Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 34 by Douglas Madsen

Year built	1994
Location of boat	Lake Superior, Bayfield, WI
The boat is sailed on	The Great Lakes
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	1996
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Definitely!
Gear that's been added	Autohelm 4000-
Structural or complex improvements
The boat's best features	Easy to sail. Built well. The cockpit seats are wonderful for lounging. The cabin makes for an excellent backrest, and then stretch out. Have slept under the stars on the cockpit seats many times. Berths are large. Galley very workable.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Honestly, nothing has been a problem. I think that after many rears of producing boats, Catalina has taken all o f the bugs out. About the only thing is motor noise in the cabin when motoring. But then, why sit in the cabin? If it rains, get under the dodger and let the auto pilot do the steering!
Sailing characterisitcs	Lake Superior has thrown some major wind and waves at the boat. It has taken it in stride. The larger the waves, the more she seemed to like it. Nice easy motion. We have had some 10-12 foot seas, (very scary ) and the boat handled them nicely.
Motoring characterisitcs	Set it and forget it! With the auto pilot, you can set the throttle and read a book.
Liveability	Very well laid out and functional. Cooking is easy with the well laid out galley. Sleeping in either cabin very comfortable. Cockpit great for lounging. Step thru transom very east to board dingy or get in/out of water.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
Other comments	Because we decided to move to Florida, we are selling our boat which is on Lake Superior. I would love to keep her, but the commute to Lake Superior from south Florida is too long!

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