Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-26 by SImon Clark

Year built	1992
Location of boat	San Diego
The boat is sailed on	Open ocean
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2001
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes. This has been a perfect boat for my wife and I. There is a very large amount of space both in the cabin and the cockpit for a 26 footer. Everything has worked great so far.
Gear that's been added	A dodger which has made those 8 hour passages to Catalina Islnad much more pleasant. The boat came (used) with just about everything else.
Structural or complex improvements	None.
The boat's best features	The space. Everyone that sees her remarks about the interior volume. The cockpit has plenty of room and the walk through transom looks good and makes boarding from the dinghy very easy.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	I have a couple of blisters on the hull and the infamous list to port, but other than that, so far so good.
Sailing characterisitcs	With the wing keel, inboard engine with fixed prop, and all that beam, she is not very fast. Doesn't point very well in comparison to other boats I have raced against in the summer beer can series. Still, we purchased the boat for recreational sailing with friends and short cruises. For these purposes, I really don't think we could have found a better boat.
Motoring characterisitcs	The inboard diesel just runs and runs and runs. I love it.
Liveability	More room than any other 26 footer on the water I should imagine. The open plan seating, seperate aft cabin (to avoid making the bed every day) and enclosed head have all been hits with my wife. We just love the boat.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Called them once to find the mast bridge clearance. It took 2 minutes to get the answer. This is the only experience I have with them.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Broker was friendly, courteous, and sadly, out of business now.
Other comments	Not a rocket, but a fun, capable, coastal cruiser that we have enjoyed both overnighting and a couple of week long cruises on. The boat gets lots of compliments where ever she goes because of the room and level of equipment.

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