A Small "All-Rounder" -- C&C 27

[BC Mike]

That is when we have to use our own judgement.
Would a Catalina 27 survive a 360 roll with the hatch boards out?
Walk the deck from the cockpit to the pointy end and decide for yourself if there is enough room.
I think it is the number of boats that got it on the list.
Park my boat next to a Catalina 27 and have 100 sailers decide which would be more suitable. For me the answer is obvious, yet my boat does not make the list because of the limited number of boats, and that it is was made in Dorion Quebec. The Catalina 27 owners that I take on my boat on breezy days are surprised at how much more powerfull my boat is, and the ease of sailing it in rough conditions. The Catalina is a known quantity and that makes people comfortable. They hear the name mentioned often.
In this size range in my area: Quanta 28, Cal 29, Windward 28, Tanzer 8.5, C&C 27, Catalina 27, Catalina 270.
The Quanta is the most money, the Windward has the nicest underwater shape and foils, the Tanzer has the nicest hull shape, the C&C is just a nice all round boat. I am basing this on cruising performance in rough conditions. For racing the C&C 29 is better.
None are perfect and they all work well.
Michael

[rsn48]

I have a 75 Catalina which I thoroughly enjoy. I learned to sail and used a Tanzer 26 the most in my life. The early Catalinas suffered some problems because frankly the Catalina company didn't know what it was doing.

When Catalina first came out with their boats, almost all purchasers were Californians. Sailing in California is kind of like sailing on lake Michigan, there aren't that many places to go and hence most sailing was day sailing, even in 27's. So a guy and his guests would jump on the boat, go out and sail and drink, come back to the dock at night, perform the military 4 S's while at the dock, then go out the next day and repeat. There are only a few islands that are accessible to the California sailor.

Now wind the clock forward and folks from the Pacific North West started buying the boats with the intentions of sailing them for a weekend, long weekend, or weeks at a time: sailing conditions conducive to the Pacific North West (and coastal BC). When they brought the boats up, the North West sailors started whining about a decent anchor locker, whined about a lovely sized head but no shower in it, drawers that were to small to hold dishes, etc. It was this crowd that changed the boat over to a full time cruiser perfect for our North West Waters.

So the Catalina 27 has evolved over time. At our Vancouver boat show last week I saw the new Catalina 28 foot boat and it knocked my socks off, they've really utilized the room, the best I have ever seen on a Catalina in that size area.

The Catalina's have some issues that Mike has addressed, but there are fixes for most of them. The hatch does lean forward so make sure your used boat has a dodger, if not, plan on buying one. The hatch will also leak, so purchase a canvass cover for the hatch - they go for about $35 or so. Walking forward on the Catalina is a bit tight as Mike mentioned, but if you replace two stanchions on either side with ones that angle out 5 or 10 percent (available from Catalina Direct - a separate company from Catalina), you will have more room.

The Catalina because it is heavier than the Tanzer won't sail as well in lighter winds, but be a bit more stable in a heavier blow. The Tanzer was originally built for the great lakes, then latter brought out to the coast; I sailed on one of the early Tanzers to come out here. I sailed the Tanzer for about 5 years.

Because the Catalina has been built for so long, its kind of a "Lego" boat, there's so much to support it, including Catalina only forums. The boats have been incredibly modified by many and if you have a problem and post it in a Catalina forum (I notice a number of members here also haunt another forum in which Catalina owner's heavily predominate, I notice Mike is a member there as I am).

I would recommend the Catalina to you and if you can impose heavy discipline it can be your life time boat if you want; this means you can - over time - through a lot of money into it and bring it up to specs to suit contemporary cruising. One of the most common complaints you will hear from snobs is that it is a "production boat;" by response is to say "so is my BMW, but I like it a lot." The finish in the Catalina isn't up to snuff of higher end boats, like the Hunter however the Catalina will get you out on the water, get a smile on your face, reduce your stress, and meet new friends who also own Catalinas. The editor of "Pacific Yachting" a major magazine in the Pacific North West, published out of Vancouver, recently bought a wooden power boat. He woke up to the realities of owning a wooden boat and sold it; in its place he purchased an older 27 foot Catalina.

Another strong advantage of the Catalina is that it is still a production boat, unlike the Tanzer or any other brands with ceased production. This means you can still order items directly from Catalina. For example, I priced out reupholstering here in Vancouver and it turns out I can get new cushions with new covers cheaper than I can get my cushions recovered for here. Catalina will ship up the cushions in one of their new boats destined for Vancouver and save me the shipping cost.

Below are links you might like to check out for the Catalina 27 foot sailboat:




http://www.sailboatowners.com/forums...m?fno=20&uid=F

http://blumhorst.com/catalina27/bruce-interior.htm

http://www.boatdiddly.com/Sovereignty/Sovereignty.html

http://www.blumhorst.com/catalina27/...nahomepage.htm

http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm

http://www.sailboatowners.com/review...alina&model=27

http://www.sailboatowners.com/boats/...9&fno=20&bts=T

[rsn48]

I know most people want an inboard motor for their sailboat, but there can be some problems in with inboard motors. I read one review of the Catalina 27 in which the author recommended the outboard motor.

First diesels are noisy smelling things, especially on earlier boats. However the early Catalinas came with Atom 4's; these boats where known to have poorly serviced engines because the space was so restricted in reaching necessary areas for servicing. The space really can't handle the engine very well.

If you're like most impoverished new owners, you'll have paid something like $10,000 for your new used boat, what happens when you discover the bill for replacing that old motor with a newer diesel and installation costs, are close to the price of your boat. I just installed a new Merc 9.9 Big Foot for around $2200 (more expensive in Canada).

The new Mercs are incredibly stingy on gas and are amazingly quiet. The new engines don't smoke like the old 2 strokes (they're 4 strokes).

I enclosed the opening for an engine on my older Catalina, it can't handle the size of a new 4 stroke and added a power bracket; push a button and the motor comes up, push another button and the motor goes down. And, I gained more storage space by doing this.

So your friends will be more impressed with an inboard motor and the boat will look better without an engine hanging off the back, but the outboard is immanently more practicable, easier to service, cheaper to replace, more fuel efficient, quieter, less smell, and in some cases - more reliable.

[BC Mike]

Good stuff from RSN48. My Tanzer 8.5 is bigger and heavier than the Catalina 27. The Tanzer 26 is smaller. What you said is applicable to the T26 C27. The C27 weighs between 5500 and 6500 pounds, the T8.5 is 7400. There is a Tanzer group that has about 700 members. Common parts are still available. The group is a wealth of info for Tanzers.
If I had a limited budget I would buy a Cal 36, but I have decided to spend a bit more and get something newer and bigger.
My Yanmar does not smell.

Michael