Catalina Morgan 45 Owners

[Rgreen]

Thank you. i will keep you posted

[clongcor59]

When searching for a source look for "acrylic" sheets of desired the size and thickness. We recently replaced our rolling (Tambour front) cabinet fronts with hinged acrylic fronts. I'm sure you could order cut to size but we found acrylic surprisingly easy to work with. We successfully cut to size, drilled & surfaced the edges with sandpaper.

[derfy]

Originally Posted by clongcor59

When searching for a source look for "acrylic" sheets of desired the size and thickness. We recently replaced our rolling (Tambour front) cabinet fronts with hinged acrylic fronts. I'm sure you could order cut to size but we found acrylic surprisingly easy to work with. We successfully cut to size, drilled & surfaced the edges with sandpaper.

Good to know. That is the track I am on ... I will try fabricating a plexiglass pane before removing the old one. I can make a template out of brown wrapping paper, but cannot gauge the thickness they used. Maybe someone know the plexiglass thickness?

I don't love fixed plexiglass or lexan windows on sailboats, and recommend they be avoided as much as possible. It is such an obvious weak point of failure. Can't imagine what people are going to do with all these huge wrap-around bubble-shaped windows on deck-salon cruisers and cats when they get crazed and cracked and start leaking around the edges. And all the new boats seem to have fixed portlights below deck level, mounted into the topsides near the waterline - just so you can see the green water that is pounding the hull, I suppose? It just looks like such a dumb idea. Hard enough to keep an old boat dry without that. Oh well. Glad our boats have only this one smallish plexiglass trapezoid in the coach roof.

[Glenncariib]

I know I am really slow in posting but wanted to let the group know that we lost our 1993 CM 45, Hull # 25 in Hurricane Ian last year. I can vouch for the integrity of the hull and specifically the deck cleats. When we found our girl she was resting nearly upright on her keel with 3 pilings still attached by the dock lines. One piling had pulled out of the sea bed and 2 were snapped. I have spent the last year or so searching for a replacement and been disappointed to learn there are few boats of similar size that compare. I have looked at several other CM 45's and even toured one locally. I'm finding that by now many of them have been well used, and unfortunately it shows. The boat that was listed on YW in September of this year was a beauty but I just couldn't justify anywhere near the $ 175,000 asking price so waited for the (I thought) inevitable price drop. It sold and now I'm searching again.
The CM 45 is not perfect but I'm finding it extremely difficult to find anything near as good at the same price point. If any of you have any suggestions of comparable boats, or if any of you are aware of one that is currently on the market, please let me know.
For what it's worth, I had the pleasure of meeting the couple who are now the proud owners of my old boat (they bought her at salvage auction). They have quite a project on their hands but seem up to the task and will have a fine vessel when they're done.
Fair winds to all.

[Rgreen]

Very sorry to hear about you losing your girl to Ian and good to hear you found her and the report of her hull integrity. I currently own a 95 CM 45 and am considering the possible sale of her. if you would like to discuss you can PM me; bgreen7428@gmail.com.

[slavanaway]

Hi
We have owned our 1994 Catalina Morgan 45 since 2017. Hull number 36.


Our boat has a dripless packing packing gland that I do not recognize. I believe it came stock.


Can anyone tell me if the CM45 came stock with a dripless packing gland?


Sam

[slavanaway]

The dripless seal was a Lasdrop V2. I sent a pic to Lasdrop and they are sure it was over 15 years old.



Sam

[JKondziela]

Does anyone have experience with installing a bow thruster on a Catalina Morgan 45CC?

[JKondziela]

Discovery 15797

You mention that you added an inner forestay on your boat. Can you provide any technical information regarding the installation?
Location of lower attachment point and method of reinforcement of the deck
Arrangement for upper mast connection and halyard routing
Any arrangement for disconnecting the stay at the deck
Any checkstays or running backststay?
Any drawings or pictures would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Jim Kondziela

[derfy]

I need to repack my rudder post stuffing box. Does anyone know the thickness of the flax used on that packing gland?

1990 Catalina Morgan 44 CC.

[clongcor59]

I am not an expert so check with other sources for confirmation. I believe the packing size is determined by the size of the shaft gland and the diameter of the shaft.

Confirm the diameter of the rudder shaft and the inside diameter of the packing gland. Subtract gland I.D. from Shaft diameter and divide by 2. The answer will tell you what size packing is needed.

If you have an old section of the packing, a supplier might be able to tell you what size it was originally.

I prefer measuring because I'm never confident in what the person did before I owned the boat.

[clongcor59]

I am not an expert so check with other sources for confirmation. I believe the packing size is determined by the size of the shaft gland and the diameter of the shaft.

Confirm the diameter of the rudder shaft and the inside diameter of the packing gland. Subtract gland I.D. from Shaft diameter and divide by 2. The answer will tell you what size packing is needed.

If you have an old section of the packing, a supplier might be able to tell you what size it was originally.

I prefer measuring because I'm never confident in what the person did before I owned the boat.

[derfy]

Thanks. Measuring is worth a try, but it might be difficult - I am trying to avoid removing the quadrant. Might be time to buy some good calipers. Looks like it might be anywhere from 3/8" (used in Catalina 42's and all Edson rudder post stuffing boxes) up to 1/2" (referenced in forums for older Morgans).

[derfy]

For Catalina-Morgan 44/45 owners only: Rudder post flax is 3/8" and ideally uses three rings. I removed three, but was only able to get two new rings installed. I tried using 5/16" for the third ring, but still could not compress the stack enough to thread the stuffing box bushing. I decided to just run with two rings for a while till it wears in, then add the third 5/16" ring. It seems quite water-tight. Was able to do the job dockside without removing the quadrant, but water does flow in. I bought a 4" pipe wrench and sawed off the handle to use for tightening the main bushing, and used a vice-grip oil filter wrench for the lock nut. Fair Winds.

[slavanaway]

I have a 1994, hull 36 I believe. The PPO had a 120 gal custom built into the hull with fiberglass to replace the 60 gal original tank. It is now leaking. Can you share the original design? Metal, fiberglass or ?