Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 400 by Doug Springstead

Year built	1998
Location of boat	South San Francisco
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?	Yes
Owner bought the boat in	2000
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	What I've learned from being the second owner of this yacht, I would not have bought it. Although it seemed like a good buy, a lot of things were installed incorrectly and a lot of sloppy work was done when the boat was commissioned by H
Gear that's been added	A tee track and spinnaker pole, ICOM 802 SSB radio, 406 EPIRB, Raymarine C-80 system with a 4kw radome, 6 person offshore liferaft, Rutland 416 wind generator, 2ea 75 watt solar panels, ICOM 502 VHF radio.
Structural or complex improvements	Just had all the standing rigging replaced as the lower spars were not installed correctly. All the standing rigging was twisted badly when the tension was backed off. Must have been tuned without a wrench being placed on the swaged end of each cable above each turnbuckle. Also the large ocean series hatch on the foredeck was always a leaker. Reason was that Lewmar made a cheap piece of junk back then. The new hatch just installed is much better made, also a Lewmar. If I could have got a different manufacturer I would have as Lewmar never replied to my letter. It's a shame a company won't fess up to a poor product.
The boat's best features	Sails well and is a fast boat. I can do over 7 knots on SanFrancisco bay with a double reef main only. Wish I had the mark 2 version as the single cable steering has more play on my yacht versus dual cables on the mark2.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The foward hatch made by Lewmar. The Maxwell electric winch model RC800. Don't buy one as the capstan is held together with a plastic collar. My advice is get a boat with a winch without a captive chain drive. H
Sailing characterisitcs	I've been in rough seas in wind gusts up to 40 knots, 30 knots sustained. The boat handles well and can take a lot of punishment. Getting a reefed mainsail early is really important as like I said for a boat this size it is really fast.
Motoring characterisitcs	With the standard prop there is a heck of a prop walk to port when in reverse. Other than that the Westerbeke 42 has served me well. I once motored for 17 hours in rough weather and use just a half tank of fuel. That engine just kept on ticking along.
Liveability	My wife and I have lived aboard for a few years now. When you have extra's aboard it starts getting complicated. The separate shower has been a plus. Get rid of the foam bedding and get a real mattress, expensive but worth it.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I recently replaced the shore power - city water box on the stern as the orginal was thinly made and cracked out. After 3 to 4 phone calls the Catalina folks in Largo, Florida sent me a new heavy duty box, free!!
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Like I said, H
Other comments	To do it all over again I would have done more research and looking around. Even with a survey you don't know what you have. Also surveyor's don't like including the mast and standing rigging because of the liability involved. However I feel that I have a good safe yacht considering all the extra time and money I've put in it. The autohelm 7000 is great when I get lazy. The Adler-Bourbor refridgeration is also a good unit.

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