considering purchasing a 1988 Catalina 30

[Jeff St Romain]

I have been looking at a 1988 Catalina 30 Tall rig, the boat was damaged in Hurricane Katrina and has been repaired. The hurricane raised the water level up and the the bow section repeatedly struck the roof of the dock causing damage to the head. The the bow pulpit has been repaired, the haed stay and halyards rhave been replaced. Also in the bigle the mast step has been was been replaced/repaired and that work seems to have been done very well. I have also heard that is a common problem on Catalina 30's. On the top deck where the mast comes into contact with the deck their is a very slight depression on both sides of the mast. Is this something I should be concerned with or is this a common problem with a 21 year old boat? Is the problem caused by a compression of the balsa core?

[Bad Obsession]

1988 is a Catalina MKII. In MKII Catalina was supposed have changed the way they did the compression post to prevent the"Birds Nest" at the mast. I have a 1990 Catalina 30 and my compression area is just fine.

If I was you, I would have a good survey done on the boat. Don't buy a boat without a survey. Base your decision on an educated opinion from a qualified surveyor.

Check the bulkheads to make sure that they are fine, check the chain plates and the area around the chain plates, check for blisters, and check all the rigging, running rigging, engine, and other parts. If they are fine then have the surveyor come in and do a full survey.

Catalina 30 MKII has some excellent improvements. They are great boats and they can take a beating. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Bob4203]

Jeff, I own a 1988 Mark II Catalina and when I was searching the 30 line-up I thought the Mark II offered the best of all the 30 had to offer (wing keel, new interior - laminants, wood backsplash, new nav. station, updated electrical panel, flat interior floor pan, new traveler, bow sprit, T-cockpit, etc, etc). Despite these updates the Mark II model before hull numhber #5397 had the standard old wood mast compression post. Check your hull number and see if its over #5397. With this particular hull, Catalina hence forth and forever more replaced the wood support with a metal support to minimize or drastically reduce the compression post deterioration and the "sagging" of the deck you are referring to. The underlying wood piece glassed into the bildge supports the post that holds up the mast. This piece of wood can and will rot over time through seepage. As a result the mast will drop a bit and cause the deck to sag where the mast step plate is located. I have a very slight sag; however, it has not gotten any worse over the years. I was aware of it during the survey, but that did not keep me from buying the boat. Our surveyor used the term, "slight settling, but acceptable". I am sure 30's in the hundreds have been sailing safely for decades with this issue without benefit of repair. Their is a thread on this repair on the 30 Catalina International Association website, if you want to tackle the job yourself. The mast of course must be down. Try and open and close the door to the head and see if their is any resistance at the top of the door against the glass liner. This resistance is always a good test to see just how much sag has occured. If you are overly concerned, check a reputable yard for the cost of repair. Overall the Mark II is a great vessel.

Good Luck
Bob '88 Mark II
Georgia

[jeff950]

Our 1982 Catalina 30 (a Mark I) also had a "slight depression
on both sides of the mast". Slight enough that our surveyor
didn't spot it when we bought the boat two years ago. But
he did recommend replacing the standing rigging, and the rigger
spotted the depression.

What had happened is that moisture had gotten into the plywood
core in the deck under the mast (probably through the hole for
the mast wiring). Fortunately, only this plywood was damaged,
not the compression post underneath. The yard cut out the
rotted plywood and replaced it with a sheet of plastic "marine
lumber" and replaced the fibreglass and gelcoat. Looks great,
but it cost me a bunch (mostly labor charges).

My guess is that you could live with this if it isn't getting worse,
but I would be really nervous about moisture getting into the
compression post (if you don't have the metal support as
of hull #5397) and causing major, expensive problems.
And, as I remember, the boatyard guys didn't think they could
check that post for rot without first removing the bad plywood,
at which point you're pretty much committed to the full deck
repair.