Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 30mkIII by pmirenda

Year built	2000
Location of boat	Beach Haven NJ
The boat is sailed on	Open ocean
How the boat is used	Multi-week coastal cruising
Normal wind strength	16-22 knots
Average size of crew	solo
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2008
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes
Gear that's been added	12,000 Btu Cruiser AC / Reverse Cycle Heat, LED TV, Sony Stereo, Raymarine C70 Chartplotter, Hydronic Heater, Refrigeration,
Structural or complex improvements	Redesigned the head by removing manual pump and converting to electric pump then repositioned toilet angled for more room (like in the Catalina 315), put bead board on walls and added ceramic tiles behind the sink, Built a raised backsplash in the galley with ceramic tiles, added Shakespeare TV Antenna on top of mast. Installed seamless shaft seal, added a Hydronic heater. replaced motor mounts with Vetus brand.
The boat's best features	Layout down below, Windlass, Electronics including Radar C70 Chart Plotter, Ray Marine Autopilot, AC, Refridgeration, Hydronic Heater
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Ray Marine Auto Pilot and C70 Chart Plotter, Fuel pump, Heat Exchanger and Riser
Sailing characterisitcs	Standard rig so not as fast as at tall rig, great cruising boat for the area due to the wing keel and 3 ft 10 inch draft. Sails at 6 knots in 12-15 knot winds.
Motoring characterisitcs	Motors at 6 knots, Gets 12 miles per gallon at 2200 rpm. Some vibration at certain rpm ranges.
Liveability	Great liveaboard for one person
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Fantastic Customer Service.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Good experience with the Broker in Warwick Rhode Island. Negotiated a good price and broker seemed trustworthy.
Other comments	I sail 4-5 days a week since I retired in 2008 during the Summer. Launch Mar 1 and haul Dec 1 each year. My boat has been fairly trouble free for the hours I put on the engine and amount of sailing I do. My electronics allow me to cruise safely around the clock on trips from NJ to New England each Summer. This is the right boat for me as I can singlehand easily.

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