Catalina 25 or Hunter 25

[JanS48]

Greetings all
I'm still at it, trying to decide what to buy with so many good deals out there.

I was previously looking at a Catalina swing keel vs an O'Day Centerboard and after sailing each I've decided I would like a full keel as where I sail out of is mostly deep water (Newport RI).

I'm looking at a 79 Hunter 25 with lots of extras and also an 82 Catalina 25 both are fin keel models and have similar rigging and in very good condition.

Any thoughts or comments as to what you all would choose as the better boat?
Anyone have any experience with each of these models?
Any idea which would point higher?
Which one would be faster?
Which would handle rough weather better ?

I really appreciate your input.

Thanks in advance
Jan

 

[Bad Obsession]

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=481

http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=407


There are the specs on both boats.

Keep your eye out for a Catalina 27. If you are going to go the route of a keel it is a little bigger and more room. Heck, you can sometimes get a Catalina 30 for a really good price. The Catalina 30 is a HUGE 30 foot boat.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

Another vote for a Catalina, if you can get a good price. I think Sunsail used to have Catalinas. As Bad Obsession said, the Catalina 30 is a HUGE 30 foot boat.

I would imagine the Hunter being much cheaper. But, with the extras that you mentioned, it may be equal to a barebones Catalina. I'd take the Catalina and add the upgrades myself in the future, as my budget allows.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[jibes138]

Another vote for a Catalina, if you can get a good price. I think Sunsail used to have Catalinas. As Bad Obsession said, the Catalina 30 is a HUGE 30 foot boat. I would imagine the Hunter being much cheaper. But, with the extras that you mentioned, it may be equal to a barebones Catalina. I'd take the Catalina and add the upgrades myself in the future, as my budget allows. Just my 2 cents...

i sailed a Catalina 25 for 10 years 1979 model. It doesn't have standing head room. No pressure water or hot water. Mine had a pop top but I rarely used it. Easy to bump your head forgetting to duck when the pop top is up. Cast iron keel was a pain to keep from rusting. Keel bolts should be looked at closely if corroded. I spent weeks at a time with a family of four on it. Lots of great memories. Used a sun shower for hot water, worked great.

 

[hewebb]

I have a Catalina 25 and am very pleased with it. With Catalina Direct there is a lot of support for parts etc. Dave is correct they are head knockers as the cabin top is to low to stand up in. I would get an inboard if going off shore as the outboard prop can come out of the water. Knowing that you are going to slip it I would opt for a Catalina 30, provided the budget will allow for it.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Jan,

I second what Bad suggested, he comes up with good advice in threads.

I had a Catalina some years back with a drop down board. I hated it, always needing some work, bushings, cable etc. Then there was always that side to side clanging sound. The worst part was that obstruction right in the middle of the floor.

If not trailering your boat & able to sail in deeper water, fixed is the way to go. The boat will be heavier, less tender, point higher, handle seas better & larger interior room. I was gonna buy a C27 & my friend talked me out of it. I'm glad he did.

CR

 

[Bad Obsession]

Did you want to trailer sail originally?

There are some okay trailer sailors out there that could meet your needs.

My current boat is a Compac 23. It is built tough, has a shoal keel (I did not want to deal with the issues of a centerboard). I have gone upwind in 20 knots with a partly rolled 150 and a reefed main and it did okay, despite the waves. It has an okay amount of room inside.

Anything you do is a compromise. List out what you want to do and what you think is important to you. Prioritize your list. Do not focus in on a particular boat but open your list so that you look for your prioritized items in the boat first, then look for who makes it.

Also remember that you can always add equipment into a boat to get it to where you want.

Example: I want pressurized water in my current boat so I will eventually design a system for it, that is an easy fix. Adding hot water would be an issue because I don't have an inboard. This means that if hot water was a big priority I would have to choose another boat (or just pour hot water that was heated over the stove into a water tank).

Catalina and Hunter makes good boats. There are other boats that may fit what you want to do. If you are just day sailing a fun boat in that size range could be a J24. They are usually pretty reasonable in price and they are fun to sail. If you want to cruise then choose something else.

Figure out what your max budget is to acquire the boat. Then figure out what your operating budget is. Figure out what it will cost in your area to keep the boat in a slip, haul the boat, paint the bottom, pay for insurance, do engine maintenance, etc etc etc. You will need to add a little cushion to your budget for other things. Boats are expensive to keep. Buying them is cheap considered to keeping them up in good condition.

Figure out the max size boat that you can get. Then figure out the minimum size that you would be comfortable on. Get your list of must haves, nice to have, and not necessary items and see what fits. Look at a lot of boats.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Is there a reason for you to limit your size? If you are looking for a boat with fixed keel to sail in Narragansett Bay or the Atlantic ocean, it might be foolish to consider smallish boats. There also seems to be no reason to limit your search to Hunter or Catalina. There should be a much larger variety of excellent choices, all possibly within your budget, if you expand your search.

 

[Kper]

+1 for the Cat30.
We own a Cat 25 with the swing keel and love it. It's the dinette floor plan so no trunk in the way and it doesn't have the keel clunk as described earlier. BUT, if you're going to slip your boat the Cat 30 can't be beat for interior space in that length. If I could find one close enough at a fair price I'd consider moving up.

 

[Stu Jackson]

You should also, regardless of what boat you finally purchase, consider very strongly the importance of a website made up of owners. Why spend any time reinventing the wheel? The C25 group has one of the best around. This groups is good, too, but nowhere near as boat-specific as some of the Catalina and others owners association websites.

A C27 isn't much bigger below than a C25 because of the lazarette, maybe a tad more headroom. We has a pop-top C25 fixed keel for 12 years, great boat, easy to pop the top, don't need to when sailing, one does get a C25-stoop if you're over 5'-6".

 

[Kper]

Just to clarify, I think the C27 has considerable more headroom. A friend of ours has a C27 and it feels considerably larger inside. Of course, a lot of that is because I can stand up in it at 6' tall so I would say the extra 6" makes a big difference. I will say, however, trailering, launching and raising the mast are also considerably more involved.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.