by - on

Happy D
Admiral

Members Avatar

921 Posts

Response Posted - 02/27/2007 : 06:38:29

Catalina Yachts 818-884-7700

Edited by - on

Justin
Admiral

Members Avatar

502 Posts

Response Posted - 02/27/2007 : 07:57:27

Thanks Frank, I just sent Chris an email.

One question about the casting kit... Catalina Direct says you may have to take the castings to a machine shop to be ground to the correct size. Have most of you that installed them encountered this? I'm thinking this will be a real pain and extend the time required to get the project done. I am hoping to complete it in a weekend. I was thinking about maybe using a hand held grinder myself if I need to cut it down slightly. Do the castings usually fit fine without modification?

Thanks,

Edited by - on

Brooke Willson
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
983 Posts

Response Posted - 02/27/2007 : 08:02:54

Justin, they come slightly oversize, which is a good thing -- you can grind them down so they fit but prevent wobble. You can use a hand grinder -- that's what my yard has done.

Brooke

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DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 02/27/2007 : 08:15:14

Wow, awful glad I decided to read this thread, good to know. I've only had one small problem with CD, some screens I bought that didn't fit the stock forward port holes.

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Justin
Admiral

Members Avatar

502 Posts

Response Posted - 03/15/2007 : 12:27:28

I highly recommend checking with Chris in the Catalina Yachts factory parts department. I'm going to be saving almost $60 on the swing keel replacement parts through him compared to Catalina Direct! Since this thread is about the keel cable, I'll give you the example... CY Parts it costs $44.73 and CD it is $63. Several price differences in all the parts do add up considerably. Thanks for the tip Frank and Dan!

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 03/15/2007 : 14:11:13

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by georgiaboater
 Well....all of my experience in ordering parts has been with CD and I have generally been satisfied with the order service.....but. alas, their technical service is another matter...the guy I always get is essentially rude....or lets just say relatively condecending much like the techies you get at many of the 1-800 help desks or your company's tech support dept...lol
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It isn't that you always have the bad luck of getting the same guy you are getting the only guy. That is Lowell and he is the owner. It is also why the hours are rather set in stone for tech help. I dealt with him a lot for the nationals last year and I can say that he really does run hot or cold. There really isn't a medium setting for him.

The old issue with CD was that they were apparently sending out C-22 cables. Members (many still here) did tests on cables for breaking strength and all sorts of stuff. I will say that since we've really made a habit of preaching cable inspection here on this website I haven't heard of a cable failure. I purchased mine from Catalina yachts directly and received excellent service.

DW

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triley
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
251 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2007 : 22:13:06

Wow, Hadn't even thought about it, but it's been two years- this season will be third- since I replaced my keel cable. Have to remember to check it and maybe replace if there is even one thread broken or the swage end seems cracked at the joining with the cable. Have a second one incase, so maybe will just replace it. I had one break and had to fish keel up with a set of sheets and my self taling winches to get the damn boat out of the water. Ruined the sheets, of course.

Boat on lift in fresh water now. I wonder if this is better or worse than having keel in water the way I used to?

Edited by - on

triley
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
251 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2007 : 15:59:56

I installed a new keel cable from CD this last Saturday. 8 inches shorter than my last one and the clevis pin does not fit my yoke. Am I in trouble here, or is this a difference between CD and Cat Yachts where I bought mny last 3 years ago?

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stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1608 Posts

Response Posted - 05/21/2007 : 22:49:05

Just replaced my keel cable and all related fittings. CD was very helpful - as I had started by telling him what I wanted, and he ended up suggesting some parts that I ended up needing.

My keel bolt is a retrofit, and the bolt is sunk into the keel, so I had to grind the swaged end to get it to fit. I used an electric drill with a metal grinding wheel and it took only about five minutes to get it to the right shape.

The cable I rec'd from CD looks slightly beefier than the existing cable. It was exactly the right length - which is very important because I believe the wear and tear on the old cable came mostly from overlap on the winch.
I've ordered from both CD and Catalina factory. The main thing, is to do your homework, and be able to ask informed questions.

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triley
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
251 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2007 : 09:18:37

I never thought about overlap on the winch drum. Mine fits. Thge CY cable was just as beefy as the CD replacement. Thanks.

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 05/22/2007 : 22:36:53

" wear and tear on the old cable came mostly from overlap on the winch."

That's where it pays to get the cable laying nice and tight when you load it. From there on, if you are careful lowering the keel and don't unwind the cable from the drum so it 'birds-nests', you won't get an overlap and binding problem. If you do get 'unspooled' fully lowering the keel and carefully guiding the cable into a nice wrap with a piece of wood (etc) as you raise it will help keep the cable from fraying.

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