Catalina 250 Wing Keel .. reviews

[GNWFast]

Would appreciate information that would address the 22/ 25 / 250 Wing Keel abilities to sail some weather & the Gulf. Also , how does it trailer and what do you use to pull it. My wife and I are looking at a late model with a wheel, furling jib and reefed main w/ lazy jacks. It has 9.8 Tohatsu w/ electric start,tilt, remote to the cockpit & ability to connect to the rudder. We plan to move up to a bigger size later when she retires ( 3 years ), but would like to sail a boat that had some of the bigger boats features.

Thanks for your help / info , Dave & Anne

 

[Mark Hartong15325]

A good place to discuss this....

is at http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org

 

[watercolors II]

Used to sail one

One of my best sailing friends bought a new one a couple years ago loaded up with everything. First he had to go to the standard one piece rudder to get it to sail right. It seamed to sail very nice but when the weather picked up we always used my 22 swing keel. He now has gone back to a solid keel 25 and a larger truck to tow it.

 

[Freedom77]

The 25 with the wing keel has a problem going to weather. Better of with the swing keel model. You'll need a full sized vehicle, pickup, Suburban, etc. if you going to pull any hills. Catalina makes a good product. Their headquartered in Woodland Hills, Cal. Fair winds, Old Salt...

 

[CaptDon01]

I've got a C-22 MK-II wing keel and had an original C-22 version with the swing keel. In light wind, the wing keel will slip, but once you get some forward speed, she digs in and holds her course. We've have some long ocean passages close hauled and she'll follow the GPS course for many miles. Any slight slipage is more that acceptable to me with the wing keel being just about zero maintenance, and extremely stable. We also had a wing keeled Capri-18. Excelent performance to windward.
We tow with a Dodge Ram 1500 Quad-Cab with no problems holding freeway speeds.

Don

 

[cat957]

I have your exact boat in 2008 model. We love it. As you say, all the big boat feel to get used to it. Nothing like being out on the water to get experience before you move up in size. Also quite different to own your boat. I charter every year on big boats in BVI and having my own boat has taught me a great deal. We installed a table, many drink holders, great stereo. We sail on a lake near Houston and pretend we are in the Carribean. Good boat for this. Won't break any speed records, but very fun and easy to sail. I keep her on the water and am 20 min from either my house or office from sitting in the cockpit casting off. We easily get in 2-3 sailing sessions per week during summer.

I have a trailer. Have pulled it out for hull cleaning only. I have 1/2T pick up truck - no problem at landing, however have not cruised down highway with it yet. Have not stepped the mast yet, but doesn't look to daunting.

Good luck in your quest. I went through the same thing for 1 yr before landing on the Cat 250. Glad I did

 

[Jansen]

Is this the Cat 250 with water ballast?

 

[Joe]

Would appreciate information that would address the 22/ 25 / 250 Wing Keel abilities to sail some weather & the Gulf. Also , how does it trailer and what do you use to pull it. My wife and I are looking at a late model with a wheel, furling jib and reefed main w/ lazy jacks. It has 9.8 Tohatsu w/ electric start,tilt, remote to the cockpit & ability to connect to the rudder. We plan to move up to a bigger size later when she retires ( 3 years ), but would like to sail a boat that had some of the bigger boats features.

Thanks for your help / info , Dave & Anne

Don't pay extra for a wheel... Tillers are much better on small sailboats. You'll have a lot more room in the cockpit and the autopilots for tillers are way cheaper than those for wheels. Besides, isn't the Cat 22's rudder hung from the transom? If you're worried you'll turn the wrong way with a tiller..... forget it... you'll figure it out right away. If tillers scare you then forget ever owning a dinghy.

I'm not so sure lazy jacks are a good idea on a small boat either. The mainsail on a 22 footer is certainly easy to handle, especially with two people. What is more functional is to have your reefing lines led aft... but I wouldn't make that a deal breaker... because you can easily add that feature yourself.

Tohatsu 9.8 electric w/remote... can't get any better than that. Be aware of the extra weight having an affect on boat trim.. especially a 4 stroke.

 

[JVB]

I bought a pristine 1999 Cat 250 Wing Keel two years ago. I picked wheel steering so I could stand while steering. It's less of a pain in my neck that way. You can also sit behind or on either side of the wheel. Standing you have a better view and are unaffected by boat movements. Not so with a tiller. There are several versions of the wheel steering linkage. Mine has a push-pull cable which is not as good as the open cable system that can be retrofitted. (See http://pages.suddenlink.net/arlyn/sailing/sailing.html Arlyn is the recognized guru when it comes to Cat 250's. He's the inventor and supplier of the steering upgrade.) I will concede that the tiller is better for feeling what is happening and absence of slack in the steering. The other downside to the wheel is that the cables of the split backstay make you have to squirm thru a narrow spot to go forward, on either side, from the wheel. That's why some C250's have been changed to a single off center backstay. I would not recommend that. There's less usable seating with the tiller. I would not trade for a tiller even though my primary use is racing.

It's a relatively light boat (4200 lbs.) that I have read is not well suited to central plains states where wind in the teens is the norm. But it does handle winds in the teens much better than the MacGregor 26D (water ballast) I previously sailed. I really can't predict how it would do in the Gulf of Mexico with big swells and waves.

A racing competitor with a newer water ballasted Cat 250 can't come close to my boat in speed and has about 5 inches less cabin headroom. I would not get the water ballasted version unless it is to be stored on a trailer. The WK is not easy to load on a trailer.

The wide open cabin (no bulkheads), enclosed and adequate sized head, and queen size bed under the cockpit are big pluses. With the Wing Keel version plan on putting about 80 to 100 pounds of pebbles or other ballast as far forward under the V-berth as possible. It's needed for good handling. The 250 has more width in the cockpit than the predecessor Cat 25. I suspect the Cat 25 is bit more seaworthy but a bit less comfortable.

There is a good Cat 250 forum at
http://www.catalina-capri-25s.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=4

 

[dscribner]

I'm not sure how deep your pockets are but there is a Hunter 25 on Ebay right now that you could buy for $26,000. Too much for me but it seems like a good deal for a newer Hunter trailerable. My dream boat is a Catalina 27/30 in the 1984-198 range. $10,000 to $13,000.