Re: Catalina 275 sport -- Hell Yeah !
It's not my style, but I think Catalina is on point with it and I think they're making a real effort to go after a younger buyer.
The 275 isn't an all out racing machine, it's a fun day boat with a racy look and lots of room in the cockpit to go out with friends. She should be fun to sail, easy for newbies with a self tacking jib, has a top down furling spinnaker on a retractable sprit, a big cooler for beer and is designed to carry a surfboard or paddle board down below.
Just enough galley for a quick meal and just enough room below to get cozy overnight with a "close friend".
The target buyer is probably a professional in their late 20's to mid-30's. It's not unusual for folks that age to be single and not have a mortgage these days.
And while the J/88 may be a bit faster that only matters if you're racing one head to head. A Ferrari is faster than a Mustang but Ford sells a LOT of Mustangs and a lot of people enjoy the hell out of 'em
And that analogy holds here, the C275 is about 60% cheaper than a J/88 and you can have a hell of a lot of fun with one.
I hope Gerry Douglas and Catalina are right and sell a enough of these that Beneteau and Hunter jump on the bandwagon and bring a whole lot of younger folks into sailing.
When I look at this boat I think back to pre-kids; take a four day weekend and a couple of bonehead friends, hook it to the back of the truck and drive straight through from Jersey to Florida. Sail, sleep, party and show up for work after an all night drive home
