Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-16.5 by Steve Hall

Year built	2000
Location of boat	Jackson, MI
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
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	2000
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	No, too many problems.
Gear that's been added	Quick pins for rigging
Structural or complex improvements	NO
The boat's best features	Easy and fast to rig. Easy sailing.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Bad structural cracking adjacent to mast step. Uncurred resin oozing out. Manufacturer reluctant to help because I am second owner, even though I am in warranty period.
Sailing characterisitcs	Very forgiving boat. Jib sheets get snagged around mast connection once in a while. Impressed with design.
Motoring characterisitcs	Boat is very light. Best to use rudder and motor together. Have 4HP Mercury, works fine. More motor than I really need.
Liveability	N/A
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Very frustrating. Have made numerous contacts and they appeared that they would help with the structural problem then they abandoned their effort.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	OK.
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