Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-16 by Art Arrington

Year built	1992
Location of boat	Toledo, Ohio
The boat is sailed on	The Great Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2004
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes! Love the boat
Gear that's been added	Radio/GPS mostly for insurance if out on Lake Erie and problems arise that would need assist
Structural or complex improvements	At this point, none, It came with a new Hatch which is made out of some kind of 1/2 gray plastic board. It seems all Capri 16 have a new hatch or need one.
The boat's best features	Easy to sail. Light enough to trailer. The boat can handle waves on Lake Erie without any problems (so far)
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	For the most part I believe everything works fine. With anything you have, you can make impovments but overall I like the boat just the way it is.
Sailing characterisitcs	When the boat is in a strong wind and it heals over too far..the boat will turn itsself into the wind. At first I read this before I bought the boat and I did not think I would like characteristc because I wanted to have control over the way the boat sailed. But after sailing in stong winds, the boat does not turn away too easy. When it turns, its time to do something anyway.
Motoring characterisitcs	I have a 3hp 2 stroke Yamaha that came with the boat. It pushes the boat along at about 5.5 mph on the GPS. Thats close to the boats max speed but still under. It handles well and I have had nothing bad to report. I do wish I had a 4hp 4 stroke engine just the same. I think it would be all the better to have the extra power and not have to mix the gas with oil.
Liveability	well its 16 foot. Has a great cockpit area. The Cabin is small and when I set in the cabin my head hits the top. But if the cabin were taller it would be hard to see over the top when sailing. I have seen boats that have more headroom and I prefer the one I have. Its ok to stay on overnight, but you better have a good plan for everything and have it in its place. Its a better to "day sail" then sleep on. But if I want to sleep in a big bed, I would stay home in the king size anyway!
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Havent yet...but I plan too this week.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Broker. I love the place I bought my boat. They alway show me how everything works and goes together before I leave. (I baught 2 boats from the same place)
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