A view from inside - Cuddy removed!

woodbark

Member
I decided at the end of last summer that it was time to utilize the space in the bow area of my Mod 2. I really was not prepared for what I would find.

The Cuddy box was a lot easier to remove than I expected, after removing the screws around the flange, I used a chisel as a pry bar and gently pried, a little bit at a time between the Cuddy flange and deck face and it slowly started to separate. Eventually it popped apart, then it was just a matter of hauling it out of there!
It's actually quite huge or deep as you can see from the photo! I am penciling in a cut off mark around it as I will be reusing the front surround/flange to re-trim the opening.

If you always wanted to see what was inside, behind that Cuddy Stowage! ..... well here it is!

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Too cool!! Makes me wonder why Catalina didn't do more with this space from the beginning... This may be a stupid question, but were the empty water/milk cartons from Catalina or were those your own added buoyancy feature?

-Rob
 
Too cool!! Makes me wonder why Catalina didn't do more with this space from the beginning... This may be a stupid question, but were the empty water/milk cartons from Catalina or were those your own added buoyancy feature?

-Rob

Rob, I'm pretty sure they are water jugs and are original from Catalina.
The extra space will be great for stowing the sails and maybe a couple of deep cycle batteries for the Electric trolling motor or spare fuel for the gas motor. Actually the space is big enough to stow away the motors as well ...... The Hatch Door will be lockable ;)
 
My mod -1 1985 has that area wide open. I have styrofoam blocks under the benches. So I guess Catalina used to give you the space, but took it for a neater appearance.
 
Too cool!! Makes me wonder why Catalina didn't do more with this space from the beginning... This may be a stupid question, but were the empty water/milk cartons from Catalina or were those your own added buoyancy feature?

-Rob
Mod 1s did not have the cuddy. The bow was completely open as shown in these photos.
 
Rob, I'm pretty sure they are water jugs and are original from Catalina.
The extra space will be great for stowing the sails and maybe a couple of deep cycle batteries for the Electric trolling motor or spare fuel for the gas motor. Actually the space is big enough to stow away the motors as well ...... The Hatch Door will be lockable ;)
I hauled a trolling motor in the cockpit one time and it marked the fiberglass up bad. Now I haul the motor in the back of my truck.
 
Woodbark - Love the photos! Have thought about doing this to my 1989 Mod2. Incredible how much stowage was sacrificed! Just need to make a watertight door.
 
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Not sure anyone who posted here between 2013 and now will see this, but here goes.... :p

Since I have a masthead float on my Mod-2, there's really no way water is going to get into the cuddy during a capsize, so I've been thinking about removing it too. The boat sits so high in the water when on its side, you'd have to purposely dump water into the opening to get it in there!

Because of this, I'm wondering if the plastic bottles are even necessary. I guess it's possible, however unlikely, that I could hit a submerged object in the water, rupturing the bottom and flooding the compartment between the cockpit and hull, but that's a long shot imo.

There are a few things I'd add if I could just access the inside of the foredeck: Nav lights, extra mooring cleats, a little, motorcycle-sized AGM deep cycle battery, etc... and it would be great for storing sails and gear when not using the boat, instead of leaving it all in the cockpit or taking it home with me. Granted the boat has a cover on it, and I keep the boat in a locked, safe, security camera-equipped yard, but still, for peace of mind and convenience, it would be nice to have some extra storage space on the boat.

I just need to come up with a material for the cuddy door. I was thinking one of those white, kitchen cutting boards, though I don't really know how well those stand up to sunlight over the long haul. The rubber gasket would be fairly easy to fabricate, as would the reenforced hinges and locking latch.

I like the little cubby that's there now, but the space is so limited. Right now my emergency paddle sticks about 3' out into the cockpit, which isn't the end of the world, but does tend to get under foot.
 

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Winston29 - Still here!

Update: I went ahead and pulled out the cubby. I used a hairdryer on high/full and a flat head screwdriver. It was a lot harder to release the glue than I thought and marred the door frame a little bit.
After ~45 min of heating and prying, the cubby popped and pulled right out. Jumped inside and took a look.
Decided to build a little ledge to anchor a battery box to for a size 27 (gel) marine battery. Was able to rest some cedar boards on the center ridge and screw in to the wooden side structures. Was a little concerned the weight of the battery on the laminated structures, but a later turtle proved adequate.
Still need to complete the door. Have a 18"x12"x0.5" cutting board from Amazon and traced out the removed cubby on it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LXE0PBV/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Just enough room, maybe consider a larger size. Plan to trim and then add hardware. Will update again, when complete.
 

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Correction: Group 24 battery
I was wondering about that. A Group 27 would be pretty hard to get in and out of the boat without killing yourself.
I’m considering installing an AGM battery in my boat, but not for a motor. I just want to run some 12 V navigation lights and maybe a set of super bright LEDs up on the mast.
 
Hey Winston I can't imagine needing anything more than maybe a 7 amp hour, 12V SLA "brick" battery for your LED lights ($17 Amazon)? I have a combo port/starboard low profile running light, 5-mile rated stern light, anchor and steaming lights on mine, plus a cabin light that stays on in the cuddy. All are LED and plenty bright for night sailing. I keep a little 9 volt alkaline battery in my dry box because it can run the entire setup for at least an hour in an emergency.
 
Got any pics of your (cool sounding) setup? I'm never completely sure just how many AHr I'll need for a particular system, so I tend to overpower things.

I found this earlier, but wasn't sure if it was enough to do what I need: Run 2 or 3 nav lights, and a pair of super-bright LED flood lights, mounted up high on the mast.

Amazon.com: CASIL 12V 7AH CA1270 First Alert ADT Alarm Battery by Neptune: Automotive

Amazon has some crappy little nav lights that are little more than red and green bicycle tail lights, but the larger, mast-mounted LED's I hope to get, will need to be run off something remotely via long wires.


The more I think about it, the less I want to drill holes in the fiberglass or remove my cubby, so I've been leaning towards the crappy Amazon lights and a bright, LED headlamp.
 
Here are my lights. They all run to a little plastic 4-gang fuse box fed by a small SLA battery (or can be wired to my trolling motor battery if it's being used). The steaming light is mounted just above the standing rigging, riveted to the mast on an aluminum L bracket. Anchor light (el-cheapo amazon) is riveted similarly at the top. The stern light is from Atwood and is honestly way too bright for this boat. It attracts a swarm of bugs in the dark. I'd go with something less intense if I was to do it over. The bow running light is very small but bright and doesn't interfere with the jib at all.
 

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So is a mast light required on a sailing dinghy? I'm having trouble narrowing that rule down in my searches.

I was able to find this.

Sailboats When Under Sail
The basic rule is that sidelights and a stern light are required. Permissible variations to this rule appear below.

  • Sailboats less than 20m (65.7') can substitute a tricolor light for separate sidelights and stern light—or a bi-color light and a stern light may be substituted.
  • Sailboats less than 7m (23') shall, if practicable, exhibit lights as explained above. An acceptable substitute is to keep ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern (flashlight) that shows a white light that shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.
  • ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
It sounds like I can get away with just a white stern light and a set of side lights (green/red).

I'm not planning to launch after dark. I just want lights in case I get stuck out, away from the dock, and the sun goes down.
 
So I've got a few things to post here. I have a 1986 Mod 1.
1. Somehow water is getting into the cuddy area. Not a lot, but I don't like the fact that it sits trapped around the wood mast supports and the battery box I built. Investigated and repaired everywhere a leak could happen. I sail where there is basically flat water so it can't be from intrusion by wave action. Any ideas ?
2. I see where a large car sized battery was used on one of the pics. When setting up for my trolling motor I elected to go for a small lightweight battery, since I only need to power out to/from dock on most outings. It's an Odyssey 680 in case you want to see it on the web. Some outings would call for more power (i.e. windy days on larger lakes where you need full power demands to maneuver, days when there's no wind and I just want slow cruising power for extended time, etc.) The solution was to add a second Odyssey and run then in series. Trying to horse a car sized battery into that small sized opening every time I go out would not be good and most of the time the power availability would be overkill for my needs. I'll be posting pics on this and a lot more when I get some spare time.
3. Hats off to the gentleman who was relaxing in his cuddy back in 2013! Getting in and out of that opening was a challenge indeed!
 

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