Catalac Owners - Please Critique this 8m

[AMX]

I have been lurking for awhile....reading everything I can get my hands on about Cats..kanter..tarjan...james...firth...gibbons...b erman ect. I will be in the market for a cat after my lake shore sells, hopefully anyway, I will be listing it this spring. I really am probably looking for a 9m so I am checking all ads daily and I came upon this: Sirius II - Paul Arey's Photos

He listed it as 29 1/2 feet which would make it a 9m, in the pictures you can see that it is a 8m- hull 148.... so already it is suspect in that respect. There are alot of pictures that a catalac owner should be able to spot problems from, but since I don't have any real life experience with Catalac's I hope you can point out any problem areas that you see. I am not looking to buy this as I don't have the funds right now, I am just trying to add to my knowledge about Catalac's. The price is right @ 20k.
The original ad is here:

The ads reads (in case it is removed)
29&1/2ft.Catamaran sailboat for sale in Panama. Model: Catalac 8M. (with stern mod.) Builder: Tom Lack Catamarans, year 1982. Great boat, comfortable roomy, nice layout for living aboard. Perfect cruiser for Central American/Caribbean waters. Considered by many as the best cruising catamaran for the money on the market. Interior recently swamped out, cleaned, painted and refurbished. Lots of labor and material put into it. Berths for 5 people, great stateroom layout. Roomy galley, with new large capacity ice-box, simple propane cooktop burner, and near complete set of kitchen utensils, fresh water capacity 70 gallons. Walk in saloon entry, hard top dodger, cockpit bimini. Spacious cockpit with copious locker storage space and all new upholstered cushions with seating for 8+ people. LOA 8 meters plus 2&1/2ft. stern swim decks on both hulls (not a common feature on Catalacs). Electronics/NAV: basic, VHF, depth finder, Auto-helm. 12 volt electric power runs interior lighting, water pump, and multi compartment bilge pumps. Solar panel battery charger. Sails: Main, roller furling Genoa, and Spinnaker condition good/fair. Power plant: 45hp Mercury/ Mariner outboard motor, condition fair, dated outboard. Current location & registry Panama City, Panama. For more information contact via email.


What do you think about this boat?
Thanks
AMX
Hopefully a Catalac or older Prout owner soon.....

[anjou]

One question, ask yourself why the water tank is distorted. Does it have a bafffle inside to stop water slopping and bending the sides out. If it flexes enough the seems will fail.

Check out the gell coat under the bridge deck. There is minimal clearance and it takes a lot of strain with the slamming. Ditto the pulpit rail stancion bases.
Hatch seals.
Check out the tabs fixing the ply to the hull at the bulkhead stations.

[Mark Johnson]

With any multihull you need to bear in mind its true pros & cons.

In cats, I feel that you need at least enough wing clearance to drive your inflatable through the wing tunnel, (ducking of coarse), a low cabin and center of gravity, and full visibility forward when under sail... IF you want a true blue water boat that can carry a load and be driven to windward.

If one is content with protected, and/or carefully chosen downwind cruising, then the wing clearance can be a bit less, but you still need to see where you're going... The Catalac may be right for you, but these are things to bear in mind in your search.

For "serious" cruising, the less accommodation the better, if it buys you more wing clearance, better visibility forward, and a low COG! Many custom "one offs" were built to a better design.

Mark

[Southern Star]

AMX, welcome to the forum. I am not a present, or past owner of a Catalac (although there are some on this site). Certainly Catalacs have a reputation for very solid construction and for being seaworthy, if slow. The price seems very fair (although I have not yet had a chance to look through the photographs).

At that price you can expect to spend some serious money on upgrades and repairs, but as I recall, the hulls were solid glass and are known to be virtually indestructible. You may wish to inquire about the vintage of the standing/running rigging, but it sounds as if you are in need of new sails and a new outboard, as well as upgrades to the electrical, charging systems, battery banks and electronics. Nevertheless, the price seems to be predicated on the need for replacement of these and you could end up with a very sound boat with new systems throughtout.

In any event, if you are looking into a very low-priced cat for near-shore/caribbean cruising and are not particularly concerned about performance, a Catalac would an excellent choice.

Brad

[AMX]

My budget will be about 50k total, which hopefully will leave me 115k or so to retire and go sailing with. Not alot of money, but I am VERY THRIFTY and I grewup being self sufficient and fixing my own *hit.

[boatman61]

She looks pretty tidy... a plus is the Lewmar hatches that she has... the originals were/are a load of crap in a sea.
The extra length is down to the swim platforms at the stern... an addition somewhere along the way.
The saloon you'll find has only sitting head room so buy a soft padded hat..
In a head sea/wind she'll slam a lot and go sideways as fast as she goes forward so if heading for the Leewards follow the coast till you can beam reach up... or wait for calm days....
Having said that they're not a bad boat.. and running down wind is where they're happiest... if not in a hurry to get anywhere fast she could be perfect for you...
They're built like tanks... also if/when the outboard dies... get a diesel O/B to replace it..

[snort]

I think there's a lot of positive to say about Catalacs, but it's best if you find one out in the real world to understand if you would be happy with it. As already mentioned, the low-ceiling in the saloon is one think to keep in mind, as well as the limited forward visibility. One advantage of a catamaran is the ability to sit in the saloon looking out the forward windows when the weather's bad.
I don't know if it's just me or the photo angles, but the port stern extension looks torqued to me. It's unlikely that it really is, but it looks like the inside edge of the platform is higher than the outside.
And....what the heck with those dorade vents on the bow? What are they venting that far forward?
I think this boat would sell in a heartbeat (if in good condition) in California. Panama? That's a bit far for most of us to go for a coastal cruiser.

[barnakiel]

I know one Catalac 9 owner. He likes his boat. I like his boat too.

b.

[boatman61]

I know one too... I delivered it... always stressful being in charge of someone else's... but I can see her good sides if not trying to run to a schedule.. had some nice days on her..

[Southern Star]

AMX, just looked at some of the photos:

1. I agree, she does look to be in pretty decent shape.
2. The new hatches are, as already pointed out, a real plus.
3. She seems to have an owner-added solid dodger: this would give headroom in the main saloon up to the table (and for accessing the hull accomodation); having said that, there is greatly reduced visibility forward from the helm and it is unclear how one can actually close off the interior.

I would ask for some photos of the companionway closed off and at various angles from the helm seat forward, in order to ascertain whether it is workable.

Brad

[Thefurys]

Wow!
Was lurking browsing the forums and came across this post and almost spit out my coffee!
Had to join the forum to reply!
Ok I lived on this boat in sept oct 2010 in panama at the entrance to the canal !
I almost bought it , and thank god I was able to pull out of the deal.
I am a novice sailor, and learned a whole heck of a lot in the process of living on that boat.
Forts , it had been terribly neglected and was like floating sushi, but I hired a supposed "cat expert " to go over it with me. He did what now I know, in hindsight, was a total joke of an inspection, and said it was a good boat. Subsequently, after living in it for a while I found it was full of termites, the motor needed replacing, the rigging was toast , all windows and portholes leaked badly, toilet broken no headlining ect ect. When I told the owner the termite issue he said it wasn't a problem cause catalacs are fiberglass , however I believe the forward deck where the termites were the worst is balsa cored?
I pulled the plug on the deal.
So unless the owner has done extensive work in the interval, I would think this boat is worth 5-7 thousand tops. This is what I was told in the end by locals and I agree.
It's a major project boat and he has done lots of work himself that is pretty dodgy.
It's basically an ok floating bed and that's about it.
Just a heads up, wouldn't want someone to almost lose their shirt like I did.

[Thefurys]

I put 1000 down on the boat and the end that 1000 saved me a lot of hurt in the future as I was able to really have time on it. He wasn't to fussed when I pulled out, seemed to expect it a bit , and I guess my 1000 Paid the mooring fees for him for the next year and I cleaned it !
By the way , the boat needs hauling out and antifouled severely , and I would ask if he has done that yet.... I was told by the diver who cleaned the bottom( terrible job, hadn't been done in a year, and the canal is dirty!) that it was in very bad shape antifouling wise
If you can get it super cheap and feel like completely redoing it.... I dunno termites seem baaaaad

[Thefurys]

Thinking on it, I've probably broken a lot of etiquette posting this but I really felt I should tell you what I know first hand. Hope it's not bad form.

[70AMX]

Thanks for the info, I am trying to learn the things to look for on Catalacs, good or bad and everyone who posts their opinions helps with my education.

[snort]

Originally Posted by Thefurys

Wow!
Was lurking browsing the forums and came across this post and almost spit out my coffee!
Had to join the forum to reply!
Ok I lived on this boat in sept oct 2010 in panama at the entrance to the canal !
I almost bought it , and thank god I was able to pull out of the deal.
I am a novice sailor, and learned a whole heck of a lot in the process of living on that boat.
Forts , it had been terribly neglected and was like floating sushi, but I hired a supposed "cat expert " to go over it with me. He did what now I know, in hindsight, was a total joke of an inspection, and said it was a good boat. Subsequently, after living in it for a while I found it was full of termites, the motor needed replacing, the rigging was toast , all windows and portholes leaked badly, toilet broken no headlining ect ect. When I told the owner the termite issue he said it wasn't a problem cause catalacs are fiberglass , however I believe the forward deck where the termites were the worst is balsa cored?
I pulled the plug on the deal.
So unless the owner has done extensive work in the interval, I would think this boat is worth 5-7 thousand tops. This is what I was told in the end by locals and I agree.
It's a major project boat and he has done lots of work himself that is pretty dodgy.
It's basically an ok floating bed and that's about it.
Just a heads up, wouldn't want someone to almost lose their shirt like I did.

Thanks for posting this info! I saw the P.O.'s website with all the nice photos, but you can't tell anything about termites by looking at the pics. I really doubt that what the termites have bitten into is 'unimportant'. The wood is part of the supporting structure and not superfluous.
In the end, someone did pay around 20K for the boat. I think the owner was pretty firm in his price demand. Someone just got a very expensive lesson!