Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 25 by Robert Sieving

Year built	1978
Location of boat	Shorewood, MN
The boat is sailed on	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	1998
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	This is my first cruising boat, although I've been chartering boats in the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior for about 20 years. So I guess one could say I went into this purchase with my eyes open. I wanted something inexpensive and close to home, so that going sailing didn't mean a 4-5 hour trip on a Fridau afternoon when I was already beat. Now I'm 15 minutes from my slip. I think the Catalina 25 is a good basic no frills boat that sails well, is easy to rig, and doesn't intimidate me if something breaks and needs fixing. The price was right so I'd do it again.
Gear that's been added	All the PFDs have been replaced with CG approved ones. I put in a stereo, replaced the original very gross cushions with some high quality foam and great looking Sunbrella fabric. I bought a good Fortress anchor and rode from a friend, a cockpit sunshade from West Marine. Stuff that I bought but haven't installed yet: a sun-powered fan to go in the forward hatch for circulation (mold was been a problem), a Navico Tillerpilot (I like singlehanding). Future plans include a gradual replacement of standing rigging, eventually a new main.
Structural or complex improvements	No.
The boat's best features	Simplicity, ruggedness, good handling.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Lots of leaks. The sliding companionway hatch rails and boards don't match up well, probably warpage that's occured with age. The stanchion fasteners brobably need rebedding, also due to age, I imagine.
Sailing characterisitcs	At first the boat seemed a bit tender going to weather, mostly I imagine, because I was used to bigger, beamier boats. But I soon noticed that even if a bit overpowered once it reached a certain angle, it just plants and grits its teeth. I learned quite soon to have confidence in her ability to handle wind and chop.
Motoring characterisitcs	Since I have a vintage (stinky and smoky) Mercury 9.8 hp outboard with a motor mount that's totally shot, backing up in a tight spot required another hand at the ready with a boat hook to save my neighbors' gelcoat. I've gotten better at it, sort of learning to anticipate its quirks. Otherwise, no big deal. I've been in wind, tho, where I could have used more power to keep the bow into the wind with a headsail up.
Liveability	Great, for my purposes. I don't sleep on it often, but am totally comfortable when I do.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Great. No hype, pretty honest about its shortcomings.
Other comments	So far, so good. We're still in the dating stage.

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