Difference between Catana 471 and 47 Ocean Class??

[canadian cat]

What are the main differences between the two models?? The 47 OC is heavier, but what other changes were made. Do all the 47 OC have generators?? Is there any difference in the build of the two??

[2Hulls]

The "real" difference is who ran Catana when the models were built.

The 471/2 were built before the financial difficulties of around 2002 when the Poncin Group took over. As a result of that change the 472 sorta became the 47 Ocean Class and the less tricked out version became just a 471, but few of these were built, I think. The physical differences that are visible in the boats are some rigging changes - introduction of the self tacking solent jib in the Ocean Class - and some other more minor things. The non-OC version did not have a carbon mast. The 472 disappeared as the OC incorporated some of the aesthetic features of it and disregarded others. Buyers could option just about anything they wanted and the distinction between the OC and non-OC was probably moot - there was a lot of overlap. The hulls are the same, but there is debate whether production changes occurred post-Poncin that introduced "invisible" changes. I do not claim to know all there is to know about this. But the increased weight of the OC you mention is not something I have heard before. If it is, it's due to more standard options than existed previously.

As for generators, that was always a buyer option. So I doubt all the 47 OCs have generators, but probably almost all, just as almost all 471s do.

So, bottom line, the difference was mostly a "rebranding" by new ownership. I don't know at what hull number the switchover was made, but approx. 86 hulls were built with a little over half being earlier 471/2. My boat (471) is hull 44 and I know of several others beyond mine which were built before the switch. The hull numbers were consecutive regardless of the 417/472 and OC/non-OC label.

I always found it strange why the name change to Ocean Class was made. This implies that earlier boats were not "Ocean" class? Not a good marketing decision, or perhaps a translation problem. "Those French, they have a different word for everything!" Steve Martin

Edit: None of this relates to the current 47 being built. That's an entirely different hull.

Dave

[canadian cat]

Thanks for the in depth response Dave. What part of the boats had twaron in them and what kind of resin was used? Also, what are peoples thoughts on taking a genny out as part of cat diet program?

[2Hulls]

My pleasure. First, if you are seriously interested in one of these boats I recommend you join the Catana Owners Forum on Yahoo groups. This forum, run by the owners, is likely one of the best boat owner's forums in existence (although I haven't seen them all ) and is THE source for all things Catana. Send me a private message and I'll give you the details for joining.

As for the hull construction the pre-Poncin boats were constructed with two outer hull molds and one inner hull/bridgedeck mold that were vacuum bagged using vinylester resin, cored with PVC closed cell foam with unidirectional cloth for outer laminate & Twaron aramid cloth for inner laminate. This was over the entire hull. The separately molded daggerboard trunks were laminated to be seven times stronger than the daggerboards. All 21 structural bulkheads were cored with Nidacore honeycomb core with carbon fiber on both sides. The spade rudders have self-adjusting JP3 bushings with solid, mechanical Whitlock rack & pinion steering. Some buyers chose hydraulic steering for reasons lost on me. I cannot speak to the post-Poncin boats, but inasmuch as the hulls are the same, I would suspect the construction process was the same for the hulls.

As for generators, I don't have one and the original owner (I'm the second owner) was a weight nut and mine might be the lightest 471 (for several other reasons in addition to having no genset) whenever I switch to Lithium Ion batts, as other owners already have. Not sure when that will be. I am aware of some owners adding gensets to 471s without them originally. Removing one would be easier than adding one to save weight. That would be a personal choice consistent with your style of cruising. But to get the full benefit of that weight reduction you would also have to remove whatever used that power. If that includes, e.g., an AC water maker, you're into replacing that expensive component with an expensive 12v DC water maker, and possibly increasing the size of your battery bank and adding solars and/or wind gens. If the boat has air cond, you either remove that as well or run it only when you have shore power and continue to lug it around the rest of the time. We get by on solars alone, but cannot keep up on multi-day passages due to the annoying lack of sun at night. But we do have a second big alt on each engine, so when we have to charge with an engine or motor, it's efficient.

Now for some honesty: If my boat had had a genset when I bought it, I doubt I would have removed it just to save weight. These boats offer a really nice compromise between sailing performance and comfort and high build quality and high finish quality. They are not the lightest boats out there. If you know how, you will out sail almost all similarly sized cats out there, especially upwind - but not all of them. Pick yer poison.

Dave

[canadian cat]

I would say my cat of choice would be between a 471, wilderness 1480, and switch 51. Each has pros and cons. I think it would be a toss up in terms of performance, but not sure. You can see what side of sailing I lean to.
The build schedule of the Catana sounds much higher compared to the wilderness.

[Doe818]

GForce 15C ahead of the wilderness...prettier, faster and more practical.