Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-14.2 by Patrick Highlen

Year built	2002
Location of boat	Northeast Wisconsin
The boat is sailed on	The Great Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 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?	Probably not. I purchased it as an entry level boat. I was attracted to it because of aesthetics (sweet-looking boat)and it was proported to be very family friendly. I wanted a boat where you sit "in" not "on"it. It had only two previous owners both of whom turned the boat over after just a single year of use (first owner sat on it for a couple years, second owner kept it for one summer). It is a very tender boat with a capsize ratio of 3.53 (not real good). It is a nice boat, well built, and is fine for less than 10 kt winds on inland lakes, unless you are an expert small boat sailor. Do not get me wrong, this is a FINE boat, I think I just should have gone with a more stable keel model for the type of sailing I like. I am looking to move up in size after just one year -here we go again.
Gear that's been added	Replaced factory over-sized jib sheets with 3/8" diameter braid for easier handling.
Structural or complex improvements	Hardwired a recepticle near the transom for the Electric loitering motor, and mounted the battery box in the cuddy -there is no exposed cable now. It was very tricky to fish the cable through under the seat (starboard side). Added support crutch on the trailer, and a custom one that slips into the gudgeons at the stern for mast support while trailering -used 2"x2" square GRP tubing (fiberglass).
The boat's best features	Comfortable, large cockpit. High end fittings.Beautiful styling.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Nothing.
Sailing characterisitcs	The boat is too tender in moderate to strong wind conditions for a novice sailor. The boat will turtle very quickly after a capsize event.
Motoring characterisitcs	Not applicable, but I will say that an electric motor is not very effective in moderate wind and wave conditions. A small outboard would be a better choice for loitering power.
Liveability	None, designed for daysailing.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Have not dealt directly with them.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Not applicable, bought from an individual.
Other comments	Catalina makes a fine boat. I personally do not like the "festive" colored sails, and passed over buying several boats until I could find standard "white" sails. I think most serious sailors would be "turned off" with the "festive look". I like Catalinas and would buy another (larger) boat.

Contact
About
Terms of Use