Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 25 by Greg Jackson

Year built	1989
Location of boat	Madison, Wisconsin
The boat is sailed on	The Great Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	solo
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1993
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Sure, I only regret I didn't have the nerve to buy a 1989 diesel when I had the chance. It was $2500 more, but I should have done it.I did considerable research. With the possible exception of a rare S2 model, this is the best trailerable boat around.
Gear that's been added	New main, new genny, heavy weather jib, anchor riding sail, spinaker. GPS, below deck autopilot, with tiller pilot backup. All new instruments, wind, speed, depth, compass. New VHF, barometer, clock. Bruce anchor main and CQR plow as backup. Compact inflatable, outboard bracket, liferaft. I replaced the exterior cushions with ones I can leave out in the rain. I think the guys at West Marine like me.
Structural or complex improvements	Upgraded to group 27 batteries. Rebuilt the rudder to better than original. Replaced the forward hatch acrylic with 1/2". Built teak cabinets, instrument cases, and stereo case. Replaced the crappy folding head door with a custom made bifold teak door. Replaced most of the interior lighting. Added keel ground wire for lightning protection. Modified the dining table to be hinged, swing down style. Added map storage and a few more little things. Added line stoppers for 5 of the lines.
The boat's best features	Very well built for the price. When the weak points are fixed, it is a very sturdy boat.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The lighting was pretty cheap. The foward hatch was too thin, the rudder was not strong enough.
Sailing characterisitcs	It sails just fine. The wing keel is nice for shoal waters, but it really does not point as well as the other keel styles. The guys (other wing keel reviewers) who say it points well don't know what they're talking about. The boat points to the wind OK, but while it's pointing at the wind it's also going sideways. Check your GPS for CMG.Reef early, leave up the genny but reef the main first.I have hit 12+ knots while surfing in 6-8 foot waves. What a blast. Longest non-stop trip was about 400 miles in the GLSS race.
Motoring characterisitcs	Motor works fine.
Liveability	I lived on it for a couple months when I changed jobs and we were between houses. It's better than living out of your car, but not by much.Crusing has been for 1-2 weeks at a time. Works fine for that.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Catalina and the third party support vendors are all very helpful. It's nice to have a both with a live company behind it.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	I've had good brokers and bad. I will not say who is who because my last purchase was 10 years ago and things change.
Other comments	I do think that the C25 is an outstanding value, but I wouldn't want a swing keel. Despite its poor pointing, I like the wing keel combination of shoal draft, trailerable, yet solid. I just don't think anything as heavy as a keel should be on a hinge.Overall, my best suggestion to people reading these columns: "Stop belaboring the boat selection thing! The best boat is whatever gets you onto the water. If you don't have a boat, just buy one and stop worrying about it. If you have one, then turn off the darn computer and go sailing!"

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