Owner Opinions Catalina 30 Mark III?

[jmcgee]

My wife and I are talking about moving up from our Catalina 22 to a Catalina 30 Mark III and I wanted to ask owners their opinions about their boats (both good and bad) and also get some advice on common problem areas to look for. Your thoughts on tall rigs vs. standard rigs. And any other online forums that are a good source of info. I did this when we purchased our C22 and it saved us a lot of time and heartache.

We're cruisers not racers. We plan to keep the boat at the Jersey shore in 2008 and stay aboard on weekends. We primarily day sail, go out for weekends, and hope to do some week long sails with the bigger boat. Next year we may move the boat to the Chesapeake Bay. Most times it's just the two of us or a couple of friends for daysails.

Thanks in advance,
Jim
C22
sv "Island Time"

[camaraderie]

Jim...welcome! I am not an owner but have sailed one and would encourage you to get the tall rig for your cruising grounds...especially the Chessie. The C30's are nice family cruising boats that have stood the test of time. Suggest you check the search function above as there are lots of Cat30 comments and advice here already that you should review. Check the boat reviews section at the side menu as well and you may wish to subscribe to the Cat30 mailing list or review their archives under "resources-mail lists" in the top menu. Good luck!

[AjariBonten]

I'd like to add my welcome aboard and congratulations on a good introductory post. Pretty much all of the information is there for someone to help.

[jmcgee]

Thanks for the good wishes. I started looking through the archives and found some good information on problems but it's not always clear what year or years those posts cover and I understand the Mark III fixed a lot of the problems with earlier models.

I've found you often get an earful when you ask people for their opinions -- especially about their boats !

But if you listen you can learn a lot and hopefully not make an expensive mistake. That said I’ll still have separate hull and engine surveys done before buying.

Jim
C22
Island Time

[sailhog]

Jim,
I have a 1980 C30 tall rig. It's absolutely wonderful. A friend of mine has the MkII -- I believe it's a 1990, and he loves his as well. All I can offer are general comments, one of which is that it seems that owners tend to stay within the brand. Good luck. You're in for a good time.

[djodenda]

Welcome!

I also moved up to a Catalina 30 MK1 from my Catalina 22 MK2

You should check out the resources at International Catalina 30 Association and join the owners association.

One really great thing about the C30 is the fact that there are a huge number of them out there, and a very active and supportive association.

Another thing you should definitely do is buy the "Tech Briefs" book, which is a compilation of over 20 years of technical tips, fixes, and upgrades for the boat. I have found it immensely helpful.

More information on that is on the website.

[capt.stu]

I have a 1994 model. Tall rig is great for light air. Reef at 15 for comfort. I have a fin keel at 5' 3". Points well, very responsive with the big catalina rudder. Lots of fun.
Stu

[chucklesR]

Welcome aboard.
My best friend, sailor mentor and all around good guy did exactly what you are proposing, moved from a 22 ft Catalina to the 30 with the tall rig. I spent many days and evenings with him on both boats. He's not on sailnet so I'll proxy for him.

If you are used to getting on and going, there will be a difference. Maintenance time being one, he spends about 1 hour on maint time for every 2 sailed on his 1986.
Speaking of maintenance you will need to learn the boats systems. The Catalina's lay out and equipment options are pretty simple and not a great hurdle, my buddy is dsylectic so I spent the time reading the manuals an showing him hands on. I like most of what they have done, although not up to todays standards older catalinas will serve.
His boat had serious blisters, check yours thoroughly and know what you are getting into if you decide to take on the project of fixing it.
He had to replace / re-bedd every portlight on his boat; he went for quick rather than good and put the same units back in. If you do this on your boat I'd recommend some more opening portals on the sides. New Found Metals makes good alround coastal ports for good prices.
The only other problems he's had - a water separating fuel filter was not standard on his, I plumbed it in for him. He has the universal 25; which is a marinized tractor diesel, easy to find parts at non-boat prices which is always good.

His battery/12v system was a mess of previous owner wiring and flat batteries. We wired in a complete replacement of it from battery to beltdowns and the 110v system over 4 weekends - about 400.00 bucks, not including new charger and house batteries. MkIII being newer you might not face this.
His only experience on boats bigger than 22 were a couple times at the helm of my Hunter 31 - he had no problem transitioning to the Catalina 30 - even backing it into his slip became simple once he practiced it a few times.

[BVIMoonchaser]

Interesting...like others here I went from a MKII Catalina 22 (And other 22's before that one) to a 83 MKI C-30 specifically for the purpose of learning the "systems" like was also mentioned and to be able to be comfortable sailing in the BVI, which in the 4 years we've had the 30 we've done both.
Agreed about the systems to learn AND the maintenance AND the blister repairs AND the window replacements (mine is just smoked plexi in silicone..worked great) and deck compression fixed, and on and on and on...also, something to realize that you may feel like your 22 is a "second skin" that you can sail it healed WAY over standing on the opposite lazerate..the 22 can feel very nimble in your hands you can turn the motor and rudder to turn the boat on a dime..etc etc...the 30 is not nimble in the same manner..but it's a great cocktail cruiser..stay drier, stand up headroom for you and guests, etc etc..smart move to go from 22 to 30 and not stop in between at a 25, 27, or 28. curtdennis @ msn.com is my email if you'd like any more indepth info..or post here!

[jmcgee]

> email if you'd like any more indepth info..or post here!
Yes, please post more in-depth info on what it was like going from the C22 ot the C30, also on the pros and cons of the C30 design - though it sounds like the MkIII fixed many of the problems of the earlier models.

Thanks,
Jim