Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 28 by Mike Smith

Year built	1992
Location of boat	Barnaget Bay, NJ
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2004
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Definitly. The more I looked at boats when I purchased this one, the more I kept comming back to this model.
Gear that's been added	Bimini, Gps, replaced clam cleats with cam cleats for better holding, solid Gearhauer Boom Vang, BBQ grill, new running rigging, custom mattress in v-berth, installed wire shelves in "hanging locker", micro,
Structural or complex improvements	none
The boat's best features	sails well to wind, very solid and stable feel to boat ( wife gets sea sick sometimes)
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	had a leak with fresh water system. Found a bad T-connection behind the batteries. Battery location very bad. This style tends to "list" somewhat. I have seen this in several 28s. Have to use a funnel to fuel the boat, mine has a modified stern rail with stern seat ( design of the newer models)
Sailing characterisitcs
Motoring characterisitcs	The 18 horses are just enough in normal conditions, with a strong headwind a larger motor that is in the newer models would be helpful
Liveability	Is roomy for two. Camefrom a 1984 Catalina 25, which I had for 12 seasons, so now we have head room and room to move about
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Delt with Catalina with my 25. Service was okay at that time
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	This was the second boat I bought from this dealer. Also several friends have boats purchased from this dealer.
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