The Ultimate Catalina 27
Note from host: The following is a description of the remarkable vessel Sovereignty, a Catalina 27 with numerous modifications by her owner, who sailed and lived aboard her for some 16 years. Sovereignty is currently in storage while David Hoyt is on a circumnavigation cruise in another vessel. This description is being preserved on BoatDiddly.com as a way of keeping it alive for its many valuable ideas for other boat owners.-Dave Shugarts
Topsides Modifications
Sovereignty generates her needed electricity via three large Siemens solar cells, a Amp Air wind generator, and the alternator in the Yamaha outboard.
I added the bowsprit, which holds a Delta anchor on 200' of high-test chain handled by a Horizon 500 windlass. Her cutter rig can be completely controlled from the cockpit and with turning blocks at the back of the deck, I can adjust the sail track blocks while they are under load. The mast lines (main halyard, topping lift, reef 1, reef 2, and downhaul) are all extended to the cockpit.
Additionally, the mainsheet and traveler control lines appear in the cockpit. The lightning protection of the vessel is accomplished by a Forespar ion receiver wired to a large bronze plate under the waterline. The decks and cabin trunk are covered with Teak Treadmaster.
The tow/rubrail system incorporates a towing strap under its lower half. The dinghy outboard is on a bracket which allows me to lower it into the water to load it easily onto the dinghy, or use it as additional forward or reverse thrust or as a athwartships thruster.
The bronze portholes in the forepeak cabin can accommodate wind scoops which direct the breeze into or out of the forepeak cabin. The sliding companionway hatch was replaced by a sunroof and the pilothouse windshield parallels the companionway stairs.
The pilothouse also has red/white dimming lights as well as four speakers for the ship's stereo system. The instruments include the KVH Quattro system, the Raytheon 4000+ autopilot, a Garmin 45 GPS (wired to the autopilot) and a compass.
I increased the fuel tankage from 12 gallons to 56 gallons, boosting my cruising range under motor to 700+ nautical miles. Forward of the skylight are teak strips which form a luggage rack for the four tubs you see lashed to the cabin trunk. The dinghy is deflated and lashed to the foredeck when not in use.
All the standing rigging is 3/16 wire with StaLock fittings. When I fractionalized the jib, I added additional uppers as well as running backstays.
The light at the masthead is an all-around red over an all-around green and can be illuminated in addition to the deck lights. The masthead also includes an anchor light, a TV antenna, a VHF antenna, lightning ion collector, and wind transducer. At the mast's midpoint are the steaming light, a Fidrell blipper radar reflector, a horn (controlled by a windshield wiper delay switch to sound it in foggy conditions), and port and starboard deck lights.
The bow also has a seat in the pulpit and a deck washdown hose connection plumbed to the former head flush water through-hull. The bags on either side of the pulpit hold the anchro mark, the anchor sentinel, the hose for the washdown system, a rubber snubber for the anchor chain, and a 1/2" X 10' rode to attach the anchor chain to the bow plate at the base of the pulpit support bar and wire. Under the bowsprit are docking lights controlled from the cockpit.
The cockpit sole has a teak grate which can be raised to seat height making it a guest room using the seat back cushions and a filler piece. I have also tailored a tarp to allow the cockpit sole to be a bath tub or jacuzzi (by adding a submersible bilge pump). In open water, we raise the grate, cover the cockpit with a tarp and allow water to drain out the engine lazarette in rough following seas.
The cockpit seats, seatbacks, and coaming are covered with Treadmaster Smooth Teak covering material. The lee cloths can be connected to the bimini (connecting the pilothouse with the stern enclosure) using either blue Sunbrella or mosquito netting.
The backstay is doubled and the stern lunch hook is on an Ankarolina belting rode. The barbecue is a Magna propane kettle. Reach poles are strapped to the bow pulpit and stern enclosure braces so they are ready at a moment's notice. The added stanchions in the cockpit hold backrests and the lee cloths have sheet pockets for the furling lines and sheets, as well as a hand-held VHF radio or bottle of pop.
The forward side windows of the pilothouse open for ventilation. There are eyes on either side of the stanchion braces for the installation of a preventer or jacklines. The sampson post on the bow has an eye on its top for jacklines or a safety harness hook.
As you can see, we fly the flags of all the states and foreign countries we have visited from the port spreader. One halyard at its midpoint while the other is on the outboard end of the spreader. On the starboard flag halyard we fly the flag of the state or country we are in. The masthead has blocks on either side for the owner's pennant and a quarantine flag (where required) or festive pennants when desired.
The mainsail is a fully battened loose-footed main with two reefs riding on a Tides Marine sail track and having a double dutchman furling system (twice the control monofilament lines as standard). We also added sheet bags to the interior of the main cabin for the halyards and sheets on the cabin trunk to be stored in. There are two electric inlets, a TV-phone inlet and a hose bib for the fresh water system on either side of the cabin trunk forward of the cockpit.
The cockpit has two winch handle compartments for additional storage (port is in the backrest, starboard intrudes into the pilotberth. I attached a ceiling board in the pilotberth to accommodate long pole storage in the starboard coaming seat back area. It has a sliding door at its main cabin exit opening and is lighted when the pilotberth light is switched on. Each compartment in the cockpit has both red and white light illumination.
The engine compartment lazarette also houses a raw water hose bib to wash down the cockpit. The lazarette houses the shower hose for showering or fresh water rinse. That eliminated the need for a shower sump below decks. The cockpit lazarette also houses our Paratech drogue chute (12' diameter), and assortment of flares and parachute flares attached to the lid, a sea patch tarp, tarps to cover the deck when under a summer sun, and various cleaning supplies as well as an extinguisher, and fenders, and the like. The engine lazarette houses an automatic halon fire extinguisher system and a subwoofer for the sound system.
The satellite receiver dish is mounted on a pole on the starboard stern quarter across from the wind generator (not pictured). The ship's colors fly from that same stern quarter. About the only standard feature on the hull are the windows . . . they are the original frames and Plexiglas.
A hammock can be erected between the jib and mast. There are three anchors on the bow pulpit: the delta attached to the chain rode; an old navy anchor; and a fortress anchor which can be attached to a second rode (carried forward as needed, or bagged on the bow if expected to be regularly used).
I have added 300 lbs. of lead to the bottom of the keel to compensate for the added weight aloft. By moving the mainsheet traveler to the amidships position in front of the pilothouse, it has enabled us to completely enclose the cockpit against rain, sun, or mosquitoes. The solar cells' regulator shifts the energy they generate to the 12V water heater element when the batteries are fully charged.
Interior Modifications
The entire hull is insulated with Armaflex 1/2" insulation which has an R factor of about 16. That is topsides, freeboard insides, and wetted surface insides. The boat is as a thermos bottle--warm in winter and cool in summer.
The berth on the port side of the main cabin now houses storage cabinets under the alcohol/electric cooktop, a Norcold fridge (with a fan to cool the compressor when operating on 110V), a microwave/bake/broil/toast/defrost oven, and a TV. The remaining area is a seat. The old ice chest has been converted to a freezer. The old Whale pump now pumps sea water from the "T" which formerly drained the ice chest. A single valve faucet with separate spigot supplies the premixed fresh water in the sink. The under-seat area of the galley aft of the bulkhead is lit with two lights, one over the behind-the-sink area and one which shines into the freezer. The paper towel rack is on the lazarette bulkhead behind the sink.
The entire galley was covered with teak veneer, making it easily cleaned. I added a bronze red/white light to the galley bulkhead and a 12 halogen light aimed at the sink/cooktop. The glasses cabinet under the deck doors were refaced with teak as was the cabinet at the outboard end of the dinette table. The forward bulkhead was reinforced and covered with teak veneer. The dinette table on the starboard side of the main cabin was covered with teak veneer with an inlay of a compass rose and the ship's name "Sovereignty" inlaid in black walnut (the rubrail on the outside of the teak toerail is black walnut from a friend of mine's farm in Ann Arbor Michigan).
The table is fixed in position as the computer system's laptop is in a cabinet bolted to the underside of the table. The keyboard is on a shelf under the aft side of the table, a sterno unvented fireplace is on the outside wall and adjacent to the printer cabinet.
There are 15 lights in the main cabin. Six are hooded halogen, three are bronze red/white lights. One shines under the table, one (red only) illuminates the stairway from above the engine room (we call that area under the cockpit sole "the basement"), one illuminates the pilotberth, one illuminates the pole locker (the area above the pilotberth), two over the galley sink ice chest area.
There is a compressor in the galley to pump up pop bottles or bicycle tires. In the basement going counterclockwise from forward port are a 55-gallon water bladder, the freezer compressor (cooled with water or air-cooled), a Pur 35 water maker, a 12V water heater in the back of the compartment forward of the reinforced rudder post pocket, to starboard are the two pumps (raw water to the engine lazarette and the fresh water system pump), a 1000 watt inverter/charger controlled by a link 2000 controller, freezer controls, two alarm system controllers, and various other equipment including two of the ship's six Trojan T-125 6V batteries.
At the head of the pilotberth are the ship's VCR and satellite receiver. Above them are the ship's VHF radio and the head unit for the ship's entertainment system. It can play a single CD, a magazine of 12 CD's, a cassette tape, as well as AM & FM stereo radio stations. It also has inputs for the VHF radio, the ship's computer sound output, and the VCR and satellite receiver signals (Dolby digital). The system plays through a Bose Acoustamass system on the front channels (port side of the main cabin), and Pioneer triple-cone speakers on the rear channels (starboard side of the main cabin) and an Aura subwoofer mounted to the compartment under the dinette sole.
By the way, the dinette sole is a teak parquet floor. The table leg amidships rests on the top of a cabinet which houses a Pelonis ceramic heater whose thermostat is on the bulkhead adjacent to the mast post above the seat back cushion for the dinette seat. I opened the area under the dinette sole by installing a teak door. That area houses the iron, ironing board, spare rigging wire, anchor sail, alcohol for the ship's stove, and other equipment. The storage under the berth on the port side of the cabin was opened with a single board facing the walkway with three doors cut into it.
The aft two compartments house galley equipment and the forward compartment houses clothing. I made a sink cover which stows between the galley and companionway stairway. The panel above the basement door houses a cigarette lighter plug, switches for the freezer, freezer fan, freezer water cooling pump, freezer air cooling fan, freezer thermostat, a burglar alarm siren, the red light previously discussed, a water temperature mixing valve which adjusts water temp in the ship's tankage water system, and various other switches and plugs.
The panel under the pilotberth has the switch which switches the water heater element from solar to charger, and the link 2000 control panel and a fire extinguisher. The cupboard under my seat houses foodstuffs on the top shelf and cleaning supplies on the bottom shelf.
The compartment under the aft dinette seat houses the CD changer, the 550-watt 5-channel amplifier, the ship's electrical panel, and software and hardware for the computer system as well as two of the six 6V batteries. The cupboard under the forward dinette seat houses linens on the top shelf, and trash bags, the ship's vacuum cleaner, and other equipment. The compartment under the forward seat is the ship's tools and supplies compartment, the speed transducer and two of the six 6V ship's batteries. The forward bulkheads as well as the aft bulkheads in the main cabin have all been covered with teak veneer.
The port bulkhead houses the binocular rack and the ship's bell with "Hoyts' Sovereignty" cast into her. There is also a brass compass rose and pictures on that bulkhead. The starboard bulkhead has the ship's bell clock, barometer, pencil rack, heater thermostat and 11 pictures of family and favorite places in matching brass frames, and a 12-volt light. There are 12 110V outlets in the main cabin, and four 12V outlets.
The ship's computer system is on an isolated 12V circuit with its own backup battery so when a significant 12 draw occurs, it doesn't affect the power supplying the computer system. The computer system consists of a Gateway laptop (boxed and out of the way) with a remote keyboard, and a remote 12V flat screen 15" color monitor, and an ink jet printer.
The head does not use sea water to flush as we found it stinks after a few days sitting. The head and main cabin are both carpeted, wall to wall. The head further is carpeted up the sides where the gelcoat appeared and the freeboard wall to the cabinet. No one is allowed to stand and use the head and it has been carpeted since 1984 with nary an odor. The head "Y's" overboard or to a holding tank built out of the compartment under the forepeak berth.
I added a louvered door to the port under-berth area and built a gimbaled cockpit table which doubles as a partition hiding the items stored under the berth but not in the under-berth compartment. At the foot of the forepeak berth I added a Pelonis ceramic heater forward of the shelf and into the shelf I added a computer fan which draws air up from the under-berth compartment and exhausts it to the back side of the heater.
The thermostat (heating/cooling line voltage) is on the port bulkhead between the forepeak berth and the hanging locker. It allow us to have the heater off yet exhaust the cooler air from the under-berth area into our cabin--or if really warm, with the heater fan on blowing that air over our bodies in bed. The portholes give us both light and ventilation.
There is a light at the foot of the berth which is controlled from a switch panel at the port side of the shelf at the head of the bed. Also in this panel are a speaker for the sound system, a 12V and 110V outlet and a dimmer switch for the 110V light in this compartment. On the starboard panel is a 12V and 110V outlet, a volume control for the compartment speakers, a speaker, and a switch which allows me to turn off the stereo system from bed. Under the bed is a second Aura subwoofer. I cut out openings (4) under the shelf and use the area for additional storage of books, wind scoops, etc. Not wanting curtains covering the portholes, I made brass plates which fit perfectly over the glass and the capillary action between the glass and plates holds them in place at any rate of heel.
In the head I built a bookcase for the forward bulkhead and a towel rack under it. I built a lockdown for the spare tiller. The hanging locker is illuminated and the rod swung 90 degrees so the clothes face amidships. This allows for room for long umbrellas, cloths bag, belt hooks and other storage. I vented the holding tank to both sides of the boat. Behind and above the head are an ionizer, a tooth brush charger, a beard trimmer charger, and a 110V and 12V outlet. The floor was raised, flattened and carpeted. The mattress in the forepeak was custom-made with two densities of foam. The anchor locker floor was opened and reinforced to allow the 200' of chain to cascade down the bow to a compartment under the berth area. The under-berth area also houses the depth transducer, the pump for the bow washdown system, the brain box for the KVH instrument system, and two milk cartons loaded with spare parts. Behind the louvered door on the port side are stored fishing tackle, games, etc.
The keel box was reinforced with 3/4" plywood fiberglassed into the keel some 12" on either side of the bilge. Two bilge pumps occupy the bilge. Both are on float switches which can be overridden. One switch is higher than the other, with the lower switch controlling a 500-GPM pump and the higher switch controlling a 2000-GPM pump. At the aft end is a hose to a manual pump in the engine lazarette.
Odds and ends
Sovereignty has been my only home for the past 16 years. I lived comfortably in Michigan winters for 12 of those years and Florida summers for 4 years. She is air-conditioned by a window unit on the dock and vented through the forward hatch's solar vent. In the center of the "basement" we carry two folding bicycles and snorkeling suits and equipment such as goggles, fins, and snorkels. Additionally we have room for pop, and other bulk items.
I appreciate my Yamaha 9.9 outboard with its Handler cort nozzle and high-pitch prop and the room it affords me under the cockpit for storage. I had to add 200 lbs. of lead under the hanging locker in order to correct a bit of stern weight added by the fuel, engine, and basement equipment. With the bow chain, that was all it took to float her flat. We have sailed the east coast from Troy, NY, to Newport, RI, and down the coast to Florida.
Last year we had her trucked to Cleveland and spent the summer sailing the Great Lakes, departing Chicago mid-October and arriving in Mobile the end of November. December, we sailed the west coast of Florida and were in the Keys for Christmas. We went to Cuba for the week between Christmas and the New Year. Returning to Key West for the New Year celebration. January up the east coast of Florida arriving in Jacksonville February 24th. It was a great trip and the boat handled the Great Lakes storms and Gulf of Mexico's Gulf Stream without faltering. She has been in 70-knot blows and flat water where the GPS and autopilot saved us from boring hours of steering. She loves sailing all night and with a dimmer on the compass light it is comfortable to watch out for debris on a moonless night.
To Contact Me By E-Mail:
David Hoyt (CaptainDH@aol.com)