Privilege Cats

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by Surf City

Do you think they would fit on a 48' rudder stock? Did you use two / rudder? We just got our cat a few months ago and I notice a little play in the post. If you have dimensions, I will check ours Friday. It's hauled out for the season.

Wil

Wil, I don't know if Privilege has a standardized rudder stock size although mine seems like a little overkill for a 37ft cat (almost 2 inch solid stainless post) so it could be the same for bigger cats. I needed 2 bushings per rudder so I expect you would need 2 also.

The bushing inside diameter measures 1.930 inches and that proved to be a perfect fit without any sanding. The outside diameter of bushing measures 2.957 inches and that was a little snug for the bushing housing. I had to dress down the outside diameter of "the ball" with 220 grit sandpaper until the bushing went into the housing slot with just a little resistance. After you push the bushing into the slot in the housing, you need to rotate 90 degrees and if the fit is too tight, it's hard to rotate.

Take a look at the pics below of the top bushing and housing. One shows the empty housing, another shows the bushing inserted in the slot, and another shows the bushing rotated into the horizontal position.

[Surf City]

Just dropped rudder post after digging a 4' deep hole - too cheap to pay for lift on the hard. My housing for the bushing is lose and can rotate in place. What keeps it in place to prevent movement? I was able to remove a little caulk from around housing. Should I clean and recaulk to prevent movement or try to remove and epoxy in place?

Help! Pictures from previous post show all details perfectly.

[svcattales]

Originally Posted by Surf City

Just dropped rudder post after digging a 4' deep hole - too cheap to pay for lift on the hard. My housing for the bushing is lose and can rotate in place. What keeps it in place to prevent movement? I was able to remove a little caulk from around housing. Should I clean and recaulk to prevent movement or try to remove and epoxy in place?

Help! Pictures from previous post show all details perfectly.

Wil, The rudder post should rotate inside the bushing, but the housing shouldn't move at all. My housings are glassed in so I think epoxy is the way to go.

The bushings inside the housing should pivot slightly to align rudder post with top and bottom bushing, but they shouldn't be "spinning inside the housing" either. I had to use force to pivot the bushings slightly so they aligned with each other when reinstalling the rudder.

Good luck.

[Surf City]

Thank you, I will try and remove and epoxy them back in place.

[Privilege]

Gents,
Thanks so much for all of your input on the rudder problems. I have a similar problem and your posts have encouraged me to fix it myself.

I have just purchased a Privilege 435...it's the first one to be made. I have stripped the entire salon and will refit the whole boat over the coming months.

I see that a few people have problems with scratches and adhesion to their lexan windows. I have recently fixed mine. They were already tatty but the final decision to re-do them resulted from my 'helpful' girlfriend taking a scouring pad to the 'glass' in order to clean them! I completely re-did the windows and can offer the following tips;

As far as scratches are concerned, they can be sanded out with an electric sander. I know it sounds scary to be putting a sander to such a large expanse of expensive lexan but it works. Start with 600 grit (Depending on the severity of your scratches) and follow it with a 1000 grit. Use wet sanding on both. I found both grades in Velcro pads for my orbital sander. This first step is scary. The marks completely scour the lexan and it seems hard to believe that they can be brought back from such damage. You will then need to sand with 2500 grit followed by 3500 grit. You might even use smaller steps in stepping up through the grits but this combination worked for me. I could only find the finest paper in sheet form and quartered them to fit my small square electric sander. Again, lots of water and ensure that you wash off all debris before switching to the finer grit. Finally, use an electric buffer with a rubbing compound (I used a cheap automotive one) and finish with wax; again applied with a buffer.
The results are perfect. It removed my scratches and the result is crystal clear lexan. I don't know how much Alliura charge to replace the curved front windows on a 435 but I am quite confident that the time-consuming exercise was worth the effort.

As far as sealing the windows, the previous owner had used copious amounts of various silicones and 5200 but the leak persisted. Pure silicone will stick to lexan but it will not bond it. I tested all the various sealants, (both home and marine) on a scrap piece of lexan. After a few days drying time, although the silicones would stick to the lexan, they could easily be removed; most of them with a hard finger rub. There are very few products that will bond lexan. Having conducted extensive research, I settled on Sika Sikaflex-295 UV. There are several places that sell it including Boaters World http://www.boatersworld.com/product/MP80820833.htm

The two side windows and the corner of one of the main curved windows were loose from the frame in parts. From the inside, I pushed the window out and squeezed Sika into the gap. On the outside, I used a Stanley knife to cut away the old sealant. I left much of the old sealant in place but cut away enough so that the Sika would completely cover the surface from lexan to the hull. After taping off the surround I ran a thick bead of Sika around the gap and used my fingers to smooth it. Sika, unlike some silicones was easy to smooth out and as long as I used plenty of spit, I could go over certain spots without disturbing the previous smooth areas. The finish dries to a matt black (or white) and the windows are now leak-proof and effectively glued to the hull.

(Tip; Do not leave the masking tape on until the Sika dries (as I found to my dismay). The Sika adheres to the tape and when you pull it away, the very edge of the Sika tries to stick to it and ruins the sharp line. Not a big deal as a sharp knife restored the sharp edge finish).

[SurfNRG]

I replaced all the salon windows to my Wildcat 350 last year. It was quite a project and after one year of cruising the Caribbean the new owners report no leaks. I opted in using a product by Boat Life called LIFE SEAL - not to be confused with LIFE CHAULK. LIFE SEAL is a polyurethane/silicone sealant. As advertised, LIFE SEAL adheres real well to Lexan and is a great sealant as well. I ended up using a total of 24 tubes (12 per side) on the total of 8 window panes. I had the new panes custom cut to match the previous panes that I removed from the frames using a stiff putty knife. Lots of prep work. There were only a couple of compound curves in 2 areas that I reinforced with a mechanical fixture (screw with black washer) and glad to hear that after one year of cruising the windows are still in place and don't leak. I purchased my tubes at West Marine. They gave me a break on the purchase of 24 and made sure that they were all fresh (not outdated).

White Life Seal Sealant, 2.8oz. Tube from BOAT LIFE

Life Seal | BoatLife Industries | For the Life of Your Boat

And yes, you want to remove the blue tape as soon as you lay down your beads verse removing once the adhesive/sealant cures. Also used mineral spirits to smooth out the uncured sealant. You also want to make sure that you tape newspaper along your decking or anywhere else that the excess sealant may come in contact with. Otherwise you might end up with a mess on your deck. Not good. Here's a few pics.

[Strygaldwir]

Privilege:

Welcome! Love to meet new owners! Do you have the owner's 3 cabin version of the 435? Was the salon in that bad a shape? I thought the 435 are relatively new (2001?). I suppose that's old enough for a refit!

Keith

[Privilege]

Thanks. I have the four cabin version with the dagger boards. She has a long and interesting history for a relatively new boat. From what I have been told, she was setting sail from Bermuda and got caught in hurricane force winds. The mast snapped but remained attached to the shrouds and banged around the boat. The owner abandoned her and somehow the boat lost the rear few feet of the steps on the port side in the process and took on water.

In testomony to the Privilege build, for some while she carried on floating and sailed herself through the storm before being salvaged back almost from where she started, having sustained very little damage other than the fibreglass damage to the steps.

She was professionally repaired and was used as a charter boat in Bermuda for several years before I purchased her a couple of months ago. I have now begun a total refit. The salon was O.K but too tatty to be able to fully restore her. The rest of the boat is fine with the woodwork still shining beautifully.

[Jeannius]

Congratulations on bringing your windows back to life. I have some 'crazing on one of my windows. Do you think your method will work for that?

By the way... I'm pretty certain your avatar is a photo of my boat. It was taken in the BVI a few years back.

[ozdownunder]

Are there any Privilege owner of the 59 61ft range out there.

As I would like a 589 model, I am very experienced in mono hulls up to 42 ft and own a 8m Glacier Bay Cat.

My question is can a husband and wife operate a 59ft Privilege with out crew? as I dont want to pay for crew.
What are the pros and cons of owning a Larger Privilege as I want my family and I the travel with comfort, what would it cost to operate a 59 ft with regards to maintance and average cost of fuel usage over a year( main motors an Gen) I know it depends on a lot of things, but anyone input would be helpfull.

What would be concidered crew for this size of boat? one skipper and a deck hand> or what, remembering we want to do it ourself, husband 50, wife 45 and girl 10 and son 8.

Thannks in advance everyone.

We are looking to travel Jan next year and need to purchase a boat, will sell house in six months and then buy a boat once we have located a suitable boat.

Which leads me to my final question, I know that the 589's are priced in the range of 1.3m - 1.6$US what is the likley price for one of these vessels taking into account that there are now lots of cats for sale and not that cind of money floating around, remembering that $1m houses are now selling for $200k now.

Regards Tezza

[Privilege]

Jeannius,

I am not sure about the crazing on the windows. If it's a surface problem then the sanding will sort it out. If the crazing goes deep into the lexan then best to leave it alone. The lexan on my windows is 3/4" thick so assuming you have the same it would surprise me to find that it was affected throughout the thickness of the lexan. Maybe someone else can guide you.

The photo on my Avatar is just one I came across, so assuming it's your boat congratulatons on a fantastic photo. I'll change the photo soon.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by ozdownunder

Which leads me to my final question, I know that the 589's are priced in the range of 1.3m - 1.6$US

If you know this is the price, why would you ask the next question?

what is the likley price for one of these vessels taking into account that there are now lots of cats for sale and not that cind of money floating around, remembering that $1m houses are now selling for $200k now.

Plenty of people have that kind of money

Do you?
or are you really only looking for a $200k boat?

[ozdownunder]

Cat Man Do; I ask the question because I can see from the internet the listed prices, however it dosn't really represent the actual sale price's that they really sell for.

Your message is really offensive cause even if I was a dreamer and only had $200k, people are allowed to dream.

However I'm not a time waster and wouldn't look at the price range, if I only had 200k, was looking more like 500k.

Haha just joking, i do have the money thats needed to buy a vessel of this standard and the money thats needed to travel with it, I didn't ask these questions to rub it in that I have the money but rather to ask relevent questions of people of all walks in life that live the way I want too, being in a catamaran on the ocean. so no offence taken.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by ozdownunder

Cat Man Do; I ask the question because I can see from the internet the listed prices, however it dosn't really represent the actual sale price's that they really sell for.

Does it not?
Have you any evidence of these actual sale prices to support your statement?

However I'm not a time waster and wouldn't look at the price range, if I only had 200k, was looking more like 500k.

I would consider a $500k looker with $200k to be a timewaster

Haha just joking, i do have the money thats needed to buy a vessel of this standard and the money thats needed to travel with it,

So why not buy one?

I didn't ask these questions to rub it in that I have the money but rather to ask relevent questions of people of all walks in life that live the way I want too, being in a catamaran on the ocean.

Fantastic, I would suggest that a vessel of this size too big for two and an additional crew of two to be needed.

Can you afford their wages as well?
If not you may need to read this thread
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...and-36191.html

Your message is really offensive

so no offence taken.

Oh, ok
Makes sense

[hefestus]

@ozdownunder

If you ready to spend around 1m$, than check "Safari" 62' Gunboat (on sail). Can be easily handled by couple, if you are not racing. Very fast, gr8 layout with front working cockpit, all around visibility, steering from inside ... On the other hand all that hi-tech carbon staff is expensive and difficult to maintain, nor to say impossible in some remote places.
Outremer is another good choice if not best for couple. They are not that comfortable as Privilege but I guess def. comfortable enough for a couple. As for Outremer you can check sailing blogs on there site.
Is not that much size of the boat as it is concept and rigging. Ellen sailed 75ft tri singlehanded .