Problem depends on the year
As you might expect with the manufacturer of any quality product, the early C27s had some problems, that when identified, were corrected in later models. Catalina has been great about making retro-fit kits to correct the problems in early boats. Some things to be aware of: 1. Until about 1978, C27s had MILD STEEL keelbolts, covered with gelcoat. The gelcoat degardes over time, and the bolts rust. If the bolts are bad, this is a hard one to fix, but the factory has several suggestions, none easy to do. 2. Early boats also had aluminum spreader sockets which could crack, later replaced by stainless. Cheap upgrade kit is available. 3. Early boats' lower shrouds were attached to the deck by an eyebolt that could rotate, thereby stressing the SS wire of teh shroud as it would tend to unravel. Later boats replaced this with a "U" bolt. Cheap upgrade kit is available. 4. Early boats had glassed-in pipe nipples to which gate valves were attached as thru-hulls. I've seen some say the pipe nipples were brass (very bad) and some say bronze (not so bad). The gate valves were brass, and are bad news. I replaced the gate valves on my '74 with ball valves about 10 years ago, and the nipples with bronze thru-hulls at last haul. Best to replace both the nipples and gate valves with marine grade (bronze or marelon) thru-hulls and seacocks. All mine were fine when replaced after nearly 20 or nearly 30 years, though. Cat 30s had similar problems with keelbolts & shroud attachments, not sure on thru hulls, for similar time periods. Early 30s also had wood spreaders, later replaced by aluminum (kit available). Also look for typical problems on older boats (deck delamination, deck sinking under the mast, blisters, etc). Catalinas not any worse on this stuff than any other type of boat. As sugggested, check the associations' websites for hints. One great thing you'll find with Catalina is the fact unlike many boat manufaturers, that they are still around, still support their old boats, and have many, many original parts and upgrade kits for their old boats. Good luck, and welcome to a soon-to-be Cat owner!
