Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-26 by Allan Hadley

Year built	1990
Location of boat	Oregon
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	16-22 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1990
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely. From time to time my wife and I talk about our "dream" boat, but to meet our criteria (trailerability, space, performance, reliability, price)we can't find anything we'd rather have.
Gear that's been added	Partial list: Spinnaker and gear, Sobstad Main and 110 jib, electronics (wind, speed, depth), stereo, adjustable backstay, solar panel to charge batteries, rope clutches for halyards and spinnaker lines, new mainsail traveler, compass, curtains.
Structural or complex improvements	No structural problems; what's complex? No.
The boat's best features	Interior volume, although this causes a bit of a problem: when we anchor out overnight with other boats, the party always seems to be in our cabin! And I'd have to say the sailing characteristics are good. In the summer we often get winds of 25-35 kts., and the boat will just continue on (with some reefing going on, of course!). And boat speed is pretty good considering the size and displacement; I've got a racing trophy from a 5-race series I entered a couple of years ago. I see others complaining of excessive heel; not a problem. And this "list to port" is an unknown problem to me also. This is an outboard fin keel model.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Very few things. We have owned the boat since new (13+ years), and while we only use it for 4-5 months in the summers, we have had few things not work. It doesn't leak above or below the waterline, and no blisters on the hull (I do have bottom paint).
Sailing characterisitcs	As I stated above, the boat sails quite well. With the inboard sheeting, I feel it points very well. There are about 40-50 sailboats on the lake where we usually sail, and the boat easily is in the top ten in performance (of course, a lot of those other boats are smaller). We have also been in the ocean off of Oregon, and while the larger swells tend to slow it down some we have always felt comfortable. In higher winds, we do reef the mainsail once (or even twice)if the wind reaches about 25 knots, and I have bought a storm jib if winds are continuously over 30 knots. (No roller furling here!) In lighter winds, with a 150 Genoa, we can still reach hull speed (about 5 knots) in winds under 12 knots.
Motoring characterisitcs	Outboard motors are great for maneuvering in tight spots; you can turn the motor if you need to make sharper turns (forward or reverse). Yeah, you have to lean over the transom to reach it, but that hasn't been a problem. Yes, the outboard can come out of the water for short spurts when motoring in swells, but it hasn't seem to have caused any problems. Other than that, our 8 hp Johnson can easily move the boat at 5 knots.
Liveability	Basically a two-person boat for overnighting, but having a small galley, deep icebox, and enclosed head on a boat this size has been great. We often have guests from other boats over for dinner, and four (or even 6)can be seated comfortably around the table for dinner. We have had four people stay overnight, but you'd better be pretty good friends!
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	In the first two years we owned the boat, we had occasion to speak with Catalina several times, and I can not remember any problems. Everyone was friendly and helpful, and if we ordered any parts they were delivered promptly. When trying to obtain a PHRF rating, I spoke with Frank Butler (at Catalina) several times and he was helpful each time.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	No problems.
Other comments	Think that about covers it!

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