Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 320 by Sean

Year built	1998
Location of boat	San Francisco, CA
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	23-30 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2009
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely, yes. After a great deal of research, chose the C320 as a move-up from my C270. I searched far and wide for the right boat, and found mine this several hundred miles down the coast. After the first inspection, I knew it would be worth the time and effort to bring her up the coast... in winter. Since putting her in her new slip, I've continued to be impressed by her handling, speed, space, and quality. Every time I have someone check on her or perform routine maintenance, they all comment that these C320s have been bulletproof.
Gear that's been added	This boat had no major maintenance by prior owner - only had 60 hours on the motor and knot log showed less than 100nm. Required basic maintenace items for her 10 year age... new headsail (downsized for SF Bay winds), full safety gear, new anchor, new head, new lifelines, Raymarine C-80 GPS, stereo, batteries, etc.
Structural or complex improvements	Nope.
The boat's best features	Great speed - 7.5kts easily and comfortably - under power or sail. Very roomy both in the cockpit and below decks. Sleeps 4 very comfortably, sails 6 with room to spare, and drinks 8 with plenty of elbow room. Can easily add 2 to each of those numbers without being too cramped. I like that she is a production boat - I can get estimates for work with one phone call, and yards all have experience on this boat. For example, when I wanted life lines, there was another C320 in the yard getting new life lines, so I had a firm quote in seconds. When I needed a new holding tank and rub rail, Catalina had them in stock ready to ship to original specification. When I wanted a new headsail, the user group pointed me right to someone selling their lightly used one for a great price. Very good quality in workmanship. No major system failures. The fleet website discussion group "common problems" are basic maintenance items that are all owner performed items. Love the Yanmar 3GM30-F motor... a solid back-up to sail power that requires just basic proactive maintenance.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Original headsail was 135 percent, which was too much for local winds, and was corrected with a new-to-me 110%. Smell from head was addressed through complete replacement of all hoses, head and holding tank. So far, other issues have simply been regular maintenace - lifelines, motor maintenance, portlight caulking, etc.
Sailing characterisitcs	This boat is well known to be faster than her size would imply. She seems to point well, and has a very well balanced sailplan. Helm stays even with proper sail trim. We've been comfortably 7.5kts, pushing up to 8kts, double reefed. We've never been disapointed with her under sail.
Motoring characterisitcs	I motored her up the California coast several hundred miles upon initial purchase. The motor itself was strong, the boat handled well, and the Raymarine autohelm kept her pointed on course all the way. Her motoring speed was unimpressive (5kts GPS), which I had attributed to the headwind and current. Sure enough, in the SF Bay, she was pushing 6.5kts, but still not hull speed. Then when I had the bottom job done (2.5 years since the last one), she leapt to 7.5kts. Nice!
Liveability	There are two of us, and we generally spend one or two nights aboard. This gives us plenty of storage room. We've slept in the aft cabin, which is very wide and long, but not tall. We've slept in the main cabin, but separate starboard and port berths are not the most romantic, and its bothersome to have to put everything away when getting ready for bed, or if one wants to get up early. Ultimately, we settled in the V-berth, which has proved plenty roomy and keeps all our bedding stored away from everything else. We removed the door to this cabin since there never is really a need to close it. Overall interior height has been a big improvement over our prior boat... being 6' 1" tall has been easily accommodated inside in the main cabin, galley and head. Aft cabin is designed for sleeping only. I believe the height is rated at 6' 4". Fresh water, holding tank, fuel, etc. have all been more than adequate for our needs. We actually rarely fill the forward fresh water tank.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	On three times, I have contacted Catalina... once for maintenance question, and twice to order replacement parts (rub rail, holding tank). They always replied promptly with full answers and good prices.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	My broker did an excellent job of searching and searching for just the right boat. But ultimately, I found this boat through someone who referred me when I decided not to buy their boat. The selling broker for this boat was very helpful and went to great lengths to help me evaluate the boat from afar, and to help prep the boat for the delivery up the coast.
Other comments	Thought my C270 was great, and am even happier with my C320.

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