Catalina 470 - the good, the bad, and the ugly?

[Davidhoy]

Seriously considering purchasing a Catalina 470, and have done lots of research already. While no boat is perfect, this one seems a good fit for our needs. Every boat is a series of compromises...

That said, if anyone has direct experience with the C470, I'd love to hear your thoughts, both the good and the bad. I've already communicated with some C470 owners (thanks Dale!), and gotten some great info. Any comments are welcome...

Regards,
David.

[deluxe68]

When we were boat shopping in San Fransisco the broker had a 3 year old 470. The only thing I remember was that the ballast was a bit light for my taste.

[Paul L]

Here's a nice writeup of setting the boat up for a Pacific crossing on our friends Catalina 470 Lady.
https://www.aboardlady.com/aboard_la...-crossing.html

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

When we were boat shopping in San Fransisco the broker had a 3 year old 470. The only thing I remember was that the ballast was a bit light for my taste.

Catalina 470 .......32.71%
Amel sm.............. 34.37%
Outbound 46........35.71%
Amel 50.................28.6%
Beneteau 473........33.6%
Jeanneau 49..........28.89%
Grand Soliel 46......31.43%

Balast displacement ratio for the C470 is fairly normal for modern designed boats. The above list isn't cherry picked, I picked the 6 that come to mind.

Also the ballast is lead which I believe to be a bonus, most aren't, not sure about all on the above list, but I know the Amels and the bees aren't.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Here's a nice writeup of setting the boat up for a Pacific crossing on our friends Catalina 470 Lady.
https://www.aboardlady.com/aboard_la...-crossing.html

Thanks, Paul! That was a very interesting article. The boat I'm looking at today is equipped very much along the lines that these folks set up their boat. Undoubtedly there will be systems that need updating or refreshing, but that's a boat for you... ;-)

[JOALEB]

Can’t find where else to post my question, so here it is: We acquired a C470 last fall and it needs repairs. The previous owner had taken the cabinets in both heads apart and we are trying to figure out if we are missing any parts and how to put them back together again.

Would any C470 owner be generous enough to share photos of their head cabinets, with doors closed and doors opened so that we can see what they are supposed to look like, both inside and out?

Any help anyone can provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks much.

Joane

[GreenWave]

About to make an offer on a Cat 470 this week. Anyone have a top 3 good and bad things about the 470 "list" they care to share?


Also, has anyone had issues with surface gel coat cracks near the aft chain plates?

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

About to make an offer on a Cat 470 this week. Anyone have a top 3 good and bad things about the 470 "list" they care to share?


Also, has anyone had issues with surface gel coat cracks near the aft chain plates?

Bought my C470 in April, and love it. Wife and I now live aboard full time, it's really great for that. Only real complaint is that it has remarkably little storage for a boat of its size, and you have to get very creative in where and how you store things. Our boat came with the captain's chairs in the salon, but they take up way too much room, and further reduce storage. We've gotten rid of those chairs, and in the process of building a bench seat/sofa, with storage underneath. It should also make a great sea berth.

We have not seen any issues with gelcoat cracks around the backstay chainplates.

Regards,
David.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

Bought my C470 in April, and love it. Wife and I now live aboard full time, it's really great for that. Only real complaint is that it has remarkably little storage for a boat of its size, and you have to get very creative in where and how you store things. Our boat came with the captain's chairs in the salon, but they take up way too much room, and further reduce storage. We've gotten rid of those chairs, and in the process of building a bench seat/sofa, with storage underneath. It should also make a great sea berth.

We have not seen any issues with gelcoat cracks around the backstay chainplates.

Regards,
David.

Thanks David.
The one I am looking at has the bench seat where your captains chairs are and has storage underneath. Overall, I would say the storage is adequate. An Island Packet it is not though! Current owner is having the crack checked... it may just be an over tight chain plate bolt.

[tomfl]

I have sailed on smaller Catalinas and my concern would be related to the number of crew members required to sail this boat. I know many fifty footers that can be singlehanded or easily sailed by two peeps. Looks to me like a driver, one person on the foresail sheet, and one person on the mainsail sheet/traveler/Cunningham would be the minimum be needed.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by tomfl

I have sailed on smaller Catalinas and my concern would be related to the number of crew members required to sail this boat. I know many fifty footers that can be singlehanded or easily sailed by two peeps. Looks to me like a driver, one person on the foresail sheet, and one person on the mainsail sheet/traveler/Cunningham would be the minimum be needed.

Thanks for that. Wasn't looking for a boat to single-hand. This one has in-boom furling main and proper winch set up so it could be sailed easily.

[glanrock]

Hello! I am hoping one, or all, of the current owners of the C470 might give us some insights on how you are liking the C470 so far? We are looking hard at purchasing one, the survey is done, as is the sea-trial. I am curious how the folks here, especially the newer buyers, feel about it.


I'm not so interested in someone who does not own one telling me what they heard about them... (nothing personal but I can already get that by scouring the forums which I have done).




We currently own, and are marketing, our 1984 Endeavour 40' which we've owned for about 7 years. We did not invest our fortunes into her, because we wanted to see where this path leads us in terms of doing everything ourselves by sailing, docking, and so on without all the "bells & whistles". Now we are liking what we see and our thoughts are to upgrade with appropriate upgraded equipment over the next few years while we extricate ourselves and go do some coastal cruising and possibly beyond.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by glanrock

Hello! I am hoping one, or all, of the current owners of the C470 might give us some insights on how you are liking the C470 so far? We are looking hard at purchasing one, the survey is done, as is the sea-trial. I am curious how the folks here, especially the newer buyers, feel about it.

We bought a 1999 model in April, and now live aboard. Like any boat, there are good and bad things, every boat is a series of compromises. From my perspective, things are mostly good.

My biggest beef is the limited storage available, especially for live-aboards. You have to get very creative, and there are some "hidden" areas that can be utilized, but access is not that great. The lazarette has tons of space, but requires some thought to organize, and the access hatches (under the helm seats) is quite narrow.

Does the boat you're interested in have the in-mast furler? If so, inspect the bearings as they can wear on the shaft. I just had the mast down to replace all the standing rigging (it was original, 20yrs old), so took the opportunity to do a bunch of other preventative maintenance - replaced all electrical cables in the mast, new LED deck/steaming light, new wind instrument, new VHF antenna and cable, and new radar just above the first spreaders. The furler unit can only be removed for service with the mast down.

The black water tank sensors have never worked for me, so I'm planning on replacing them. The fresh water and fuel sensors seem to work fine, thought the WEMA indicator panel seems to have intermittent issues. Fortunately the company I recently started working for makes tank level sensors (amongst other things), so I should be able to get a good deal on new sensors.

I'll PM you with my email address and phone number, in case you have some specific questions.

Regards,
David

[glanrock]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

We bought a 1999 model in April, and now live aboard. Like any boat, there are good and bad things, every boat is a series of compromises. From my perspective, things are mostly good.

I'll PM you with my email address and phone number, in case you have some specific questions.

Regards,
David

Hi David!

Thank you for the quick response!

We currently own an '84 Endeavour 40, and she is minimally equipped. Just about everything is manual, and we love the boat but she will need time and money to prep to be what we want. So instead we decided to use that money, and get what we want now. We've learned a lot from the Endeavour though, and feel like she got us to want to sail more despite when things go wrong instead of the other way around.

The one we are looking at is 2004 model, and it does have the in-mast furler too. We were planning on getting a rigging inspection done, and I was actually about to call down to the yard shortly for just that. It did well during the sea trial, but that does not mean there aren't things out-of-whack either.

We aren't planning on live-aboard... just yet, but down the road with some cruising in mind there will likely be some stay aboard for several weeks at a time I am certain. I'll get with the "better half" and we'll talk about storage tonight.

The one we are looking at showed well in Annapolis last year, from what I hear, but I've noticed that few 47+ vessels seem to be selling well in this area. Many on the market for a few years.

I'll look for your PM... I am new to the forum, so not sure exactly how to retrieve but it shouldn't be too hard.


John

[jayarmstrong]

I bought a 1999 Catalina 470 2 years ago and absolutely love the boat. I put $50k into it for upgrades and its worth every penny. I use every square inch of space like a submariner and it does not seem to be a problem. If anyone wants to know more about the boat, contact me.