I looked at a 1986 Catalina 34 over the weekend. Went out on a nice test sail too! Oh and the guy bought me a beer at the yacht club! Boat is quite a reasonable price I think, and while I had been avoiding the big three production boats, this one looks to serve my current needs pretty well. I am a bit concerned about the lack of storage, but otherwise should be nice. She is not in great shape and priced accordingly. Rig is solid all redone (lost mast and had Seldon in mast furling installed) in 2006, mainsail in 2006, engine seems good with some reservations, interior needs some sprucing up, ports/hatches don't seem to leak, but will need attention due to hazing, exterior teak has been left gray, not my preference. Boat seemed to have nice enough electronics, certainly more than needed on the Hudson River. Boat seems to have been maintained as far as systems go, but not cosmetics. Couple of questions:
Engine (Universal M25) started nicely, did not smoke, ran fine at idle, full throttle, and at cruising speed. It seemed kind of rough between say 1200 and 1500 RPM. He said it has always done that so he avoids that range. Does that seem normal? Oil was clean as diesel ever is. Engine seemed to be covered in belt dust and oil, but not too bad.
Has original Marlon seacocks. I don't mind the idea of Marlon, but how long do they last? They all opened and closed easily. Some resistance but not a lot. Again they are almost 30 years old but has been mostly fresh water sailed.
Anything else I should be concerned about? The one thing I want to check on is keel bolts, I did not get to look at them. Took my camera but did not take any photos, I was running later than I wanted to, and had to get home. This owner has had it since 1996, he is retired and seems to want something smaller if at all.
My thought is I should not loose too much money (well it is a boat) and might sell quick enough if I want to sell in 4 years and get a more serious cruising boat. The Catalina will do well on the Hudson as we generally have light, fluky winds. I will be staying in New York for the next few years, but want to wander off someplace else after that. I know the Catalina 34 is not something I want to take to Hawaii, but should do nicely here to Block Island, and possibly up to Cape Cod and so forth. It is no Kelly Peterson 44, but she is about a tenth the cost as well.
Engine (Universal M25) started nicely, did not smoke, ran fine at idle, full throttle, and at cruising speed. It seemed kind of rough between say 1200 and 1500 RPM. He said it has always done that so he avoids that range. Does that seem normal? Oil was clean as diesel ever is. Engine seemed to be covered in belt dust and oil, but not too bad.
Has original Marlon seacocks. I don't mind the idea of Marlon, but how long do they last? They all opened and closed easily. Some resistance but not a lot. Again they are almost 30 years old but has been mostly fresh water sailed.
Anything else I should be concerned about? The one thing I want to check on is keel bolts, I did not get to look at them. Took my camera but did not take any photos, I was running later than I wanted to, and had to get home. This owner has had it since 1996, he is retired and seems to want something smaller if at all.
My thought is I should not loose too much money (well it is a boat) and might sell quick enough if I want to sell in 4 years and get a more serious cruising boat. The Catalina will do well on the Hudson as we generally have light, fluky winds. I will be staying in New York for the next few years, but want to wander off someplace else after that. I know the Catalina 34 is not something I want to take to Hawaii, but should do nicely here to Block Island, and possibly up to Cape Cod and so forth. It is no Kelly Peterson 44, but she is about a tenth the cost as well.
