Sometimes these stories sound like grandpa shouting, "Hey kids get off my lawn!!!" 
I am sitting here looking at my original copy of the Catalina 34 brochure, hull #200, the second brochure (of only three) they did for these boats; the first one was #3 in only black & white. When my wife and I got the brochure at the Cow Palace Boat Show in San Francisco in the winter, we dated it: "Jan. 12, 1987 Cory's next boat!" At that time we'd owned our Catalina 22 since 1983, and were to soon get a Catalina 25 which we sailed on SF Bay until we bought our C34 on July 1, 1998. Didn't take us too long, huh? We did spend an entire year looking at and for ONLY a Catalina 34.
In all that time owning boats, we kept going to boat shows because in the Bay Area they were still pretty good. Most builders showed up in droves with a variety of their different sized boats, most of which were in the 25 to 36 foot range, growing to 38 and 42 with Catalina's HUGE C42, a real eye-opener. Heck, when we bought, a 34 was HUGE! Remember those days???
But eventually the multiple boat shows dwindled, the Oakland Boat Show moved up to Richmond (where nobody goes --- too dangerous, ya know!) and we stopped going.
But when we did go, we always enjoyed learning about what builders were doing and what, if anything new, they'd come up with. Most times, if not always, I'd be very, very happy with what we have. I remember one time when the new C350 came out and I asked Gerry Douglas where the engine dipstick was. He said, "Oops, we forgot the damn door!" Catalina owners will recognize that many Catalinas have doors to allow access to the oil dipsticks rather than taking the companionway apart. Indeed, the very first C34 Mark IIs forgot them, too!
Yeah guys, those were the days...
I am sitting here looking at my original copy of the Catalina 34 brochure, hull #200, the second brochure (of only three) they did for these boats; the first one was #3 in only black & white. When my wife and I got the brochure at the Cow Palace Boat Show in San Francisco in the winter, we dated it: "Jan. 12, 1987 Cory's next boat!" At that time we'd owned our Catalina 22 since 1983, and were to soon get a Catalina 25 which we sailed on SF Bay until we bought our C34 on July 1, 1998. Didn't take us too long, huh? We did spend an entire year looking at and for ONLY a Catalina 34.
In all that time owning boats, we kept going to boat shows because in the Bay Area they were still pretty good. Most builders showed up in droves with a variety of their different sized boats, most of which were in the 25 to 36 foot range, growing to 38 and 42 with Catalina's HUGE C42, a real eye-opener. Heck, when we bought, a 34 was HUGE! Remember those days???
But eventually the multiple boat shows dwindled, the Oakland Boat Show moved up to Richmond (where nobody goes --- too dangerous, ya know!) and we stopped going.
But when we did go, we always enjoyed learning about what builders were doing and what, if anything new, they'd come up with. Most times, if not always, I'd be very, very happy with what we have. I remember one time when the new C350 came out and I asked Gerry Douglas where the engine dipstick was. He said, "Oops, we forgot the damn door!" Catalina owners will recognize that many Catalinas have doors to allow access to the oil dipsticks rather than taking the companionway apart. Indeed, the very first C34 Mark IIs forgot them, too!
Yeah guys, those were the days...