Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 30 by stevenhagberg

Year built	2001
Location of boat	Marina Del Rey, California
The boat is sailed on	Open ocean
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	solo
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2021
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely! sail it 1-2 days a week all year around, and cruise 6-8 times a year for periods of 3 days to 6 days.
Gear that's been added	AIS Adjustable jib lead cars (modified Garhauer equipment to work) Beefed up the anchor roller to fly an asymmetrical spinnaker from it. New radio with Ram Mic Moving radar from mast to stern
Structural or complex improvements	No
The boat's best features	The best feature is its overall usefulness. It is solidly built. The small improvements made by the company between when they made my 77 C30 and when they made my 2001 C30 are everywhere and make it a much better boat. It is stronger, quieter and operates better.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	It would be great if the primary winches were farther back, or better yet, if there was a second set of winches or at least a molded in pad for secondary winches. I realize few people want or need them, but that would have been nice.
Sailing characterisitcs	This boat has less weather helm than my 77. The steering is much more neutral, the boat feels better balanced. Im not sure why, since both boats had the same sails, (new sails by Ullman), with a 135% jib. Very well behaved boat, both sailing and navigating my busy home marina.
Motoring characterisitcs	It seems like a good combination of power with the M25 XPB and a 13 x 10 fixed 3-blade prop. Plenty of power and it really sips fuel. It is more fuel efficient than the 18 hp Volvo in my 77 C30.
Liveability	Great for 2, ok with 3, increasingly awkward for more people as the day together pile up. There really isnt as much storage for food and clothes as I would like. I would rather some interior volume had been sacrificed for storage than for just seeming big inside. But thats a small detail.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Very good, especially Warren Pandy. And Frank Butler called me at home one night to apologize for something that the company coudnt do for me. And it was reasonable that they couldnt. (!) I was stunned. And I interrupted him to thank him on the behalf of all of us who have enjoyed his products through the years.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	N/A
Other comments	Fortunately for me, all this boats previous owners have taken loving care of her. Although the boat is going on 25 years old, when I bought it with 525 hours on the engine, it felt like maybe a 6 year old boat. I had thought about up-sizing, but decided I wanted a boat I could continue to comfortably single-hand, including a spinnaker, into my 80s.

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