Advice on a Catalina 27

[Cheechako]

I think that price is on the high side for a C27 even without any deck leak issues and a diesel engine. I almost bought one 3 years ago with a yanmar diesel. The seller was moving to Kansas. He was asking $3500. The boat had no deck swelling etc. but he said he found out there was some delam in the deck according to the yard. There was no visible issue. I didn't buy it, he gave it away free just before he moved. Which is unusual, but just saying he had it for sale for a long time at $4500, then went to $3500.. then...

[Tetepare]

No matter the source of damage at the pushpit, with a Catalina that age there is a very high probability that most or all deck fittings leak. This is no different than most boats.

On the Catalinas the deck is wood. So is the toerail under the glas. Plan to remove and rebed everything. If the hatches don't leak today, they will next year. Neither job is expensive, just time consuming.

[maplemale]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

No matter the source of damage at the pushpit, with a Catalina that age there is a very high probability that most or all deck fittings leak. This is no different than most boats.

On the Catalinas the deck is wood. So is the toerail under the glas. Plan to remove and rebed everything. If the hatches don't leak today, they will next year. Neither job is expensive, just time consuming.

Likely or not -- they don't. Seems a little extreme for something that has no signs of leaking except near this one damaged area. Keep in mind I did the self-survey during a 6 day rain storm.

[hsi88]

For a toy, they are fine, but they can turn and bite you (as any boat can) if you over-press them. My dislike of them stems in large part from the fact that they turn and bite you without warning. "Pitbull of the seas" - docile one moment, snarly the next.

Cat 27 - Pitbull of the seas? Really? I own one. Easy boat to single hand. Nothing snarly about them at all. They take wind and wave with the best of them. It has a tendency to round up if I get careless and can be a pain to get back into the wind. But no big deal.

Mine is soft up front as well, but dry. Most of the problem caused by a leaking hawse pipe, now since fixed. Took a long while to control all the leaks including chain plates, genoa track, and around the companionway. Mast leak as well that took some time to find. Only soft spot is up front and with time being dry, it has stiffened up. PO tried filling with epoxy and ended up making a mess. I might redo this as I have had very good luck with thinned epoxy on other boats. But TBH it doesn't bother me much. Rainwater still finds its way to the bilge. Have never seen an older Cat with a bone dry bilge.

The 27 is a nice boat. Lots of room, standing head room, large cockpit, and easy to sail. I have an outboard on mine which moves it along very nicely. In the Chesapeake area, these are basically give away boats. Plenty of 70's boats in decent shape for $2K to $3K around here. Just follow eBay and Craigslist. A little more with a running diesel or 80's vintage. Popular boat. We have close to a dozen 27's at my marina. I have one on either side of me and two across from me. Excellent first boat. You will enjoy owning one. Everyone loves theirs.

As others have mentioned the one you are looking at seems a little pricey. At least when compared to around here. I'd be happy to get a grand for mine! But the 27 you picked out is nice and clean inside and looks good with the dark hull. Buying this boat will save you lots of time cleaning up a lesser boat. A pain I wish I could have avoided. Plus I like the double quarter births. Nice for extra storage and way nicer than "dumpster diving" to use the deep alternative lazarette storage mine has.

If you like the boat you found, buy it. Its not a crazy amount of money. You won't be risking your future buying a boat for less than $10K. Ownership costs for a boat of 27 feet is cheap compared to a boat only 10 feet longer. Slip fees, sails, rigging, painting, all considerably more affordable. Buy the boat and enjoy!

[GrowleyMonster]

The diesel is a plus. Atomic parts? You have a Universal diesel. Pretty rugged little motors, nothing special. 900 hours is not bad if it was maintained properly.

Suck out the bilge with a shop vac and come back in a week. See if she is making water or not. Actually I would be surprised if you still had a dry bilge 24hrs later, especially after a good rain. It is of a certain age, after all.

The repair up forward could certainly cost a grand, for someone else to do. Half that if you are lucky and the damage is not extensive, and you don't care if it looks bristol.

There are Catalina 27s available in certain areas for way less. Don't be in a hurry to buy this boat, not for $9k anyway. If it was immaculate it could easily go for $12k, but alass this one isn't. Myself, I would offer maybe $5k and see what he says. If someone else snaps it up for the asking price before he gets desperate, no big loss. Never be in a hurry to buy a boat. And never fall in love with a boat that someone is trying to sell to you. I get the feeling you are a tiny bit under both of those deadly spells.

There are a lot of plusses to buying a mass produced boat like this. Huge user base, organized owner groups, lots of spares and aftermarket upgrades or add ons, and stuff. I find they sail okay, easy to rig for single handing. First haulout, you will know if you have the dreaded smile or not. And whether you should bother upgrading the rig for offshore, or keep her in skinny water.

SLEEPS SIX! Yeah, check out sailboat brochures from the 70's and 80's. They are a joke, once you have lived on one single, let alone with a boat bunny sharing the accomodations. As another poster said, these boats were made for a certain market, as if designed partly by the marketing department. That they actually sail decently is IMHO simply a happy accident. I currently own the similar Cal 2-27 and it is noticeably more spacious down below. I lived for a while on a Catalina 27 and I didn't like the vee berth setup. For just day sailing though, who cares?

[Sailuke]

I just recently bought a 1986 catalina 27. lots of problems with the deck hardware. basically, everything on the deck (cleats, chainplates) has to be ripped up because Catalina used bathroom silicone to seal the holes. Id highly suggest checking on that.

I installed a check valve in my bilge pump to prevent water from coming back in. Got the rest with a sponge and my bilge is dry as anything!

As for the "Atomic Diesel", I was under the impression that was the name of the Universal 5411 diesel that was used in Catalina 27s before the M-18

Just google 'Universal atomic diesel' and the 5411 will pop up.

[maplemale]

Well... I was going to walk away cause owner wouldn't go lower than $8500. He finally agreed to $7500... so looks like I'm buying it. I'm going over one more time tomorrow to further check all deck hardware etc - something I didn't do a great job of last time cause of the insane rain.



Yes, Universal 5411. Funny... that's the same motor as my family tractor! A little Kubota B5100! Haha! I probably put 4k hours on that thing when I was a kid. Maybe more. We sold it in the early 2000s with over 10,000 hours on it. That was a bulletproof little engine which took many years of abuse!



TractorData.com Kubota B5100 tractor engine information