I am currently planning to purchase a 30 footer after this years sailing season. For me it is the next logical step. My question is this: Is there any year of Catalina 30's to avoid? What year of vessel seems the best? Thank you. d
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What is your price?
Depending on what you want to spend you can pick up a lot of different options in the Catalina 30. The MK I runs to 1986. After that Catalina went to a T cockpit, standard Universal Diesel, and a few other modifications. Around 1994 Catalina came out with the MK III which has an open transom (they are really nice). My Catalina is a 1990 Catalina 30 MK II Tall Rig, Bow Sprit, wing keel. I love the boat (I wish I had the open transom of the MK III because of getting in and out of the dingy). The bathroom is slightly tight in the boat but it is a big 30 foot boat inside. I am currently in the middle of a 18 day cruise in mine. Try to figure out what you want to spend on the boat and what you are looking for. If you are sailing an area like the Chesapeake Bay then you may want to get the tall rig wing keel version. An MK II will cost around 35,000 dollars in the 1990 area. I have heard that the 80's boats are prone to blisters but I know that I have a few blisters on my hull (Blisters are no more than an overblown boogie man). You can pick up the older models for around 20K. An MKIII will start in the low 40,000 to migh 40,000 range. I saw one listed in SpinSheet for 43,000 dollars (MK III). The biggest advantage of the tall rig is the ancor arrangement (you have a nice place to store the ancor on the bowsprit and it works well there). It is also nice if you sail in light winds a lot. I do carry a small working jib that I have switched out on the boat when the wind is really blowing (I beat 60 miles upwind two days ago in 15-20 carrying the small jib and the full main). The Catalina 30 is a tough boat and I have run the gauntlet in mine a few times. Good luck in your search and I would glad to tell you anything else I know about if you have any questions.
Depending on what you want to spend you can pick up a lot of different options in the Catalina 30. The MK I runs to 1986. After that Catalina went to a T cockpit, standard Universal Diesel, and a few other modifications. Around 1994 Catalina came out with the MK III which has an open transom (they are really nice). My Catalina is a 1990 Catalina 30 MK II Tall Rig, Bow Sprit, wing keel. I love the boat (I wish I had the open transom of the MK III because of getting in and out of the dingy). The bathroom is slightly tight in the boat but it is a big 30 foot boat inside. I am currently in the middle of a 18 day cruise in mine. Try to figure out what you want to spend on the boat and what you are looking for. If you are sailing an area like the Chesapeake Bay then you may want to get the tall rig wing keel version. An MK II will cost around 35,000 dollars in the 1990 area. I have heard that the 80's boats are prone to blisters but I know that I have a few blisters on my hull (Blisters are no more than an overblown boogie man). You can pick up the older models for around 20K. An MKIII will start in the low 40,000 to migh 40,000 range. I saw one listed in SpinSheet for 43,000 dollars (MK III). The biggest advantage of the tall rig is the ancor arrangement (you have a nice place to store the ancor on the bowsprit and it works well there). It is also nice if you sail in light winds a lot. I do carry a small working jib that I have switched out on the boat when the wind is really blowing (I beat 60 miles upwind two days ago in 15-20 carrying the small jib and the full main). The Catalina 30 is a tough boat and I have run the gauntlet in mine a few times. Good luck in your search and I would glad to tell you anything else I know about if you have any questions.
Thank you for the info.
Thanks for taking the time to fill me in on what year of boat I should be looking for. You must be on the East coast. I am in Washington State on the Puget Sound and plan to use my boat running up to Alaska and maybe going down the West Coast into California. I like the 30 because it has such a nice feel inside with lots of room. With the winds we have, I am going to stay with normal version and stay away from the tall one. I assume you single hand your vessel? Are there any structural modifications you would do? Darrel
Thanks for taking the time to fill me in on what year of boat I should be looking for. You must be on the East coast. I am in Washington State on the Puget Sound and plan to use my boat running up to Alaska and maybe going down the West Coast into California. I like the 30 because it has such a nice feel inside with lots of room. With the winds we have, I am going to stay with normal version and stay away from the tall one. I assume you single hand your vessel? Are there any structural modifications you would do? Darrel
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