Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-18 by Doug Fergusson

Year built	1990
Location of boat	Estevan, Saskatchewan
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
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	2003
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes. Although, I believe I'm a little more performance oriented than this boat is, it does meet most of the needs of my family. The cabin is definitely nice when the weather gets a little nasty and gives the kids a place to go.
Gear that's been added	Roller furling jib and a 150 genoa. Would like to install a depth finder next year.
Structural or complex improvements	Just fixing the minor gel coat nicks. The best thing I did was put a funnel on the trailor to guide the keel. Makes loading a snap, een when the water is rough.
The boat's best features	This is only my 2nd season of sailing (water skied and power boated previously) so have very little experience to make comparisons. However, things I like are its trailorability, ease of set-up and take down and its looks. I've read alot and took one lesson from a friend. From this, I find the boat very accomodating and forgiving whenever I've made mistakes. Its easy to get the boat leaning when I've had too much sail up, but have never felt in danger. My wife on the other hand...
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The motor mount is too low and a little cheap.
Sailing characterisitcs	The supplied jib is too small for lighter winds.However, when the winds are right the boat handles very well, points nicely, and feels very stable and solid.
Motoring characterisitcs	I have a 3 hp Yamaha on it which seems to operate the boat well enough. If I were in some nasty water, who knows? Haven't found out yet.
Liveability	The cabin is big enough for 2-4 young kids to play in while my wife and I are sailing.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I've e-mailed them the odd question and have received replies, although not necessarily in a timely manner.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	I bought the boat on consignment from the Sailboat House in Madison, Wisconson and found them very helpful.
Other comments	I like it, my wife likes it and it gets comments whenever we are out.

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