Are Catalina 27's good liveaboards?

[hobopacket]

Completely agree! Just just replying to the post above mine, should have quoted. My bad!

[sailjumanji]

It's a matter of individual needs. We have a liveaboard in a Catalina 22 in the marina here. Some people live in cars. My BIL has the Catalina 27. OK to sail, but no way I would take it with my wife to Bahamas. Others might. Just FYI, we spent two months in exumas last year. We were shortest boat everywhere, other than a couple of corsair 31's.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

It's a matter of individual needs. We have a liveaboard in a Catalina 22 in the marina here. Some people live in cars. My BIL has the Catalina 27. OK to sail, but no way I would take it with my wife to Bahamas. Others might. Just FYI, we spent two months in exumas last year. We were shortest boat everywhere, other than a couple of corsair 31's.

There's a guy with a Catalina 27 in the slip beside me.

The inside is gigantic compared to my boat's interior, and I'd sail to the Bahamas in mine (a Bristol 27) if I lived down that way and had the time. I just wouldn't stay long though maybe a week or two.

[chris mac]

Originally Posted by MovingRightAlon

I'll share what I've discovered so far.

1. In general, the more comfortable a boat is as a liveaboard dock queen the less suited it is for racing or bluewater passagemaking. Liveaboard cruising is a different animal.

2. Yes, you can do anything with anything with a little luck, but in my opinion the Catalina 27 is a day sailor. I paid a visit to one some years ago and found it to be quite light at dock or anchor with it reacting unpleasantly to the wakes of passing vessels and wind gusts. It isn't a boat I would try to live on.

3. It certainly isn't a boat I would try to sail from New England to the Bahamas. Consider the following:

"Most sailors would be surprised at the minimal wave height needed to roll a boat. Andrew Claughton (who co-authored the University of Southampton, Department of Ship Science’s report) writes in Adlard Coles’ Heavy Weather Sailing by Peter Bruce, “During the model tests that were carried out to investigate the problem, when the breaking wave was 30 percent of the hull length high, from trough to crest, it could capsize some yachts, while waves to a height of 60 percent of the hull length comfortably overwhelm all of the boats we tested.” So, the starting point for a wave to be dangerous to rolling a boat is one that is only 30 percent high as the boat is long."
Dangerous waves and your boat - Ocean Navigator - Ocean Voyager 2011

What this means is that an 8 foot wave may capsize your Catalina 27 and a 16 foot wave will...and that's assuming the measurement referenced above is LOA. If it's LWL, the numbers are a 6.5 foot wave to possible capsize the boat and a 13 foot wave to flip you over.

That is well below my personal margin of comfort for any sort of offshore saling given how wave heights are measured (averages). I would consider 34 feet a personal minimum.

Yes I know that people do far more than I have with less, but if I felt lucky, I'd buy a lottery ticket.

The key word in your quoted section is "breaking" wave. A 16 foot wave won't roll the boat unless they are breaking or you are being aggressively incompetent.

[TrentePieds]

The Catalina 27 is an EXCELLENT camping trailer :-) That's because her midships section is very nearly that of a camping trailer. Good "first boat". Decent daysailer for Mom, Dad, three teenagers and a Labrador Retriever. She'll do for long weekends too. In sheltered waters.

Due to that travel-trailer midships section and a great waterline beam on a short waterline length the boat has a nasty habit of broaching, pulling her rudder out and becoming unmanageable if you press her very hard at all, even on flat water. You need to watch her very carefully!

So if you want to live aboard, while permanently moored alongside, the Catalina 27 is an adequate boat, even a great choice. They are cheap because they are plentiful. And were the cheapest of the cheap when they first came to market. But for going places where rude Boreas may come for a visit, there are, IMO, far better choices. And those better choices are not hard to find. Nor are they not much more expensive.

All that being said, there are a great many people who are happy with their Catalina 27s. So I hear ;-)

TP

[Jim Cate]

IIRC, the catalina 27 that circumnavigated was extensively modified and strengthened, and that would not easily fit into the proposed budget.

And FWIW, friends of ours circumnavigated in a Cal 2-27 whose only bit of electronics was a depth sounder. But, they were very experienced professional sea-people.

Jim

[JPayne]

Its not as much the boat as it is the crew... Keep in mind that you dont have to provision for the ENTIRE trip... Thats unnecessary, added weight and loss of items due to spoilage or damage. What MOST, not all but most of sailors these days forget is that their ancestors traveled here in much smaller and inadequate vessels that what any of us on this forum sail today. Most of our issues or problems offshore come from lack of planning on OUR behalf. Im guilty in this too, but i learn from my mistakes. The fact of the matter is that if you are comfortable with your abilities as well as that of your vessel cast off and enjoy! Im not too far behind you. Another thing you might wanna look at is YouTube... Just saying. People on YouTube are doing it daily on small yachts like our 27. One dad from Salt Lake City Utah took his small boys and a 19' sailboat to Miami Florida and sailed to the Bahamas... Learn like youll live forever and live like youll die tomorrow! You dont have to be a millionaire to live our lifestyle. Godspeed!

[roverhi]

Here is a boat to look at if you want to go larger and spend a few thousand more than 10 boat units. Used to race against one and it sailed surprisingly well especially once you cracked off a bit. https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/196...dard%20listing

Cat 27's are like ants in the Oceanside Marina, something like 8 on my pier alone. Several being live aboard and most used for trips to the Catalina as well as day sailing and racing. Have raced on one and it moves reasonably well in the light air conditions there. They've got a lot of room below with enough area for long term use. Haven't really looked at water capacity or general storage but that's something to be looked at closely. There seems to be a core issue in the foredeck with some. They are coastal cruisers but that's what Carribean Sailing is really all about. They are a bit small and light to my taste but there used to be a lot of young people cruising to far away places in boats of similar size.

[MIRELOS]

27 was my first boat, sailed her from NYC to Boston in early November, possibly the worst storm I have ever encountered (I've crossed the pond + since), my friend was super sea sick but the boat took us all the way. I was young and foolish back then, now I'm a lot older if not less foolish. The boat is a bit tender but reliable not to break up on you. Great for day sailing and in the Caribbean you can pretty much day sail from island to island (some). Be prudent and enjoy

[acem]

I have a catalina 27 and it could cruise the carribean if properly brought up to snuff. Check out the bulkheads, rigging,etc. You will probably want more water and fuel storage. If yall get along it is enough room. But if there was a problem the boat will get very small fast! Thx-Ace