Catalina 27 built in U.S. vs built in Canada

[Mark]

Hello,We are looking at purchasing a late 70's C27, and we have noticed some of them were produced by Cooper Yachts in BC Canada, and some were built in the US. One difference we have noted is that on the Canadian models, the tang attaching the forestay to the bow has only one bolt at deck level, while the US built models have the tang extend over and around the bow, attached with about 4 bolts.This is minor, but does anyone know if there were any major constuction differences?Thanks.Mark

 

[Ken Cave]

Check the deck fittings

There has been a lot of conversation concerning the fittings on the Canadian boats-like they are not holding up over time.Best bet is get a good surveyor to check your find. It will cost about $250.00 but will be worth every penny if he finds things that you do not want to deal with!!Ken Cave

 

[john]

How do you determine

How do you determine if the boat was made in the USA or Canada?

 

[Paul]

look at the forward windows

The US boats use a tapered window in the one that's closest to the bow. (The forward end of the window is not as tall as the aft end). The Canadian boats use a rectangular window.I'm not sure about the deck fittings. My Canadian built boat has a forestay attached by 4 bolts through the deck and one through the bow. Deck fittings seem to vary from year to year no matter where it was built.Paul Emley"TESS", #14331974, Dinnette, outboardVancouver, B.C., Canada

 

[Peter Hine]

My US built has only the one bolt...

My '74 std. rig 27 headstay fitting has only one bolt horizontally thru the bow (and, as I recall, the 4 you mentioned which extend vertically thru the deck). Mine is US built (North Hollywood CA). Always been a little leery of that one bolt... Like, put on too much backstay and peel the deck off! I note that Catalina Direct has a relacement combination headstay fitting and anchor roller for about $80. which extends down the hull at the bow, and bolts to the hull in a horizontal plane as well as the deck, in a vertical. My next improvement!!!Peter HineEnigma IIStockton Sailing ClubStockton, CA 1974 C27, std rig OB

 

[Cliff Carter]

Canada vs. U.S.

Mark,We went through a similiar decision making process when we were looking at C-30's. At one point I spoke to an old family friend who at one time built Truant sail boats and was also a marine surveyor. He advised us to go for the U.S. version. Reason: Cooper in the mid 70's started using a "chop gun" to do their hulls in the mold. This evidently was something new and they had some inconsistiency problems.(Chop gun is like a spray paint gun that sprays a mix of resin and short pieces of fiberglass thread at the same time)There would be spots in the hull where there was more resin than glass and others where there was more glass and not enough resin mixed with it. The process was perfected eventially. Thus only the Canadian boats of the later 70's in the 30 ft size were of concern to us. As such we opted for a 1977 U.S. made Cat.s/v PlusOneC-30 #598Oak Bay Marina slip D36email: ccarter@pacificcoast.net