Catalina 30 tall rig

[Chuck34]

Originally Posted by Arsydian

Thank you for that. I looked at this boat on saturday appears to be in very good condition. It has CNG in lieu of propane, I have no idea if that is inconveinient or not. No spinnakar, or spinnaker gear, universal 25 m-25xp 3 cyl engine. Sails seem in good shape. They are asking 18K. Thoughts ?

Thanks for the time.

I had CNG on my C34. Yes, it is harder to find than propane, but it is safer to use than propane. Worked fine for us.
Universal M25XP...great engine. You should get a WOT of around 3100, cruise around 2500.

[MultiCountryDon]

Originally Posted by gmakhs

The problem is that they have been with coastal sailing in mind and not offshore , this means that they are not as strong as people want to believe they are .
They are not designed well ( rot on compression post because of design fault )
The rest of the design is not well thought , I compare my 1984 model to Catalina's and I can see a lot of design on boat - sails handling and seaworthiness, even newer Catalina's have similar design to Bavaria's of 1990 era , and Bavaria where never designed to be good boats .

If the boat is under 5000 go for it , if it costs more really it doesn't worth the money and hasle.

I almost of people disagree with me , and a lot love them but the truth is that doesn't matter how small your boat is it must always be ready to have flexibility the worst seas even if shelter is one nobody guarantee that you will be able to reach it , so from.fhe moment a boat is considered only coastal cruiser is worthless to me .
P.S if a boat doesn't feel safe on f5 to f6 what does it really worth ?

Ignore that rubbish! The Catalina 30 Tall Rig is a great boat. I have had 2 of them, one in USA and one here in Thailand. I am now on boat #18 in my life and have never regretted having bought the Catalinas. BTW , I have also had Catalina 34s (2) also great boats, Benteau's, Hunters, Hobies and currently a Jeanneau36i, so I am not an uninformed commenter. Buy the Catalina.

[SV Siren]

The C-30 tall rig is a great boat, and the sales numbers hold that up well. We had one growing up, and nowadays I sail on a friends 30 fairly often. It is one of the roomiest 30's out there, and handles well. We have had it in 35+ knot winds and 8-12' waves, and it performed well under reef. I would not hesitate to recommend one. Here in SW Michigan they tend to be listed between 11K-18K pretty often, and they usually sell pretty fast, if they are taken care of and show well. A friend of mine bought one 3 years ago for 10,800, with fairly good sails, a decent dodger, AP, and well running engine. We have sailed the daylights out of it and never had a problem.

Go for it.

[gmakhs]

18k is too much for a Catalina ...

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by gmakhs

18k is too much for a Catalina ...

And a beneteau first 26 is a dumpster.....



The Catalina 30 is more boat than most people will ever need, it’s got a cult like following, it sails well. They don’t break up and sink on a regular basis. I’ve never heard of a boat foundering from the “smile”.

[gmakhs]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

And a beneteau first 26 is a dumpster.....



The Catalina 30 is more boat than most people will ever need, it’s got a cult like following, it sails well. They don’t break up and sink on a regular basis. I’ve never heard of a boat foundering from the “smile”.

The problem is that they are under engineered, even lighter construction from a bene 26 (if you ever saw one of 1980 era )
How many beneteaus first have seen having standard problems ?? None and after you have Catalina's with recorded osmosis and other structural issues .

Buying a light boat and buying an under engineered boat are two different things .

P.S Catalina still use hand lay up when most of the other builders use modern technologies to assure build quality.they where and still are years behind of other builders

[Hoodsail]

My first "big" boat was a 1984 catalina 27 here on Long Island sound. Owned her for about 4 years, day-sailing in calm winds and small craft advisories. Just a fun boat to sail, very responsive with tiller. So would anticipate your 30 should be adequate for day-sailing the great lakes. Excellent boat to learn about elementary systems (eg engine maintenance/winterizing, standing/running rigging, electronics-gps, running lights). Had to rebed dead lites and stanchions, would recommend adding backing plates to stanchions if not present. Bought and sold (2015) it for $5000. good luck in your purchase.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Scrimshaw4

There was a problem with the wiring harness in the Catalina 30's of that vintage. The harness connection from the cockpit instrument panel connected to the engine in the bilge. This resulted in contact corrosion. Catalina came out with a retrofit harness from a third party vendor (not a recall). Check with them if you have any problems in this area. Otherwise a great boat, I had one, 1980 -98, for 18 years and we loved it.

Not quite the real story but close enough.


Repair scenario is here, in addition to earlier links. Our C34 and the C340 share identical systems.


Critical Upgrades CRITICAL UPGRADES - DO THESE OR ELSE!!!


The gentleman with the B26 who is disparaging the Catalinas knows little of what he speaks.

[Cheechako]

18K might be a little high. But fairly trashed ones seem to go for $10k with dubious old diesels. The Universal Diesel is a good little engine. It all depends on the boat conditions, sails etc.

[gmakhs]

You can say that I am wrong or try to attack me personally , but the repairs and problems on the links you share show that I am quite on point .

All those issues prove how under engineered the brand is .
You may love it , you may feel good owning it or you may want to defend it against any other brand but this doesn't mean they are good , specially if the facts prove the opposite.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by gmakhs

You can say that I am wrong or try to attack me personally , but the repairs and problems on the links you share show that I am quite on point .

All those issues prove how under engineered the brand is .
You may love it , you may feel good owning it or you may want to defend it against any other brand but this doesn't mean they are good , specially if the facts prove the opposite.

It’s engineered to do what it was designed to do. FFS. That’s Australian BTW.

Do you have anything to offer other than repetition? Polly wanna cracker?

Ive beat the crap out of mine over 25 years and I’m surprised how well it’s held up, far better than I’d expected from a Catalina. It’s beat better boats in races, it’s survived a microburst that dismasted two beneteaus, been grounded on stone and sand. One tornado, many 120kph winds. Broke my knee taking down the main in 4m breaking seas. The c30 will make it through more weather than most pansies.

That said, five years ago we headed out for a 120km sail on a beat in 2m breakers. It was just the right period to beat the crap out of the c30 . Still, we did 5.5kts CMG. Something big was going to break, and worse it was causing various stresses that would show up later. After two hours we returned to port. A PC35 would have worked the storm like a submarine, a Mason like an aircraft carrier. The c30 needed to go home.

It’s a lake boat, a coastal boat. Can’t we let it be what it is?

So far as pricing, quality C30s are actually trending up in price. I can’t say if $18,000 is good for a particular specimen, but the 88-90 boats have sold well over $20k for a maintained boat. You can buy mine for $23,000 and won’t regret it, but it’s unavailable until we find a replacement. Because a weekend on the water is priceless.

[01kiwijohn]

Price looks about right for this model/year but, really, that's subjective call and you have to evaluate that for yourself.
CNG is not as readily available, out here anyway, but, if you're handy with tools, conversion to propane may be a worthwhile change; and it may increase it's appeal when you go to re-sell.
Do you have a friendly mechanic? Have them verify the engine's ok (a good quality 12 pack should get that done).
That wiring harness issue is not beyond the average handy with tools type. ( or spring for another 12 pack for you mechanic friend)

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by 01kiwijohn

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

That wiring harness issue is not beyond the average handy with tools type. ( or spring for another 12 pack for you mechanic friend)

If this takes you more than a weekend......................




Wire Harness Upgrade and memos