Catalina 250:
Good boat for what it is. I guess in 25', you cannot ask for a lot. It is fine for day sailing and weekending on nice weekends, but not much more. Of course, that was its design point. This is a good starter boat. Going back, knowing what I know now and then, I would have bought it again.
Catalina 320:
Fun boat. First boat with real boat systems for us. Very fun to sail and very forgiving. Will turn in its own wake. By the time we got this boat, we were seriously considering saving up to cruise. We bought this boat to learn the systems of a larger boat and some of the intracies of sailing a larger boat. It did give is that but at a price: we had to trade up to go cruising and live aboard. For that reason and that reason only, I would not have purchased this boat again. We should have done more research, chartered more or just made the plunge... but it was hard to do without having more solid sea time and more ownership time on a larger boat... but I still would not have purchsed it knowing what I know now. Again, the only reason I say NO is that it was not the right boat for what we thougth we wanted to do.
Catalina 380
This boat is actually a falloff from the old Morgan hulls. She is a heavy boat and probably overbuilt compared to most Catalinas. We knew after the 320 that we would want something that would be safe and take a beating, and we did not consider speed a factor to consider as we would just be cruising. As such, we bought the tall rig for light airs and decided we would just live with it slow qualities. That was a mistake. We have spent MANY hours getting tossed around in this baot that a better performing boat might have done beter with. The tall rig made the boat tender. In addition, tankage was a constant problem as she did not perform well in light air (which required motoring) but did not have a sufficient diesel supply for long distant motoring. As such, w spent may days bobbing along a lot slower than we might have otherwise.
The flip side of this argument was when she was ever caught in anything nasty. She was solid and would take to weather (or with it) much better than lighter boats and other larger boats. The interior arrangements of this boat make it a very, very, very good live aboard boat. The cockpit arrngements makes it awesome for entertaining or just laying out at anchor.
This boat is the right boat for many people and I have repeatedly suggested it for those people. I actually believe that with modifications to fuel, cabinetry, and tankage, this boat would go about anywhere. It will take quite a bit of modifications, but nothing that is too much of a killer. You do have to put up with its shortcomings, though - and there are several as mentioned above. For some, these shortcomings can be a deal breaker (especially those that like to race).
All in all, going back, I would not have purchased this boat again knowing what I know and how I would use the boat. I would have puchased a Nordhave 46, a Hylas 54, Mason 54, a Krogen 42, or possibly the boat we have now (a Catalina 400... will discuss more in a minute). My reasons are that where we lived at the time and our destiations gave the boat a number of shortcomings. The tenderness of the boat burned Kris (my wife out) and I got frustrated with how slow she was. If I could go back and did own the boat, I would have it re-rigged for a shorter mast, put on Harken Batt-Cars, altered the fuel, and made some other changes to make it a better boat for our use. Instead, we lived aboard and those changes were hard to do while living and cruising on the boat. Basically, we dealt with what we had and it made us frustrated at times.
In the end, we sold the boat to some people who fell in love with her and cruised all over the place in it. It was the right boat for them (no kids, incidentally).
Catalina 400:
About as soon as we sold our 380, we got serious in looking for another boat. We wanted something we could cruise on in safety, without having to worry about fuel or seas, and could live aboard with the kids in safety and comfort.
At the time, we were living in SW Florida. The water is very shallow there and the bridges are 55' - both of which are real negatives to our old 380 and about any other sailboat of any size. After quit a bit of boat shopping, we ended up trying to choose between a Nordhavn 46 and a Kadey-Krogen 42. We really like the larger sailboats, like the Mason 54 and Hylas 54, but the draft and height restrictions were a real concern.
We repeatedly tried to buy various boats of both. It was one unforgettable nightmare after another. We actually lost a bid, for asking price, no negotiations, OVER ONE HOUR! Yes, that is the truth. Ugh. The rest of the stories are no less frustrating. It turned out that we bought a place back in Texas and we ended up sharing our frustrations with a dealer that we had bought our boats from. She had a Catalina 400 in her parking lot. SHe offered for us to come by and see it. We hesitated, then accepted. In the end, we bought it.
The 400 is probably one of the best sailing boats I have sailed on. SHe is sure footed, fast, and predictable. She is very roomy and comfortable. There are 400's everywhere, adn although it is not one of the best selling of the Catalina line, she is still one of the best in my opinion.
My negatives of the boat are cabinet space/storage, some systems access, I hate the two heads (my wife loves it, incidentally), and fuel tankage. Not sure I can come up with many others.
Going back I think I would still have purchased it... I think. I still really like the Nordhavn 46, but it did not seem meant to be. The 46 probably could not have been shipped to Texoma, so it would have caused other logisticial problems that might have forced me to sell my place here and relocate back to FL sooner than we wanted. However, the N46 is a go-anywhere boat (and I mean about anywhere) in comfort and safety with little to no modifications, has a relatively shallow draft compared to a sailboat, has a 26' bridge restriction, and other things that would have made it an easier boat for us and MAYBE better.
I will say this for anyone that might accuse me of drifting to the dark side: our Catalina 400 is much more than we thought it would be. It has made my wife fall in love with sailing again - and we both enjoy just sitting back and letter her glide through the water. The kids love it and we are all comfortable on her whether at dock, sail, or anchor. It has held its value much better than what I understand the N46's have (which says a lot). Most of all, we enjoy the boat and enjoy being back sailing. I would reccomend this boat, without reservation, to most people depending on their intended use and location.
- CD