Who knows? Catalina 42 MkII Sailing performance

[Aprilmu]

We are in the market for a new (used!) boat in the 38 - 42' range. We (just 2 of us) cruise the Chesapeake and, likely (as much as I would LOVE to!), won't be going outside, venturing to the islands any time soon. So, we're seeking something practical for the Bay; roomy enough to comfortably bring friends along relatively frequently; and, can offer some fun sailing! We had an Ericson 34 in the past... what FUN!! Honestly, other than the racing J-boats, not a whole lot passed us... not that we really noticed or anything. Anyway, back to my question... can anyone offer *unbiased* (well, sort of) thoughts on the sailing performance of a Catalina 42 (circa ~'99) vs a Beneteau Oceanis 400 (circa ~'93) vs maybe a Tartan 412 ('90) vs a Sabre 40 - 42 (a little concerned about deck crazing with the Sabres)...? Any thoughts are welcome!!

Thanks in advance...

[Cotemar]

I do not know about all the other boats, but we had a year 2000 Catalina 380 with a roller furling main sail that was sweet. We owned her for 5 years and had a ball. Had guest onboard all the time.

It had davits for our dingy and we had a Honda 2000 to charge the batteries.

Very easy boat to sail and maintain.

[ohdrinkboy]

i've day sailed multiple times on the lower chesapeake in a catalina 42. fun boat. easy to daysail with 7 people on board. plenty of room.

in my opinion catalina and beneteau are roughly the same as far as quality. the designs are different. so i would say go with your preference between euro and american.

[Aprilmu]

Nice to hear you enjoyed your 42, ohdrinkboy! Can anyone compare the sailing performance of the Cat 42 w/any other vessel? Just curious...

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Aprilmu

Nice to hear you enjoyed your 42, ohdrinkboy! Can anyone compare the sailing performance of the Cat 42 w/any other vessel? Just curious...

Have a look at the PHRF ratings for the boats in question. They will give you an objective evaluation of the relative performance, without any "owner bias" to sway things.
IF you are not familiar with this rating system, it is based on statistical analysis of the results of hundreds of races... nothing to do with measuring the boat, just a compilation of how fast the particular design has been in real races. Obviously not perfectly accurate, but IME a reasonable means of evaluating performance of a lot of different boats in the real world.

Cheers,

Jim

[Aprilmu]

Hi Jim... Thanks for the info on PHRF ratings. We were wondering if they would give us a reasonable idea of performance of various boats. I'll continue down that route...

Tasmania?? How long have you been cruising?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Aprilmu

Hi Jim... Thanks for the info on PHRF ratings. We were wondering if they would give us a reasonable idea of performance of various boats. I'll continue down that route...

Tasmania?? How long have you been cruising?

Yes, Tasmania! One of our all time favorite places, and we have been cruising full time since 1986.

Cheers,

Jim

[Aprilmu]

Jim... Oh my! Do you realize you've been out there almost 30 years??!! Your family and friends may be looking for you... ;-) Oh! Maybe that's the point....

Envious... I think...

[psk125]

We pass Catalina 42's (PHRF 105 to 95 depending upon configuration) to leeward when we're not racing our J/36, (PHRF 84) so don't expect high performance. The people aboard them seem to be having a fine time not worrying about how fast they're going - or not going.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by psk125

We pass Catalina 42's (PHRF 105 to 95 depending upon configuration) to leeward when we're not racing our J/36, (PHRF 84) so don't expect high performance. The people aboard them seem to be having a fine time not worrying about how fast they're going - or not going.

Smooth.

[Davelrb75]

We own a 99 catalina 42 and while I wouldn't compare it to a J boat I would say its a forgiving boat that is comparatively easy to get to sail to its rating. If your goal is mainly cruising with friends and family with the occasional club race thrown in you will be happy, as you would be happy wih a bene or jeaneau. I opted for the catalina because I wanted a lead keel as tell as a yannmar motor and generally just like the more conservative lines.

What is difficult to put a value to is the level of support catalina gives all of its boat owners. Have a question? Call up catalina and they will answer it. Need a part? They have it or I is where to get it.

Regards,
Dave
S/V Scappare

[Aprilmu]

Originally Posted by psk125

We pass Catalina 42's (PHRF 105 to 95 depending upon configuration) to leeward when we're not racing our J/36, (PHRF 84) so don't expect high performance. The people aboard them seem to be having a fine time not worrying about how fast they're going - or not going.

Thanks! I was surprised to read that the Catalina 42's PHRF rating was lower than our 1989 Ericson 34 (~129) and we had tons 'o fun sailing her. And, "... having a fine time not worrying..." ... isn't that what it's all about regardless? I would expect not much in the way of cruising sailboats would pass a J boat anyway?

[Aprilmu]

Originally Posted by Davelrb75

We own a 99 catalina 42 and while I wouldn't compare it to a J boat I would say its a forgiving boat that is comparatively easy to get to sail to its rating. If your goal is mainly cruising with friends and family with the occasional club race thrown in you will be happy, as you would be happy wih a bene or jeaneau. I opted for the catalina because I wanted a lead keel as tell as a yannmar motor and generally just like the more conservative lines.

What is difficult to put a value to is the level of support catalina gives all of its boat owners. Have a question? Call up catalina and they will answer it. Need a part? They have it or I is where to get it.

Regards,
Dave
S/V Scappare

Dave,

Thanks for your comments! That's great info...! The 42 that we just saw was a '99... a very nice, comfortable boat.

Question for you... have you had problems with water leaking onto the cabin sole in front of the fridge? There is some water damage on the sole in a couple of places.

Kind regards,
April

[Davelrb75]

The water damage in front of the fridge is a known issue associated with condensation on the fridge door. This can be especially bad as the seals age as the cool air can leak a bit. Catalina makes an upgraded door (more insulation) that solves this problem for (as I recall) a couple hundred bucks. Often just replacing the door seals solves the problem depending on environmental variables.

Check out the catalina 42 owners association (google it). Loads and loads of very helpful info.

Regards
Dave

[Paul L]

PHRF rating is a good way to get a feel for the performance of the boats you are looking at. Especially in protected waters of the Chesapeake.
Catalina 42 PHRF: 102 (with at least one configuration of 147)
Beneteau Oceanis 400 PHRF: 135
Tartan 412 PHRF: 96
Sabre 40 - 42 PHRF: 87-198
http://offshore.ussailing.org/Assets...+Handicaps.pdf