New to SN and first time boat owner (Catalina 27)

biohead · #1 (**permalink**) 05-20-2011

Greetings All,
I have been lurking and learning for a while and decided it's time to open up.
I have been sailing for about 12 years mostly on small boats borrowed from the club, school or friend. I have had the vision of living aboard for a long time and hope one day to have that opportunity. I know there is a lot I don't know and need to experience first hand. I didn't want to learn the the hard way with an expensive cruiser so I started looking for a low cost "training boat" to cut my teeth on. I took the plunge this past December and purchased a 1980 Catalina 27 in New York. She was neglected but somewhat OK condition, a lot better off than some others I have seen. The PO did a lot of creative woodworking on the interior and changed all the upholstery to leather. I wish he spent more time on maintenance....guess that's why the price was so low.
A little bit of karma regarding the boat makes me feel good about the choice....the marina where the boat was docked is in New York City. In that area almost all the boats are stored dry during the winter so my little Catalina was the only boat in the marina. The staff there referred to her as the "Webelos", like a cub scout in training. I thought it fit pretty well with my plans so I decided to keep the name.
Oh, the boat had a bunch of prior names, but none were readable as the PO spray painted the transom and then tried to spray some new name in cursive but the paint dripped and ran making the lettering undecipherable. Looked like subway graffiti. (Yes that is all gone now.) So I feel the superstition about changing a boats name doesn't apply in this case

Anyway got her down to Charleston and into the boatyard last month and have been working on her nearly every day since. I hope to have her back in the water in the next week so I can get some sailing in.

JohnRPollard · #2 (**permalink**) 05-20-2011

Welcome to Sailnet, Biohead!

Those Catalina 27s are nice boats. Sounds like yours needs some tlc, but it's nice to know the boat has potential. Good luck!

wingNwing · #3 (**permalink**) 05-20-2011

Welcome to Sailnet! I think 27 is about perfect for a 'training boat' - big enough to have systems, but small enough you can handle it with just your own strength in a pinch ... anyway, what you're doing is exactly what worked for us as 27 was our first boat; got us confident enough that we've now been living & traveling on our present boat for 9 years.

AdamLein · #4 (**permalink**) 05-20-2011

Congrats from a fellow C27 sailor... when are we going to hear about the trip from NY to SC? You know what they say, pics or it didn't happen.

biohead · #5 (**permalink**) 05-25-2011

Hah, you bet pics to follow... Been working too much, both at job(to make $$ to buy more boat parts) and on the boat trying to get in the water before Memorial Day weekend. You know how it is.