CAL 31 Mast Support?

Hi All After reading about the steel beam in the Cal-40 and a couple others (?) I am wondering if my 31 has one also? I briefly looked from the bilge forward under the floor pan and saw the wooden virtical support incased in something resembling cement. Or was I looking at corroded steel? With one bad eye and one blind I could not be sure in that 10 second look standing on my head.

--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Ill tell you later" <first4banger@...> wrote: > > Hi All > After reading about the steel beam in the Cal-40 and a couple others (?) > I am wondering if my 31 has one also? > > I briefly looked from the bilge forward under the floor pan and saw the > wooden virtical support incased in something resembling cement. Or was > I looking at corroded steel? > With one bad eye and one blind I could not be sure in that 10 second > look standing on my head. > > From what I can find by research this boat has not seen salt water for > 15-20 years > > Thanks > > Kevin > Cal-31 KONA > Las Vegas > I'm still trying to figure out how you were able to look under the pan. I don't think I can... On my Cal 31, the wooden beam sits on a square member of the pan. It's reinforced and most likely bonded to the hull with 3M 5100 or something similar. But my boat is a 1984 model, so yours may differ, but I wouldn't be happy about seeing cement. In my ownership (now 1.5 years), I have yet to find any steel beams. Jack

As far as I know, the 31 does not have the dreaded beam. Harleigh Ewell Cal 31 "Kat's Cradle" Magothy River, Chesapeake Bay From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ill tell you later Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 6:36 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] CAL 31 Mast Support? Hi All After reading about the steel beam in the Cal-40 and a couple others (?) I am wondering if my 31 has one also? I briefly looked from the bilge forward under the floor pan and saw the wooden virtical support incased in something resembling cement. Or was I looking at corroded steel? With one bad eye and one blind I could not be sure in that 10 second look standing on my head.

(second try, photos were too big) Hey Jack, I took some photos looking fwd to show how you can see under the pan. It looks like a wood (teak?) support between the pan and bilge. This started with me wondering why the head/shower area drained so slowly. Only the bottom of the bilge is damp. The wood and the mess of "whatever" is dry very hard and sharp edged. This obviously was built this way as you cannot easily get to this area. You can see where a PO dropped a thru-hull plug and it slid back to the stbd side. hummm maybe I should check to see if mine is still where it should be. So, another question... I'm thinking of a long (3') drill bit to poke a few holes through that mess to let the water drain properly, or at least better then it is now. Any foreseeable problems? Thanks Kevin Cal-31 Kona Las Vegas egiajack <jg… [at] melantho.com> wrote: --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Ill tell you later" <first4banger@...> wrote: > > Hi All > After reading about the steel beam in the Cal-40 and a couple others (?) > I am wondering if my 31 has one also? > > I briefly looked from the bilge forward under the floor pan and saw the > wooden virtical support incased in something resembling cement. Or was > I looking at corroded steel? > With one bad eye and one blind I could not be sure in that 10 second > look standing on my head. > > From what I can find by research this boat has not seen salt water for > 15-20 years > > Thanks > > Kevin > Cal-31 KONA > Las Vegas > I'm still trying to figure out how you were able to look under the pan. I don't think I can... On my Cal 31, the wooden beam sits on a square member of the pan. It's reinforced and most likely bonded to the hull with 3M 5100 or something similar. But my boat is a 1984 model, so yours may differ, but I wouldn't be happy about seeing cement. In my ownership (now 1.5 years), I have yet to find any steel beams. Jack --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, Kevin O <first4banger@...> wrote: > > (second try, photos were too big) Kevin, No photos. Maybe you can post them in your folder in the Photo section. From your pictures there I can tell that you have an older boat, probably built by the Jensen yard. Mine was built in 1984 in the Tampa yard. When my wife and I were looking to buy, we saw another Cal 31 built in 1983. There are subtle differences in the 2 in the bilge stringers and other interior components, just one year apart. So it's likely that your boat differs in many construction details from mine. I don't have a drainage problem from the shower, so they may have solved that detail later with bigger limber holes or something. Better be careful with them long drill bits. I did some work on my other boat and the bit bent and drilled in the wrong direction. &% $#@! Jack

Jack, I put the photos into "Cal 31 Kona" file #2005 is looking forward from comp/way #2006 again looking forward into bilge #2009 under pan My Cal 31 is marked as a 1979 but the title says 1980 (finish date?) I would be very interested in seeing what the differences are with different model years Thanks KO Cal-31 Kona Las Vegas egiajack <jg… [at] melantho.com> wrote: --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, Kevin O <first4banger@...> wrote: > > (second try, photos were too big) Kevin, No photos. Maybe you can post them in your folder in the Photo section. From your pictures there I can tell that you have an older boat, probably built by the Jensen yard. Mine was built in 1984 in the Tampa yard. When my wife and I were looking to buy, we saw another Cal 31 built in 1983. There are subtle differences in the 2 in the bilge stringers and other interior components, just one year apart. So it's likely that your boat differs in many construction details from mine. I don't have a drainage problem from the shower, so they may have solved that detail later with bigger limber holes or something. Better be careful with them long drill bits. I did some work on my other boat and the bit bent and drilled in the wrong direction. &% $#@! Jack --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, Kevin O <first4banger@...> wrote: > > Jack, > I put the photos into "Cal 31 Kona" file > #2005 is looking forward from comp/way > #2006 again looking forward into bilge > #2009 under pan > > My Cal 31 is marked as a 1979 but the title says 1980 (finish date?) > KO, All is perfectly clear now. The reason I can't look under the pan like you is because there is a transverse stringer right at the forward end of the floor access. And there is another stringer 2 ft. aft of that. Whatever is shown in your photo is an obvious attempt to distribute the force of the vertical mast support over a wide area of the hull. It's possible that a similar system is employed in my boat, or it might be a bit different depending on what had happened to the previous year models (like any complaints or warranty problems). I wouldn't know without a laproscope. The year your boat was completed will be part of the hull number, usually the last 2 digits. Sometimes there is a letter after the 2 digits which is ignored. So if the numbers are 80, then your boat was finished in 1980. Jack