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Catalina 25 Specific Forum

anchor locker/ hull joint

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TomA
1st Mate

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USA
91 Posts

Initially Posted - 02/21/2004 : 12:45:11

My boat has a separation of the hull and anchor locker on port side of the v-berth. The separation is not along the joint, but is parallel to it (about an inch or so inboard). Because the separation (gap) is very straight, it seems to have been cut by the PO. I have no clue why he would do this.

Alternatively, is it possible that fiberglass would crack in a perfectly straight line? Maybe the boat bumped against a piling during one of our hurricanes and caused the separation. But, that sounds unlikely to me because the gap is perfectly straight.

I saw a previous thread about how to repair an anchor locker separation. Would the same technique apply here?

I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

Tom

Tom Albright

Edited by - TomA on 02/21/2004 13:09:15

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 02/21/2004 : 13:22:22

Tom,

You don't mention what model year your boat is, but as I recall the anchor locker floor in my 1979 is part of the molded headliner, and wasn't very well sealed around the edges. Catalina probably went a little narrow on the anchor locker to be sure it didn't impede installing the combined deck and headliner assembly onto the hull and liner assembly. (I suspect that there were already plenty of costly extra hands, rubber mallets, prybars, and shouted profanities involved at this important manufacturing step without adding avoidable complications.) That gap you're seeing may be "normal".

As I've probably mentioned before, I carefully refiberglassed about the entire interior of my anchor locker, sealing it completely from the rest of the hull. While I was at it, I installed much stronger backing plates for the mooring cleats, and went up one size on the mounting screws. I also enlarged the drain tube from soda straw to 1/2"SCH40PVC. I added Beckson plates for access to the bulbs in the whale-eye nav. lights, and rerouted that wiring through the forepeak and under the V-berth. I also had to recore the foredeck ahead of the anchor locker as a result of a poor repair to previous damage. My anchor locker hatch cover had some cracks around the edges, which I repaired from the underside with fiberglass tape and epoxy. I think I also then added a layer of woven roving to the entire underside of the hatch to stiffen it. I know I did this to the floor of the anchor locker to strengthen it.

I hope this info helps with your anchor locker problem.

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

TomA
1st Mate

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USA
91 Posts

Response Posted - 02/21/2004 : 13:32:01

Thanks, Leon. My boat is a 1989 model. I'll have to check to see if it was made as you described. I'm glad to hear that this is probably "normal", and not a sign of a larger problem.

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 02/21/2004 : 14:36:49

Leon wrote... "I added Beckson plates for access to the bulbs in the whale-eye nav. lights"

Where did you put those plates in? My 1979 lights simply protrude into the anchor locker.
That is not a good situation as they could easily be damaged by a shifting anchor. Gotta do some headscratching on that one.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 02/21/2004 : 14:56:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ClamBeach
 ...My 1979 lights simply protrude into the anchor locker.
That is not a good situation as they could easily be damaged by a shifting anchor...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

On my 80' boat, the bow lights are protected inside the anchor locker by covers.

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Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 02/21/2004 : 15:48:03

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Don Lucier:

On my 80' boat, the bow lights are protected inside the anchor locker by covers.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Yeah, the thin fiberglass sugar scoops. Both mine were torn off and rattling around loose when I got the boat. They didn't do much to keep (salt)water off the lights in the first place. I wasn't impressed.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ClamBeach:

Where did you put those [Beckson] plates in?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">At the lights?

I used plates that are 4"IDx5-3/4"OD. I started by making a 3/4" plywood donut about that size as a mounting ring for the plate. I held that up against the side of the anchor locker where the light is, and measured how much gap needed to be filled. I then cut some more plywood donuts (with appropriate bites out of them) to fill that gap. After stacking the donuts with epoxy mush, I did a bit of final fitting with a power sander. Then I mounted the entire fabricated plywood stack to the inside of the anchor locker using epoxy thickened with micro balloons. One way to get a neater fit with less residual mess is to tape some wax paper to the boat as a mold release, deliberately preventing the plywood from bonding to the fiberglass. After that cures, remove the new part, wash and sand away the surface contaminated with wax, and check the fit. Cut away any excess ooz, fill any major gaps, etc. When the plywood and epoxy inspection plate mount is a reasonably good fit to the fiberglass, clean the area with acetone, and permanently install with a much smaller batch of epoxy mush than would have been required to do it all in one pass. There's a trade off here between time spent meticulously shaping the wood, vs. the amount of epoxy filler used. With the nav. light wiring rerouted through the forepeak, the lights are now completely sealed off from the anchor locker. While I was at it, I replaced the socket assemblies and lenses, and polished the reflectors. The lights look and work like new, except for being more reliable now.

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - Leon Sisson on 02/21/2004 15:50:19

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 02/21/2004 : 16:17:46

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Leon Sisson
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Don Lucier:

On my 80' boat, the bow lights are protected inside the anchor locker by covers.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Yeah, the thin fiberglass sugar scoops. Both mine were torn off and rattling around loose when I got the boat. They didn't do much to keep (salt)water off the lights in the first place. I wasn't impressed.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Hey, I didn't say they were good covers, just covers!

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