Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 27 by Jim Durrett

Year built	1987
Location of boat	Paris Landing, TN (Kentucky Lake)
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	less than 10 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2003
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	This boat is a tall rig full keel with great handling. I would purchase the same boat again.
Gear that's been added	I have added a Raymarine ST4000 MKII autopilot. A new Schurr 135 genoa and a crusing spinnaker. I have found several places to add storage, as well as more efficient storage.
Structural or complex improvements	I have not found any problems with any structural components.
The boat's best features	WindSpiral is a full keel model which great stability up to 30 knots. She can also be made to drift well in very light wind. The M-18 Universal is strong and forgiving. This boat is a performance crusier and has no trouble exceeding hull speed.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	I continue to try to locate leaks in the starboard locker and the aft locker. The boat is dry other than that. I have made some minor changes and performed some overdue TLC. I did manage to break the plastic ring in one of the Lewmar 40 self tailing winches. Parts a still available. I also had to replace the old signet speed and depth meters with Raymarine ST-40 System
Sailing characterisitcs	I find that if I tack down wind that the boat will move well even in very light air 2 to 3 knots. In most other weather conditions she will go up wind with excellent speed and with a narrow attack angle on the wind. She is very stable and tends to not heal much more than 20 degrees. The boat rides high over a three foot chop and is surprisingly dry.
Motoring characterisitcs	The M-18 engine is more than adequate and will acheive 6 knots at approximately 2300 RPM. It backs with ease and slows the boat well when placed in reverse when docking. The engine uses approximately 0.6 gal per hour at 2000 RPM providing a good crusing range. There is, however, some difficulty in a moderate to heavy following sea. She tends to want to yawl due to the water pressure of the following surf on the rudder.
Liveability	The cabin has limited storage. I think that it may be my limited mineset to the best use of the space available. I found that just aft of the fresh water tank under the starboard berth, there is almost one half of the space under the berth that is vacant and could be used with a proper drop down door front. The boat us used by me, my wife and daughter most weekends with plendy of room. Of course, It helps to have had previous experience for over thirty years living on different boats to have the proper prospective of close quarters.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I have made three inquiries of Catalina -- In all cases they have been able to either supply the item or provide a ready source to aquire the item or information.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	I purched this one owner boat from Rooke Sails in Memphis, TN. Chris Rooke is very responsive, and helped to work through the usual unexpected problems of recommisioning a 15 year old boat.
Other comments	I will retire in three years and plan to take "WindSpiral" down the Tennessee and Tom Bigby waterway to cruise from New Orleans across the inland waterway east. I am presently outfitting the boad with things that I will need on that cruise.

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