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

[GreenWave]

Hi Jayarmstrong

I purchased my 470 in March this year and now keep it in Kemah, TX. Plan to sail it full time in a few years after retirement. like David Hoy I just did a refurb on the in-mast furler. That was interesting but well worth it. Now waiting for a new mainsail. Plan to go sailing this weekend. First good weather opportunity in weeks!

[flyingfin]

I crewed on a 470 - great boat, love the twin helms both under way and especially when docking. Perfect for the tropics, little to no varnished wood, just wash and wax. However, the in mast furling makes for a very poor sail shape, so it is near impossible to head upwind, so plan on lots of running under power.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by flyingfin

I crewed on a 470 - great boat, love the twin helms both under way and especially when docking. Perfect for the tropics, little to no varnished wood, just wash and wax. However, the in mast furling makes for a very poor sail shape, so it is near impossible to head upwind, so plan on lots of running under power.

I was originally worried about the issue with upwind sailing. However, mine does quite well... almost up to 30 degrees off the nose. What she doesn't do well is downwind thus will likely get an Asym at some point before we start cruising full time.

[donradcliffe]

One of my friends used a C420 for six pack charters for years. They also bought a C470, and used it for a couple of years, then sold it and bought a second C420. While part of the reason might have been that the C470 cost them more for the same income, they told me they liked the C420 a lot better.

[Catalinagal]

We bought Hull #87 (Formerly Sukha, now Vellamo) from Dale (listed above) in November 2020 and have sailed her two-handed from Queensland to South Australia (800+nm) Dale had set her up well and we found that she performs well for two handed cruising. We would love more storage (who doesn't?) but we don't find that she offers less storage than her Beneteau/Jeanneau/Bavaria counterparts. We are still getting to know her and making her our own, but I have to say that I love the layout, the headroom (my partner is 6'8") and believe her to be as good, if not better than similar size/age/style 47foot monohulls. She has proven herself with a circumnavigation and a half, and we look forward to taking her on many more long passages in the future.

[glanrock]

We bought our 470 last March 2020 and have been loving every minute of it! Upwind? No problem, it isn't a racing boat so I don't expect it to perform like one, but otherwise she points just fine according the B&G electronics we installed in the Fall. Could it be better? Sure, but I'll take the trade off.

I am most excited to read about folks sailing long distance cruises with theirs, because that is in our plan book for the future. So congratulations on your 470 purchase! We've also found the storage to be... lacking, but that was a trade off we saw going into it. You cannot have open space, and plenty of storage, since they seem to contradict one another. We are planning on making conversions to Pullman Berth to enable storage while underway. We removed the large dining table, kept one post, and changed it to a small circular table instead. This provides an excellent area for friends, small area for holding snacks and beverages, all while you easily get up and down from the port seating.

Happy sailing!

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by Catalinagal

We bought Hull #87 (Formerly Sukha, now Vellamo) from Dale (listed above) in November 2020 and have sailed her two-handed from Queensland to South Australia (800+nm) Dale had set her up well and we found that she performs well for two handed cruising. We would love more storage (who doesn't?) but we don't find that she offers less storage than her Beneteau/Jeanneau/Bavaria counterparts. We are still getting to know her and making her our own, but I have to say that I love the layout, the headroom (my partner is 6'8") and believe her to be as good, if not better than similar size/age/style 47foot monohulls. She has proven herself with a circumnavigation and a half, and we look forward to taking her on many more long passages in the future.

Congrats! I got to know Dale a little online and via email, nice guy! Glad you're enjoying your C470, I love mine. I'm still planning a circumnavigation, and the boat is almost ready, just need to do likewise with the finances ;-)

[Catalinagal]

We would be interested to see what you do with the Pullman. As a cruising couple, there's a lot of room we could use but we don't want to lose the berth altogether.

[glanrock]

I will try to keep you informed as we go. We too have designs of being cruising couple, but we actually also have some great friends who just might be crazy enough to want to join us on some of the future excursions. This might put a stopper on the Pullman storage enough to have to devise other methods.

One of the 470s we looked at, it might have been Beckoning, had some awesome storage and layout ideas for under the floor panels. Where they built in some racks just under the floor but above where bilge water could get to under several of the panels. They also had very tight layouts in the Pullman starboard closets. My thoughts also drift towards the main cabin salon, which if we have extra people aboard simply might have to have some storage capacity built into it somewhere, somehow.

Unfortunately the creature comforts that have been built into our 470 have compromised a lot of what would likely be storage for other 470s. 3 HVAC systems, the Fischer/Panda generator which we removed (it was a boat anchor when we bought the boat last year) and replaced with a new different type, all take up a lot of space. We aren't ready to yank out the HVAC systems just yet...

[glanrock]

And also, Davidhoy above is a great source of info! I've had the pleasure already of trying to run new wires up the mast, well technically down the mast, to find that the wires in there are all wire tied together. He is a one of great sources of info if you have questions.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by Catalinagal

We would be interested to see what you do with the Pullman. As a cruising couple, there's a lot of room we could use but we don't want to lose the berth altogether.

What are you looking to do with the pullman area? More storage?


My 470 had lockers/shelves built along the port wall which are nice for storage and don't interfere with using the pullman for sleeping. Also, the original two captains chairs were pulled from the Main Salon starboard and that was converted to a couch with under seat storage. All of our large spares plus inverter are under that seating space now.


I don't have any pics handy but let me know if you want some and will get those.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by glanrock

... the Fischer/Panda generator which we removed (it was a boat anchor when we bought the boat last year) and replaced with a new different type, all take up a lot of space. We aren't ready to yank out the HVAC systems just yet...

I am looking at probably replacing my F-P genset. What did you decide to go with on yours? Where did you put the new one?

[Catalinagal]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

What are you looking to do with the pullman area? More storage?


My 470 had lockers/shelves built along the port wall which are nice for storage and don't interfere with using the pullman for sleeping. Also, the original two captains chairs were pulled from the Main Salon starboard and that was converted to a couch with under seat storage. All of our large spares plus inverter are under that seating space now.


I don't have any pics handy but let me know if you want some and will get those.

I would love to see pics of the pullman storage. We do not have a FP Genset on our 470, nor HVAC

[glanrock]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

I am looking at probably replacing my F-P genset. What did you decide to go with on yours? Where did you put the new one?

Greenwave,

We replaced the FP, which was nothing but a boat anchor when we purchased, with a Paguro 6500. It fits, which is super important because apparently the FPs are kind of smallish compared to most. Since it was below the Pullman berth, the new one needed to be in there too. I can confirm, it does fit, but it takes up a lot of the space. Also that is where the forward HVAC unit is located so basically that is all that is under the berth.

If you haven't joined already, there is a Google Group for 470 owners that I recommend. Its nice because you don't have to worry about people telling you their opinion, but instead you get it from other 470 owners themselves.

[GreenWave]

Here are some photos of my 470 pullman berth showing storage that was built. Also a pic of the main salon bench on starboard side that was put in. Originally had two captains chairs. Lots of storage under the cushion plus space for my inverter.