Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-13 by Jon

Year built	2002
Location of boat	St Petersburg, Florida
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
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	2006
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	I might consider something just a few feet longer - maybe a Laser Radial. This is a very easy and fun boat to sail but she's a little cramped for a 6-footer.
Gear that's been added	None
Structural or complex improvements	None
The boat's best features	The rigging literally takes less than 10 minutes from arrival to launch. Step the mast, run 2 lines, mount the rudder and you're ready to go.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The mast mount is recessed into the deck and water accumulates with no way to remove it - other than sopping it up with a sponge. It definitely appears to be speeding up the corrosion on the chainplate.
Sailing characterisitcs	It's a blast to sail in an 8 - 10 mph breeze. She points OK but really takes off on a close reach. The outhaul (or "unfurler" as Catalina calls it) allows you to tailor the sail pretty well to the wind strength. The sail is loose footed so it tends to depower pretty easily when crossing wakes or taking seas.
Motoring characterisitcs	N/A
Liveability	Very Painful!
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I emailed them for information on the boat and they responded with the owner/rigging manual in one day. Very responsive.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	N/A
Other comments	Fun boat for someone under 6-feet. Easy to rig and launch and fast in a 10 mph breeze.

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