Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 30 by John Buckham

Year built	1978
Location of boat	San Francisco Bay
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
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	1999
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes. The boat's been great.
Gear that's been added	I upgraded the insturments, auto-pilot and added a GPS chart-plotter. I added a roller furler and a new main sail. Upgraded the battery banks and added a new battery charger. I upgraded the electrical panel.
Structural or complex improvements	Upgraded from wood to metal spreaders, upgraded the chain-plates.
The boat's best features	Easy to sail with good performance. Great sail plan, beamy spacious cabin.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Everything works. Everything got fixed. I wanted a project. This boat is 23 yeas old, not much had been refited when I bought her - so she needed a lot of TLC-but I knew this when I got it.
Sailing characterisitcs	Easy predictable sailing. Points well. For a boat that this comfortable it provides surprisingly good sailing performance. It gets busy in choppy water though.
Motoring characterisitcs	My old boat is Atomic-4 powered. She still has the older design rudder. Although the engine is smooth and quiet with more than ample power, motoring isn't alot of fun due to rudder buffeting, it's quite fatiguing actually.I guess that's what auto-pilots are for.She is very maneuverable under power.
Liveability	A+. Easy to live with. Nice large cockpit, large cabin, nice gally, nice deck, easy to get around on.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	High marks here. Eager to be helpful. Good deals on parts. Good factory support-on a boat this old. Impressive.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	I bought the boat private party. The surveyor was the best money spent yet.
Other comments	Products and factory support like this build brand loyalty-at least with me.

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