|
From
the Captain   |
From the rub rail down this is an old-style (1970-1985) Catalina 22. The cockpit incorporates the aft sloping cockpit sole with the transom scuppers of the new-style (1985-1995) along with a starboard side fuel tank compartment reminiscent of the port side version also found in the new-style.
The cabin top has been completed redesigned. The pop-top has been done away with, and a fiberglass forward hatch is standard. The shape of the side cabin windows combined with the sleek lines of the new cabin provide for wider catwalks which should make moving fore and aft easier.
The standard boat comes with fairly conventional rigging. One of the notable exceptions is the inclusion of both inboard and outboard genoa tracks. The inboard tracks should allow the boat to point better going to weather.
The keel is lead encased in fiberglass, so say goodbye to the annual rust removal those of us that haven't encapsulated our keels go through every year.
The interior reflects the clean lines of the exterior. Gone is the settee, which first turned up missing in 1995 with the introduction of the Catalina 22 MkII. There is lots of storage. Like the new-style, an ice-chest is used as the step into the cabin. The boat should make a great cruiser in addition to a great racer.
The exterior is free of high maintenance wood, except for the tiller. The handrails are stainless steel. On the cockpit's port side is a hatch that opens up exposing the cavern-ness port quarter.
The boat seems to incorporate the learnings of thirty-plus years of C22 production and the feedback of countless owners. The boat is both new and old, Catalina Yachts has managed to save the best and redesign the rest.
In the Water at Last
Plans to get Crocus into the water in March never happened. The
weather was so wet that it was nearly impossible to complete the last couple of
"must do" projects. Installing the spinnaker handling gear was
one of the last things I did before heading to Strictly Sail in California.
One advantage of being a partner in a boat, is that things sometimes get done in your absence. Take launching the boat, while I caught up at work after visiting my sister, Crocus' other owners, Don Bateson and Mike Hibbs, picked up the boat and got it into the water in time for Thursday's Spring Series race.
It's nice having the boat back in the water. Crocus is in slip D32 at Tomahawk Bay Moorage for those interested.
| Cruising |
Plan to Attend the Lemon Island Rendezvous
By Dale Mack
May
21.
Fleet 20 will be holding its annual Lemon Island Rendezvous on Saturday , May
21st. Lemon Island is the most downstream portion of Government Island
(the island that I-205 crosses). Motoring, you can get there in under an hour.
We'll informally rendezvous near buoy "14" at 1 pm, and then head upstream to the north side of Lemon Island where we'll raft-up and share snacks (keep it simple). If you miss us at buoy "14", just head to Lemon Island at your leisure.
The plan is to anchor between the two wing dams, just offshore of Lemon Island (location #3 on the photo). The river's bottom is always changing, so comparisons to conditions from past years may be useless. What I have found in the past is that the cove that normally forms between Government Island and Lemon Island is almost dry when the river's level is between River Stages 2 and 4 (River Stages).
In 1999 we rafted off the beach at #3. In 2000 we managed to navigate between the sand bar and the tip of Government Island to raft up in the cove between Lemon Island and Government Island at #1, and Chris Mountford showed us that at really low levels in 2001 a channel existed between Lemon Island and the sandbar to its north at #2.
I
hope to see you out there, just look for the yellow-hulled C22 with sail number
4248 and that will be me. The sail back in the afternoon should be great.
Oh, and if it rains, lets reschedule for June 11 where we can combine it with
the TBYC Swap Meet and Pancake Feed at Tomahawk Bay Moorage.
| Racing |
The
Spring Series is Underway
By Dale Mack
Unpredictable has been the best word to describe the weather this Spring Series. There is either no wind, or lots of rain. When there has been wind it has been marginal at best and coming out of the East with a strong river current made worse by an outgoing tide (yes, a hundred miles from the ocean and we still see about a 1-2 tidal change).
Despite the weather, getting out on the boat has been a blast. After a year hiatus with Catalina 25 racing, it has been wonderful getting back into the camaraderie of C22 sailing and the familiar hum of the keel cable as the boat builds speed.
I missed the first race of the season because I was attending the Strictly Sail show at Jack London Square in Oakland, California. Awesome show, I'm happily willing to recommend it to any sailing enthusiast.
The second race impacted the Catalina 22 fleet when Solus, with Terry Annis and Mike McGrath, pulled out to grab SYSCO's Boston Whaler to serve as the race committee (the scheduled race committee failed to show up). The wind faded at the end of that race, but Mike and Terry hung in there and allowed us slow pokes to finish after dark. Actually, we were in pretty good company since the Cal 20's and the Cruising Class finished with us.
 Don Bateson, Mike Hibbs, and Bob Gales wait for the wind to fill in. |
The third race of the series had no wind at the start so the race committee postponed. Bob Gales and Gail O'Neill, racing in the Cruising Class, anchored their C30, and before long they had C22's and C25's rafted out several boats deep on both sides of them. Bob and Gail are Catalina 22 Fleet 20 Alumni.
When race #3 did finally get underway, we had a light East wind and a strong out flowing tide enhanced river current. What made things even worse was that the race committee had set such an incredibly short line that it was nearly impossible for anything other than the J/24 fleet to get across.
It was the strangest race that I can recall being in. Half the starters spent the the entire race just trying to get across the starting line so they could head to the first mark. With the wind and the current, everyone was slipping sideways so fast that by the time you got close to the line you were also near either the committee boat or the starting mark. To avoid hitting either you had to fall off and start the whole process again.
While it has been challenging, we've all enjoyed getting out. I look forward to the remainder of the series.
Short Course Racing Clinic
Hosted by North Sails Oregon
May 10th
Invitation: North Sails Oregon (www.northsailsoregon.com) invites all sailboats to participate in some fun, informal short course racing on the Columbia River between the I-5 and I-205 bridges.
Description: Several short course races will be completed in one evening. The goal is to practice starts and boat handling in a relaxed atmosphere. North Sails Oregon will be taking photos and coaching from a powerboat. Skippers and crew should fee free to ask questions of the powerboat crew.
Eligibility: All yachts that are willing to participate and learn!
Date and Time: Tuesday, May 10th. First warning signal is at 6:30 pm.
Registration: None required. Just show up and start.
Fees: None! Come out and join us!.
Supplemental Sailing Instructions: Instructions will be handed out on the water.
For More Information: Contact Kerry or Amy Poe at North Sails Oregon at 503-282-4282 or kerry@sales.northsails.com .
SYSCO Summer Series
Catalina 22 Racing
June 9, 16, 23, 30, & July 7
By Dale Mack
OK, so you missed the SYSCO Spring Series. The Summer Series begins in June, and it is a great excuse to get out on your boat at least once a week.
Catalina 22 racing is about friendly competition. More importantly it's about developing our skills as sailors. Whether you fly a spinnaker or just go wing-n-wing, you'll learn so much while sailing your boat around the buoys.
Don't hesitate to ask anything about racing. I'm happy to share anything I know. You can contact me at celtic_myst@comcast.net.
If you are planning to race, make sure you get your entry form turned into Terry Annis by June 1st to avoid the late fee. Where to send the entry form is contained in the Summer Series Race Notice.
Be sure to check out our Fleet 20 Racing page for more assistance.
| Technical Tips |
Starting an Outboard the Wrong Way
By Dale Mack
There
were no signs of trouble, the four-stroke Honda 5 HP outboard on Crocus
had been performing very well, especially since having been the subject of our
Fleet's outboard motor workshop back in February. It's a Thursday evening
and the crew of Crocus is preparing to race. Don bends down, garbs
the starter rope and gives it a pull. Instead of the typically feel of
engagement and the sound of the engine coming to life, there is only this empty
spinning sound and a starter rope that doesn't seem to be turning the engine
over.
After removing the cover the problem was obvious. The hub of the plastic gear disk had sheared off. Normally a pull of the rope causes the plastic gear disk to rise up and engage with the heavy geared metal flywheel. Spring force then allows the plastic gears to descent away from the flywheel once the engine is running.
I had taken several photos of the outboard during the workshop so I was curious to find if I had captured the pending failure. Sure enough! After zooming in on a couple of shots, cracks and stress fractures could be clearly seen.
I believe the cracks are the result of shock loading caused by the motor's previous owners yanking on the starter rope before the plastic gear disk and the metal flywheel's gears were engaged. Imagine it this way; if all I do is grab the starter rope and pull hard, the plastic gear suddenly rises up and engages with the stationary flywheel. The impact into the heavy flywheel must be horrific.
Starting a Four-Stroke Honda Outboard
To avoid damaging the plastic gear, I recommend a Honda four-stroke starting technique first taught to me on a Catalina 22 Fleet 4 cruise in California when I was still trying to start a four-stroke the way I had learned to start a two stroke. For my example I'm going to assume a cold engine and that the fuel is already hooked up.
- Pull the choke all the way out.
- Slowly pull the starter rope until it starts turning the engine over.
- Slowly keep turning the engine over until you find the compression stroke (it should feel like more resistance).
- Retract the starter rope.
- Slowly pull the starter rope just enough to engage the flywheel.
- Pull the starter rope with some force to start the engine.
- If the engine doesn't start on the first pull, but coughs instead, then push the choke in half way or all the way depend on the air temperature.
- Repeat steps 2 through 6.
| Scuttlebutt |
Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest
By Dale Mack
Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:
|
Columbia River All Catalina Association
(CRACA)
Sail Portland
|
 |
Catalina Assoc. of Tacoma and South Sound (CATSS) |
| Upcoming Events |
May
- 5, Spring Series Race #4
- 10, Short Course Racing Clinic, North Sails Oregon, on the River
- 21, Fleet 20 Lemon Island Rendezvous
- 26, Spring Series Race #5
June
- 9, Summer Series Race #1
- 11, TBYC Swap Meet and Pancake Feed, Tomahawk Bay Moorage
- 16, Summer Series Race #2
- 23, Summer Series Race #3
- 30, Summer Series Race #4
See the calendar
Home / Newsletter / Calendar / Racing / Cruising / Photos / Tech Tips / How to Join / Links
The Fleet 20 newsletter is published online once a month. Articles are the opinions of the
authors and don't necessarily
represent the consensus of Fleet 20.