New (to me) Catalina 250 MkII

[gosenbach]

I just purchased a nice 2009 Catalina 250 MkII, which is now the first sailboat I have ever owned (yay me!)

I had a very questions regarding the boat that I was hoping you all can help me with.

Regarding life raft, whats the best way to go about this on a boat this size? We are going to be sailing the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands which is a fairly populated area as far as boat traffic goes.

Along the same line, is it possible to install davits for a small inflatable?

I was also thinking of installing a solar panel so I wanted to fish for some suggestions there on what one might work best and where on the boat is the best place to place it.

Refrigerator, has anyone done a conversion from the cooler to a small 12v refer? Suggestions?

Thank you for your time!
Gregory

 

[Stu Jackson]

Gregory,

Congratulations on your new boat.

In addition to the great skippers on this forum, you need to get to know these guys, too:

http://catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=4

 

[Chief RA]

gosenbach: Congrats on your new boat! I will attempt to answer your questions.
No on hanging a dingy off the stern. Put an 8' to 10' dingy on the bow, small outboard on stern rails. (About 40lbs or less.) If coast hopping I would not spend thousands for a liferaft, just make up an emergency bag for the dinghy.
Hang your solar panels off the stern on a SS rack that you can make. If you want to live well, 200w solar and double battery bank should do fine w/ 20w MPPT controller. Isotherm fridge was the best one I could find at 2.3cf,small freezer, .7 amp. avg draw per hour. The space left at fridge install is perfect for SS paper towel rack and trash container! You will likely have to run lots of AC/DC ckts and add extra pwr panel.
Any other questions just send me an email. Great boats!
Hope this helps, Chief

 

[Chief RA]

Stu was typing as I was typing! I am a member of the Catalina Assn and it is a world of info. Chief

 

[gosenbach]

Thanks for the replies guys. That give me a few more specific items to begin looking into.



Gregory

 

[watercolors II]

You need a bigger boat!

 

[Chief RA]

What do you mean Watercolors? Mine has all that and much more. Inverter,electric skillet, el. coffee pot, TV,Microwave,solar fan, LED lights,and plenty of room! Chief

 

[gosenbach]

You need a bigger boat!

As it happened, we actually went down to look at a Catalina 30 and we simply liked this one much better. No reason we cant just make a few simple upgrades.

 

[Chief RA]

Gregory: They set up real nice and are quite comfortable to hang out in for even a couple of weeks, or longer? We selected the 250 so we could take it to where we wanted to play by highway. I have a boat house here on my property also so don't have all the extra winter costs and maintenance to cope with. Have fun, Chief

 

[gosenbach]

Hi, so I brought my new boat home to the local marina and as I am still getting familiar with it, a few questions have come up. so with the 250, I see there is what appears to be the fresh water tank up in the bow, located in the aft portion of the under cushion storage area in the v-berth. Looks like it is filled via the anchor locker. Where exactly do the sinks (head and galley) drain to? I cannot seem to locate a grey water tank and pump out location on the boat. I was told by someone (with out many details) that there is no tank or pump out. Could a fellow 250 owner please enlighten a confused fellow?

Much thanks!

 

[Chief RA]

Correct, on probably no grey water tank. Sinks pour out on each side above the waterline. I have a portable toilet and prefer it that way. Chief

 

[gosenbach]

We have a porta potty as well. even has an electric flush, just as good as a real one

I don't think my marina allows direct grey water discharge.. hmmm.. If it goes straight out, i'll have to double check where it is legal to use the sinks. I'll double check but I am not sure if Washington State allows it to discharge into the Puget Sound either.

Thanks Cheif