Okay sailors,

We are thinking about purchasing a 78 Catalina 27' Does anyone have an
opinion about this boat. I understand they are more of a small cruising
boat, but pretty fast too. I have not had the chance to survey the boat in
person yet. It is said to be ready to sail and has an 11 hp inboard diesel.
I will call them tonight. It has an autopilot, all sails, roller furler,
dodger & bimini top, alcohol stove etc. and they are asking $4000. Any
Catalina specific questions I need to ask?

Happy Sails,
FamilySailor (John)

If the boat looks like it was kept up and the motor starts right away and runs
smoothly buy it and get out sailing. Four grand is probably not your life's
savings. Hard to go wrong. Depending on where you are located the tall rig
version might be prefered. Plus: There's a zillion of them out there, Catalina
is still in business and there might be one design racing in your area. Minus:
Dated looking and there's a zillion of them out there. Not really fast for a
27. My old Merit 22 had the same PHRF rating.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"No shirt, no skirt, full service"

They are decent boats to start out on, but kind of cramped for a family to
weekend on...make sure you get a survey....

--
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



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I like these boats. We had one in our fleet until recently. I thought
is was a very nice, sea worthy boat. It sounds like a good price
from what you describe, but I don't know what they go for in your
area. We had a rigging failure, which brought down the mast. Not
the boat's fault at all. The insurance paid I believe $7500 less
deductible. I'd certainly rather have the diesel. We had the A4. I
don't recall the year of the boat, but it was something like that.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"FamilySailor" wrote in message
...
Okay sailors,

We are thinking about purchasing a 78 Catalina 27' Does anyone have an
opinion about this boat. I understand they are more of a small cruising
boat, but pretty fast too. I have not had the chance to survey the boat in
person yet. It is said to be ready to sail and has an 11 hp inboard
diesel.
I will call them tonight. It has an autopilot, all sails, roller furler,
dodger & bimini top, alcohol stove etc. and they are asking $4000. Any
Catalina specific questions I need to ask?

Happy Sails,
FamilySailor (John)

I have several Project sailboats at home and I have decided to get one I can
just untie and sail. I prefer sailing over rebuilding. If it is a project
boat, then I will keep looking. My wife really likes the Hunter 345, but not
the new sailboats. She likes the mid 80s model 345. I believe the Catalina
is a better built boat than the Hunter, but I have nothing to base that on;
just a gut feeling.....

Sea Yawl,
John

FamilySailor wrote:
Okay sailors,

We are thinking about purchasing a 78 Catalina 27' Does anyone have an
opinion about this boat.

It's a nice enough practical boat.

... I understand they are more of a small cruising
boat, but pretty fast too.

Umm, no. A Catalina 27 may be "fast" relative to a slower boat (of which
there are at least a few) but it is certainly not intended for any great
performance under sail. They do go to windward, they are not broach
coaches, but if you're used to sailing even a medium performance racing
dinghy like say a Lightning, the Cat27 will be a snooze.

.... I have not had the chance to survey the boat in
person yet. It is said to be ready to sail and has an 11 hp inboard diesel.
I will call them tonight. It has an autopilot, all sails, roller furler,
dodger & bimini top, alcohol stove etc. and they are asking $4000. Any
Catalina specific questions I need to ask?

Check the chainplates & the bulkheads under where the chainplates go
through the deck. Check the keel bolts & keel root too.

Sounds like a good price if the boat is really in good shape.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Thanks, I will check those things out. As far as performance; I enjoy lazy
sailing more. Did you say it points pretty good? That is definitely a
requirement as far as I am concerned. I almost bought a Morgan 41' out
islander, but decided not to make the investment because they don't point
worth $#!t and the price was only $10,000. It had a 56 horse inboard to make
her point better though.

Personally, if I can sail to and from the dock without cranking up the old
iron wind...... well... those are perfect days...... makes you feel good,
right down to the marrow!

Sea Yawl,
John

FamilySailor wrote:
Thanks, I will check those things out. As far as performance; I enjoy lazy
sailing more. Did you say it points pretty good? That is definitely a
requirement as far as I am concerned.

Well, it's a fin keel masthead sloop... it's not an IACC boat, but if
the rig & sails are decent it should get somewhere inside 90...
templating the keel is a bigger help to pointing than most people will
credit, but a boat that's kept in the water will lose most of the
benefit as soon any growth starts on it.


... I almost bought a Morgan 41' out
islander, but decided not to make the investment because they don't point
worth $#!t and the price was only $10,000. It had a 56 horse inboard to make
her point better though.

Maybe you should have offered $5K? These are fairly comfy boats... not
as roomy as modern ones, and they don't sail all that well, but if you
want "a lot of boat for the money" they do the job. A friend of mine
just moved up from a Morgan OI 33 to an 41' OI.


Personally, if I can sail to and from the dock without cranking up the old
iron wind...... well... those are perfect days...... makes you feel good,
right down to the marrow!

You need a Johnson 18 then... or a Laser!

DSK

Maybe you should have offered $5K? These are fairly comfy boats... not
as roomy as modern ones, and they don't sail all that well, but if you
want "a lot of boat for the money" they do the job. A friend of mine
just moved up from a Morgan OI 33 to an 41' OI.

I would have jumped on it for $5000. My banker had called me about the boat.
The owner had cancer and he still owed the bank 10 grand. The boat just sold
for the pay-off. It sure was a big comfy boat alright!!

You need a Johnson 18 then... or a Laser!

I sail my SC 26' center cockpit and SC 22' in and out almost every time
without the motor and we are on the last row of slips. I think it good
practice, because you never know what will happen and you don't have your
motor when you need it. The wife and I have it down pat. I used to motor in
and out, but I watched these old guys sailing in and out without the aid of
a motor and thought it was so cool. We even beat our way out in our SC 22'
once, it was a chore though, but a feather in our cap (as far as we are
concerned anyway).

DSK wrote:

FamilySailor wrote:

Thanks, I will check those things out. As far as performance; I enjoy
lazy
sailing more. Did you say it points pretty good? That is definitely a
requirement as far as I am concerned.


Well, it's a fin keel masthead sloop... it's not an IACC boat, but if
the rig & sails are decent it should get somewhere inside 90...

Through what angle do IACC yachts typically tack through?

Cheers