Hello all,
My name is Clay and I own a
Catalina 27 tall rig (hull 6058, her name is Dulcinea). I have raced for 7 years at my yacht club on another
boat and also owned a 19' day sailor (Montego 19) for 13 years but last year purchased my first
keel boat for coastal cruising. She has been a joy so far to own.
She has an inboard
diesel with a
wheel and draws 4', so my favorite part is letting a friend steer while I trim the
sails going upwind (never in traffic!). The
wheel seems to be more intuitive for most guest pilots than my previous boat's tiller. Included with the boat was an
autopilot (wheel variety) which has been my favorite add-on to date. This boat is small enough to single-hand (which I have taken out on many occasions) but also great for having friends aboard.
Projects on the horizon include a bottom job this spring (she stays in
water year-round), and stripping the
current varnish job by a previous owner (which has reached end of life) and epoxying/varnishing the
teak trim. Also on the horizon is a trip down to Ft. Jefferson in the
Dry Tortugas (still in planning stage).
I have been reading this board for the past few years (and the daily digest for the past 18 months) and decided it was time to finally post an
introduction. So far I have gained lots of insight and wisdom from this board and hope to be able to contribute to this ever expanding body of knowledge (which is easily searched!).
Fair winds!