Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 30 by Jack Coman

Year built	1988
Location of boat	San Francisco Bay
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	16-22 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1997
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	I would definitely buy this boat again. It meets 95% of my sailing needs: Handling Ease, comfort, able to sail well in typical SF Bay conditions, Cost effective, parts easy to find.
Gear that's been added	New, stiffer sails with a doublr reef point on the main, replaced the roller furler with a new Harken Unit, a rigid vang, and a handheld GPS.
Structural or complex improvements	none
The boat's best features	Parts and sails available
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The topping lift located mid boom is terribly inconvenient. The compaionway tilt makes it difficult to keep below dry in rainy weather.
Sailing characterisitcs	My Catalina 30 sails well in typical San Francisco Bay conditions. As the wind hits 15 knots I reef and can comfortably sail in winds slightly exceeding 25 knots. Downwind with a following sea one has to pay attention to steering, and it can be a bit fatiguing. In windwaves and chop of up to a couple of feet while sailing on the wind, we look good enough to be put in a magazine!
Motoring characterisitcs	i have only motored about 60 hours. pretty effortless. The 3 bladed prop provides enough prop walk to be effective, and provides a very smooth ride under power.
Liveability	Pefect boat for 4 on a long weekend.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	NA
Other comments	I got what i thought I bought.

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