Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 25 by William Fahey

Year built	1983
Location of boat	Canyon Lake, Texas
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	less than 10 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2007
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes, looked at many boats in this size range. This one had all the features we were looking for except air conditioning. I wanted a boat that my girlfriend could learn to sail and wouldn't be too overpowering for her. She wanted to be able to sleep on board and have a fully functioning head. This boat fit that bill perfectly.
Gear that's been added	Air conditioning, removed the alcohol stove and added a second ice chest to the boat. Improved the port settee to make it more comfortable for the 1st mate to sleep on.
Structural or complex improvements	Future plan is to improve and move the power panel to the starboard wall.
The boat's best features	Behaves well under sail. Easy to maintain, parts are inexpensive and easy to find. Lots of owners and resources available to assist with any issue that may come up.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Small leaks around the windows during heavy rain. Slowly getting them all identified and resealed.
Sailing characterisitcs	Great sailing boat. I can take family and friends out and let them sail the boat. Sails are easy to manipulate and trim.
Motoring characterisitcs	Small Mercury 9.9 2 stroke does a good job of pushing the boat along when under power.
Liveability	We are usually on her from Friday through Sunday. Without the A/C it would be impossible to survive the hot Texas summers. This would not be my first pick of a boat to live on but for weekend stays, she provides a nice place to sleep. I am 6'4" tall and find that I can sleep comfortably on her.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Have not had a reason to contact Catalina directly.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Purchased from a private individual
Other comments	We are still in the honeymoon phase with her and I hope it continues for some time. This appears to be a great boat for a reasonable price with a very solid owner's group to assist if something goes wrong.

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