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This article will cover the floor and keel boat repair of our Catalina 30 "Clew'd In"

 Just to be clear, we are using the term "floor" in its proper form, meaning the part of the hull that joins to the keel.  The part of the cabin we walk on will be referred to as the sole.

As we have stated, our boat was suffering from the common problem many Catalinas have - the "Catalina smile." Actually we have seen this problem on many makes and models that have the same type of keel configuration. This is cause mostly by the mechanics of the bolts and floor.  Over time the bolts stretch and the floor  weakens.  This causes the torque on the nuts to become loose.  Now the keel can begin to flex which causes the crack in the laminate of the join.

In our specific case, the nuts and studs were corroded as well - probably the reason proper torque was not maintained.  Our floor was also suffering from some decay as well.  The floor in our boat, which I believe to be typical, consisted of two layers of plywood with fiberglass laminated over them.  So it was hull-plywood-glass-plywood-glass.  To determine the condition, a large hole was drilled in the center of the floor.  This showed the plywood was wet and the layers had delaminated.

The decision was made to remove all the floor down to the outer hull and rebuild the whole structure.  By doing this, I would also be able to move the nuts down on the studs past the corrosion. The first step was to remove the badly corroded nuts.  To my surprise, I was able to thread them off after chasing the tops of the studs with a die, using plenty of penetrating oil, and driving a smaller sized socket onto the corroded nut.

Floor before  Nuts

From this point the layers of the floor were removed using an array of tools - chisels, grinders, drills, etc.

The floor was rebuilt using epoxy, fiberglass cloth and PVC board (instead of wood).  I also had a steal plate fabricated that covered the entire floor, instead of using washers.  This I hoped would increase the strength and help the bolts hold their torque.  the PVC boards used were only 1/4 inch vs 3/8 or 1/2 plywood and I used less filler between the layers.  This was to allow the floor height to be about 1/2 inch lower than original to allow for the steal plate and so that the nuts could be threaded past the corrosion on the studs.

The steal plate was painted and waxed - to help facilitate removal if ever needed.  Just before final assembly, a thickened mixture of epoxy was poured into the bilge and the plate put in place.  The idea of the epoxy was to fill in any imperfections or low spots under the plate and insure nice even loading.  The nuts were put on and lightly tightened until epoxy oozed up around the edges of the plate.  Once the epoxy started to cure, but before it was fully hard, the bolts were torqued to 50 ft. lbs. - about half the recommended 105 ft. lbs. Catalina recommended.  After, a few days to allow the epoxy to fully cure, the bolts were fully torqued to the 105 ft. lbs.

later after the boat is put in the water, and the keel is hanging, the bolts will be re-torqued.  the a schedule of maintenance of inspection and torquing will be done twice a year.

Back to Main Blog - Catalina 30 Restoration

    MainWork list

•     Hull


•     Floor / Keel nut replacements


•     Interior and cabinet refinish


•     Topside


•     Rigging and mast


•     Electrical


•     Plumbing and waste systems


•     Miscellaneous and fun stuff