Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 387 by Tom

Year built	2003
Location of boat	Queens Lake Marina, Williamsburg VA USA
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
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	Boat
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	No. This is a beautiful boat and one that we are content with. However, as we consider retirement and our desire to travel and live aboard, we would and are giving strong consideration to a Catalina 470 after seeing one at the boat show. For what we presently use this boat for, it is perfect, for our extended cruising plans, we may step up if we find the right price for a 470.
Gear that's been added	See profile page.
Structural or complex improvements	No
The boat's best features	We bought this boat for two people with the intent of periodic use for 4 or 6 people. This boat is perfect for two people. One head, nice large shower with enclosed stall, all the room one could want for two people. The cockpit is huge, we have had many times 8 to 10 or more people aboard and there is lots of room. Forward berth has ample air movement when on the hook. The tanks are quite adequate, this boat is hull #24 which has the larger 20 gallon hot water tank, a plus for us since the Admiral is far from conservative when it comes to resource management.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Owners aft cabin has low head clearance due to the huge oversized cockpit. The Wilcox-Crittenden Newport electric head is a piece of crap. It requires frequent rebuilding and the rebuild kit is expensive. I have almost spent the cost of a new head in rebuild kits.
Sailing characterisitcs	Strong weather helm, points fairly nice in light to moderate winds, but in heavy wind, she gets overpowered real quick. Runs downwind better with the mainsail put away. We have been caught in 50 to 60 knots plus storms, and although nervous about it, at the same time was able to feel safe, if that is possible.
Motoring characterisitcs	Motors well, works nice in reverse without a lot of prop walk.
Liveability	We spend lots of time aboard "living" although we don't. Our home is a five minute walk from the boat, so we frequenly go down to the boat and stay on it, just to be on the water. We find that we often have our meals aboard and sleep aboard, just because it is so nice to be there. If the TV reception at our marina were better, we would maybe stay there more than we do.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I have had nothing but the best with Catalina. I have developed a very good relationship with Warren Pandy, the Largo Plant Manager. He is very personal, strives hard to ensure that I am satisfied and is very knowledged about this model. I would suspect that he is well versed in all the boats that he builds. He has very good relationships established with the vendors that supply many of the products used with the boat and any time I have had a problem, it has been resolved more than adequately.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	My dealership was adequate. I actually find Catalina a better resource than they were. I initially had some problems that they never did rectify that were electrically related with regard to the wiring and hook up of the batteries. They were wired backwards to the selector switch so that when the selector switch was set to battery one, it was wired to battery two, and vice versa. The display meter was properly wired, so that when you set the meter display to read the battery strength, it showed full strength, yet it would run down for obvious reasons. After several ten hour trips back to the dealer to get it fixed, I fixed it myself. The routing of a water hose in the engine compartment would wear out the wire and terminal connection for the tachometer, another repeated problem that they were never able to correct. Again, I fixed it myself and moved the hose. It's funny how a certified marine mechanic can't fix a problem that a non-certified owner can.
Other comments	We went to the Annapolis Boat Show this year and looked at many boats. We feel that for the money we spent for this boat, that we got a very good boat that is very well valued. It is sound, comfortable, a pleasure to be on, it looks good and we get lots of compliments about the boat. We have pulled it up to many different marinas that have a variety of much more expensive boats such as Island Packets, Hylas, Bristols, Tartans, Hinkleys, etc, and always get compliments on this yacht. The present value cited at the various sites showing boats for sale show this boat priced at more than we have in it.

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