Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 34 by Rick Johnson

Year built	1990
Location of boat	Lake Travis, Texas
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	16-22 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2005
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely Yes! I really really love this sailboat!!! Lots of room, sails great, costs are relatively low for parts. A great choice.
Gear that's been added	CQR #35 AnchorGarhauer Rigid Boom VangRaymarine Chartplotter (when we were still in CA)Raymarine 215 DSC VHF RadioForce 10 BBQHood Seafurl 900SL furlerReplacement Force 10 Water HeaterNew Bimini
Structural or complex improvements	I'm in the process of adding traditional teak dorades to replace the cheap plastic ones installed by Catalina.
The boat's best features	Sails great in all winds. I moved up from a 1984 Catalina 30 and find the 34 much easier to sail and she backs up under power much better (not so much prop-walk).She has lots of space in the cabins and so far, everthing has been easy to get at! I agree with the lack of storage space, but I plan on adding so additional cabinets in the cabin and galley.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The orginal Hood Line Drive Furler to put it bluntly - sucked! I see lots of these at my marina, but I lost my jib after two weeks in Texas because under high winds the jib unfurled. My fault for not securing it better but the furler was secured, it just always slips.
Sailing characterisitcs	The C34 rounds-up when the wind gets above about 18kts, so reef early. Catalina has redesigned the rudder to cure this problem but that $1,500 I don't have to spend at this point. Reefing is much cheaper. Other then that one problem she is great. We get lots of wind here in Central Texas and she handles it all well.
Motoring characterisitcs	Not needed much on the lake, but I think the M25xp is a great motor. Noise under power is less then my C30, but it's still noisy in the cabin.
Liveability	Works for one and would most likely be OK for two. More then that will be a problem.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	So-So. I've contacted them on several issues for advice. They were helpful on things but nothing to write home about!
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
Other comments	The C34 is a wonderful boat for the money. One of the boatowners at my Marina calls Catalina the Chevy of sailboat. I'm not sure I totally agree (I'm a Honda man myself), but the C34 does everything I want and more. I look forward to additional improvements on her and getting her back to the ocean where she belongs someday soon.

Contact
About
Terms of Use