Catalina 34 - 36 ft.

[devilfishlane]

I hear alot people say the Catalinas are just an ok boat. Why is that?

I am looking for a used one around 50K , for that price Im guessing around an 1988-91, to use in the Carribean and The Bahamas

Any info would be great

[Pblais]

I'm sure you can find a lot of folks that within that limited scope that might agree it could work. You are only talking short passages. In that situation you could manage.

With the age of the boat you need to be cautious on making sure everything is still in good shape. Even if you pick and choose the weather (most folks would) you need to be able to handle unexpected weather. The boats might be considered only OK because they are designed as coastal boats not offshore boats. Most folks that buy them use them that way and it works.

From experience you'll need to invest some more money and time to get one of the boats ready. A 1988 boat will have issues from normal wear and tear to upgrade. Most 1988 boats will too.

[Moonchaser2304]

I've owned 4 Catalina's now a Catalina 30,and I agree with Paul. Catalina's are great for inland, OK for costal ICW or NW passages, and likely not the best choice for open crusing. I like the original Catalina 36 for sheer classic lines and layout but one boat can be great and the next one trashed. If you find one you like, can you get a surveyor to do a full inspection, and can you get the boat out of the water to inspect the bottom for blisters? Also, just for the fun of it, you may want to sign up for the Sailnet Catalina forums for various lenght's Catalina's, and watch the discussions, and ask questions of owners.

Related issue... Interesting that the most popular boat in charter is Beneteau, but I don't think I'd want to own a Beneteau for open water either ...especially compared to boats that many people on this forum own.

[devilfishlane]

So then, they wouldn't be a good choice for island hopping in the Carribean and the Bahamas?

Thanks for your answers

[Moonchaser2304]

Personal, prejudiced, opinion only...would like to hear others...

I'd rather be on a Catalina-36 than the Beneteau 36 I chartered and Beneteau's are all over the charter fleets for island hoping.

A Catalina 36 would do fine for island hopping if it is properly outfitted, bowsprit, solid chain plates, windlass, no deck compression, top notch diesel, good reef line set up, good furler, all moving parts in good working order, and new standing rigging etc etc (of course those things would be needed for any boat!).

I think others on this forum would offer other boats for more open water cruising, but for island hoping a C-36 would seem fine, but I'd be interested in hearing other people's ideas..


One note.. when I crewed on a transport in the Vancover Island to Seattle area I was amazed at the number of Catalina's ..even a lot of C-30's in the NW....of course, save 2 short crossings it's mostly ICW protected water.

[Pblais]

Also, just for the fun of it, you may want to sign up for the Sailnet Catalina forums for various lenght's Catalina's

Actually a very good idea! Catalina forums are very active. They also have special forums for each boat. If you want to find out why a boat might be great ask a lot of peorple that own them and what they use them for. You always get a balanced perspective of the real problems and the things they really like. Owners tend to be bias toward liking thier boat. It should be a goal of everyone. They often know of boats not yet listed for sale.

The idea extends to other boats and not just Catalina. On line owners groups exist for many boats even no longer in production too.

[slomotion]

We sailed a Catalina 36 (1995 MK II, I think) through the Bahamas and on to PR. The boat was only a couple of years old at the time and had not been particularly well upgraded for cruising. We had zero problems - well, zero that could be attributed to the boat. This was a cruise/delivery and it took us 6 weeks to sail from Ft. Lauderdale to PR. Real cruisers would have spent much more time in the Bahamas. IMO, these boats (in Good Condition) are perfectly suitable for typical Bahamas/Caribbean cruising. Go slow and be very choosey in picking your weather windows. That’s what cruisers do anyway.

[Latitude9.5]

It would seem to me you could get a lot more boat in that size/length/age for $50,000 then a Catalina. We had a c30,, great for weekend sails and the intercoastal. I'm sure if you picked the right weather it would be a fine sail to the bahamas, just not sure I would want to get stuck in any sticky stuff with it.

[Pblais]

It would seem to me you could get a lot more boat in that size/length/age for $50,000 then a Catalina.

I wouldn't say so once you get to 36. You would ned to look a lot older.

[irwinsailor]

We just joined the Catalina club! You do not need to have a Catalina to join the club in our area. They are a great bunch of people and I hope that we can spend some time with them this summer.

I know that this has little to do with the question at hand other than Calalina people are OK with me!

[George P]

From My experience (previous catalina 34 owner), the eighties vintage catalinas are great boats with lots of room below. I am sure they would be fine with what you intend to do. Just keep in mind that there are issues swith these old boats that must be carefully checked (keel/hull/keel bolt/bilge stringers area were not always put together with precision, for example the stringers that run through the bilge: make sure they are bonded to the bilge walls, separation occurs which results in flexing. Of course I must mention that Catalina has never lost a fixed keel other than a few instances when there were severe groundings. Also, if the rudder shows its age, replace it! Riggings and chain plates on these size boats are very adequate, even on the overbuilt side. The newer vintage catalinas are built with much greater precision and construction methods are far superior than they were.

[devilfishlane]

Call me crazy -- After a little research , I really like the layout of the Catalina 34 (88-89) , around 50K with extras. I read alot reviews, obviously owners, and they all seem to be happy. As I said before, Id like to go from Miami to the Carribean, hoping around. Thanks for all the comments so far

[Chris Gonzalez]

Hi sailors.
I just cruised from San Carlos, Sonora in the Sea of Cortez to San Blas. in the Mexican pacific coast. Sv Palomitas, CA34 Mk1. Great boat, behaved well even in sudden gusts.

Cheers

Christian

[wyb2]

Originally Posted by devilfishlane

I hear alot people say the Catalinas are just an ok boat. Why is that?

Because that’s what they are. Not top of the line, not bottom the barrel.

Originally Posted by devilfishlane

I am looking for a used one around 50K , for that price Im guessing around an 1988-91, to use in the Carribean and The Bahamas

Any info would be great

We (spouse and I) sailed a $30k 1985 36 from the northeastern US to the eastern Caribbean and most of the way back. My experience was these boats have good bones for that use case. However they are far from invincible (is any boat?), and condition and maintenance is huge. Before and during the trip we spent maybe $15k (and hundreds of hours) on maintenance and upgrades. Maybe half of that was probably optional or more comfort related.

You will get lots of different opinions because people are all over the map on what they think a boat ‘needs’ to be and what terms like ‘open water’ even mean. I would consider our trip coastal cruising. However on multiple occasions we did spend days out of sight of land. We went outside Hatteras. We beat into 20 knts with unlimited fetch. We surfed down 15 ft swells. We ran aground on coral. The boat handled these things, often better than its humans.

The situations above are small potatoes for some on this forum. But I think it’s sufficient to prove that these were not poorly designed or built boats that need to stick to the ICW. Would I have it taken across an ocean? Not without a bit more $ and prep. Does one need a better (stronger? Faster? Newer? Bigger?) boat for coastal cruising? My experience strongly suggests no.

$50k should be plenty to get a decent example in this size and age range. Pay attention to red flags regarding rigging and engine maintenance, deck/hull joint damage (I missed this one), keel stub/bolt damage, badly rotten decks. Allow money and time for issues you may find, don’t ignore things.