A NEW Cat

We could use a few mast-Balls

Now a word from out sponsor.
http://www.catsailor.com/store/pc/viewcategories.asp

What's the

BEST

Sealant for use on the bolts & stay-mounts ?

The hulls are ready to go back on the X-beams & i need to seal
the bolts ; what should i use that's better than silicone sealant ?

Bille

3M 5200 marine sealant is the best - but can be very difficult to remove if you need to remove things later. 4200 sealant is a little less permanent. Either can be cleaned up with mineral spirits while it's still wet to leave a nice smooth finish.

I was onced involved with a Nacra that someone had seated it's beams to the hulls with 5200. When it finally came apart, the fiberglass hull was still stuck to the beam.

a leaky mast is a disaster waiting to happen.

El-cheapo method of finding out where it leaks is to toss it in the water (by itself) and see if you can find bubbles.

A pinhole drain near the base of the mast will help drain any water that may find its way into the mast during sailing later on.

What's wrong with using a standard marine silicone? This is what's used on most boats and works just fine.

I would definitely not recommend using 3M 5200. If you ever need to take the boat apart in the future, you're going to really regret using that stuff - it is a permanent adhesive and you'll likely end up damaging/destroying the hulls, beams, or both trying to get them apart.

Use marine silicone and if your hulls leak, then you probably have a crack somewhere or another leak source unrelated to the crossbar bolts.

sm

I didn't read that far enough to realize he was talking about the beam bolts - yeah, don't use 5200 on the beams...it's great for sealing miscellaneous hardware and screw port bases (that will likely need to be removed later because it's falling apart).

since he's talking about the beam bolts, does the Miracle 20 have stainless bolts going into aluminum so you have to consider corrosion?

Hey! Good to hear of another Catsailor in our neck of the woods!
Throw the mast in the swimming pool to find the leaks. But if you do it on a hot day, cool it down by spraying it with the garden hose first. Otherwise when it hits that cool water it will suck a bunch of water in due to cooling contraction. Leave part of the mast sticking out of the water till the sun heats it up a bit and you should start to see bubbles where you have air leaks. Marine silicone, try not to make a mess, take your time, tape off around leaky areas if you are concerned about making a mess.
For the hulls, an air compressor and hose, no more than a maybe 5 lbs of pressure in through the drain plug, do not over-pressurize!!!!!!!!! squirted bottle with soapy water, squirt every rivet, screw, crack, fitting, cover, till you find all the leaks, hit them with silicone. It's a 2 man job unless your pretty resourceful . Pressurize, squirt, mark holes, wash off soap, dry completely, silicone, sail the F out of it!

Have you looked up Gordo up there at Mohave? He could be a big help.
Also, a friend sold his N5.8 NA to a guy that sails up at Mohave.
Look us up at Fleet 42.org and come over to Phoenix for some sailing at Lake Pleasant and Lake Roosevelt.

We had a Miracle at Roosevelt this weekend, the guys driving it were pretty fast!
We will be out at Roosevelt again third weekend of May at Horse Pasture.
Also, there should be a pretty good size group of cats heading to Rocky Point in two weeks, lots of Hobies!
This coming weekend, Sunday , regatta at lake Pleasant.
Get that boat together an come sailing with us!

For the hull bolts, I use a Teflon paste. Would need to go out to my shop and get the details.

Regarding the sealant question, BoatUS latest issue just had an article about sealants/adhesives for bedding deck fittings. I found most comments applicable for our needs as well.

They recommended against silicon as it tends to weather quickly and give up, and leaves a residue that nothing will want to adhere to.

They also mentioned that the 3M 5200/4200 stuff should be used very carefully and only appropriate for 100% permanent needs.

The stuff they recommended is Polyether based 3M 4000UV or West Marine Multicaulk. Seems to hit the sweet spot for flexibility, bond strength, weathering, etc.

Tef-Gel
pretty amazing stuff - http://www.jamestowndistributors.co... &keyword=product_ad_546&type=pla

Nice buy on the H20M,

An older boat now, but still a nice boat, very bouyant- could have put a bit more of that in the front end, but still a nice solid boat- in most cases.

Damn that stuff is expensive. Welcome to

marine

.

I would be tempted to give Rector Seal a try

c'mon...now you're just making stuff up.

The picture was misleading...that price was for a 16oz tub and not the little syringe shown.

I realized that <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" /> Still pricey stuff.

A one ounce tube lasts a long time and compared to the cost of replacing or repairing stuff it's priceless. Jamestown isn't cheap either. Look at the Tefgel site and you may find a dealer near you to save shipping costs.

Fer seriously

It works great for on all kinds of different metals and with all sorts of nasty chemicals. Its available just about anywhere.

http://www.rectorseal.com/

I'm not sure what you intended to link to - but good god...are people really

huffing

refrigerant to the point that you need to lock your charging ports?

Yep, Happens all the time. Nothing like a good dose of R-22 to get the party going.

This is the product I had in mind, they have about 10 different flavor a though.

http://www.rectorseal.com/RectorSeal-No-5.php

from how much i have used when removing both beams, fabricating and attaching a new dolphin striker, my $12 tube will last the life of a boat (or 2)

After seeing the results after 300 salt water sails (2 years)... i couldn't be more impressed with this product

Unforutnately, that was pretty rampant up in Lehigh Acres during the housing debacle. Lots of abandoned houses and unattended HVAC units.

I can only presume that huffing the refrigerant produces a

high

because of the asphyxia? If that is the case, why don't they just put a plastic bag over their head? Or suck helium balloons?

I enjoy the thrill of driving home at night to find pre-teen (under 14) kids dressed in dark clothing sitting in circles texting each other IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

At least cats and racoons try to get out of the way...

Maybe it's their activism campaign to ensure the residential speed limit of 25 mph?

One kid was recently smacked by a soccer mom late for her kid's game. Thankfully the kid in the street lived (broke leg), but the mom about flipped her land-yacht (I think it was an Armada or Excursion) swerving out of the way. Took out three water pipes/check valves too so no water for a day...

I wouldn't use this stuff for the boat. The description mentions nothing about preventing corrosion caused by dissimilar metals.

Today we packaged up the Main-sail and sent it off to
North Star kite & sail repair in San Diego, to get some
Reefing grommets & patches sewn into the third panel
from the bottom,(remaining aria about the size of a Hobie-16).

We Got a H-16 jib for when we reef the main ; we need to
practice the change-up , i think it's something that
can be done while under-way,
(i do that on a 45ft mono-hull); remember it blows 25+
at lake Mohave, and i'm kinda conservative. No way
would i bring that Rocket into that much wind with
Full sail aria (.)

The Cat is Near-Done except for sealing the Hull bolts, Fore-stay brackets,
& Mast, and the rudder mount bolts,
( i glassed both the hulls in the stern because of spiders
in the gel), and fixed some small de-lams on the daggers & rudders.

We decided Ageist using a Mast-float right off ; instead
we're gonna seal the Mast and practice righting it in
the bay at 6-mile Mohave in calm air. If there's a problem
then we get the ugly Mast-float LATER.

SO, i'll be researching all the sealants you guys suggested
and it should be in the water late next week !!

THANKS from : Bille and Tracy --co/owners

Ps :
Tracy's wife isn't nearly as Pissed now, at the
New purchase, cause
his --Nacra 5.2-- got sold last night . HA !!

Be sure to note that the boat will be A LOT harder to right from capsized in calm conditions. For practice, flip the boat in a moderate 10-12knt breeze to practice. The wind will actually help the righting of the boat....the more wind, the easier the boat rights.

Uh, perhaps when the angle of the boat/sails are optimal for righting in the wind?
I mean, what if the wind is pushing on to the bottom of the tramp?
When it's pushing on the top of the tramp, better be hanging on the windward dolphin striker, eh?

Mast floats are the mark of a flunkie, if you want to sail and everyone stays away from you- put a mast float up there

Sounds like you're going about it well.

Never thought of reefing and smaller jibs like the monosluggers do- I just sheet/downhaul the SHEET oout of everything and feather up a bit.

Going with smaller sail area in the heavier stuff sounds like a good plan!