I'm considering a 2.5 hour drive to look at this boat with my wife. We have been burned out on poorly maintained lake boats so this is a risk and I'm not entirely sure my wife will want to even entertain it. It looks good from the pics, has a lot of 'new' stuff listed and I spent 30+ min on the phone with Mr. Rooke of Rooke sails and he and I agreed to a straight shooter approach based on my experience with boat shopping with the wife. Overall I think this could be a great step up from our O'Day 25. But I think I will miss the easy, simple, low draft, abilities of my 25 with this fin keel at 5' 7". I'll have to actually pay attention and be selective and on Lake Guntersville.
I've done some research and this model is listed as a 1991, but according to C34.org wiki the stern should be a walk through transom, which this is clearly not in the pictures. I'm wondering if the walk through transom was an option and not standard? Should I care, or try to get the HIN and double check the year and info?
I've been all over the map with my wife, we sort of have a plan to buy new in 5-10 years on gulf coast assuming kids progress well to school and on, so I'm happy to stick with the old O'Day 25, but she doesn't like the heel in puffy winds and it does get crowded with 4+ on board, especially when family shows up. The deal I'm getting on the 34 offers a very good deal that would be relatively easy for me to swing, so not worried on the cost size. Lake Guntersville is a great lake but has a lot of depth changes, which I never pay attention to so 5'7" has me on the fence, I think if it was the shoal draft it would be perfect for fixing my worries.
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1991/catalina-34-3494024/?refSource=standard listing
Comments, criticism, etc are welcome?
I've done some research and this model is listed as a 1991, but according to C34.org wiki the stern should be a walk through transom, which this is clearly not in the pictures. I'm wondering if the walk through transom was an option and not standard? Should I care, or try to get the HIN and double check the year and info?
I've been all over the map with my wife, we sort of have a plan to buy new in 5-10 years on gulf coast assuming kids progress well to school and on, so I'm happy to stick with the old O'Day 25, but she doesn't like the heel in puffy winds and it does get crowded with 4+ on board, especially when family shows up. The deal I'm getting on the 34 offers a very good deal that would be relatively easy for me to swing, so not worried on the cost size. Lake Guntersville is a great lake but has a lot of depth changes, which I never pay attention to so 5'7" has me on the fence, I think if it was the shoal draft it would be perfect for fixing my worries.
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1991/catalina-34-3494024/?refSource=standard listing
Comments, criticism, etc are welcome?
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