Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 38 by DICK GILMORE

Year built	1982
Location of boat	Berkeley, CA
The boat is sailed on	Open ocean
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	23-30 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1999
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes
Gear that's been added	Dodger, wheel cover, fish finder, GPS,.12 volt Refrigerator, salt water foot pump in galley.
Structural or complex improvements	New SS exhaust system
The boat's best features	This is a fast coastal racer/cruiser. I think it is one of the fastest Catalina cruiser types around. It is certaily faster than the newer model Catalinas. We are consistanty way ahead of other boats we cruise with. When most sailboats on SF Bay are reefed down in 25 -30 knots of wind, we are still under control with an unreefed North full batten main and a 110 jib. The boat is easy to sail with roller furling jib and an auto pilot as an "extra" crew. The boat is easy to handle (much easier than my old Catalina 30) and is a joy to sail. I don't recommend it for anyone who is much over six foot tall however.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Nothing yet.
Sailing characterisitcs	See above
Motoring characterisitcs	I have a Universal Atomic 3 cylinder diesel M-30, (2434) engine, (the original) with a two blade 16 in. dia. martec folding prop., that gets 1/4 - 1/3 gallon hr. at seven knots. The boat backs up easier than my 30 did becasue the prop is closer to the rudder.
Liveability	This is a very liveable boat for a cruising couple on an extended voyage. The boat has some good storage areas especially under the port cockpit seat. We have overnighted with seven people and were a bit crowded but it was do-able.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Catalina is a good company that has quality control and customer satisfaction as it's top priority.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	I told the dealer what kind of boat I was looking for and six months later she called me up with this find. Good experience.
Other comments	Catalina produced 500 of these boats before discontinuing the line. I am not sure why because this is a great boat. Some friends who own other boats complain that there is not much privacy but this boat was designed from the outside in and not designed to sell to those who want to lock themselves up in a tiny closet-sized aft comparment.

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