Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 28 by Mary Lou Hunt

Year built	1990
Location of boat	Little Current,North Channel,Ontario
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Multi-week coastal cruising
Normal wind strength	10-15 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?	Definitely. Catnip Too was the first 28 to arrive in Ontario. She is a joy to sail and liveaboard over the summer months of July and August
Gear that's been added	Heart Inverter,Force 10 Bar-B-que,Autohelm ST60 upgrade(2001), Standard Horizon Intrepid VHF radio with RAM microphone in the cockpit, Simrad Autopilot,Boomkicker 1000,Harken blocks,Furlex furling, new upholstery in 1995,Bimini & Dodger,Magellam GPS,additional cabin lights, split backstay and backstay adjuster in 1994,solar mushroom vent on forward hatch,teak cockpit table & drink holder,3-blade prop
Structural or complex improvements	No
The boat's best features	Liveaboard space for two persons and two cats. .Good looking boat, aft swim platform great for getting in & out of dinghy, workable galley,decent storage, teak trim in cockpit & teak handrails,wing keel perfect for gunkholing in North Channel(Lake Huron).
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Where batteries are kept. Diesel fuel cap on stern is bad for refueling(they have since changed this feature).
Sailing characterisitcs	Points well, sails well in good and bad conditions.Easy to handle-pretty stable.
Motoring characterisitcs	Universal M3-20 engine pretty good for normal motoring conditions. Would rather have 24h.p. than 18 h.p. in blustery conditions. Performed much better with 3-blade cruising prop.
Liveability	Excellent! We live on board for 8 continuous weeks in July and August(two people plus two cats).Having a dodger and bimini really helps on those rainy days. Storage is good (much better than on nwer Catalina 28 models). Planning on doing "The Great Loop" in 2005 so we will be on board for a year.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Very positive! Frank Butler very obliging in answering questions during first year. Mast & standing rigging replaced on 1990 model in summer of 1991, due to design fault, at no cost to me.All parts shipped to Canada and installed at yard. Catalina footed the bill!
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	We bought this boat based on Catalina's reputation for building good boats. When we ordered Catnip Too she was #12 on the assembly line and we were the owner's of the first Catalina 28 that arrived in Ontario that spring. So we took a risk - bought her sight unseen and unproven.
Other comments	I fell in love with her the moment I set my eyes on her in the yard as she was being unloaded, tired and dirty, from her trip from California.She has never let us down and brought us safely home at the end of each summer.A twelve year love affair - what more could a sailor want?

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