Not being a smartass, but it depends on what you're looking for. Quick
no-brainer would be the Catalina 38, a S&S design that Catalina Yachts
bought on the cheap after another manufacturer tried to make a go of it and
failed.
http://www.catalina38.org/history.htm
Some would also claim the Catalina(Capri?) 37, a one-design racer.
John Cairns
"N1EE" wrote in message
om...
What's the best Catalina design?

38,...it doesn't look or act like a Catalina...we almost bought one when =
we were on the look for Chanteuse....they had basically used it for a =
summer cottage and had left the sails int heir bags to mildew...too =
bad...they had also done some nasty thing to the woodwork below...like =
japaned all the teak to make it look Oriental...we were tempted but the =
amount of work necessary was just a bit beyond what we had =
envisioned....

--=20
katysails
s/v Chanteuse
Kirie Elite 32
http://katysails.tripod.com

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax
and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein

I almost bought a Catalina 38 some years back
in San Francisco. It had too much tumblehome
for my tastes, but I liked the boat. This one
had oversized winches that I thought I could
take off to recoup a big chunk of the purchase
price.

I;ve sailed the 22 (keel version), 25, 27, 270
(new vesion of the 27), the 30, and the 34.

I was impressed with the 25 and 30, which although
they are slow boats, they were fairly comfortable.

The other thing I like about the boats is the fact
that there are so many. There is a market for them
with predictable prices. Which means you can sell
them--unlike many other boats that have small to
zero market value.

Bart Senior


"katysails" wrote

38,...it doesn't look or act like a Catalina...we almost bought one when
we were on the look for Chanteuse....they had basically used it for a
summer cottage and had left the sails int heir bags to mildew...too
bad...they had also done some nasty thing to the woodwork below...like
japaned all the teak to make it look Oriental...we were tempted but the
amount of work necessary was just a bit beyond what we had
envisioned....