offshore in a catalina 30?

[roguescooter]

I Guess a lot of my question come from getting so many different answers from different people. a lot of you have very valid points. I have also heard a lot of people say boats such as ericsons make good cruisers, i have been on ericsons and always thought them very similar to catalinas.
Maybe a better question than whether a catalina 30 can go offshore is what makes a good offshore boat? how much of it is hull design, hull construction, rigging, hardware... etc? The new jenneau's say they are "ocean class boats". (saw this this weekend at strictly sail), yet, by poking around on one i wouldn't take one of those offshore any sooner than my catalina.. well, they are new and pretty... but that aside... What boats would you recommend looking at? being able to buy and reasonably outfit for 60k-80k?

[bottleinamessage]

My first sailboat was an 88 std. rig 30'er. Loved that boat, owned it for 8 years and sold it for what I bought it for, but I would never takeone offshore. We now live aboard a 1991 40 Jeanneau. Currently in the Abacos preparing to return stateside. Having experienced offshore sailing, believe me, you need another boat. Others have/will disagree, but they won't be with you when the sxxt hits the fan.

[bottleinamessage]

I just went on yachtworld.com and did a search on 35-36' sailboats priced from $60-80K. Results were 30+ pages of listings. Check it out.

[ssullivan]

I'm going to have to agree with Chuck again on this one.

It's a matter of being able to carry all you need to be out for long stretches at a time.

A better experiment would be to take the boat up to Oregon or Washington for a summer. Really live aboard the boat and spend time at anchor. See if you can go a month without reprovisioning.

It's the liveablility that I suspect might get you in the end, even if you buy all the upgrades.

How much water does she hold? How much food can you store? How is the refrigeration and freezer?

This stuff seems like nothing when you think of the big, bad blue ocean, but if you have the perfect passage, but run out of water... well... you're still in trouble.

[Celestialsailor]

I will just throw this out there...Figure out how much you could sell the C30 for and how much a low priced Westsail 32 might cost you. Maybe a little more but consider having to put "thousands into a C30 and it would be worth the same before you started. a W32 is no rocket but you would never be asking these questions about it.

[Charlie]

I've seen small boat cross oceans. I saw a 27' hardchine plywood boat in the Marquesas. It got there on its own keel. I saw the boat that the Japanese fellow who sailed from Japan to SF and it was 19'. Is it possible? Yes. Will it be pleasant? can't answer that one. One of the best spots to start in my opinion is this link, Mahina Expedition - Offshore Cruising Instruction It goes over alot of the considerations in choosing a boat. After that if you do a search on what boat to buy you will find alot of different opinions on this website.

[Squeaks]

In good conscience I have to report about a fellow a few years ago, down my dock at Coyote Point who loved his Catalina 30 but sailed outside the Golden Gate and after falling off a wave (on the Potato Patch maybe) caving in the topsides and going down very quickly - he was lost.
John Vigor, in his book "20 Small Boats to Take You Anywhere" gives a chapter about modifying a Catalina 27 for ocean voyaging, so who knows what is possible?
We also very recently lost a Choy Lee 31 just outside the Gate and they, I think, are a more seaworthy boat, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time......
John

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by johneri1

Go to EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE (tm) - Lessons Learned: Sailing to Hawaii...The First Attempt by Arnold Rowe to read an account of the Panda, a Catalina 36; it'll make you think. . . .

Wow... what a story.

That's how disasters happen. One thing, then the next, then the next in a series of problems until you are in big trouble.

It's great to see that the skipper in this story did indeed make *all* the right decisions with what he was faced with on the passage.

[speedoo]

To emphasize the point I tried to make earlier, that one is much better off with a true offshore design...

Take a look at the underbody of this boat (By Invitation's 1977 Cheoy Lee 41 Ketch.... a beauty, huh!)

Note the skeg, dramatically increasing the strength of the rudder, and protecting the prop. The keel is formed as part of the boat, heavily laid up fiberglass encapsulating the ballast. These are huge differences from the Catalina 30 bottom and impossible to upgrade. The bottom profile is more conservative than that of the Catalina 30, offering the opportunity to locate the engine and tanks deeper which improves stability.

This is obviously a much better offshore boat, not just because it's bigger and heavier, but because it was designed to go offshore.

[camaraderie]

Given your cruising plans, the idea of a Cat30 as the boat brings to mind the old Clint Eastwood line:
"Are you feeling lucky?"

[Rhosyn Mor]

What makes a good offshore boat?
you have opened a whole passel of worms there my friend. It depends on to whom you talk. The Dashews will tell you light, fast, fin keeled, big. There are others who will say the vessel should have small cockpit, interior broken up into small areas etc.
it all depends.... What I do know is that I sail a 1979 Jeanneau 38 Center Cockpit ketch, 15,600 lbs,Skeg hung rudder, deep fin keel and I do not hesitate to take her offshore. I do not think the newer Jene's are built to the same quality ( Rhosyn Mor is pre Beneteau) For smaller boats you may want to look at boats like the Caliber 28,
Dufour Arpege, CSY 33 etc etc. Whatever you do you will need to budget a substantial amount for offshore prep on the boat- figure somewhere in the 20-30K range.

[mikereed100]

To the above modifications I would add the chainplate upgrade from Catalina Direct. I replaced all my rigging only to have one of the lowers "bolts" explode on a calm day. The replacement kit is much more robust.

Mike

[David_Old_Jersey]

I am starting from a lot of ignorance on Catalina's here, take the "advice" accordingly .......but concerns seem to be on both design and build quality.

From my quick looksee on the internet I do not see any reason why design wise she could not make long passages, maybe not the easiest hull shape to live with on extended passage / in less than desired weather - but that is a different question. Build quality is a bigger problem......and I am guessing is directly related to having been built for a specific purpose / market and to a competetive price - BTW this is not meant as a criticism, judging by the fact that they built and sold loads they clearly got their target spot on!

My feeling is that although you probably could set off with the Catalina, if you do need to make all the mods talked about then you are probably better off starting with a more suitable boat design and starting build quality......and then end up with a boat you have complete confidence in for whatever your future plans become. And your budget would appear to afford this.

However I can see the attraction of staying with a boat you already know / are happy with......instead of changing your boat, what about changing your cruising plans?......others will know better whether this is feasible, but I would have thought that the Caribbean would be well within the boat's capabilities (whether or not with a couple of mods?) - and given the distances involved more likely to be able to sail between very bad weather (Hurricanes excepting!)........and I suspect more than enuf down their to last a lifetime of exploring if yer really wanted to.......or in practice at least until you decide on your next adventure and whether or not this would / should involve the Catalina......

[roguescooter]

so I guess my dreams of running my honda civic in the dakar rally next year should be reexamined also? Just kidding. I think I'll keep this boat on the coast. when the times right, i'll move to something more robust... thanks for all the input.

[Tempest245]

I'm with Speedo.....I would choose another boat to go to sea....having said that...I realize that anything can be done...I like simply like to calculate my risks....

I was in on a catalina 34 in 8 to 10 foot seas on a delivery from New Jersey to the chesapeake...the second wave lifted the water heater right out of its mounting and moved it a foot to port. That's all I needed to see. I like catalinas for what they were designed for, comfortable near coastal or bay sailing. I sailed a 22 for many years on barnagat bay...and enjoyed it.