Bought a Cal 34

[SS Little-Devil]

Finally made a deal on a boat that has the bones to work. It's smaller than I wanted, but after losing $18,000 of filming gear, I scaled down. I like the fact that the Cal 34 has two quarter berths at the rear, a double in the salon and the V-Berth as well as a cockpit big enough to sleep under the stars when moored in calm conditions.

I took possession yesterday and have been going through all the manuals and making a list of everything that needs attention, as well as planning the refit and additional equipment.

I'll likely have a lot of questions now so hopefully y'all won't mind me asking a few.

[callmecrazy]

Those are great boats, Congrats!

have a look at s/v skylark's blog for tons of info while he's upgrading his Cal 34.

[SS Little-Devil]

Thanks. Good info there.

[svHannabel]

Congrats! I've always been fond of Cals. Wish I had twin quarter berths!

[Spadonky]

I almost picked up a 34 a few months back. Post some pics when you get a chance!

[s/v Breakaway]

Congratulations! I've never regretted buying my Cal 34. It's a great boat. Keep us posted on your progress.

[webejammin]

Congradulation on the cal 34 it should give you many memories and vidio

[Adelie]

Nice boats. A friend of mine has one and I did a fair bit of sailing on it.

Which model do you have, 1 or 2?
The mark1 model has a mild to moderate weather helm problem. The Mark 2 & 3 solved this by using a taller mast and shortening the boom. Despite the decrease in sail area they have a better PHRF rating.

For those with the Mark1 model the normal way of dealing with the problem is to reef a little early. My friend had to find a new main for his boat and turns out the Baba30 has the same hoist but is shorter on the foot, which cured the problem for my friend.

The other cure I have seen is to add a short to moderate bow sprit (24-36"). The change in center of effort for the head sail cured the problem. Also increase the area of the foretriangle.

The other issue to look for, which is common to most Cals, not just the 34, is the steel beam in the way of the mast. Between the main cabin and the head compartment there is a 8-15" sill to step over molded into the liner pan. Hidden inside this sill is a steel beam. Some were manufactured in stainless, but I believe most were mild steel. Depending on upkeep practices by previous owners this beam many be rusting out. a different friend of mine with a Cal 40 has screw-in inspection ports in the sill put there by the previous owner to allow inspection and maintenance.

Here is a link to one owner's fix for a Cal 29: Wilkie's Sailboat Page

I thought I had an original drawing for the beam dimensions somewhere but can't find it.


Of note about the Cal34-1, rudder will spin 360 (tiller models) , makes backing a lot easier.

If you make it down to San Diego let me know, we can get together.

[SS Little-Devil]

To my understanding, it's a MK II. I'd go and get the manual that came with the boat to confirm but I'm already snuggled into the V-Berth in my Marina Del Rey Slip. It's a pretty nice size for a 34 IMO. And I'm sure I'll get down to SD sooner than later so will do.

[Adelie]

Never mind on finding the manual, 1976 year means Mark2 then.

[SS Little-Devil]

Okay. MK II it is then.

[SkiprJohn]

Congratulations! That's a good boat in a great size. In pretty good condition?
kind regards,

[SS Little-Devil]

Yep. New standing rigging about 6 years ago, new main sail a couple of years ago, decent condition inside, new electric toilet, newer dinghy and outboard, recent princess stove, recent alder barbour refrigeration, recent Raritan hot water heater, profurl, etc. Manual windlass but at least there is one. Needs electronics and the SeaPilot autopilot is not working right (seems to want to veer left and I can't adjust the sensitivity to stop it from constantly adjusting wheel back and forth which will kill batteries) and the interior is pretty decent with a good cleaning. Topsides could use a polishing, bottom is well maintained but needs a bottom paint soon and I'll likely need to paint the decks, mast and do something about the hatches (seals at the least). I also need to look into a rattle in the propeller shaft under high RPMs. It's slightly low on transmission fluid which I'll top up, and I'll change the oil and have someone look over the rest. Could be some linkage, bearings or who knows? The companionway doesn't seal all that well either, so I'm not sure how big a deal that is. I see daylight from inside so I'm assuming that will need to be addressed. The boards are a bit warped. Interior is pretty good though with a cleanup.

[Hud3]

Congratulations!

Since you're going to be headed for the Tropics, you might want to get some canvas work done in the States first. We found a foredeck tarp to be invaluable since it allows you to keep the hatch over the V-berth open when the nightly rain squalls come through. And shade in the cockpit is really nice to have. This Cal 34 seems to have a nice setup...

[SS Little-Devil]

Thanks. That's a great Idea. I have a rig for the rear already, but not for the front. I do have a Hennessy hammock with a rain cover that would work for that, so not sure if I want to spend the money just for that. I have everything shown on that boat now unless there's a true bimini and arch I'm not seeing. I'm planning to get those so I can run a solar array above the tower and put a piece of canvas between the bimini and the dodger. I have the stern skirting, dodger with window covers, and a canvas system with three flexible pvc poles that covers the entire rear, but that 3 pole system would not work under sail.

BTW, had the boat out today with some friends for about four hours. Everything worked fantastic except the SeaPilot autopilot, which is stuck in a hard turn to port. Need to figure that one out. I think it's just a seized three way switch to manually override the setting once dialed in.