[garthbirdsey]

I am a new Catalina 38 owner. I just purchased Rosahambo which is currently located in Oriental NC.

I have found as much information as I could on the net but cannot find an active owners website. I tried to join catalina38.org but that site seems poorly run, rarely used, and you cant even see much of it without paying membership fee!

I have started a new Facebook Page for Catalina 38 owners and would love to see your there. Just type Catalina 38 in the search bar.

I would like to put an owners list together, no charge!

 

[CharlzO]

Prospective owner here, actually. I'm hoping to purchase one in the next two years as an upgrade from where I am, so I'll keep a peek in there here and there for what others are saying. Saw the Mailing list regarding your situation, hopefully gets sorted out. Any info is great to have in a place, regardless!

 

[desert sailor]

Try catalina38.org. Why reinvent the wheel.

 

[CharlzO]

He listed some of his reasons above. Not everyone in the .org had the same problems, obviously, as it's still active among members. But I believe he had some stumbles trying to get activated, but that's not for me to get into here. However, one valid point is there is a lot of information on C38.org that is members only. And while I certainly appreciate that, it also means that for me to research more of the boat, I have to then pay to become a member of a site, where I'm not even an owner of the boat yet. Not saying I won't, because it is pretty much atop my want list. But I can easily see how someone just looking for information doesn't want to have to pay money for information that might be commonplace to find about other boats (I'm speculating, naturally, since I don't actually know what all info is IN the member's sections).

The FB group will just be another avenue to collect some information and discuss the boat itself, which might be a welcome sight for people not wishing to subscribe to the .org

 

[desert sailor]

I own a Catalina 36 and have found catalina36.org to be invaluable. The cost is only $25. I was not able to access catalina38 so I can't vouch for the quality of their information. In catalina 36 in addition to technical resources there are pages and pages of modifications people have made to their boats. Let me give you an example: I don't know what year your boat is but mine has a Universal M25 diesel. If yours is a Universal did you know it is really a Kubota tractor engine? Catalina36 had the cross reference information I needed to buy parts from Kubota rather than Universal. Injectors were $53 ea rather than $300ea. If Catalina38 is run like Catalina36 it is well worth just$25. Also try Catalina Direct for parts.

 

[eherlihy]

I own a Catalina 36 and have found catalina36.org to be invaluable. The cost is only $25. I was not able to access catalina38 so I can't vouch for the quality of their information. In catalina 36 in addition to technical resources there are pages and pages of modifications people have made to their boats. Let me give you an example: I don't know what year your boat is but mine has a Universal M25 diesel. If yours is a Universal did you know it is really a Kubota tractor engine? Catalina36 had the cross reference information I needed to buy parts from Kubota rather than Universal. Injectors were $53 ea rather than $300ea. If Catalina38 is run like Catalina36 it is well worth just$25. Also try Catalina Direct for parts.

you also could have found all of that info here for free...
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/diesel/151418-universal-m25-fuel-injector-replacement.html
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/41552-what-engine-my-85-catalina.html

... just say'n

 

[garthbirdsey]

I DID pay and tried to join the catalina38.org site. It is a long story but I never could get access to the site. I tried to contact someone through the website and had no luck. I finally found a phone number for the Commodore who said he would "straighten it out" but that "I really didn't need the website, you need the listserve". The listserve is just a distribution of emails and I could only see current emails with no access to previous threads. Most of the emails were just taking about generic sailboat information, not specific to the C38.

I have been sailing for over 25 years and have been active in several owners groups and make/model specific owners groups. The Catalina38.org site seems poorly run and extremely hard to join and use. The Commodore sent me an email through the listserve trying to "explain" what had gone wrong. I thought it was a private email conversation and told him that I thought the website was possibly the worst I had ever seen and the Listserve was an antiquated form of communication in today's world of social media and inexpensive websites. I told him that I would like a refund and didn't want to be part of the group.

I didn't know the other members of the group were going to see that email and was surprised when the listserve had responses of "sounds like we don't need this guy anyway" and "we can do without him!". This because I complained about the website and asked for a refund!

So the long answer is that I want to see how many Catalina 38 sailors are out there and if I get enough interest I will launch a website with full access for anybody that wants to look. I am sure I can run it with donations, not a mandatory annual fee! I have made and maintained websites before and know it takes some time but it is not really very expensive.

 

[desert sailor]

Wow. I guess I lucked out with the c36 website. By the way that website includes the Catalina 37.5 .

 

[chuck53]

Wow. I guess I lucked out with the c36 website. By the way that website includes the Catalina 37.5 .

I've got a C34 and can't imagine any owners' websites that could be any better than it. C34.org is very active and I've gotten answers for any and all my questions. Have learned tons about my boat there.

 

[eherlihy]

I've got a C34 and can't imagine any owners' websites that could be any better than it. C34.org is very active and I've gotten answers for any and all my questions. Have learned tons about my boat there.

I agree that C34.org, and Catalina30.com are two additional great resources for Catalina owners. Stu Jackson, who is involved in some official capacity with C34.org is also active here, and frequently posts in both C34.org and SailNet forums.

 

[garthbirdsey]

Thank you Charles, I am slowly adding information and photographs to the Facebook Page as I find them. I have a fair amount of information stored in my Catalina 38 folder already and will share it as I have time. The facebook page is a "closed group" but we will admit anyone with a sincere desire to know more about the C38, the only reason to have a closed group is to screen out the scammers and spammers.

Just search on Catalina 38 on Facebook, easy.

I am glad to hear that the other Catalina owners are having better luck with YOUR own owners group!

Charles, I would be glad to revisit the Catalina38.org if I can be assured I would actually get acess to the site and I could search out past discussions on the Listserve! I am NOT an overly demading person, I just want what I pay for in a reasonable amount of time.