Catalina for Crossing the Pacific

[savoir]

Originally Posted by bdurham

actually the plan i have is to buy a catalina in a few years and sail it to australia and sell it there. ive done a bit of research about importing a boat and changing registration. and if i play my cards right i should be able to turn the boat a make a bit of a profit as the aussie dollar has gotten better in the last few years and the price of boats is high. probably close to 25% on the US price.

i wouldnt be to worried. i would be more interested in making the crossing. planning on taking about 16 months. san diego to brisbane. with plenty of detours on the way.

You will not find an easy profit on a 16 month voyage to Australia and sale when you get there. If you can put it all together on a 20k loss you will have done well.

[gonesail]

why catalina? there are so many others to choose from.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by gonesail

why catalina? there are so many others to choose from.

Price-point. Known brand and their saloon cushions are Butt-Heaven! Its the one thing the USA does better than anyone else in the world: Make cushions where your ass keeps sinking till its feels like your sitting on a puffy cloud.
Try furniture made in Australia and the more expensive it is the more you feel like you are sitting on a plank.

[boatman61]

Right.... thats decided me.. next boats a Catalina.... my boney butt needs pampering for a change...

[ozzie]

I own a Catalina 34mkII and I have been right thru the boat and have been impressed with the way it is built. The cushions are ok. Maybe if I had the white leather cushion version it would be better? Most of the people criticizing Catalina's have not had a close look at the newer boats and are basing their views on other people's opinion. ALL boat's have their limitations and Catalina is no exception. Any production boat that you intend to take offshore will need some type of upgrading and that comes with allot of additional costs.
Here is the short list for my C34.
Replace standing rigging.
New sails
Anchor windlass upgrade to 5/16 chain
Beef up/replace anchor roller
Extra anchor
Inner forestay with hank on headsail
Self steering gear
Hard top dodger
Solar panels and controller
Inverter
Life raft
Inflatable dingy
Chart plotter
Handheld GPS
SSB, VHF with integral AIS, Lap top
Water maker
Increase stowage
Espar hydronic heater.
There's about 50 grand's worth of stuff and that's with installing everything myself. This is a boat that two people can easily handle and wont cost a fortune to maintain. It also mean's that we can start cruising sooner.

Dave.

[Khagan1227]

Originally Posted by ozzie

I own a Catalina 34mkII and I have been right thru the boat and have been impressed with the way it is built. The cushions are ok. Maybe if I had the white leather cushion version it would be better? Most of the people criticizing Catalina's have not had a close look at the newer boats and are basing their views on other people's opinion. ALL boat's have their limitations and Catalina is no exception. Any production boat that you intend to take offshore will need some type of upgrading and that comes with allot of additional costs.
Here is the short list for my C34.
Replace standing rigging.
New sails
Anchor windlass upgrade to 5/16 chain
Beef up/replace anchor roller
Extra anchor
Inner forestay with hank on headsail
Self steering gear
Hard top dodger
Solar panels and controller
Inverter
Life raft
Inflatable dingy
Chart plotter
Handheld GPS
SSB, VHF with integral AIS, Lap top
Water maker
Increase stowage
Espar hydronic heater.
There's about 50 grand's worth of stuff and that's with installing everything myself. This is a boat that two people can easily handle and wont cost a fortune to maintain. It also mean's that we can start cruising sooner.

Dave.

I'd do most of those upgrades on any new boat I bought. I haven't seen ANY new boats that come ready for the deep blue standard, all require a lot of extras.

[sailstoo]

Catalina across the Pacific, huh? Probably the best way to do that is to take off the Windex and slide a Hinckley underneath it.

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Its the one thing the USA does better than anyone else in the world: Make cushions where your ass keeps sinking till its feels like your sitting on a puffy cloud.

Puffy cloud fer sure! You want less for *your* ass? What the hell do you upside-downers sit on?

[knotnow]

Originally Posted by sailstoo

Catalina across the Pacific, huh? Probably the best way to do that is to take off the Windex and slide a Hinckley underneath it.

Hey sailstoo.

Ya should sail one. I delivered a 400 from Ft. Lauderdale to St. Vincent. Not a bad boat. Not a Hinkley or an HR but she did just fine.