Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 320 by Brad Buskey

Year built	1995
Location of boat	Lake Monroe, Bloomington IN
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2000
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes. In a heartbeat.
Gear that's been added	Added CD/Stereo, adding GPS and laptop computer for charts
Structural or complex improvements	new, higher grade batteries
The boat's best features	I love the size compared to the 270. more room everywhere. for two people, this is a dream. Easy to handle and dock, comfortable and liveable. I also like the winches back in the cockpit better than in front (on 270.)
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Nothing found yet
Sailing characterisitcs	Having only been able to take the boat out twice, it is hard to make a good judgement, but compared to the 270, it is much smoother. While on a lake the winds rarely get over 15 knots, there are the wake from the powerboats to contend with. It just cust through. Also, the average speed has gone up. I love sailing close-hulled, and the faster the better. This boat allows me to get that type of sailing alot easier than the 270.
Motoring characterisitcs	Again, could be a bit quieter, but the motor is only used to enter and leave the marina area... This is only about 5 minutes each way.
Liveability	This boat is very liveable. I could easily see 6 people sleeping for a weekend and 4 for a week or two. For two people, I could easily stay for much longer. If I had the chance, I could see a trip throughout the USVI and BVI while living on the boat.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
Other comments	This is an awesome boat, and I have sail-fever so bad right now I can hardly stand it. The boat is currently winterized and the lake away from the marina is frozen in places. I would recommend this boat to anyone who wants a cruiser for 2 or 4 people. This is the perfect family boat.

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