Catalina 36

[Barpilot]

Hello Everyone:
From the posts I have read here, there seems to be alot of useful info.
Background on me and my current boat. I have a '99 Cataling 36 MKII. Tall rig, wing keel, all current nav and electronics. Purchased new after sailing a '87 Pearson 31 for 12 years.
I know the Catalina is a production PWB (plain white boat) but I love it and is very easy for me to single hand and with one crew is really easy. I have been sailing since I was 7 and am 60 now. Grew up on San Francisco Bay. Both father and grandfather were ship captains and later San Francisco Bar pilots. Never appealed to me when I was young. I currently sail out of Bayfield, WI on Lake Superior (the Great Lake).
My plans are to take this boat south. Bahamas, Caribbean, and live aboard. Everyone tells me that my boat is "not" a cruising boat. They think I should buy an Island Packet, Hans Christian, etc. etc. Well, the fact is my boat is paid for and I still have money to put into the boat for additional cruising gear. The way I see it, if charter companies can use those fool Hunters and Beneatueu's in their charter fleets, the Catalina couldn't be too bad of a choice. I could afford to buy an older "cruising veteran", say 10 years old. Rebuild all the systems for God knows how much and then, two years later have a 12 year old boat that still may have hidden problems. Not sure I like the choice. I would love to hear from anyone who has thoughts on my boat and my planned cruising venue.
Thanks.

JohnW

[GordMay]

Barpilot:
While I don't really know your boat, I do know your Lake (Superior).
The Apostles are a wonderful cruising ground, and if you've ever been to Isle Royal or the Canadian shoreline (my home waters) - then you've tested the boat to any reasonable conditions you should expect to encounter in the Caribbean.
I agree wholeheartedly with your described philosophy! We did much the same in 1992 (returning to Thunder Bay for Xmas 2000). When do you intend to begin your trek South?
Best luck on your "Southbound" voyage.
Gord

[Barpilot]

Hi Gord:
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have been all over the Great Lakes, especially Superior. Been to Isle Royal dozens of times, the Slates, etc. Great sailing and country.
I'm thinking about a 2-year plan. Gives me time to beef up electrical systems, wind generator, solar panels, etc. The rigging is pretty much complete. I was just at Strickly Sail in Chicago and got a set of Garhauer adjustable cars. Sure will make adjustments a lot easier. You can do it under load. I'm considering a water maker but space and weight are at a premium.
I'm looking at an innerspring mattress for the forward cabin. Pricey but the comfort is worth the expense. 5" cushions just don't do it for me for extended periods.
As I mentioned, I have all integrated Raymarine electronics with repeaters below. All my instruments, including remote VHF are at the helm using a Navpod system. Works great to have all that where you need it. Also have to add SSB. Also need a license if I want to use it for free email. The option is to use a fee service. Have to see what happens.
I would like to have extra fuel tank. I only have 25 gal. capacity now. Water is 88 gal. Small holding tank but I can live with that.
I'm going to have some custom cabinetry added to the aft stateroom.
I would like to be able to be independent for at least 30 days without having to re-provision, etc. When you get some place that you like, who wants to go back and re-stock?
More later. Thanks again.

JohnW

[BobnCamie]

Barpilot,where do you call home port. We are based out of Superior,Wi. Just interested, as we(the real boss) and I are planning basically same trip next summer. Providing our home sells. If not by June, will sail Superior this year,too. Just wondering,looking for another to kick around with. Let me know. Bob

[Stu Jackson]

John, are you familiar with the C36 Assoc. website? If not, you should be. Catalina 36/375 International Association | "It's always nice when there is a support network for used boat buyers and Catalina 36 has one of the best" (Boat US), join the forum.

Great boat.

30 days? That's a no brainer. One skipper took his Mark II from FL up thew ICW to MA and back.

If you're gonna be in the Bahamas, water may be an issue. One of our C34 guys tooks his C34 from Vancouver BC to Mexico, had a watermaker and loved the trip with his family.

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5270.0.html

You need to do some serious C34 and C36 forum reading to find out you already HAVE the right boat.

Good luck.

[Barpilot]

Originally Posted by BobnCamie

Barpilot,where do you call home port. We are based out of Superior,Wi. Just interested, as we(the real boss) and I are planning basically same trip next summer. Providing our home sells. If not by June, will sail Superior this year,too. Just wondering,looking for another to kick around with. Let me know. Bob

Bob:

You must be at Barkers Island. For years (25 with 2 different boats) we were at Port Superior in Bayfield. For the first time in all those years, we will be at Washburn this year. Long story, but the reality is that while we were gone things changed at Port Superior. We still have tons of great friends there but felt we just needed a change. We also have lots of friends in Washburn. The marina manager there used used to be the manager at Port.
Anyway, Leprechaun is for sale. Trying to sell her on our own if we can. She is totally rigged for long range cruising and living aboard. She is a 1999 that we purchased new but the list of upgrades that we have added over the years is endless. Never recover the entire thing. It's like putting a pool in your house and then expecting someone to appreciate it.
I just celebrated my 71st birthday yesterday. That means that I have owned a sailboat for every day of my life for 64 years. Just when I'm beginning to get the hang of it, I've decided to sell and get a trawler. I'll always be a sailor at heart but the wife and I want to enjoy some of the ammenities that a trawler has to offer. We have done half the "Loop" as part of the 4 plus year cruise we took. Now we would like to finish the other half of it at the same pace as we previously enjoyed. We would like some of the convenience of a centerline queen berth plus my wife is looking forward to the day when she doesn't have to dumpster dive in the reefer.
If you want to know more or if we can give you any information, please contact us at sv_leprechaun@yahoo.com. FTI, that is an underscore after the sv.
Have a great day.
John & Cheryl Wilson
Leprechaun

[svseachange]

Sounds like a great cruising boat, John. As you know the Catalina 36 is a fine boat to take to the Bahamas. Someone is going to get a nice boat.

Bob, we left Barkers Island in May 2013 and are currently in the Bahamas enroute to Panama. The Barkers Island crew was good to us and I am sure they will treat you right as well. Let me know if you have questions about the trip.

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk

[BobnCamie]

Barpilot, I completely understand your thoughts of a trawler, wish I could afford one. Selling my motor cruiser, a 25' four Winns vista. If my wife knew how much I enjoyed that boat, she would burn it as the reason of my sometimes vacant stares. What she don't know won't hurt me, I hope. Oh yeah, she reads this,too. You are correct, we are at Barkers Island. Eric and Scott are the best, I have not meet the rest of the crew, we just bought our sailboat from John last Oct. I will test their patience to the breaking point this spring. So far, I have absolutely no complaints with them. Am sure it will stay the same.
Shane; been following your blog for awhile now. I cannot thank you enough about your offer for info. I will ask. I do have some, do I send them to you blog? Not wanting to be a real pain, just a small one. I know you walked past our boat quite a few times last year. We bought our S-2 from John there @Barker's. As I stated, when, not if, our place sells, we will be chasing you quite a ways.
Barpilot, I do hope to meet up with you guys. I do know of a good friend looking for a well equipped boat. I will send him the site you gave. His name is Terry, but the real boss of that outfit is Alicia. She will be the deciding factor with them, and please tell them I said that very thing if they call. Just don't believe them when they explain me. They lie a lot.

[svseachange]

Originally Posted by BobnCamie

I will ask. I do have some, do I send them to you blog?

Bob, just sent you a PM with my email address. I am happy to help, this is fun for me and I know getting info on the northern part of the route is hard.

If there is such a thing as an honest broker, I think John might be pretty close. And Eric sometimes needs a reminder or two but the bills are in line with his estimates and he really cares. On your trip you will not find another full service marina that good until you hit the Detroit area.

Good luck selling your house. Most important thing is to keep your partner happy and have her involved in running the boat. Sounds like you are in track there.

[cayennita]

Originally Posted by Barpilot

Hello Everyone:
From the posts I have read here, there seems to be alot of useful info.
Background on me and my current boat. I have a '99 Cataling 36 MKII. Tall rig, wing keel, all current nav and electronics. Purchased new after sailing a '87 Pearson 31 for 12 years.
I know the Catalina is a production PWB (plain white boat) but I love it and is very easy for me to single hand and with one crew is really easy. I have been sailing since I was 7 and am 60 now. Grew up on San Francisco Bay. Both father and grandfather were ship captains and later San Francisco Bar pilots. Never appealed to me when I was young. I currently sail out of Bayfield, WI on Lake Superior (the Great Lake).
My plans are to take this boat south. Bahamas, Caribbean, and live aboard. Everyone tells me that my boat is "not" a cruising boat. They think I should buy an Island Packet, Hans Christian, etc. etc. Well, the fact is my boat is paid for and I still have money to put into the boat for additional cruising gear. The way I see it, if charter companies can use those fool Hunters and Beneatueu's in their charter fleets, the Catalina couldn't be too bad of a choice. I could afford to buy an older "cruising veteran", say 10 years old. Rebuild all the systems for God knows how much and then, two years later have a 12 year old boat that still may have hidden problems. Not sure I like the choice. I would love to hear from anyone who has thoughts on my boat and my planned cruising venue.
Thanks.

JohnW

Right now, here in St. Croix, we have a Catalina 27, 30, 34, 36. All of them were sailed here. Some will continue east and then south down the islands. I saw some in Trinidad and Venezuela. I have sailed down from Annapolis un a Hunter 35 and a J 36. Both of them at the edge of a hurricane. A wave came on board from the rear and the Hunter with the open stern, the water was gone fast. In a Hans Christian we took a similar wave and took for ever for the water to run out.
There are many ways to get here from there. You take your time and do your weather study. Personally I am from the school, that if there is no hurricane, I can go.

[scuba0_1]

Find the Catalina owners forum. You will get good info there.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[scgilligan]

Good shelf life on this post. Original from 2004, then revived in 2014 when he mentioned his boat is for sale..now again in 2016. I wonder if the original poster is still here and where in the world he is floating right now? Trawler? Sail? Seems like he is maybe 80-ish by now.

[BobnCamie]

I read the post about your 36' Catalina and the people saying you need a IP or other "blue water"boats. In all honesty, tell them to get off the damn dock and shut up. My last post here was a couple years ago, since then we took our 30' S-2 CC across Lake Superior,down Lake Michigan to Chicago through the Ill. waterway to the rivers and ended in Mobile. Spent. Couple weeks there putting on a barrier coat(horrible job) then took Eclipse across the gulf to Marathon, hung around there awhile, then on to Bahamas. Spent 6 months in Exumas then back to west coast of Fl. and put Eclipse on the hard at Port Charolotte. I write all this to show you most any boat can do it if you have the desire. Do not listen to the "dock warriors", I honestly feel they are just jealous, or afraid. I had many tell me I needed radar. Why I would ask. Response was so you can see what is ahead. Fog was an issue on 2 occasions only. The night crossings were done safely. Only 2 in that category. Others said I needed AIS. Why? My main concern with "seeing" other boats we of the smaller go fast boys out there, and they don't have AIS,anyway. My recommendation to you is buy a great anchor, have all your rigging in top shape,a good GPS/chart plotter, a back-up also. Perhaps a personal epirb. Also, you will need a good dinghy and motor. Go have fun, leave all the dock warriors on the dock. As close as we could tell, we did roughly 5500 miles in the last 19 months, and we cannot wait to go back and explore some more. Family needs forced us back to Mn.,but as soon as possible, we will take our 30' boat and go again. As you said, the boat is paid for, and as long as you keep her up to standards, and your desire is still strong, you will see as much of the world as you want. By the way, we saw many,many Catalinas out there. More Bene's, but they were French Canadians, so that answers that question. Our 1984 S-2 did the same thing as the bigger,more expensive boats did, but we may have been somewhat slower, what with out 13 h.p. yanmar. Go do it and I hope to meet up with you in Bahamas next year or so. Sand Dollar beach in Georgetown is best place to find me if we are in port.

[cayennita]

Originally Posted by BobnCamie

I read the post about your 36' Catalina and the people saying you need a IP or other "blue water"boats. In all honesty, tell them to get off the damn dock and shut up. My last post here was a couple years ago, since then we took our 30' S-2 CC across Lake Superior,down Lake Michigan to Chicago through the Ill. waterway to the rivers and ended in Mobile. Spent. Couple weeks there putting on a barrier coat(horrible job) then took Eclipse across the gulf to Marathon, hung around there awhile, then on to Bahamas. Spent 6 months in Exumas then back to west coast of Fl. and put Eclipse on the hard at Port Charolotte. I write all this to show you most any boat can do it if you have the desire. Do not listen to the "dock warriors", I honestly feel they are just jealous, or afraid. I had many tell me I needed radar. Why I would ask. Response was so you can see what is ahead. Fog was an issue on 2 occasions only. The night crossings were done safely. Only 2 in that category. Others said I needed AIS. Why? My main concern with "seeing" other boats we of the smaller go fast boys out there, and they don't have AIS,anyway. My recommendation to you is buy a great anchor, have all your rigging in top shape,a good GPS/chart plotter, a back-up also. Perhaps a personal epirb. Also, you will need a good dinghy and motor. Go have fun, leave all the dock warriors on the dock. As close as we could tell, we did roughly 5500 miles in the last 19 months, and we cannot wait to go back and explore some more. Family needs forced us back to Mn.,but as soon as possible, we will take our 30' boat and go again. As you said, the boat is paid for, and as long as you keep her up to standards, and your desire is still strong, you will see as much of the world as you want. By the way, we saw many,many Catalinas out there. More Bene's, but they were French Canadians, so that answers that question. Our 1984 S-2 did the same thing as the bigger,more expensive boats did, but we may have been somewhat slower, what with out 13 h.p. yanmar. Go do it and I hope to meet up with you in Bahamas next year or so. Sand Dollar beach in Georgetown is best place to find me if we are in port.

Good for you. In 1986 I bought a brand new Hunter Legend 35. Comissioned in 1987. That boat took me from Marblehead to Halifax abd back. No AIS, no autopilot, small GPS. eventually to Annapolis. Annapolis - Newport race, back to Annapolis. Eventually sailed south to Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, to the Bahamas, Turk and Caicos. Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Croix, BVI. Around the island of Puerto Rico and back to STX. Back to Ft. Lauderdale in 1997 and sold it there and moved to a 51 footer. The Hunter never had an autopilot. Just my wife and I except for the races. No AIS. Just a kitchen timer set to 17 minutes. To wake up in case the driver fell asleep. We have Catalinas here from 27 feet up.

[Capt Phil]

I recognize this OP was asking a question about his Catalina 36 suitability for offshore sailing but thought I'd chime in anyway at this late date.
My experience with Catalinas is on the left coast and on a delivery of a somewhat larger power boat, we received a securite call about 10 miles south of Humbolt Bay but north of Cape Mendocino about 4:00am one morning from a Catalina 30 or 32 requesting assistance. We found the vessel quickly and towed her into Humbolt Bay as the sea was running too high to cross the bar under tow into Noyo River/Fort Bragg.
The deck had delaminated about 8 feet from the bow back on the port side and she was shipping water through the deck and hull seam with every wave.
There was a very frightened young couple aboard from Ventura who had left a few days prior and a big growler had opened up the deck from the hull a few hours previously.
Before leaving on an offshore passage, I would certainly check this out as well as weather along the route.
Catalina's are popular boats, at least on the west coast, but the ocean can be nasty and turn on even the fittest sailor and his vessel. Cheers, Phil