Catalina 25 1981

dlochner · Apr 14, 2025

Congratulations! So much to learn, be careful you might get overwhelmed with all the advice.

To address one of your questions, where to get the best deals, it would be helpful to know where you are.

In the US and Canada, Defender.com consistently has the best prices, although sales and specials from other dealers occasionally beat the Defender deals. Be wary of anything purchased on eBay and Amazon, some stuff is good, much is a waste of money. There really isn't a good way to know ahead of time.

Tally Ho · Apr 14, 2025

Congrats on your new boat! Oh, to be young and crazy again

Nothing beats getting all of the “stuff” out of the boat and then doing a deep cleaning of everything you can touch. A shop vac will help with the dusty stuff. If walls and stuff are really dirty, a coat of paint may help. I painted my engine bilge after cleaning it as best I could…what a difference it made.

You will want to also make sure the water and waste tanks are emptied and the water tanks cleaned / disinfected if you plan to use them. This usually involved a bleach and water solution mixed in the ester tank, and then open all of the faucets to get the solution in the water lines. Then let it sit for a day. Then drain the bleach solution and refill tank with water, open faucets to rinse out lines…repeat as necessary to get the bleach smell/taste out of the water tank. If the tank has an inspection port (I added mine), you can also wipe the tank out and get any residue out of the tank.

For the leaky hatch, you need to figure out if it leaking around the flange (the part screwed down to the deck) or around the lens (the part that opens). If the flange is leaking, it will need to be rebed (removed and new sealant put down, then rescue it). If the lens it leaking, that is harder to fix. The lens can be removed and resealed into whatever frame it sits in…but more difficult). If no rain in the forecast, use a garden hose and spray the hatch while someone watches inside to see where the water gets in).
This shows the frame on my forward hatch…

And this shows the lens…

For a toilet, I think you will stuck with an RV-style port-a-potty or a composting head. I don’t know where can have privacy on a 25-foot boat…but maybe there is a small bathroom?

What part of the country will you be living? And will,you be on a dock with power and water, or on a mooring?

Greg

dlochner · Apr 14, 2025

A 25' boat probably does not have a holding tank. If there were toilet facilities they would probably be a self-contained Port-a-pottie. These usually have very small tanks, maybe 6 gallons. Something like this:

https://defender.com/en_us/dometic-sanipottie-975-toilet

dLj · Apr 14, 2025

NBSailboatowners2581 said:
Good evening all sailors and boat owners,
Me and my boyfriend recently bought a Catalina 25 1981. It’s been sitting for the past 5 years at one dock location and we took it out yesterday. I have no sailboat experience but, my boyfriend does.It did great and is a wonderful boat. We are looking to live on it.

I was curious if there were any tips anyone could give for new sail boat owners. If there were any ways we could clean the inside that would be helpful. If there’s any websites or places we can go to, to get new stuff for the boat for cheap. We are looking to replace the cushions, put curtains in there, get a toilet in there some how, get some new flooring maybe, clean up the whole thing. It’s pretty dusty on the inside because the boat hasn’t been touched. There is a leak in the front hatch. We were also wondering how we could replace that. If anyone could help us out with some tips that would be great. We are a young couple just starting our adventures. I was hoping that someone could help us on some tips for us to clean this thing up and make it look beautiful and nice. I have attached some pictures in hopes that it would helpful.
Thank you for your time,
Have a great day. From, us to you.

Looks like what you have is called the traditional layout of the Catalina 25. I think there should be a small room on the port side just behind the Vee berth that had the original head. Probably had a porta potti. I installed a Thetford 365 in one of my boats years ago. That unit came with an optional method to hook up to a deck pump-out. But the boat I had at that time had a deck pump-out already installed so I could just hook it up to the unit. If you don't have a deck pump out connector, you'd want to install one and that can be a bit of work. Without that, while very inexpensive, they can be a real pain as you have to carry your waste out through the boat and to a dump location - not so easy to do or to find a dump station for that kind of waste disposal near a marina. Plus porta potties tend to stink... There all all sorts of products used to minimize the odor, but they still stink... Depends upon your tolerance.

On my current boat, I run composting heads. I find them much nicer to use, care for and do not have odors. Amazingly... The model I very much like is the OGO, but it's a lot more costly than a porta potti. The OGO has a small footprint and should fix your space. I have the Origin model. They also now make a smaller head than I have called the Nomad, it's very inexpensive but I have never tried it so don't know how well it would suite your needs. Might be too small fo two people living on the boat. You'll have to decide what you prefer. That's a small boat to try and install a traditional marine head. I would not recommend that.

If you have a decent sewing machine and know how to sew, you could make your own cushions. A heavy duty sewing machine is needed, and preferably one with what's called a "walking foot. But it you have a decent sewing machine it will work. When you take your cushion covers off, check for mold and/or if the current foam is breaking down. If you rub it and small particles are coming off - you'll probably want to replace them. If it has mold, probably want to replace it. Use the existing cushions as models to cut to shape the new foam. They will have kind of funky shape likely, especially the Vee birth cushions. A cheap electric knife often found at yard sales works well to cut foam. If you don't own one or can't find one, you can take a straight edge, push the foam down onto a hard cutting surface and cut with a razor. It takes a bit of practice. Foam is expensive. You'll have to look around for cheapest deals. I used to get it from Joann fabrics, but a lot of their stores are closing. Not sure where to find good deals on foam. Curtains are not had to make... if you know how to sew...

I would need much better photos of you leaking front hatch to give any useful advice.

Floors - marine grade plywood is very expensive. But you can use exterior grade plywood. It just has more voids than marine grade. But what you need is water resistant glue, and exterior grade plywood has that. You need to pull the current floors up and look at the underlying structure. Check for rot. Can't say a lot more until you know more. It depends upon the degree of rot - some can be fixed, sometimes you just need to rebuild. But before you build new floors, you should check out that structure. How you finish the plywood depends upon how much you can spend and what you want for looks. There are some pretty nice looking vinyl options that can be pretty inexpensive. Of course the traditional is teak and holy - that can be mimicked pretty well by much less expensive ways than buying teak and holy flooring. You'll have to let us know how much carpentry skills you have or wish to learn... You can also use outdoor carpet... The plywood base material should be sealed with epoxy.

I'm a fan of West system epoxies even though they are on the expensive side. They have a really nice system to use their products. It doesn't take very long to get the hang of using them and knowing how much to mix up. There will be a learning curve.

The rest of the interior wood work actually looks pretty good. Definitely needs some sanding and refinishing. A small orbital sander is a good tool to have. Don't get too aggressive, just get it cleaning up enough to refinish. Also, a small block hand sander - you can make one with a piece of wood - is useful to get into nooks and crannies.

Let us know more your thoughts and budget and I'm sure we can give you more... Might be easier to start asking about one project at a time.

dj

Foswick · Apr 14, 2025

All good advice so far. One thing to know is that your boat is a pretty easy boat to own. They are already fairly low-maintenance and there are LOTS of them out there. So, it is very easy to get parts and also lots of good advice on modifications and DIY projects.

I won't lie, living on that boat will be tight and inconvenient, particularly without shore power. But, it sounds like that might be part of the whole point - or at least something you've already made peace with.

I'm with Greg on this. I would gut the boat and clean everything on the interior. On that boat, that is only a 1-2 day project and time well spent. It also gets you more intimately familiar with the nooks and crannies of the boat. As you're cleaning, make particular notes of plumbing and wiring. These will be the things you will want to address first. (This includes propane, if that is something you plan on.) It is much more of a hassle to address those things after you are all moved in.

I don't know how much electricity you want/need, but you might find it challenging to do this with only solar, on a boat that size. If you just need to power lighting, charge phones/laptops, etc., you won't have a problem. If you want a fridge and/or AC or any other power-hungry application, it might become challenging. The challenge is placement of enough solar panels to meet your needs. On that boat, even just the decision to add a second battery is not an easy decision, because you really need to think about every little thing you store on board.

As a general strategy for cost saving, be aware of what is sometimes called the "boat tax" (not an actual tax). It is just that anything labeled for "marine" use is almost always more expensive than its non-marine counterpart. Sometimes this markup is justified (better resistance to the elements), but just as often, it is simply because there is a marketing assumption that boaters have more money than other customers. Here's an example: Years ago, we were shopping for a new head for our boat, at the time. We found what we were looking for at Camping World (a chain that does a lot of RV stuff). In two parts of the store, they had the same toilet. One was in a box labeled for RV use. The other was labeled for marine use. Same manufacturer and model, and the part number was identical. But, the "marine" toilet was about 20% more expensive.

So, just be aware of that. Much of what you need for living aboard does not have to be "marine grade". Just be aware, though, that wiring and plumbing on a boat have special considerations. So, it is always worth asking questions about where it is OK to cut costs and where that is likely to cause problems down the road.

To answer your question, you'll probably find the freshwater tank under the starboard settee. If not there, look under the V-berth or the port settee. If you don't find it in any of those places, follow the hose from the faucet backward. It may be have been removed by a previous owner. I believe the original was a 13-gallon tank, so a common owner upgrade is to add a larger tank and an easy way to do that is with a flexible tank. And, if that was the case, it might well have been removed at some point.

As for paint, it mostly comes down to prep. You will find advice against using paints not specifically designed for damp/humid environments, but I find this advice tends to be overstated. Don't ignore it - just understand that, if you are living aboard and keeping the environment somewhat controlled, you have a little more flexibility. We painted our last boat's (Catalina 27) interior with Kilz Mold & Mildew interior ... about 15 years ago ... and it never showed any signs of failure. And, I did nothing to prep other than to clean.

Foswick · Apr 14, 2025

dLj said:
Might be easier to start asking about one project at a time.

Yes ... that.

You will find that half the people on this forum have had the same boat, one very similar, or have worked on one at some point. You'll get good advice if you ask specific questions.

dlochner · Apr 14, 2025

NBSailboatowners2581 said:
Would it have a water tank?

Usually there is a small tank in the toilet to help flush. Best to look at the websites and get the installation manuals, that will be the best and most reliable information.

Typical places for water tanks for washing and drinking are under the seats in the cabin or under the v-berth.

Foswick · Apr 14, 2025

dlochner said:
Usually there is a small tank in the toilet to help flush.

I don't think that Catalina 25 ever came with a plumbed head, at all - just a port-a-potty ... did it?

If it were me, I would never plumb a toilet on that boat because of the space you would give up to add a holding tank and even the hoses take up some space. While living aboard, I would plan on never using the head at all - only using it when away from shore - just to minimize how frequently it needs to be emptied and cleaned.

In fact, if you have good on-shore options and you don't plan on being off-shore for long at a stretch, you could forego a head altogether and reclaim the space.

dLj · Apr 14, 2025

Foswick said:
So, just be aware of that. Much of what you need for living aboard does not have to be "marine grade". Just be aware, though, that wiring and plumbing on a boat have special considerations. So, it is always worth asking questions about where it is OK to cut costs and where that is likely to cause problems down the road.

There are some caveats on this - but for sure there are often ways around the idiotic "marine" price upcharge...

Most of us started with no money so we've gone through a lot of this... Some of us still have little money .... hahahahaha (is that because I still have a boat????)

dj

garymalmgren · Apr 14, 2025

We are planning on sanding and finishing most of the wood. But very light sanding.
Don't. That is a distraction from what you need!

Firstly. Make her as comfortable as you can
There are lot of stuff that you can do that don't cost a lot of money and will make living aboard a little more pleasant.
1. Pull up everything , clean and de-mold.
2. Leakproof the boat.
3. Get the galley as functional as space will allow, (small portable refrigerator.)
4. As you mentioned , redo the cushions and mattress,
What are your plans for showering?

Gary

Catalina 25 1981

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