Catalina 25 Restoration Project

     On May 9, 2010 a new project had come into reach.  For months i had been looking for the "right" sailboat to buy.  Craigslist and Ebay were my most visited sights on my computer over the course of January to May.  I pushed aside my criminal law and history textbooks, so i could do more research on the perfect sailboat to purchase.  I probably spent more time searching for boats, than i slept in a day.  Finally in late April, i stumbled upon "the one."  A 1981 Catalina 25 swing keel sailboat in Texarkana Arkansas. I called the owner up and we talked and talked and talked about the rig.  She wasn't pretty what so ever, but boy oh boy did she have potential.  The end of the semester came around, I emptied out my room and headed down to see my new project. My dad and my self drove a few hours east from Ft. Worth, Texas to go see the catalina, and once we saw it we immediately knew to buy it.

     We hooked up the trailer to the pickup and head down the road, but before we got even a mile down the road we found out that the back right tire of the trailer had a hole in it. We stopped at the local walmart, bought 4 new tires and we were back on the road again.  With never hauling a massive sailboat behind me, i was instructed by the overly cautious father to drive slow the whole way home.  Meaning we were going 55mph on a 75mph freeway.  But not before too long, we made it back home safe and sound.  The next week was dedicated to cleaning the inside of the cabin suitable for myself to sleep in for the journey back to Oregon.  

    May 18th, i was on the road again with the Catalina in my rearview mirror.  It was just me and the boat on the open road all the way to Oregon.  It took me 3 and a half days to get her home, but it was well worth it.  I slept in 2 walmart parking lots and one KOA, just because i figured i needed a shower.  

So I finally made it home to Salem... Now begins the cleaning, pressure washing, wood work and making sure the boat has everything for the water. Without even thinking about if the bilge pump worked, i sprayed down the inside of the cabin, getting all the dust, cob webs and mil-due off the vinyl.  I learned the hard way that the bilge motor was burned up so there was standing water for about a week... After ordering a new motor, the water was emptied out and the cleaning began again.  

So with the inside cleaned up and the hull cleaned up, she was read to be launched at the lake.  My dad and I trailered her down to Fern Ridge Lake in Eugene, where we were only expecting to launch her for the day, and then put her back onto the trailer to bring her home.  However when we got there it never crossed our minds of how difficult it could possibly be to step the mast and put her in the water... Long story short we ended up paying some guys to step our mast and put her in the water for us.  That same day we decided to rent a slip for the summer and just leave her in the water until i went off to school again.  It was more than humiliating to have to pay these guys to do the work for us.  But in the end, all the rigging was correct and she didn't sink!

Finally she is ready with her in the slip, dock lines tied securely, and ready to go the next time i come down.  I soon found that batteries don't stay charged forever... So with the bilge pump on the "auto" setting, the battery was constantly being used.  THe only reason the bilge was turned to auto was because i found "AFTER" we put her in the water, that there was a thru-hull leak on the starboard side.  Thus, allowing water into the bottom of the hull slowly.  So with no dock electric hook-up, i had to come up with some other method of charging the batteries.  I ended up finding a sweet deal on ebay for a  solar panel.  A few days later, the solar panel came in, and i hooked it up on the stern where i figured the most sunlight would be in use.  Batteries attached to the Panel, we were in good shape.

It took a while to figure out the maneuvering in and out of the tight slip, but after a few tries, i mastered it. It is amazing how with such little momentum a sailboat can turn.  Literally crawling along, she turned on a dime!  So after figuring out that little trick we were in business.  Another thing, it was quite embarrassing to have to push her off from the dock in order to get her out of the slip, so i figured i would get to the marina early and watch how everyone else got out.  I discovered that they simply use their motor to back out... AMAZING! who wold have thought... So it was my turn to try this new method out.  I started up the motor and eased back straight out until i got about half way out of the slip.  I then turned the motor in the direction i wanted to go and the boat followed.  Once lined up to go, i out the motor in forward gear, and off we went.  So many things you can learn by trial and error, and just by watching others.  The whole summer, i was on my own learning how to sail again.  It was a very exciting challenge.  Figuring out how much she could heal over, how anchoring worked, how a boating ticket felt, and of course just the peaceful evenings on the boat for the weekends.  

While the Catalina was in the water for the summer, i figured what a perfect time for a rebuild of the trailer.  So i got started right away.  I had the trailer sandblasted, and decided to paint it myself.  I got the air compressor out and the paint gun.  I primed the trailer with a white epoxy, and then put a couple coats of Black polyurethane finish.  I put new taillights and a wheel on the tongue for easy launching and retrieving.  Overall i think i did a decent job for a first time.  

Just some photos over the summer: