Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-14.2 by Craig Gourley

Year built	1986
Location of boat	Oak Point, TX
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	2004
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes. The boat sails well and trailers easily. The quality is very good. This boat has been kept very well by previous owner(s), but the overall sound construction and appearance is still remarkable considering it's 17 years old.
Gear that's been added	Nothing added so far, but the cuddy door is a poor fit (it's a piece of MDF that surely isn't original). I plan to have a piece of tinted acrylic cut to fit. Roller furling would be nice, but I have managed the jib solo without incident. I'm debating about adding a bracket and motor. It would make launching and retrieving much easier, but seems like a drawback in every other way.
Structural or complex improvements	None needed.
The boat's best features	The boat seems stable in moderate conditions; I'm sure it would capsize if encouraged, but I think I'd have to be pushing the envelope. It points fairly well and is fast enough to be fun. It's a nice platform for family daysailing, but you can always get into racing if so inclined. The quality, ease of handling and trailering, and the reasonable cost of ownership make it a good choice in this category.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Mainsail is difficult to raise (especially solo). The original sail is in reasonable condition, but the rope must be carefully fed into the mast slot (and the boom, for that matter). Slugs or cars would be a better solution, but I haven't done enough research to know if such a conversion would be possible or cost-effective. Also, the tiller extension/hiking stick was broken and lost before I purchased this boat. It really needs to be replaced for best handling.
Sailing characterisitcs	Moves well in lighter winds. Moderate winds yield good speed without much worry about stability. Haven't been out in really heavy conditions, and wouldn't be confident in high winds since the main has no reef points (nor roller furling jib). As mentioned above, the boat points well and performs on all points of sail. Downwind with no spinnaker available seems to be the least impressive performance so far. I'm no expert, but overall this boat seems to do as well as or better than several other small sailboats I've experienced.
Motoring characterisitcs	None/haven't used motor.
Liveability	You'd have to be pretty desperate...
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	No opportunity as of yet.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Purchased used.
Other comments	This boat seemed like a good idea when I was looking and hasn't disappointed. I also considered a Daysailer (old and in need of rehab), a Zuma (nice, but small), and Flying Scot (nice, but quite a bit more boat in terms of rigging, cost, weight, etc.). The Capri 14.2 has been a solid choice for my situation. Anyone looking for more than a Sunfish but less than a trailerable pocket cruiser should consider the 14.2.

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