Just purchased a 1996 320. Any advice on maintenance, sailing, overnighting, ownership? About to take possession....looking forward to it. Thanks!
Catalina 320
- Thread starter skipper65
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Congratulations! The 320 is a great boat! I owned one for 12 seasons and thoroughly enjoyed her. She sails great, is very comfortable to spend extended periods of time on--we typically would go on a two week cruise every season with no issues for a couple.
The only thing to be aware of is early hulls had a shallow bilge--not sure if your vintage had this or not, but if it does I would be surprised if the PO didn't drill limber holes into the stringers to prevent bilge water from getting trapped in the sole.
As Stu mentions the 320 org is a great source of information and you will find many helpful modifications and maintegance questions there.....good luck and enjoy!
Solstice, I see you own a 355. I looked at a brand new one on the hard at our local dealer a couple of days ago and was quite impressed with the thought that went into the cabin and deck layout. Other than the price tag for a new boat she'd be a serious consideration for me. How's your experience so far?
Absolutely love it! Gerry Douglas hit a homerun with this one. The layout is simply fantastic--both down below and in particular the cockpit. She sails extremely well and we couldn't be happier!
What really drew us to this boat was Catalina's decision to lower the freeboard and take the beaminess down in proportion to bring the overall dimensions back to more traditional lines. This makes a big difference in sailing characteristics--as in no more rounding up in big winds. She buries her shoulder and goes. Makes docking quite a bit easier as well. I will also say that with Catalina's decision to focus on these '5 series' boats', the fit and finish is definitely an upgrade and quite noticeable (I say this with no knock on the Catalina line as I have owned various models for over 20 years and feel they have always been one of the best values out there).
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