She is our third Catalina sailboat. We bought a 1978 C25 in March 1999 and sold her in July 1999 because she was just not big enough inside. Then we bought a 1973 C27, fixed her up and sold her, now this 1982 C30.

Below are a lot of our photos of our journey of bringing "Double Dutch" back to life. Feel free to browse thru them. Sometimes we do get to sail ...Under Sail.. we bought a new main sail from Banks Sails in Tampa in September 2003.. .and she sails beautifully!

When we first got her, we replaced her two main winches with Harkin, 2 speed self-tailing winches. What a difference that made!!!

We also replaced (2002) all the running and standing rigging, and in 2003, we replaced all the stanchions and lifelines.

The weekend of February 12, we did the final installation of a Raytheon SL70 7" daylight viewable monochrome display radar unit, same specs as the SL72 system. Seatalk and NMEA compatible, and radome installation on Dutch.

Here are some of the photos of the installation. Scott mounted the display at the helm in the cockpit and just like the GPS/Sounder, it can be removed and taken down below.

We hauled Dutch out Easter weekend 2005 and power washed, then sanded her bottom, and wet sanded her topsides. We then put on two coats of Trinidad SR, and used the Poliglow System on her topsides, six coats. We changed her boot stripe from orange-red to dark green to match all of her canvas. She has a great big bimini, a bimini extension that goes back to the solar panel on the dinghy davits which give great shade, and a zippered paneled windshield, with brand new covers. She has a main sail bought in 2003, and the head sail is in great shape.

Double Dutch when we first saw her in Fernandina Beach, FL. She had been sitting on the hard for about two years. We replaced all her standing and running rigging before she ever hit the water at her new home at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida. She also had her "bottom" scraped and two new coats of Trinidad SR painted on. We changed her prop in 2004 from a 2 blade to a 3 blade.

Double Dutch arriving on truck at Snug Harbor Marina in Panama City, FL. She was trucked from Fernandina Beach, Florida.

View of Binnacle from companionway. This shows the socket for the command microphone for the ICOM 402 VHF radio, and the hard wiring for the GPS. He used "Corian" (polypropylene) for his mounts. To the left of the photo, you can see the Simrad WP30 auto-pilot. In the background are the sunbrella covers Clare made for the propane grill (right) and the dinghy motor (left).
This photo shows the newer larger screen Garmin 185.. The next few photos of the binnacle will show the Garmin GPS III+ that we had then and still use as a backup. Scott kept the plug for the III+ on the binnacle, and he put plugs for both down below on the Nav table so he can program them from inside.
Recently, while out in the Gulf in some rough waters, we kept losing the GPS power. After months of trying to figure out why it only went out when we were in rough seas and heeled to starboard, Scott finally traced out the wiring and found a bad solder connection.

A good view of the Simrad WP30. This was one of our initial large purchases. The blue cockpit cushions you see in this photo have been since replaced by Clare with Green Sunbrella ones that she made.

Port side view of instruments.

Companionway Hatch Cover Pattern. It really helps keep those pesky leaky hatch boards from shedding water down into the cabin. Also, now that we have our central air conditioning and heat, we just use this to cover the companionway when we are on board. It makes going up and down those steps easier while keeping the cool or heat in.

Companionway Hatch Cover, showing the "Herrick" I sewed on it with the zigzag sewing machine I bought for $30 on Ebay.

We replaced the old Bimini in July 2003 and had a strataglass windshield made. Here is another picture of all the new canvas. Sure makes a big difference! And Here is a photo of the windshield with the covers over the panels. This also shows the Sunbrella bimini extension we had made to give the helmsman more shade. Its not set up for rain, tho.

Clare made a new binnacle cover in June 2003, and a friend made "Double Dutch" embroidery for it

Clare has made a whole new look for our cockpit with all new cushions

Microwave. One of the first things we did was toss the oven and propane cooktop, and use the gimballed holder for a microwave oven. Scott installed a C-Charger and we have a bank of 4 batteries (He is a Power Nut!). He also installed a 1500 Watt Inverter because of the CPAP machine he has to use while sleeping. (Sleep Apnea). We have since replaced the Coleman stove in this photo with an Origo 2 burner alcohol cooktop we found on Ebay.
We have now installed a small AC refrigerator in that space with a switch on the Nav Station that allows us to take it from AC to DC via our inverter. (October 2003)

We also bought a newer microwave that also toasts and broils

New Bilge Switch Speaking of switches, our boat did not have a manual switch for the Bilge Pump, so I asked Scott to install one of those on our Nav Station, which he did. Now, no more yucky fingers leaning down into the bilge to raise the float switch. (June 2003)

Galley out and in our family room being varnished and new countertop being put on. (November 2001)

Galley being put back in boat, showing placement. You can see the "Corian" (polypropylene)cutting board Scott made for me to cover the sink. He used a very thick piece and routed it out so it would have a lip to sit down into the sink and not slide around the galley. (December 2001)

Looking down thru sink opening. This gives you a view of what is down there and also a better view of the cutting board.

Aft part of countertop showing the new laminate and down into ice chest where I have used a cut up RV windshield sunscreen as interior insulation. It, plus a $1.50 solar blanket from Wal-Mart make the difference between ice lasting 2 days or 5 days.

Clear Lexan Splashboard that Scott cut for me and installed behind the sink. This helps keep water/soap from splashing onto the topside of the cushion behind the sink.

Finished View of the Galley, including Origo Stove (Ebay), and a new faucet.

The Nav Table varnished and sporting a new laminate to match the galley.

Main Cabin.

Main Cabin, starboard view, showing location of Emerson 13" TV/VCR Combo. This photo as shows the pleated metal backed shades Clare made for the windows.

TV Swivel Mount from Home Depot. We decided on this location to give the best view from all parts of the main cabin, but still would allow viewing from the VBerth when we desire that.

The View of the Swivel Mount showing the TV aimed at the VBerth.

New Flourescent Light. It was very difficult to see anything in the Starboard Locker Cabinet before Scott installed this new light. It was a $11 light from Lowe's with a plug on it. Since Scott is a retired Navy Nuke Electrician, he is "handy" to have around. He hard wired it by running the cord down thru the locker behind the drawers to the AC outlet he had already installed for me in the VBerth. He also installed a DC outlet. Now, I can dry my hair with the hair dryer, and can also use our DC vacuum cleaner in the Vberth and head. He put in a new fan and 2 new halogen lights in the Vberth, as well. Since this photo was taken, Scott has installed a 16,000 BTU AC/Heater on the boat, with a vent in the Vberth, and two in the main cabin.

The Clothes Locker, showing the Helmsman varnish, shelves Scott built, and a Wal-Mart "tap light" we use to illuminate the shelves when its too dark to see what we are looking for.

Head after 5 coats of varnish, removal of that seam trim piece and insertion of waterproof caulking in all seams, and a new Perko Light fixture.

New Engine Heat Exchanger to replace the undersized one in there now. The engine was replaced with a larger diesel, but the heat exchanger was too small for it, consequently, the engine overheatED at higher speeds. Our Dog, Corky, doesn't seem to know what to make of this piece of equipment sitting on the living room floor.
A bit of info on our engine. The PO had replaced the original 5411 with a Universal M3-20 in 1993. He said it never ran below 190 degrees since it was put in. That is why we changed to the larger heat exchanger. Shortly after we put the heat new exchanger in, we did a dumb thing and started the engine without opening the seawater valve. Of course, it chewed up the pump impeller.
We took everything apart and cleaned it all out, but even at that, the engine would go to 190 and crept higher. We changed EVERYTHING, gauge, sender unit, and finally decided a new larger thru hull was warranted. But we were going to put on new hoses first. While Scott had the hoses off, I asked him to pacify me and check BEHIND the pump. Ok, he did. Water was fine from Thru Hull to first Leg of its trek to the pump. Second leg, was fine. Third...Oops, HARDLY any water coming INTO the pump. NO way could a piece of impeller have gotten in there??!! Well, lo and behold, the inlet in the pump was PACKED with impeller. Lesson learned after 2 years of dealing with an engine that we could never run hull speed due to it might over heat???? Never say NEVER when looking for a problem on a boat!!!!!!! (October 2003)

Instructions on how WE rebedded our leaky windows. (Winter 2002)

In November 2002, we installed a 16K BTU Flagship Marine Air Conditioner and Heat unit Scott installed it and we were toasty warm all winter even with the extreme cold that Panama City had. (November 2002)

New Galley Faucet, Scott installed in the winter of 2002-2003.

New Head Sink Faucet and countertop, installed in February 2006.

New Forward 25 Gallon Ronco Water Tank, installed in May 2006 to replace the original tank, which finally got a crack in the seam. This new tank is much thicker polypropolene than the original one. Scott did a lot of reworking of the fiberglass to hold it in place, and installed a drain for the forward vberth bilge pocket that leads to a small bilge pump, which then goes to the main bilge pump. We wanted to keep that vberth bilge dry because that is where we have our 16,000 BTU Air Conditoner and heater.

New Leather Wheel Cover and Helmans Seat, by C-Cushions, Clare says the best $250 we have spent on this boat.

New Access door to head overboard valve.

New Table, smaller and lighter weight.

A beautiful sunset over Shell Island, after a great weekend.

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