From the Captain
By Dale Mack, Crocus, #8244
celtic-myst@comcast.net

The annual dilemma of yard work versus finishing boat projects has begun.  Throw in warmer and dryer weather and yard work is going to lose that battle most of the time.  Crocus will be in the water before the end of the month.  I'm really looking forward to the sailing.

Speaking of boating projects, my upgrade to internal halyards went very well and the steps will be covered in a future newsletter technical article.  In the process I had to unexpectedly replace a spreader.  The project turned into more than I had bargained for but by the time I was finished I was very happy with the results.  The spreader fabrication process is covered in this newsletter.

Training Available

If you're new to racing, thinking about racing for the first time, interested in crewing, or just want to learn about how racing is conducted on the Columbia River, then plan to attend the SYSCO Race Clinic March 29 & 30.  I'm one of the instructors at the clinic and I can promise you will find it both informative and entertaining.  Details about the clinic are available later in the newsletter

February's Meeting Well Attended

Members of Fleet 20 had the pleasure of attending the February Catalina Association meeting at the Pacific Grill and Chowder House located within the Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay.  Most folks socialized and ate dinner before the meeting began.  The guest speaker was Larry Brandt (C36, High Flight).  Larry's topic was the Automatic Identification System (AIS) used for identifying and monitoring maritime traffic.  The presentation featured live demos, a projected digital presentation punctuated with beautiful photography, and Larry's flowing narrative.  I highly encourage you to attend the Columbia River All Catalina Association (CRACA) meetings.  You don't have to be a CRACA member to attend.  Beyond the social and guest speakers aspects of the meetings, they are always a great way to connect with other Catalina sailors to ask questions about maintenance, upgrades, and cruising destinations. 

Lost and Found and Things For Sale

I've inherited an umbrella after the fleet's rigging workshop on February 24th.  If you like to claim it send me an email at:

celtic-myst@comcast.net

Did you know you can list everything from boats to spare parts on our website.  As long as you are a Catalina 22 owner and the items are boating related and are not being sold for commercial reasons, Fleet 20 will let you advertise your items for up to six months.

How might you use this service to reach folks beyond Fleet 20?  First, the Fleet 20 newsletter announcement goes out to over 100 Catalina 22 owners in the Pacific Northwest.  More importantly, if you advertise in your local newspaper ad, or on www.craigslist.com, etc. you can provide a simple pointer to additional information and photos about the item on the Fleet 20 website (www.c22pdx.org).

Looking to Buy a Catalina 22

I have two separate couples looking to purchase Catalina 22's.  If your interested in selling your boat or you know of one for sale please let me know.

Here's a boat currently list on www.craigslist.com

http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/boa/293408722.html

1976 Catalina 22' sailboat - $4300

I don't know anything about the boat, but simply wanted to make a point that resources like newspapers and websites can help in your search.  Here are a few examples:

• The Oregonian, www.oregonlive.com
• The Columbian, www.columbianshop.com/classifieds/
• www.craigslist.com
• www.eBay.com
• www.yachtword.com.  

Catalina 22 Fleet 20 Roster

I'll be emailing an Adobe PDF version of the Fleet 20 roster this month to the membership.  If you've sold your boat, or your contact information has changed, please email me back and I'll make the appropriate updates.

We Need a Third C22 to Race
By Dale Mack

Dan Dugan (Harmony, #14286) and I (Crocus, #8244) need at least one other Catalina 22 skipper to sign up to participate in the SYSCO Spring Series so we can race one-design.

Here's the Catalina 22 race schedule for the series:

1. April 19
2. April 26
3. May 3
4. May 17
5. May 24

If what's holding you back from racing your boat is a concern that you don't have enough experience or knowledge, please talk to me.  I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.  Catalina 22 racing is pretty casual here locally.  We have no secrets we won't share to help you sail your boat better.  Having a specific course and destination makes racing a lot of fun.

Fleet 20's racing page has a lot of information on local racing.  Everything from the entry form to the sailing instructions for each race are available.  You may also find the material targeted at race committee very informative because it explains in simple straight forward language what the race committee is doing to start and finish races.

Dan and I need to get our entry forms in for the Spring Series by April 13th so SYSCO will know if at least three Catalina 22's will be racing the series.  Hope to see you on the starting line.  Please contact me if you are going to race.

Dale Mack
celtic-myst@comcast.net or 360-260-4196

Since acquiring Crocus, a spreader had been frozen in one of the stainless steel spreader brackets.  I recently repaired the spreader when I had the mast off the boat to upgrade to internal halyards.  With the mast laying across two saw horses I was surprised to see how much play there was in the spreader brackets.  I had expected that the bolt and the four screws would have everything snug against the mast. I removed the cotter pin for the spreader that wasn't frozen and gained access to the top of the stainless steel bolt that runs through the mast and the two brackets.  Since the spreader was frozen inside the socket, I knew I wasn't going to gain access to the nut on the other side.  Hoping that by maintaining tension on the system (i.e. pulling the spreader bracket away from the mast) would allow me to unbolt the system, I proceed to place on socket wrench on the bolt and slowly remove the bolt.  Luck sometimes happens and soon the brackets were ready to remove.  As I pulled the bolt I followed it with a piece of wire to prevent the compression sleeve inside the mast from coming adrift.  The ends of the wire were then bent over to prevent it from falling out.

With the brackets removed some of my mast's past was revealed.  Today my mast is painted white, but the mast is actually anodized which usually means you don't have to paint it.  Everywhere beneath the stainless steel bracket that contacted aluminum had signs of earlier corrosion.  The mast had apparently been cleaned up at some point, primed with zinc chromate, and then painted.  Galvanic corrosion is always a concern when dissimilar metals come in contact, and this can be rapid when aluminum (actually aluminum alloy) is placed in proximity to stainless steel in a wet environment.  I place a layer of insulating material between aluminum and stainless steel.  Something as simple as covering the back of the fitting with electrician's tape is enough to provide adequate protection.

I also discovered that because the top two screws and the bolt weren't tight, the brackets had actually dimpled the mast.  When I reinstall the brackets I plan to use stainless steel pop rivets in place of the screws.  The rivets will be treated with an anti-corrosion product like "Tef-Gel Anti Corrosion Gel".  The rivets can easily be drilled out if the brackets have to be removed in the future.

Steps in Fabricating a New Spreader

Catalina 22 spreaders are angled up causing rain water to flow into the socket of the bracket and collect.  Without any sort of anti-corrosion product between the aluminum and the stainless steel, corrosion begins and eventually locks the parts together.  Even soaking in "Liquid Wrench" didn't help.  I had to cut the spreader off and drill out portions of the frozen in remnants before I could ply out the corroded parts.
The spreaders are made of high grade aluminum.  After checking out Catalina Direct, I decide that the $53 price tag plus shipping seemed a little steep.  Fellow Fleet 20 member Avid Brickman pointed me at the Metal Supermarket, which has a store near the airport in Portland (they cut to length).  The type of aluminum I used is 6061-T6 and the dimensions required are: 27" (length) x 1" (OD) x  0.125 (wall) Total cost:  $14.60
Shroud Slot Depth Measure in 13/32" and mark with a punch. Drill using a 3/16" bit through only one side of the pipe.  The resulting edge of the hole should be 1/2" from the end of the pipe. Repeat on the other side.
Shroud Slot Mark each side of the slot with a pencil and a straight edge. The slot should be 3/16" wide.
Cutting the Shroud Slot Cut within the lines you marked. Do one side of the spreader and then rotate it and do the other side.
Finishing the Shroud slot Use a file to fine-tune the width of the slot. Better to cut the slot too narrow and expanded it with a file then to cut it too large. Avoid damaging the curved end of the slot.  Shape corners in aluminum are prone to cracking. Having the shroud available to test helps during this step.
Seizing Wire Rotate the spreader 90 degrees so the hole for the seizing wire is perpendicular to the plane of the slot. The seizing wire helps to prevent the shroud from coming out of the slot. Measure in 1/4" and mark with a punch.
Drilling the Hole for Seizing Wire Drill using a 3/32" bit. Since this hole is only for the seizing wire you can drill through both sides of the pipe since the alignment isn't that critical.
Bracket Cotter Pin Holes Because the spreaders are angled, the top and bottom cotter pin holes won't be the same distance from the end of the tube. Insert the spreader in the bracket and align the slot vertically. Trace the cotter pin hole, flip the bracket and the spreader over and trace on the other side. Punch each hole and drill with a 9/64" bit.
Old versus New Spreader The new spreader was wiped down with acetone to remove any oils. Both the inside and outside were primed with green zinc chromate to provide corrosion protection. Three coats of white enamel were applied.
The Finished Spreader Coat the portion of the spreader that inserts into the socket of the bracket with an anti-corrosion product both on the inside and the outside of the tube (remember water can sit in the socket). Remove your spreaders annually and inspect for corrosion. Always use new cotter pins (they're cheap) when reinstalling the spreaders.

Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:

• Columbia River All Catalina Association (CRACA)
• Sail Portland (hosted by Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association, OCSA)
• Small Yacht Sailing Club of Oregon (SYSCO)
• Oregon Women's Sailing Association (OWSA)
• Catalina Association of Tacoma and South South (CATSS)
• Catalina Association of Puget South (CAPS out of Seattle)

Upcoming Events

March

• Clinic:  14, OCSA Race Management Clinic at PYC
• Clinic:  29, SYSCO Race Clinic at RCYC, 6:30 pm
• Clinic:  30, SYSCO Race Clinic at RCYC, 6:00 pm
• Catalina Meeting:  28, Sail care and trim, North Sails Oregon, 6:30 pm

April

• Race:  19, Spring #1
• Cruise:  21-22, Fleet 20 Government Island - East Dock
• Race:  26, Spring #2

See the calendar