Option: Catalina 36 and 38

[ktmvgd]

I am the phantom Catalina owner of which Jeff of the phantom issue speaks in his assertion that we don''t really exist.

I sail C380 # 88 on SF Bay while he moans and complains and wishes he had such a trouble free boat.

Cheers

[dmaher]

Jeff,
If you read my post, and I assumed you did, all I did was state the facts. I take offense that you thought I was a phanton Catalina owner. I can assure you that I am not. I have kept my Catalinas on the Chesapeake Bay and have enjoyed sailing them for over 13 years.

[JDAM]

FWIW, My friend has a new 38 with a wing keel and standard rig. In moderate air its faster than the local Sabre 34. I find the boat very comfortable as a cruiser but I dislike the lack of feedback on the helm. In general the boat is very comfortable. Its owned by an outstanding sailor whos last boat was a ''like new'' Pearson 31.

There were some deck leaks repaired by the yard and paid for by Catalina w/o any problems.

My friend is very satisified with the 38 and thought of moving up ..to a bigger Catalina.

[phunter]

Just my 2 cents worth. Jeff is a blowhard but mixed in with his hot air is always a some truth and a genuine effort to contribute what he actually knows. He can''t help it if he sprinkles in some bull**it with it. At least he takes his time to contribute.
As for the old 38 ft Catalinas, those were built for offshore racing and when I bought my Heritage West Indies it was a tossup between the two.

[Jeff_H]

I am writing to apologize to this Bulletin Board and to those poster that I insulted by saying that I thought they were fictitious. I recieved an email explaining my error to me. I did not realize that you could post on the Sailnet BB without appearing in the Members Directory. At the time that I got on the Sailnet BB (probably five or more years ago now), in order to post on the Sailnet BB you had to register and in doing so, Sailnet automatically set up your name on the Member Directory. That was how it worked.

As I said yesterday I did not recognize most of the names of that were posting in that thread. When I went to look for these people on the Member Directory they were not there. Since I believed that you could not post on the Sailnet BB without being on the Member Directory I assumed they were fictitious personalities. I have seen this happen on other Bulletin Boards. Further as I read through the comments made by some of these
people that I assumed were fictitious, there were several phrases that were repeated by quite a few of the posters, one of which is quite inaccurate, that made me think that this was just one or two people doing a dirty trick. I am clearly wrong on that assumption.

I will tell you in all honesty that almost every owner of a new Catalina that I ran into told me almost the same set of warranty stories; glaring problems and a battle to get anything corrected. I will also tell you that I did not hear these kind of miserable warranty stories out of either Hunter or Beneteau owners, and in fact heard glowing
warranty stories out of the Beneteau owners that I encountered. So I drew my own conclusions. Having now come to understand that this list of posters are not fictitious people and I am glad to find that this
negative experience is not universal. It does change my opinion of Catalina some. If I have to summarize my current position it would be that the majority of Owners that I have personally met who had purchased a new Catalina had terrible warranty experiences but there clearly are a large number of Catalina owners out there who love their
boats and have had excellent warranty experiences as well.

Respectfully,
Jeff

[DuaneIsing]

A classy apology, Jeff. I guess all of us are apt to make incorrect assumptions now and then.

Now, let''s get back to overanalyzing the physics of sailing... 8^D

[Delirious]

Jeff,

Well said. I''m sorry, too, if I came up sputterin'' and swingin'' without regard to consequences or having consulted the archives. As you might have noticed, we Catalina owners are a tight bunch and fill ranks to help each other out. I know many second, third, and forth time Catalina buyers. That alone says something.

Come on over some time and have a sail and a beer on me. If the boat has a sail and someone gets enjoyment out of it - that''s good enough for me. Plop yerself on the settee and we''ll discuss the merits and misses at length.

Charlie P.

[doubleplay]

I have been a member of this post for a long time and never seen a heated conversation like this before...
Jeff H is a long time member of this board and as far as I saw it, he was always trying to be helpful more than several occasions.I consider him a very knowladgeble sailor and a class act as he proved by his last post...
I also wish to see other members of this board come out and contribute more as they did on this occasion.No one or no boat is perfect...
Respectfully,
Al
S/V DoublePlay
Dehler 36

[RichH]

Despite apparent superior knowledge, if one''s responses are mostly negative or typically include negativity about *any* subject and no matter what the intentions, many will take this as an attack on their own personal choice, their selection integrity.... Hence the ''foodfights'' versus non-current ''racing'' designs.

Today its a bashing of Catalinas, a few months ago it was Island Packets, before that Beneteaus, etc. etc. etc. ... just about any boat that isnt usually raced in large fleets. Do you see a pattern here?
One has to remember that the value of the advice given here is worth exactlly what you pay for.

On this bulletin board, If Jesus Christ Himself was reported to win a single handed around the world single handed sailing event, I''m dead sure that someone would point out: that the boat was ''long in the tooth'', that Christ didnt have the pucker line on the leech set the way they do, that the PHRF numbers of the boat was the reason for the win and not the sailor''s ability, that the design is SLOW according to tomorrows standards, etc. etc. If Jesus Christ himself posted that a certain aspect or example was in His opinion the correct thing to do someone would have to add "and another thing....". No matter how perfect or valued the example, someone (we know who) will usually include some denegration, expose thinly veiled discrepancies, some personal bias, some broadbased generalized statement based on a very small sample of observation, etc. ..... Every elementary school yard has one. ... My father is bigger than your father, my car is faster than your car, You made a good choice *BUT* you shoulda done this ... etc. etc. etc. When apparent arrogance and ''ethnocentrism'' overshadows knowledge, the result is always the same.

Which ''cruising'' design boat shall be next on the chopping block? Are those that dont or no longer care to race, have the fastest/stongest/glitzy-est boat in the world to be laughed at, shown the errors of their ways, exposed for thier abominably poor choices?

Too bad this ''board'' doesnt have a kill file.

[Denr]

Yeah and what about those Tayana 37s, are they as good as a Fatalina?