New genoa for our Catalina 36

By
Ludovic Francois
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0

Old sails

When we bought Hotel Catalina 6 months ago, we realized during the survey our genoa was very tired after discussion with the previous owner he agreed to give us a discount for this and give another used genoa supposed to be in a better shape, so we wanted her and we took our chance on this.

 

Unfortunately both genoa happened to be very tired.

Few sails later with both genoa we decided it was time to upgrade.

After some research, we found http://www.hydesailsdirect.com/. Having a high production boat and a good feeling when I called Judy at Hyde Sail Direct, we decided to go this route and order our new head sail!

So it was time to order a new sail, it took around 6 weeks between the first conversation and the time the sail showed up.

Hyde Sails Direct order timing

  • 10/28/2016:
    • 10% Deposit
    • Additional payment of $1373.00 (70%) is due when the order is submitted to production.
    • Final payment of $392.88 is due upon completion.
    • Measurement forms and kit sent.
  • 11/07/2016:
    • completed our home work and uploaded to Hyde Sails Direct dropbox repository
  • 11/08/2016:
    • Finale phone conversation with the team at Hyde Sails Direct and few update to my order
    • Additional payment
  • 11/16/2016:
    • Order has been submitted to production.
    • Estimate ship date is 12/07-12/09
  • 11/23/2016:
    • measuring kit has been returned
  • 12/07/2016:
    • Order is complete and has been shipped. Expected delivery is Friday or Saturday. Please watch your inbox for a tracking email and your Hyde Guide to Sailcare.
    • Paid in Full

Hyde Sails bill

Measurement

Time to test the new sail

 

Hotel Catalina NMEA 2000 network diagram

By
Ludovic Francois
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0

My NMEA 2000 network is still pretty small, but I think it’s the good time to start to document it.

Right now we have:

  • Airmar DST800: through hull depth, speed and water temperature information
  • Airmar P79: in-hull depth information
  • B&G Zeus 2: MFD at the navigation table
  • KBOX: wifi gateway and more
  • Maretron TLM 100: monitoring main water tank consumption
  • B&G Triton 2: main info from the network at the helm

I already ordered my AIS transceiver, so I guess it will be the next equipment I will have to add to this diagram.

Few more items I see adding in the future:

  • LCJ CV7 wind instruments (looks to complicated for now, would love to have it, but doesn’t see to justify to get the mast down to add it right now – 2019 plan?)
  • Actisense EMU-01 or NoLand RS11 engine monitoring, only a gadget, but gadgets are so fun 🙂

Catalina 36 pre-purchase survey

By
Ludovic Francois
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0
Hotel Catalina 2016 survey
Hotel Catalina 2016 survey
It’s done! We made an offer and it got accepted, after few months to research our Catalina 36, we finally decided the one we like! Hotel Catalina 🙂
It’s now time to find a surveyor, for now a couple of months I have been reading religiously Catalina 36 International Association forum in every details. This very active website was also one more positive thing I like about this specific boat model.
After asking on the forum multiple people advised me to use Ross Hubbard (http://www.maritimesurveyors.com/). After few calls and emails I was able to setup a meeting in Long Beach with Ross to go over the health of Hotel Catalina.
The time with Ross is set for 8:30AM in front of the shoreline yacht club in Long Beach (386 E Shoreline Dr, Long Beach, CA 90802). The boat is on the “Y” dock, right behind the yacht club.
Everyone was on time!
The whole experience of the survey was great, I learned a lot.
You can find the write up of the survey enclosed below:
Seing myself at pretty handy, I am not totally against an educational project and so far what I saw with Hotel Catalina doesn’t seem too huge to fix, but of course I want to get it to the right fair price. So I have been using the survey to estimate the cost and the owner made some efforts to fix few items and match a fair price.
During all the process, I think it would have been nice to have an access to soldboats.com. If one day I buy another boat, I will definitely make sure I get a full access to this database to get a better idea of the market.

Here more pictures from the haul out.

Cabin teak floor varnishing

By
Ludovic Francois
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0

The 2 cabin boards near the engine came with the boat in a pretty bad shape, they were in need of some love. I decided the risk was very low to exercise my varnishing skills on these boards. The result happened to be way better than I expected.

Update March 2019. After this rainy winter and couple of leaks, it’s time to do the forward cabin floor board.

Tools & Chemicals

Preparation

  • Pour the stripper on to the wood in a puddle
  • Spread it initially with a brush
  • Allow the stripper to “work” for 10-15 minutes
  • Start to scrape with a 3″ flat putty knife
  • Pile up the stripper/old varnish in the middle of the board
  • Use a couple larger putty knives to remove the stripper/old Varnish
  • Dispose of it in a shoebox with a plastic bag liner.
  • Repeat the entire process anywhere from 3 to 5 more times.
  • Once all or most of the varnish was removed clean the wood with acetone
  • Allow to dry overnight and clean the wood with acetone again
  • After completely drying lightly sand the wood with 220 grit paper
  • Wipe it down with acetone again
  • At this point it is ready for epoxy / varnish

Update March 2019. I replaced CitriStrip with Klean Strip for the forward board, way easier to apply.

Epoxy / Varnishing

Start with 4 coats of clear coat of epoxy. I usually apply the 4 coats of epoxy in less of 48 hours.

Continue with 4 coats of undiluted Epifanes Varnish.

Update March 2019. 2 years later the Epifanes Varnish was still ok, but added a bit of mineral spirit before to apply it.

Hotel Catalina Delivery from Long Beach to Marina Del Rey

By
Ludovic Francois
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0
weather4d routing
weather4d routing

It took us few weeks to close the deal and come on an agreement with the previous owner, but now we are officially the owners of Hotel Catalina, the Catalina 36 #883!

We have till the end of the month of May to take delivery of the boat and move it to Marina Del Rey. These 10 days were very very short to complete all the tasks required before to take delivery of the boat.

  • Title transfer
  • Insurance
  • Slip

Yes, it’s definitely the time to find a slip available in Marina Del Rey for a 36 foot long boat. What we thought would be pretty easy was way more difficult than expected. After dozens of calls, we found 2 potential slips where we could dock our new to us boat.

We also needed to get the insurance, this was pretty straight forward and we went with BoatUS.

It’s Memorial Day week-end, let’s take delivery of Hotel Catalina with the help of our broker, Doug.

weather4d routing

6AM we are in Long Beach ready to board Hotel Catalina. At the time we  started to move Hotel Catalina from Long Beach to Marina Del Rey, we still didn’t have received an official response from Esprit Marina Del Rey authorizing us to move in. Let’s go! The backup alternative will be to dock at the yard and get some of maintenance work done.

On our way from Long Beach to Marina Del Rey, we have a pretty smooth motor sailing with only the main up since our genoa is not in a very good shape and any way the wind very low. Now out since a couple of hours we got a positive response from Esprit dock master.

Six hours later, we are now officially docked at Marina Del Rey B1620!

Galley and Head LED lights update

By
Ludovic Francois
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0

After couple of fluorescent tube decided to stop working, we decided to upgrade the couple fixture with modern looking one.

For Sale 1988 Catalina 36 “Hotel Catalina” – $49,000

By
Ludovic Francois
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0

“Hotel Catalina” is a turn-key vessel that has benefited from extensive professional upgrades and consistent maintenance over the last decade. The boat is actively campaigned in local Southern California races, including the 2026 Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race. This boat is dialed in for both competitive club racing and comfortable coastal cruising. You can see the boat in Marina Del Rey.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at lfrancois@gmail.com or text me at 747-220-1444. I have more work logs and photos available for anyone interested.

Performance & Sail Wardrobe

The sail inventory is optimized for the light-to-medium airs of the West Coast, featuring a brand-new headsail for the 2024 season.

  • J2 (135%): 2016 Hyde Sails ($2,000)
  • Mainsail: 2019 Precision Sails ($2,000)

Cruising & Racing Ready

The boat is equipped with a removable bowsprit for the A2 and a whisker pole for wing-on-wing trade wind sailing. The interior has been modernized with USB lighting fixtures and a high-capacity 400Ah lithium battery bank, making it a capable “off-grid” weekender at Catalina Island.

Last 10 years Key Upgrades

YearInvestmentKey Upgrades
2026$8,500Full Standing Rigging Replacement
2025$8,250New Dodger, Fuel Tank replacement, and Engine overhaul (Heat Exchanger, Water Pump, Alternator, Electrical Panel/Harness)
2024$2,000New Force 10 Galley Stove
2023$9,000Haul-out: New Shaft, Max Prop installation, and PSS Dripless Seal
2022$4,500Lithium Bank upgrade (400Ah total), Bowsprit setup, Secondary Winches
2021$4,800Whisker Pole, New Deck Organizers/Clutches, and Main Electrical Panel
2020$3,100B&G Zeus 2 Electronics (Helm & Nav), Water Heater, and initial Lithium migration
2019$4,500Below-deck Autopilot, Rebuilt Transmission, Fusion Stereo

Pricing & Options

While “Hotel Catalina” is ready to sail today, the following offshore/safety gear is available as optional add-ons to the sale price:

  • Code 0 with Furler: +$2,500
  • 6-Person Liferaft: +$1,500
  • EPIRB: +$750
  • Spare Anchor + Ground Tackle: +$400
  • J1 (155%): 2024 UK Sails (+$2,500) – Excellent condition
  • A2 Asymmetric Spinnaker: 2020 Precision Sails with dousing socks (+$1,000)
  • Note: The Dinghy is not included in the sale.

This is a rare opportunity to own a pedigree cruiser-racer where all the “hard work” of the 10-year maintenance cycle has already been completed.

Major Upgrade Details

  • 2026: $8,500
    • 02/23/2026: standing rigging replacement – $8,548
  • 2025: $8,250
    • 01/20/2025: fuel tank replacement – $1,000
    • 04/06/2025: M25XPB – new heat exchanger ($500), new water pump ($500), new solenoid ($50), new alternator ($700) – $1,750
    • 08/23/2025: new dodger – $4,500
    • 10/26/2025: new engine electrical panel + harness – $900
  • 2024: $2,000
    • 02/17/2024: new force 10 stove – $2,000
  • 2023: $9,000
    • 06/13/2023: haul out with new shaft ($5,801.33) + install of max prop ($3,200) + new PSS dripless – $9,001
  • 2022: $4,500
    • 01/30/2022: added 2 x 100Ah lithium batteries (now 400Ah total) – $1,500
    • 02/12/2022: removable bowsprit setup – $729
    • 03/14/2022: secondary winches setup – $1,500
    • 06/26/2022: lift crane – $600
    • 11/20/2022: new usb cabin light fixtures – $200
  • 2021: $4,800
    • 02/13/2021: new deck organizer + clutches – $400
    • 06/29/2021: new whisker pole for wing on wing sailing – $2,700
    • 07/10/2021: cunningham – $200
    • 10/23/2021: new boat electric panel – $1,500
  • 2020:
    • 01/01/2020: spinnaker + sock – $2,000
    • 02/01/2020: new water heater – $
    • 02/15/2020: water tanks level setup – $100
    • 05/30/2020: 2 x 100Ah lithium batteries – $2,000
    • 06/15/2020: b&g zeus 2 install at helm and navigation table – $1,000
  • 2019:
    • 02/01/2019: new mainsail – $2,000
    • 03/29/2019: below deck autopilot setup – $3,000
    • 06/09/2019: fusion stereo – $500
    • 09/30/2019: transmission rebuilt – $1,000

The engine is a M25XPB from 2003. When I bought the boat in 2016, it was at 800 hours, I added around 500 hours over last 10 years.


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