advice on first boat

[Nat]

hey everyone. looking for little friendly advice or info. looking into purchace of small good value live aboard. will probably be moored up most of year and cruised for maybe 2 months out of 12. used predominantly in med and suitable for husband and wife.
have seen catalac 8 in few ads which looks promising but each time reply boats already sold. so still not viewed one as yet. does anyone know standing height in hulls or dementions of double berth? any info apprieciated. thanks

[Hud3]

Hi, Nat.

Welcome! There are some Catalac owners on the Forum, so I'm sure you'll be hearing from them. In the meantime, here's a good search engine, specific to CF -- Cruisers & Sailing Forum

Good luck finding a boat!

[Nat]

thanks for the reply Hud will check that out.

[Tropic Cat]

Standing head room in the hulls is 6' 5" (195.6 cm). Most European boats have a doghouse over the saloon.

Catalacs sell pretty fast when they come on the market on this side of the pond. When I looked at yachtworld this morning there doesn't seem to be many 8m's for sale anywhere right now.

I was working on my boat over the weekend ....... you know, that wonderful bilge work we all look forward to.

So, there I am wrestling with a corroded gate valve on a through hull and not one... (count them) two different guys stop by to chat to see if my boat was for sale.... and another couple stopped by just to say hello because they studied my website.

I must have made a great impression covered in bilge grime. And the project took an additional hour or two.

Check my website for specifications and brochures on all Catalac models. The Link is in my signature below.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Nat,
Welcome aboard! I can't help you with your quest for Catalac information. Sorry. This is just a welcome and hope that you can find your liveaboard. I humbly submit that I prefer monohulls, 32-36 feet LOD, cutter rigged, aft cockpit, diesel engine and made of fiberglass.
Happy hunting.
Kind regards,
JohnL

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by rickm505

So, there I am wrestling with a corroded gate valve on a through hull .

A Gate Valve - for goodness sake Rick get rid of those darn things, they have no business being on a yacht for a through hull.

They only need a little bit of crud and you cant shut them completely anymore, and shortly afterwards they jam in either the open or the semi shut position - normallly whichever is the most inconvenient. Furthermore it is impossible to know if it is shut or open.

Get a proper bronze ball valve. Not a cheap gunmetal "substitute". These will last . They dont jam as easily, they shut completely, and they show you easily if they are open or shut.

[Tropic Cat]

Yeah, I know that..... but.... like most people I'm guilty of taking the path of least resistance. The fastest replacement was another gate valve. These days it would seem that the slower the economy the harder I'm working and there's less time for boat projects. Hence the shortcuts.

In other words.... I'm guilty as charged..

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by rickm505

In other words.... I'm guilty as charged..