Catalina or Hunter

[h20]

Originally Posted by CruisingCouple

h20 - I just saw this. My wife LOVES to sail. She's the captain. With her onboard I have never needed an autopilot because she has to be driving the boat. One of her favorite things is to see just how high she can get it to point and if she can get the tail on the windex inside the flags and the boat still goes her day is made

Thats really cool, inspired mine a little!
Where can one park a car the the Keys?

[CruisingCouple]

h20 - I have heard of few women that don't like to sail after they learn about it some. It would be good if your wife takes lessons with you so she knows what's going on. The more she knows about it, the more likely she is to fall in love with it. If your wife is like mine, and would rather be at the helm, then have her do that. It gives her confidence that she's in command of the vessel. Before you know it she'll start issuing orders on how she wants the sails trimmed, and when you have the helm she'll be watching the telltales and start trimming the boat on her own.

On the other hand if you only take lessons and take your wife out to "show her how it's done" you may end up less successful with getting your wife really interested. I have heard of a few guys that take their wife out with the boat over-canvassed on the first day and run with the rail on the water. That tends to scare the wife and then she doesn't like it and it's hard to get her back on a sailboat. So my advice is to make her part of it right from the start. Ultimately, the two of you have to end up as a coordinated crew anyway.

I don't know about parking a car in the keys. There has to be places.

[h20]

well looks like thread is burned out,
But anybody comes back, I am now
getting a survey on a 30ft Catalina!
Knock on wood!
Thanks all and Happy new year!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by h20

well looks like thread is burned out,
But anybody comes back, I am now
getting a survey on a 30ft Catalina!
Knock on wood!
Thanks all and Happy new year!

What year Catalina 30? They each had their problems. Hopefully it's a 1986 or newer..........

Do a search on google for the Catalina 30 and you should be able to find a site that describes the progression of this boat over the years.

[CruisingCouple]

Originally Posted by thomm225

What year Catalina 30? They each had their problems. Hopefully it's a 1986 or newer..........

Some friends of our have a 76 Catalina 30. We've sailed it with them before and I think it's a pretty nice boat. It seems a little short on rudder though if you really push it. Lots of weather helm and if you push it too hard it rounds up pretty early and quick.

Overall seems to be a pretty forgiving boat, pretty stable, lot of room in it, and I think it would make a good "starter boat". I'd say that if it gets a good survey, it's one of the most popular boats ever built and you can't really go wrong.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by CruisingCouple

Some friends of our have a 76 Catalina 30. We've sailed it with them before and I think it's a pretty nice boat. It seems a little short on rudder though if you really push it. Lots of weather helm and if you push it too hard it rounds up pretty early and quick.

Overall seems to be a pretty forgiving boat, pretty stable, lot of room in it, and I think it would make a good "starter boat". I'd say that if it gets a good survey, it's one of the most popular boats ever built and you can't really go wrong.

Actually you can go wrong with an older Catalina 30 which is why they kept changing it. I think those had the weak chain plates.

1975-1986 is a Mark I Catalina 30 that had problems with the deck step mast, and the Catalina Smile which is where the keel would drop down some. Also, it uses gate valves and not proper seacocks that some folks don't like.

The 1986 model, the mark II, didn't have these problems except for the gate valves . Also I believe the '86 had the T cockpit so you'd have room to get around the wheel helm etc.

The mark III has the open stern if I remember correctly. There is a site some place that goes over all these upgrades.

[h20]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Actually you can go wrong with an older Catalina 30 which is why they kept changing it. I think those had the weak chain plates.

1975-1986 is a Mark I Catalina 30 that had problems with the deck step mast, and the Catalina Smile which is where the keel would drop down some. Also, it uses gate valves and not proper seacocks that some folks don't like.

The 1986 model, the mark II, didn't have these problems except for the gate valves . Also I believe the '86 had the T cockpit so you'd have room to get around the wheel helm etc.

The mark III has the open stern if I remember correctly. There is a site some place that goes over all these upgrades.

Thanks for asking!
here she is:
1988 Catalina 30-T sailboat for sale in Florida

[h20]

Hey what does it cost to install an auto pilot?

[CruisingCouple]

Originally Posted by h20

Hey what does it cost to install an auto pilot?

About 400-500 bucks on a tiller boat. A wheel boat will be 1500+

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by h20

Thanks for asking!
here she is:
1988 Catalina 30-T sailboat for sale in Florida

Great looking boat, but it has one of those short wing keels...........

Here's the speed difference using the New England PHRF Page:

CATALINA 30 180 (normal)

CATALINA 30 TM174 (tall mast)

CATALINA 30 TM/BS168 (tall mast/ bow sprit)

CATALINA 30 WK189 (wing keel)

[JK n Smitty]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Great looking boat, but it has one of those short wing keels...........

Here's the speed difference using the New England PHRF Page:

CATALINA 30 180 (normal)

CATALINA 30 TM174 (tall mast)

CATALINA 30 TM/BS168 (tall mast/ bow sprit)

CATALINA 30 WK189 (wing keel)

Why would that matter for a cruiser? Isn't the rating on your Bristol near 250?

[CruisingCouple]

thomm225 - not everybody is interested in racing and the Catalina 30 is not exactly a speed demon in the first place. For h20's benefit it should be noted that for cruising and anchorages in shallow water there's absolutely nothing wrong with those wing keels. Sure, the boat might not point quite as good as with a fin keel. But it's highly unlikely that someone with limited sailing experience is going to be able to tell the difference.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by JK n Smitty

Why would that matter for a cruiser? Isn't the rating on your Bristol near 250?

Ha, what does the Bristol's rating have to do with anything? Btw these were the last boats I raced in Pensacola. Care to guess their rating: (the NACRA F-17 can hit around 23 knots)

Sweden Racing Nacra 17 Flight Control - YouTube

and before that it was this:

Nacra 6.0 sailing catamaran - The best of - YouTube

and before that:

Hobie 16 Catamaran Just Send It - YouTube

Tom
VA Beach

[thomm225]

Hey H20,

Here's a good starter boat:

Performance Catamaran Sailing Viper F16 - YouTube

And if sailing get's old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKBb0O2NIvc

Tom

[thomm225]

Also, I like the red workboat for offshore work, and the racing sailboat with the right crew and circumstances. Leave it to the racers to keep the hammer down in any conditions: (Hope Sandavol on vocals)

STORMS