Hey Boston, you seem to be making this a personal thing, but we are all entitled to our own opinions, & mine are backed by 30 years of sailing in places like the Irish Sea, so I stand behind the fact that the C 30 is not, & never will be a Blue Water quality or designed sailboat. PERIOD.
I own a C 30 & while I love the boat, I know its limitations.
You make issue of another post, so why don't you read my response to it, which I think was accurate:
Re: Is a Catalina 30 a good cruising boat for the Carribbean
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I agree that most sailors should know their limits via their experience & knowledge. That, & time constraints & demands of work, life, & family are likely what keeps most boats tied to the dock 95 % of the time. But I think its not wise, & rather fool hearty to expect a boat that was designed for lake, bay & coastal cruising to perform like a "blue water boat."
I have owned/sailed 3 different Catalinas & can state, without reservation that these boats are generally built on the light side when it comes to their hull to deck connections, overall rigging standards & systems & components are not "robust" enough to take on any ocean crossing. It is not fair to expect a boat that was not designed for ocean crossing to perform in a capacity that it was never intended. I think its really taking a big risk, which could cost the crew of Panache their lives. I think that they're coming to terms with this from their recent rudder failure. When I think of the cheap gate valves, leaky portlights, chainplates, keel cracks, mast compression post rot, etc. that C 30's are well known for, I would not be able to sleep on a 24 hour crossing. Once you're out their on your own, that just it: you're on your own. Are you willing to bet the lives of yourself & your family on 30+ year old components? Any failed cheap valve, hose or clamp can send you to the bottom in 5 minutes. I saw that someone added the windvane steering & solar panels to Panache. Bolting stuff onto a C-30 that come with cruising boats, does not a blue water cruiser make. There really is no debate over what makes a real blue water cruiser. It is a much higher standard of construction then most production boat builders can meet. A good clearing house of blue water designed boats can be found at a good web site:
http://bluewaterboats.org/
Everyone takes some risks when we sail on older boats that we can actually afford.
But I know my limits, & I know my boat's limits. Because I'm an honest sailor, who doesn't let the rose colored glasses that some put on when they romanticise cruising the world, distort reality.
PS. Almost every one of the boats catalogued in the Blue Water Boats website either has a skeg hung rudder, partial skeg or a barn door type rudder hung off a full keel for good reason. Because they are tough & reliable. Apparently you don't have any lobster or crab pots or fishing traps lines to get caught between your rudder & your hull where you sail? Also a simple matter of a soft grounding can cause an exposed open spade rudder to bend or break off, if any of the boats weight is resting on it. This will not happen with a full keel hung rudder. A full skeg also does an excellent job of protecting the leading edge of the keel from damage, & greatly strengthens the rudder connection to the hull. I would not use modern ocean racers as an example of great design. They have failures all the time! I guess you didn't hear about the recent death of the British skipper during the Americas Cup Challenge? & that was in San. Fransisco bay mate, not the North Atlantic.
Here are just a couple of pics of what can happen to a fully exposed spade rudder, verses skeg hung rudder damage. The spade rudder bends & snaps off, while the skeg rudder only suffers bottom edge damage from impact. Yes, spade rudders are designed to bend rather then puncture the hull. But on an old boat that may only be worth 5 k or less, that kind of damage is fatal, as it will be totaled by an insurance co.
Most sailors would be shocked to find out that it can cost more then what there boat is worth to have a spade rudder & tube replaced of they run hard aground.
But back to the point, I have a lot of friends who sail Catalina 30's, & while we love them, not one of 'em would be foolish enough to sail their boats across the South Pacific, or in the roaring 40's & not expect to come out unscathed.
I am busy & and not going to keep this thread going, as I've said my peace on the matter. But I'll close by saying that our mind set can't be that different, as I noticed that we both quote the great Mark Twain.