Why risk it?
I am much more familiar with Hunters than I am Catalinas, but they share many of the same characteristics (please, I'm not trying to start a Hunter vs. Catalina thing).In an interview with Hunter management this spring (please see my article published on this site "A Visit with Hunter Marine")they told me that they designed and built boats for the 85% of the market under the bell-shaped curve of people who buy and sail boats. The people who cross oceans and sail around the world aren't in that part of the bell shaped curve (my opinion). This market focus results in design decisions for bright, spacious, airy, boats that are easy to sail and maneuver, and cost competitive and also pretty tough. But the designs are optimized for coastal cruising, not ocean passagemaking(my opinion. Please note this is different from saying they can't cross oceans.).I suspect Catalina would say the same thing.I sail a Hunter 37.5 and I love it for what we do with it. We just took it on an 850 mile 36 day cruise around Vancouver Island. That trip takes you around three very gnarly capes, through some very strong tidal currents, fog, high winds, big ocean waves, etc. The outside of the Island puts you in the open Pacific for about 300 miles. Our Hunter 37.5 performed flawlessly. We like it's space and liveability. It's ease of maneuvering in and out of marinas and fuel docks is great, etc. It's a wonderful coastal cruiser.Would I choose my boat to sail around the world? No.One of my best friends owns a Valiant 40 which he has twice sailed to the South Pacific. I sail on his boat with him frequently. Compared to my Hunter, I'm not high on his boat because it's kind of dark and cramped below deck, not as fast in the light to moderate winds we experience most of the time, not as maneuverable, etc.BUT, it got him safely across the ocean a few times AND it was pitchpoled and dismasted in a major storm off New Zealand by a delivery skipper. It got the delivery skipper and crew safely back to New Zealand. And the boat is still around and very solid.I'm not a salesperson for Valiant. But it is clearly optimized for blue water passagemaking and is not geared toward those of us in the mass market who do coastal cruising.If I were going around the world, I would expect somewhere along the way to get really pounded by wind and waves. I would want every advantage to survive the experience, and I would be willing to compromise the spaciousness, maneuverability, and appearance of my Hunter for a boat with a design optimized (like the Valiant or its counterparts) for very, very tough conditions.Your life may depend on it.Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust h37.5