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Old 09-12-2016, 21:49   #1
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Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

In '94 the lovely lady that was then my wife and I were in need of a dry boat (e.g., not 16' catamaran). The first boat we looked at was a gorgeous, immaculate, and spacious C30TR. We were in awe. Aside from the fact it was outside of our budget, I poo-pood the Catalina as a cheap production boat that wouldn't hold up. After a long time looking at many boats, we came back and bought that C30.

It's now 22 years later, and I still have that C30TR. It has been well used. It has taken beatings. It is still in awesome condition. I have to hand it to Catalina and Universal/Kubota, this thing has held up and still looks great.

But, now I'm 22 years "more experienced". My Viking queen (not the same as then-wife) and I have aged. Both near 6', it's a bitch getting in and out of the V-berth. We can run up and down the vertical ladder, but damn, we'd like some amenities (guilt: as a kid, my parents had a Grampian 30 with jack ****. The C30 is like a small condo in the center of Miami.) But I diverse.

And we have kids, and kids have friends, and friends want to come for weekends (WE don't have friends that come for weekends, we love our land friends, but they belong on land.)

So, physics limiting things, we need to go bigger. And new ergonomics. A Catalina 30 that has a few things. There's a short list:

1. Real forward berth. No crawling through the cave to get into bed. No banging around to spin around and get out for the late night pee. And no stuffy aft cabin. Forward cabin, hatch open, fresh air, I can tell in my sleep what the boat is doing. Just larger please.

2. Step-through transom/ swim platform.

3. Two aft staterooms. Might as well have doors forward and aft. To me that's a mega-yacht. Rather enjoy closing doors and not knowing what's going on behind them.

I did NOT think it would be hard to replace the @#&*% C30. That's a pretty short list. By replace I mean equivalent layout, and ergonomics (e.g., no traveller through the cockpit.) And, of course, there is a reasonable budget.

Now there is the fantastic plastic, at "reasonable" prices. You know, Beneteau 400, 411, 393. And contemporary Catalina and Jeanneau. If you have one of those please hit the back button now, because I don't need the hate mail. These things are built like crap. At first I likened the interior "wood" to Ikea; that was over-rated. In fact, most Walmart furniture is better than a '95-2005 Beneteau. Fact. The damned C30 has oiled wood bulkheads and structure; the cabinet doors and trim are solid teak. Those new boats look like cheap stereo cabinets one might purchase as Best Buy to fill a rental apartment in the 'hood.

The Beneteau 405 and like Catalinas have that neat idea of a head in the peak. But then the berth is offset. I suppose there's somewhere in the world that there won't be a relationship-damaging fight over who has to sleep next to the cold/hot hull, but I can't figure where. It presents a climatic math formula- if it's spring and she's going through hot flashes, she's going to want to be on the outside. Then the inside. The all the sheets come off and I freeze. Summer is easy- I sleep against the hull and sweat and gasp for fresh air. As well, if I'm going to get a boat of that size, nobody should have to climb over somebody to pee. Stupid configuration.

We chased after a Bavaria 39CC at a great price. She went out to see the boat. I was ready to do the dea... She called me at 2am in Singapore and told me it was a no-go. We couldn't stand up in most of the boat. Farg!

We looked at a Beneteau 411 and a very reasonable price. She was enamoured. I showed her the cheap construction and explained what it would all look like in ten years.

The Catalina 42 has a good reputation and is sufficiently solid. But good Lord, it has less wood/ teak than my stupid C30. All that white plastic inside makes it look so cheap.

I fell in love with the Beneteau 430. Frankly, that's the perfect boat. And I should have grabbed the one in Michigan, but had too much going on at work to do the dance. I looked at B430s in NY, Australia, and Tahiti. Basically they're all beat. Lots of work including replacing wet decks. I love the B430. But it's like loving blondes who frequent bars. I should say blondes that have been frequenting bars for more years than they should have. We don't mind doing a lot of refit, but I'm not paying $60k for a boat that is a year from the fiberglas graveyard at the marina.

I found a Jeanneau 12.5 at a great price. Photos of engine and such looked like it had sunk. Broker friend told me the current owner had bought it for less than half asking price two years ago "but did a lot of work." Yeah, I could tell from the old photos- he ran a sander. But even that boat sold fast.

Found a few Jeanneau 37, but I wonder if one can even lie down in the cockpit. And I already have read the forward berth is short.

So I dunno. Out of 100,000 boats on Yachtworld, narrow down a few things we want and the sum comes to zero.

The old C30TR now sits in a barn. Not only is it winterized, it is ready to launch after winter. And I can't find a damned upgrade at a reasonable price. It's now I appreciate how high the C30 set the bar.
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Old 10-12-2016, 07:42   #2
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Have you considered the Oday 39? I have a friend in Wisconsin with one and he and his gang love the boat. Double aft cabins and a fairly large forward V berth. No walk through transom. Prices are usually quite reasonable.
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Old 10-12-2016, 08:17   #3
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

I can only say that I disliked Pullman offset berths terribly. Much worse than a V berth getting in and out of. So , as will all things "boating", it's a compromise. Stuffy aft berth/cabin? V berth with fresh air and able to hear what's going on?, Pullman where you bang your head and have to crawl over your partner to get out?
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Old 10-12-2016, 08:36   #4
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Irwin over 40ft
I visited an irwin 43 center cockpit and it was huge. Have read that the larger irwins were constructed better than smaller. (Sure there's more owner opinions !) Look at the beam ! .
Where do you want this 'new" boat to be located ? Maybe someone will see something.
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Old 10-12-2016, 08:54   #5
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Are you aware that the Catalina 42 came with at least three different layouts? One had a walk around V berth, with two aft cabins. Unfortunately, that also required the Euro-style galley to starboard, while the much better layout had the port aft galley, but only one aft cabin. Darn. The older C42s also had a lot more wood down below. Our 1986 C34 is like your C30, I love the wood. Others call it a cave. I respectfully disagree. Your boat, your choice.
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Old 10-12-2016, 09:31   #6
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Kinda sounds like your looking for a $125,000 boat for $60,0000?
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Old 10-12-2016, 09:55   #7
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

If I were in the market for a boat of that size, I'd look at Sabres in the 38 to 42 ft range. Even if that means a slightly older boat, the improved build quality will compensate. And you'll have lots, and I mean lots, of teak in the cabin.
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Old 10-12-2016, 10:15   #8
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

What I got from the original post is that someone learned nothing in 22 years. They got a boat they thought was crap and liked it for all those years. Yet now can not make the same jump.
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Old 10-12-2016, 10:29   #9
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Geez. Tetepare, Are you a writer ? TMI- too much info.
Tetepare wants a bigger boat for ALL those people.What could he have learned in 22yrs ? Something about a bigger boat or how to keep all those people off his boat ? Still say Irwin 42 or bigger.
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Old 10-12-2016, 11:07   #10
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

You want the wood? You want bulletproof? You want comfort? You want a good price? Find a good Pearson 42 ketch or the 422 mid- cockpit .
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Old 10-12-2016, 12:47   #11
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Stop being reasonable, it's only aggravating you. Get the boat you like! Hang the cost...how about a nice older Swan, or Moody or best of all an Oyster! Spend the money, go in debt whatever..you know you will be happier..Then give the C30 to the kids which will keep them off your boat:-)
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Old 10-12-2016, 12:49   #12
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Quote:
Originally Posted by sailorboy1 View Post
What I got from the original post is that someone learned nothing in 22 years. They got a boat they thought was crap and liked it for all those years. Yet now can not make the same jump.
Dang it Don, put your pants on.
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Old 10-12-2016, 14:36   #13
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Lahr View Post
You want the wood? You want bulletproof? You want comfort? You want a good price? Find a good Pearson 42 ketch or the 422 mid- cockpit .
We did ecactly that. We really liked our '89 Catalina 30 TRBS but it was too small to live on so we purchased the Pearson 424 and love it.
It really doesn't fit much of the PO's requirements though. It has a more spacious v-berth, but not walk arround(how do you keep a pillow on the bed at night?). The 424 only has one private aft berth(a double that isn't stuffed under the cockpit) but does have two additional berths in the solon. There is an ample amount of interior teak, some laminated but most solid including the four doors.
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Old 10-12-2016, 15:45   #14
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

Tetepare,

Have you considered an Adams Naut 40? It has a Pullman double forward, with a hatch well placed for ventilation, and two doubles aft; aft head, U-shaped galley, nav station amidships, encapsulated lead keel, saildrive, so not a boat we would have selected, but not necessarily deal breakers for someone else. Not sure about current prices or availability.

I was thinking perhaps you could add a fan to your forepeak, that'd help with the ventilation; and "V berth yoga" helps keep you supple, too, you know. You save a whole lot of money by keeping your existing boat, and getting creative about how to improve her. I'm, wondering if you're really looking for a $200,000 boat, and are up against the old champagne tastes vs. beer income problem.

Take a really hard look at whether you should expect the guests you'd like to have, because what we found was that the kids had their own interests; they had jobs that limited the time they could visit, and had things they wanted to do that didn't include the costs of international travel to come visit. The result for us was that Jim's two kids and families have come to see us once, his son, twice; and my daughter and her family did, once; and neither of my sons and their families. So, while we enjoy the space we have on this boat, and her sailing characteristics, one of our main reasons for buying her turned out to be invalid.

Ann
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Old 10-12-2016, 17:29   #15
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Re: Moving "up" from a @#&*% Catalina 30

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Originally Posted by Calif.Ted View Post
Kinda sounds like your looking for a $125,000 boat for $60,0000?

Thanks for the many useful thoughts from the useful people. Ted, I think you hit is spot on.

There are plenty of great 70s and early 80s boats w/o the step-through/ swim platform, but we spend so much time in and out of the water and in and out of the dinghy that an open transom is must.

I like the more solid construction and real-wood interiors, so that's pretty much narrowed it down to roughly 1987-1998ish.

Problem is the C30 is a tough boat to move up from. Lots of space, easy to work on. There's a Sunbeam 39 on YB, but I know almost nothing about them and can't find much info.
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