hi, i'm a prospective cat.30 owner and have read much info on these boats including sailboat reviews on the net,magazine articles ect. catalina 30 gets good reviews in most catagories, but the concensus all say that the cat 30 is lightly built and should be sailed for coastal crusing only. i would like to know from some cat owners, real experiences on what they think about the capability of their boats for some off shore sailing, and some mods. they have done to increase the seaworthiness of their cat 30's. thanks, russ
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Confidence in the 309
We have sailed 79 miles from Oswego NY to Colbourg Ontario over night and on to Rochester the 35 miles leg of the the journey. I trust her. That was a Catalina 30 MK3 with a fin keel and tall rig. We now own a 2008 309 and intend to sail from Panama City to the keys. I do not intend to do the intercoastal or the coast line. It takes too long. Reduce sail if it gets too rough. We have a friend who single hands it in a 28 footer (Not Catalina). Hr did the trip a few times on his own. We just made a trip back from Mobile, Al where we purchased her. Did the intercoastal because of scheduals. My wife still works. But we sailed the rest of the way on the outside. You can't sail too close to the coast because of military restrictions.
Reduce sail when you feel the need and keep the hatches, thru hauls(sinks, and if it real rough close the companionway closed. The companionway fills a boat real fst with green water.
We have sailed 79 miles from Oswego NY to Colbourg Ontario over night and on to Rochester the 35 miles leg of the the journey. I trust her. That was a Catalina 30 MK3 with a fin keel and tall rig. We now own a 2008 309 and intend to sail from Panama City to the keys. I do not intend to do the intercoastal or the coast line. It takes too long. Reduce sail if it gets too rough. We have a friend who single hands it in a 28 footer (Not Catalina). Hr did the trip a few times on his own. We just made a trip back from Mobile, Al where we purchased her. Did the intercoastal because of scheduals. My wife still works. But we sailed the rest of the way on the outside. You can't sail too close to the coast because of military restrictions.
Reduce sail when you feel the need and keep the hatches, thru hauls(sinks, and if it real rough close the companionway closed. The companionway fills a boat real fst with green water.
The C-30 is classified as a coastal cruiser, but
with only some standing rig mods, they've been sailed blue water. The boat is very capable and can take much more than you can.
with only some standing rig mods, they've been sailed blue water. The boat is very capable and can take much more than you can.
Seaworthy
I've raced on these boats all over the US as part of the Catalina30 National Regatta's in all kinds of weather and sea conditions and really never thought twice about the seaworthy aspect of the boat.
At the Santa Cruz regatta, we raced in winds over 40 knots with gusts to 45knot and without a reef. We did not reef because we were fighting for 1st overall and the two boats behind us did not reef. Unfortunately, we took second. One C30 was dismasted and two others lost their mainsails but no one complained about the boat handling. These Santa Cruz guys sail in that stuff all the time and think nothing of it.
I agree the boat will take care of you long after you are unable to take care of it. I wouldn't take one off the show room floor, plop it in the water and sail it to England without modification. Not sure I'd try it with modifications either but the boat can take anything moderate off shore conditions can throw at it.
I've raced on these boats all over the US as part of the Catalina30 National Regatta's in all kinds of weather and sea conditions and really never thought twice about the seaworthy aspect of the boat.
At the Santa Cruz regatta, we raced in winds over 40 knots with gusts to 45knot and without a reef. We did not reef because we were fighting for 1st overall and the two boats behind us did not reef. Unfortunately, we took second. One C30 was dismasted and two others lost their mainsails but no one complained about the boat handling. These Santa Cruz guys sail in that stuff all the time and think nothing of it.
I agree the boat will take care of you long after you are unable to take care of it. I wouldn't take one off the show room floor, plop it in the water and sail it to England without modification. Not sure I'd try it with modifications either but the boat can take anything moderate off shore conditions can throw at it.
Reef
Depending on what you are doing the reef may of helped you win the race. When we are going down wind you want as much sail out as the boat will handle. Going to weather we first put in a flatting reef. Followed by a reef. If we are playing the puffs we will slide the main. The last thing we want to do is change the sail. I work the fore deck and it's a joke that the skipper only gets one sail change.
Depending on what you are doing the reef may of helped you win the race. When we are going down wind you want as much sail out as the boat will handle. Going to weather we first put in a flatting reef. Followed by a reef. If we are playing the puffs we will slide the main. The last thing we want to do is change the sail. I work the fore deck and it's a joke that the skipper only gets one sail change.
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