Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-16.5 by Jon L.

Year built	1996
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	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2001
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely. It's a blast to sail in the bays all year round.
Gear that's been added	Had a larger canvas storage pocket made and added a boom kicker. Plan to add reef points in the main for the upcoming winter winds.
Structural or complex improvements	None
The boat's best features	Acceleration is fantastic. I love to blow by the tourist boats as I'm hiking out. It thrills the natives!!
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The centerboard design is pretty bad. I've experimented finding just the right size bungee combination and now I can raise/lower/adjust the board without having to unhook anything. The boards a little hard to get down when it's fully raised.
Sailing characterisitcs	Doesn't point into the wind well at all. Very squirrelly handing in gusty winds, especially over 15 knots. It handles best in a nice steady 10 - 15 kt breeze with 2-3 people on the rail. I've actually sailed it a couple of times in 15 - 20 knots with just the main and 2 people on board. As long as you keep your speed up for tacks it handles great.
Motoring characterisitcs	Honda 2hp works great.
Liveability	Um...ouch?
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Haven't had any reason to at this point (fingers crossed).
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Bought it from a family.
Other comments	Probably one of the best daysailers out there. I learned to sail in a Thistle, an O'Day Daysailer and a Flying Scot, and this puppy rocks 'em all. It's fast, easy to rig and fun to sail in steady winds. As long as you keep your eye on the winds you'll have a blast!!

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