A lot of bang for the buck
Although the Catalina 38 seems like a lot of boat for a first sailboat, at least you won't soon grow out of it! To clarify the history, I believe the 38 was designed FOR Yankee by S&S as the Yankee 38, and when Yankee wentbelly-up in the late 70's, Catalina bought the hull mold, gave it a new deckmold and interior, and voila, we have the Catalina 38! The IOR rule seemedto favor curvaceous lines, so the 38 has rather pointy ends, and as others have noted, noticeable "tumblehome" amidships. All in all, a very prettydesign which never fails to elicit comments. The lack of volume aft, however,does adversely affect the handling with following seas off the wind, so it will never track as well in those situations as the 380, with it's beam carried wellaft, which also provides room for the aft cabin and wide, step-through transom. I think the boats ability to track on the wind and speed and stabilityin that mode more than makes up for any off-wind deficiency! As for its suitability for Puget Sound and NW coastal cruising, assuming the rig is sound, it will withstand weather much worse than you will feel comfortablebeing out in!! In short, a used Catalina 38 that has been well maintained isa lot of bang for the buck, and will take you just about anywhere you want togo in style! By the way, mine is an '82, hull# 170! Good Luck!