Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 25 by Randy McElroy

Year built	1990
Location of boat	Frisco, Colorado
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1995
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Definitely. Got lucky on this one. After 12 years of sailing her I think she is one of the best "real" smaller boats. I like the teak, the wing keel, and the plumbed head.
Gear that's been added	Roller furling, stop blocks, engine spring, lots of little stuff.
Structural or complex improvements	Not really, this 1990 model has a lot of improvements over the older models.
The boat's best features	Sails very well and I can easily single hand her. The cabin is great for 2 and is not your basic blown out fiberglass look.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The partition between the head and cabin continues to bean me in the head. You think I'd learn after all these years. Lots of freeboard which causes her to sail - even with bare poles. Cramped anchor locker access- especially with a furler. Split backstay hinders motor access and seat storage access. Tiller is great for 2 but not so great for 6. Pop top is a nice gimmick but I use it once every couple of years at most...
Sailing characterisitcs	Hey, this is no perfomer. I race on occasion and I would not do that in this boat. I like this boat because the comfort/sailing balance leans towards comfort. If you need to sail hard, buy a J. I have been out in 25+ gusts in her and all I can say is, reef! She sails much better with a single reef and reefed jib than on main alone.I have grounded her twice - these are lakes with surprises. The wing keel tends to sail onto a soft bottom and is hard to get off. Offload first and then get off.
Motoring characterisitcs	Motoring? I have a prop handler on the Honda 9.9 and she still backs very poorly. Going forward is great and she seems to like to motor at 5 knots. I dislike the outboard and would go for an inboard anyday.
Liveability	Just spent 4 nights on her and she sleeps 2 very well. The v berth is a tad too short for me as I'm 5'10". You can sleep two up there but be prepared to climb in. You can sleep 1 in the stern. Do not try to sleep 2 as half the cabin is way too cramped - you can't even turn over.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
Other comments	It's been a great 12 years with her. I'm ready to move up and will miss this boat very much. A very nice end to the "real" Catalina 25 boat production run.

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