The purpose of this section is to comment on a number of issues that bear on Catspaw's health and to more clearly outline some of the specific tasks the prospective buyer faces in keeping her going.

It should be emphasized that any boat, new or old, in particular any boat with an engine, requires a serious commitment on the part of her owner to care for her. One cannot simply tie a boat up, come back a year later, and expect to take off for points unknown. The buyer should understand up front that either he will be spending considerable time and effort personally taking care of Catspaw or he will be spending considerable money having others care for her.

By far the best situation for someone of modest means is the one we have enjoyed since moving to Fort Lauderdale, where we have a home on the water with a dock and workshop. The dock has provided an inexpensive and convenient place both to tie up Catspaw and to modify and maintain her. The workshop (with table saw, radial arm saw, band saw, drill press, small metal lathe, and all manner of hand tools, electrical hand tools, and wood working tools) has assisted the resulting modifications and maintenance. Periodically, we have hauled out, and I have personally refinished her bottom, installed new zincs, and addressed other tasks at the yard.

In this regard, Catspaw's composite construction is an advantage. The fiberglass outer shell provides considerable protection from the elements, easing the task of refinishing Catspaw's exterior, but, at the same time, the wooden inner shell is much more friendly to work with and easier to modify than is the typical fiberglass interior. The buyer is forewarned, however, that some boatyards will no longer take wooden boats, no matter how well constructed. So, when it comes time to haul out, you should be careful to list Catspaw's construction as "composite."

Like her current owners, Catspaw has been around awhile. She's sailed to the Caribbean, around the world, and (repeatedly) throughout the Bahamas. She's been employed as a research platform for an NSF sponsored field project in the Bight of Abaco, Bahamas. She's been through one storm at sea (enroute to New Zealand), one at anchor (in Moorea), and through several hurricanes at our dock in Fort Lauderdale (Andrew, Katrina, and Wilma). She's clawed her way up the Red Sea. She's been aground numerous times, here and there, and has had one major collision (coming into Papeete). She's had termites. And she's had a succession of engine problems, one requiring that the engine's head be removed and resurfaced (in New Zealand). Inevitably, some of these experiences have left scars. But, just as inevitably, we have restored her to health and kept her sailing.

Indeed, Catspaw is in many respects in better shape today than she has ever been. This is largely because we have continually sought to improve her. In particular: 1) Her reinforced concrete inside ballast has been replaced by a more robust fiberglass-reinforced lead-ballasted member and her bilge waterproofed. 2) Her original bronze seacocks (excellent barrel seacocks, but almost impossible to keep from weeping) have been replaced with (non-corrosive non-weeping) nylon seacocks. 3) Her original Castlok rigging (a technology that looked good at the time but had a fatal flaw ... the aluminum powder in the epoxy casting electrolyzed the stainless wire) has been replaced with Stalok rigging. 4) The original zamak cabin light fixtures have been replaced by a non corrosive alternative. 5) Her solar panel capacity has been greatly increased. Finally, 6) the marinization of the engine has been improved by removing the raw water pump from the injector pump shaft and belt driving a larger pump, by installing a fresh water reservoir and moving the fresh water fill from the top of the exhaust manifold to the top of this reservoir, and by replacing the original exhaust muffler with a simpler more easily serviced alternative. And these major improvements have been accompanied by a host of other minor improvements. Effectively, Catspaw has been under continuous construction/modification ever since this construction began in the mid 1960s.

The point is that, because Catspaw is an older boat, the buyer will have the substantial benefit of our continuing efforts to make her better.

It is also true, however, that some of Catspaw's current systems are no longer in the best of condition and may need to be replaced in the not too distant future. I have not replaced them prior to Catspaw's sale for three very good reasons. First, these systems are still operational. (If we were to continue sailing Catspaw in the Bahamas, I would in fact not yet choose to replace them.) Second, I doubt very much we would recover the cost of replacing them (in the sale price). Third, we have moved on. Now that we have decided to end our sailing days, I am no longer willing to spend the time and effort necessary to effect these replacements. Instead, Catspaw is being offered for sale at a discounted price, as is. It will be up to the new owner to decide if and when to replace what.

In this section I will assess the current state of the existing systems and make some recommendations for dealing with them. I will also outline pending maintenance tasks that the owner will face in the near future.

Catspaw's diesel engine, installed in about 1970, is still running and, despite having been around for some forty years, has logged only some 4000 hours total. (I am told that normally such an engine is good for 10,000 hours.) However, the basic engine, an Isuzu DL201, was discontinued over 20 years ago, and, as of two years ago, there was only one source of parts for this model in the US (Isuzu America), and many of these parts were simply no longer available. This raises the issue of whether the new owner should plan on continuing with the current engine or consider installing a new engine.

It should be noted that many critical parts to the current engine are not unique to this engine and are available from other sources. The injector pump is a Diesel Kikki copy of a Bosch injector pump. The injectors are likewise Bosch copies. The alternator is a standard alternator, available from various sources. Only recently, the starter motor was serviced and a number of its components, including the engine interface, replaced by standard parts. The raw water pump and pump impeller (Oberdorfer), oil coolers, raw water filter, primary fuel filter and primary and (replacement) secondary fuel filter elements, and (replacement) oil filter element are all available off the shelf.

And I already have some critical spare parts. I have a spare head gasket. The engine is on its third fresh water pump (replaced several years ago), and I have still a fourth spare fresh water pump. I also have a spare raw water pump and a spare exhaust manifold/heat exchanger. (The manifold and heat exchanger, however, are stuck together. You will have to destroy one to get the other.)

In fact, almost all the problems I have had with the engine have been associated with its cooling system. This system involves a heat exchanger built into the exhaust manifold, with both fresh and raw water subsystems.

The original marinization by Starrett mounted the raw water pump on the injector pump shaft, with a seal separating this pump from the injector pump. On our return from the Caribbean in 1973, we went to start the engine to enter the harbor of Jacmel on the south coast of Haiti, and it wouldn't start. Salt water had leaked along this shaft into the injector pump. After sailing back to Fort Lauderdale and having the injector pump rebuilt, I replaced the original raw water pump with a larger Oberdorfer pump and mounted it on a sliding bracket attached to the starboard side of the engine, driving it from the injector pump shaft with a cog belt. There is no longer any possibility of water from the raw water pump leaking into the injector pump.

Should you ever have to pull the injector pump for any reason, be advised that, for some reason, the timing on the rebuilt pump differs slightly from the standard setting. Before removing the pump you must be sure to open the small observation port on the forward end of the block and note the indexing on the gears. The Z's on the gears no longer nest, but miss nesting by one cog. When you remount the pump, you must reproduce this indexing. (You will probably have to turn the engine over a few times to make the indexing visible through the observation port.)

The raw water line runs through the oil cooler and transmission oil cooler on its way to the heat exchanger. These oil coolers can develop leaks and must be periodically replaced.

Normally Catspaw's engine runs at the low temperature of 140 deg F, set by its thermostat, but there are two conditions that can raise the engine temperature and, if pronounced, can lead to overheating. One is reduced raw water flow. The second is reduced fresh water level. The first condition is usually caused by cracked or broken off impeller blades in the raw water pump. I did not realize until recently that these impellers have a shelf life. (I had been using some spare impellers that had been sitting in my parts drawer for an extended time, and they weren't lasting very long. Putting in a freshly purchased impeller solved this problem. One should routinely replace the raw water impeller once each season and should keep at least one new spare impeller on hand.)

A second less frequent cause for reduced raw water flow is blocked tubes in the copper heat exchange element in the exhaust manifold. This element should routinely be pulled out and inspected and cleaned every four or five years. At the same time the end cap on the heat exchanger should be inspected. At some point a new end cap will have to be fabricated to replace the current one (the engine's second such end cap, welded together about six or seven years ago).

A reduced fresh water level suggests a leak in the fresh water system. This leak can mean a bad seal on the shaft of the fresh water pump, a leaky head gasket, or a leak in the copper heat exchange element. At one time or another, Catspaw's engine has suffered from all three of these conditions. (In New Zealand, the head had to be pulled and resurfaced and the head gasket replaced. Ever since, by the way, Catspaw's engine has burned some oil.)

In recent years the freeze plugs (small inverted caps that press into holes on the side of the engine block) have been failing. Most of these have now been replaced (usually a relatively simple job), but a few remain. A slow residual leak still present this past summer may be traceable to such a freeze plug on the aft face of the engine block (under the cowl bridging the engine and transmission and covering the flywheel). The engine manual does not show an aft view of the engine block, so I don't know that such a freeze plug exists, but the leak is at the aft end of the block, and it appeared at about the same time as the other freeze plug leaks. At some point, the transmission and cowl should be removed, the aft face of the block inspected, and any hidden freeze plugs replaced.

Following Catspaw's trip around the world, I added a fresh water reservoir to the fresh water system. This reservoir is mounted well above engine level under the galley sink. Keeping this reservoir topped off ensures a full supply of fresh water to the engine. Water or antifreeze is introduced through the fill at the top of this reservoir. The original fill on top of the manifold has been welded shut and replaced by a valve that allows one to bleed air from the fresh water system.

The exhaust riser is the original heavy duty steel riser welded together for Catspaw some forty years ago by two German immigrants operating an exhaust shop near Port Everglades. This riser is in two water-jacketed sections, one horizontal and one vertical. It has been xrayed several times since, most recently several years ago, and each time has shown a healthy wall thickness remaining between the inner exhaust and the outer (zinc protected) raw water jacket.

The raw water joins the exhaust in a sacrificial section at the head of the upper riser (accessible under the duct panels beneath the ladder). This section is easily fabricated from standard 1 1/2 in pipe fittings and needs to be replaced every five or six years. (The water-mixed exhaust exits via a section of hose and thruhull just below the waterline on the starboard side.)

A flexible monel coupling joins the manifold endcap to the lower section of the exhaust riser. This coupling has developed several pinhole leaks and should eventually be replaced (probably at the same time a new end cap is fabricated). I don't think it represents an immediate danger, because there is no noticeable leakage of exhaust into the engine compartment and the intake of the fan that vents hot air from this compartment to the cockpit is only six inches away from the coupling.

4000 hours over 40 years is something like 100 hours a year. That's not much. And while we have had our share of engine problems, we have never run the engine hard. Under power we typically cruise at 1800 to 1900 RPM. Never over 2000 RPM. (The engine is rated at 35 HP at 2650 RPM.) And more than half of that 4000 hour service has been at 1200 RPM or thereabouts, charging the refrigerator. Catspaw has always been primarily a sailing vessel. Her auxilliary engine has been used mostly to get in and out of port, to help fetch an anchorage before dark in an adverse or failing wind, and/or to keep the refrigerator charged and the crew's beer cold.

The bottom line? Unless you are planning a long trip with Catspaw that will take you away from home for a number of years, I would continue with the current engine until such time as you find it no longer possible to do so. Chances are that Catspaw's engine problems will continue to focus on systems peripheral to the basic engine. You will more than once curse the engine (and marine engines in general!), but you should be able to solve these problems and continue motoring (and sailing).

If you wish to take Catspaw on a second trip around the world, however, you might well consider first installing a new engine and spending a few years troubleshooting this installation before setting off. Hopefully, you can find a small diesel that fits in Catspaw's engine compartment and can be coupled to her shaft or modified shaft. You may also have to modify or replace the engine beds, exhaust riser, and battery compartment, and you may wish to go over the refrigeration system at the same time.

You should be under no illusion. Regardless of what boat you have or what engine you have aboard her, you are going to have engine problems. The engine and associated systems will consume a good fraction of the time and effort you spend maintaining any sailing auxilliary.

Most all of the systems involved in Catspaw's current engine installation are accessible through the hatch in the galley sole above this engine and can be serviced and maintained through this hatch. Some tasks, however, like refinishing the engine, require that the engine be lifted up off of its beds. An eye in the galley overhead above the engine makes it possible to lift the engine well above sole level (using a comealong between the eye and a chain bridging the lifting eyes on top of the engine). A second comealong can then be employed to move the engine laterally, where it can finally be lowered onto a pair of 4 in by 6 in supports spanning the hatch opening.

Prior to lifting the engine, the shaft must be decoupled from the transmission, the transmission and throttle controls must be disconnected, the lower exhaust riser must be decoupled from the flex coupling and from the upper riser and must be removed, the batteries must be disconnected and removed from the battery compartment, the battery switch and battery compartment itself must be removed (including its forward support, which bolts into place), the fresh water must be drained from the engine, all hose and electrical connections to the engine must be detached, the drive belt for the refrigeration compressor must be removed, and the retaining nuts for the engine supports must be removed. It's a long and tedious list, but, because the engine is now more accessible, the attendant effort is usually well worth it.

Catspaw's current suit of sails was constructed by Lee Sails in 1985. These sails are still serviceable but a bit the worse for wear (and sunshine). The main, in particular, is somewhat less than robust.

The original main and mizzen by Super Sailmakers were battened, and, in our trip around the world, we were repeatedly resewing batten pockets. Accordingly, when we ordered the replacement Lee Sails, we asked for a battenless main and mizzen. And, in ordering a single line of conventional reef points for both sails, we also asked for substantial reefing clews. Suffice to say these specifications are apparently not entirely compatible. The reefing clews provided in the Lee sails are in fact so heavy that, close-hauled in moderate to fresh winds, these sails tend to flog along the leech. I have added leechlines of a sort, but it has not eliminated this flogging.

Depending on what you would like to do with Catspaw, you have a number of options respecting the sails: 1) you can continue with the present sails, repairing them when and where necessary, 2) you can replace the main, 3) you can replace the main and mizzen, 4) you can replace the main, mizzen, working jib, and reacher (the intermediate jib has seen very little service and probably does not need replacing), or 5) you can replace all sails.

If you sail locally and are at peace with the flogging close-hauled, 1) or 2) will probably work for you, at least for a while. On the other hand, if you want to take off on a long multiyear cruise, you should probably invest in some new sails, 4) or 5).

Catspaw's sailcovers for the main and mizzen booms are worn out and need to be replaced.

Catspaw's Schaefer blocks should be either rebuilt or replaced sometime reasonably soon. You can continue with the current blocks for a while, but you will eventually lose them, one by one. (The delrin sheaves eventually wear out.)

These blocks can no longer be directly replaced because Schaefer has discontinued the particular line of blocks that were originally fitted. If you go to a different line of new blocks, you may also need to provide new mounts for the standing versions of these blocks.

Schaefer used to sell the cheeks and sheaves necessary to rebuild their blocks. I'm not sure they do that any more. (I thought they didn't, but recently saw some Schaefer sheaves advertised by West Marine.) You can reuse the stainless steel components of the current blocks and you can replace the rivets with stainless steel bolts, but you will need to find a source for the sheaves and cheeks or (possibly) machine them yourself. You may not have to stick with the same materials. If possible, I would go to aluminum sheaves and stainless cheeks.

Schaefer does have a modern line of 7 series blocks that, while not identical to the current blocks, will work with 1/2 in line. Moreover, the base pad for the standing versions of these blocks will fit the current mounts. (It will not be necessary to modify these mounts.) Also it appears that you can replace all of the current blocks with series 7 blocks with stainless cheeks. The sheaves, however, will still be delrin, and the blocks will be riveted. This option will be a bit costly and the delrin sheaves will not last forever, but they will last a good while and this option is relatively painless.

Note that the current halyard blocks at the top of the masts already have aluminum sheaves and stainless cheeks. These blocks do not need to be replaced.

In this era of large solar panels and more efficient wind generators, Catspaw's engine-driven refrigeration system is perhaps a throwback to an earlier time. Nowadays, most small refrigeration systems on boats run on 12 VDC and consequently require a fairly substantial means for recharging batteries (usually a solar panel array that can be pointed at the sun and/or an efficient wind generator, both of which must be operational not only at anchor but under sail). Note that, as a last resort on cloudy windless days, the engine's alternator will also recharge the batteries, but this is not a very efficient use of the engine. (If the refrigerator is drawing an average of 2 amp, the engine basically has to charge for five hours at 10 amp to replace what the refrigerator uses in a day. Contrast this estimate with Catspaw's 1 hour every other day, at relatively low RPM, to charge her refrigeration system directly.)

While a 12 VDC refrigeration system can be operated quite sucessfully, it also inevitably compromises the use of other 12 VDC systems aboard. Computers, radios, particularly high-powered tranceivers, electric lights, inverters used to power AC devices, and other 12 VDC electrical and electronic devices all consume substantial power. The point is that whatever power is consumed by such a refrigeration system can't be consumed by these other systems.

In recent years, Catspaw's energy budget has been stressed by the fact that both Jody and I have sleep apnea. This means that at night we use CPAPs. Fortunately, we have figured out a way to share a single CPAP. Even so, this CPAP draws about 2 amp (at 12 VDC). We would have been hard pressed to simultaneously operate both this CPAP (at night) and an (around the clock) electrical refrigeration system.

The success of Catspaw's top-loading refrigeration system is due primarily to two factors. 1) The custom holding tank is quite large (~.5 cu ft). 2) The system is run strictly as a refrigerator. (The tank is filled with water.) Other than the holding tank, we do not want to freeze anything. Therefore we do not need to maintain any portion of the the icebox below freezing. As a consequence, we don't care if, on the second day, the temperature in the icebox starts to rise. We only care that we have cold drinks, are able to keep leftovers for several days at least, are able to keep cheeses and luncheon meats for a month, and are able to keep lettuce, tomatoes, and other produce, for a week or more. (To keep produce from burning, it must be kept from directly contacting the holding tank. This means storing it in a tupperware box or placing other items between the produce and the tank.)

Running Catspaw's engine an hour every other day has seemed a small price to pay for all this.

Clearly the lack of a freezer means that one cannot carry frozen meats. In lieu of frozen meats, we use canned meats, in particular home-canned meats. Pork, turkey, chicken, beef (even hamburger), and fish all can very well and make excellent one-pot fare. The chief disadvantage of home-canned meats is that, out of the can, they need to be boiled for 15 min to guarantee that they are safe. In a one pot meal, particularly if the meal is cooked in a pressure cooker, this requirement normally does not add much of a burden.

Many components in Catspaw's refrigeration system are original with the system (the holding tank, expansion valve, receiver, high and low side tubing, valves, and pressure gauges). Other components are perhaps 20 years old (compressor, condensor, and control unit). The new owner would perhaps do well to have the system looked at by a refrigeration mechanic with an eye towards possibly replacing some components. The one component that I would be a little nervous about is the condensor. This is a monel component (with, apparently, a copper refrigeration line), but the cooling is raw water. I replaced the original condensor after about twenty years, even though there was no indication of any problem.

For many years, the raw water circulation in the condensor was driven by the engine's raw water pump, integral to the engine's raw water line. Currently, this circulation is driven by a separate 12 VDC pump.

The system has one quirk. When it first starts charging the refrigerator, the compressor may see some liquid freon in the low side line. This will cause it to buck a bit. It is best to toggle the compressor off (for about 10 sec) several times during the first few minutes of operation (until this bucking subsides). I am told that this bucking can be eliminated entirely by adding an accumulator to the low side line (physically mounted below the compressor).

The maintenance on a cruising sailboat never ends. As good a shape as she appears to be in, Catspaw is due for some major refinishing. (Below deck, she was refinished in 2008. Except for occasional touchups, she should be good there for another 10 years.) The following tasks should be undertaken within the next few years:

1) Catspaw's deck, inside bulwark, deckhouse, and cockpit need refinishing. These tasks can be addressed at the dock. The non-skid surfaces are still fundamentally OK, so I don't think it is necessary to sand away the non-skid. Rather I would start with the current surface, scrub it thoroughly, put down a coat of epoxy undercoater and follow that with two coats of a two-part polyurethane paint (I have used Interlux Interthane plus, now Perfection), sprinkling some additional sand-blasting silica sand (the best non-skid I have found) on the wet first coat of polyurethane. (You need to roll a swath, immediately sprinkle it with the sand, and then continue with the next swath.)

The regular portions of the deck, the inside bulwark, the deckhouse, and the cockpit need to be sanded well and refinished with a coat of epoxy undercoater and two coats of polyurethane. One can use a roller with polyurethane, but it is best to follow the roller lightly with a brush (to remove the small bubbles that the roller introduces into the finish).

Using the combination of expoxy undercoater and polyurethane top coats gives a surface that usually chalks rather than peels. This makes refinishing a flat surface comparatively easy.

The boomkin was refinished several years ago and does not need refinishing. (Be thankful for small favors! The boomkin is not a flat surface. Refinishing it is a tedious job.)

The underside of the cockpit seats has never been refinished. The framework supporting the plywood seats was painted before installing the seats, but has not been touched since. It is very difficult to get at this framework to sand and refinish it. (By the same token, it has had very little exposure to either sunlight or moisture.) Probably the only way to properly refinish this framework is to tear out the plywood seat panels (to expose the framework), sand and refinish it, and install new panels. (I'd put this on my list for some time in the future.)

2) Catspaw's topsides need refinishing. This task is best addressed when hauled out, but might possibly be addressed at the dock, using some sort of floating work platform. Again, the hull needs to be well sanded and then refinished with a coat of epoxy undercoater and two coats of polyurethane.

3) Catspaw is due for another haulout. (She was last hauled in spring 2008.)

4) The masts need to be refinished. One might conceivably accomplish this task at the dock, using a bosun's chair (I did something similar in Papeete), but it is much more readily accomplished by pulling the masts and dropping them onto a pair of sawhorses where you can more easily work on them. ( I would recommend doing this the first time you haul out. You can then either refinish them during the haulout or return after the haulout to restep them (after you have completed refinishing them).

At the same time, I would refinish both booms. Special attention should be given to refinishing the fir spacer beneath the tracks on both the masts and the booms.

One of the main spreaders has some bad wood and probably needs to be replaced. Others may also need to be repaired or replaced. (I would stick with the current design and reuse the metal plates at the inboard edge of the spreaders.)

I would take the opportunity to replace both the spreader lights, the bow and stern lights at the top of the main and mizzen masts, and the running lights at the forward end of the deckhouse. I would go to LED navigation lights, because the power consumed by filament navigation lights is problematic. (Three lights on all night consume roughly 30 amp hr, a substantial fraction of the capacity of a single 100 amp hr battery and more than is restored by Catspaw's solar panel on the succeeding day, if it is cloudy. Accordingly, one is tempted to skimp on lights when sailing at night.) The power requirements for LED navigation lights are much less problematic.

Catspaw's bronze Perko masthead light fixtures unscrew from threaded studs welded to the masthead caps. You will need to adapt the new LED masthead lights to these studs.

The random wire antenna built into the mizzen mast has lost its insulation at the base of the mast. The termination of this wire needs to be repaired and made more robust (keeping in mind that the new termination has to pass through the deck when the mast is restepped.

The mast boots need replacing. The old boots should be removed prior to refinishing the masts and new boots sewn and slid into position (from the base of the masts) prior to restepping the masts. Final positioning and caulking of these boots should be left for after the restepping.

The boots are best sewn in two layers, an inner weblon layer to keep them watertight, and an outer (grey) acryllic layer to protect them from the sun.

Catspaw's Sitex recording depth sounder is not working and should be replaced. (It might be fixable, but I doubt you can any longer find paper rolls for it, even if you can fix it.) I would try to find a replacement depth sounder, the transducer for which is physically interchangeable with the current transducer (in which case you can reuse the same transducer mount). The swap should not be difficult as you can readily access the mount both inside and out, but it must be undertaken when Catspaw is hauled out of the water.

I have no hesitation in suggesting that you can continue to sail the Bahamas without an anchor windlass. This will work fine as long as your anchor rode remains primarily nylon line with a relatively short length of chain. If, however, you decide you want to use more chain, you should probably fit an anchor windlass. Ideal used to carry a manual horizontal windlass that will adapt to Catspaw's bits. (I'm not sure they still carry this windlass, but Ideal is a good place to start looking.)

Catspaw's Wilcox Crittenden bronze Junior 51 head is no longer available, and parts are becoming difficult to find. Nonetheless, I would stick with this head as long as you can. It is a very good head that I have made better by replacing the opposing pump leathers with an O-ring sealed piston, and I have recently stocked two spares each of the flap valves and joker valve, so you should be able to keep it going for a good many years.

The Wilcox Crittenden Headmate, an inexpensive plastic replacement for the Junior 51, will mount in the space available (with some new bolt holes), but this model has also been discontinued. Fitting a compact head other than the Headmate may require rebuilding (perhaps lowering) the base mount, but you can probably manage it.

Catspaw has never been fitted with a holding tank. Instead, she has carried a porta-potti for use in inland waters (or as a spare head, if and when the regular head becomes clogged or otherwise dysfunctional). There is a space at the forward end of the saloon that could accomodate a holding tank, but I have always felt that that was not the best way to use this space; moreover, it is probably less trouble to empty a porta-potti.

Except for going up and down the New River to haul out or passing through Port Everglades on our way to and from the Bahamas, we have practically never had occasion to use a head in inland waters. Perhaps if we had had more such occasions, I would feel differently. (I don't actually know what the current state of the law is respecting holding tanks and porta-pottis.)

Catspaw's plywood deck is covered with single layer of fiberglass cloth. This fiberglass covering keeps the water away from the plywood, but is not impact proof. Inevitably, heavier sharper objects fall on deck and ding the fiberglass. It is important to patch these dings in a timely fashion. (The ding is ground out, patched with two layers of biaxial fiberglass and epoxy resin, faired, and eventually refinished. If at sea, a temporary patch of epoxy glue can be applied until it is possible to effect a proper repair. Typically, multiple dings and other small repairs are refinished simultaneously once each year. Catspaw's deck has many patches, but, after almost forty years, is still quite serviceable.

The fiberglass reinforced plywood deck is probably the weakest link in Catspaw's considerable armor. One has to be particularly careful to monitor fastenings that pass through the deck, as these fastenings, improperly bedded, can provide a path for fresh water to get to the plywood. (Case in point: the starboard deck track. A soft spot at the forward end of this track has recently been repaired, both tracks rebedded, and, more recently, the two aftmost retaining bolts on the starboard track rebedded a second time. Both tracks should be monitored for signs of a continuing problem. A more extensive repair may eventually prove necessary.)

Catspaw's white oak cleats do not last forever. However, she comes supplied with numerous spare cleats, and these spares are easily installed. (There are two sizes of cleats, a larger size that bolts to the inside of the bulwark (for 5/8 in anchor lines and mooring lines) and a smaller size that lags into the masts and bolts to the outside of the cabin top and cockpit cap (for 1/2 in halyards and sheets).

One of the hazards of cruising is being struck by lightning. To my knowledge, Catspaw has never been struck, despite being surrounded by lightning on numerous occasions. Catspaw's chain plates are external to her hull, but they end short of the water surface, so it is not entirely clear what would happen if she were struck, whether the lightning would bridge the gap between the ends of these chain plates and the water surface or whether it would travel through the vessel's interior.

Whether a matter of science or superstition, we have attempted to improve our chances of surviving a lightning strike by providing a temporary electrical path from the ends of the upper stays on the main and mizzen masts to the water when there is an increased liklihood of such a strike. This protection takes the form of four stainless steel rods that shackle to the upper stays and hang vertically down into the water. These rods stow at the base of the lifeline stanchions aft of amidships, two on the port side and two on the starboard side.

Catspaw's ham radio, a Heathkit HW-104, is still aboard (mounted at the forward end of the port berth in the aft stateroom), but it is no longer operational. Until recently, one could still receive, but that function, too, has now ceased. It is probably not worthwhile to get this radio fixed as it is old technology. Better to install a more modern rig in its place, if you are interested in ham radio. Otherwise, you could install a single sideband radio in its place.

A random wire antenna is built into the mizzen mast. Back in the days when we were still transmitting in the ham bands, we tuned this wire using an antenna tuner at the base of the mizzen mast. Because other wires (for the stern light and the mizzen spreader lights) are also built into the mizzen mast, it was necessary to place these additional wires electrically off of RF ground. Just under the sole at the base of the mizzen mast on the starboard side are four coils that accomplish this task. (These coils are in series with the four additional wires carrying power to the stern light and spreader lights).

As is clear from the three history sections included in this website, Catspaw has been through a great deal in her near forty years of existence. She has been to the Bahamas twenty or so times, in 1973 sailed to the Lesser Antilles, and, over a period of four years (1980-1983), sailed east to west around the world via the San Blas, Panama Canal, Perlas, Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Societies, Suvorov, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Solomons, Louisiades, Australia, Bali, Christmas and Cocos Keeling Islands, Salomon Atoll, Sri Lanka, Oman, Sudan, Egypt, Suez Canal, Israel, Turkey, Greece, Aeolian Islands, Sardinia, Balearics, Alicante, Ceuta, Madeira, Canaries, and Bahamas.

Throughout all of her travels, Catspaw has served us extremely well, enabling us to visit places we would otherwise have only dreamed of visiting. Now that our sailing days are over, she stands ready to serve a new owner.

Catspaw has had a few hard knocks for which she bears some scars (a collision with a fishing boat outside of Papeete, and a number of engine failures, including that resulting from a warped head in New Zealand), but mostly she's had problems that one comes to expect on any boat, particularly any boat with an engine. Other problems stemming from a few less than ideal decisions on my part regarding some details of her construction have largely been corrected. Aside from the fact that certain components may need replacing in the not too distant future (an ongoing prospect on any boat that's been around for a while), Catspaw is in many ways a better boat today than she has been in the past.

With a new boat you don't know what problems you are going to encounter. You only know that, for sure, there will be problems. With Catspaw, you have a good idea up front what problems to expect, and how to deal with them. (This, by the way, is a good argument for sticking with the current engine as long as you can. I think you know pretty much what you have to do to keep it running. With a new engine, you will basically be starting all over again and will have to learn from experience what the problems are and what to do about them.)

Catspaw is a good boat for the right kind of owner. And she's available at a reasonable price.