Catalina 42 - Response To Your Question
Bob, I have a 1997 Catalina 42 Mk II. It is a wing keel, 3-cabin version. My wife and I love it. It is a lot of boat for the money and is very seaworthy. Our cruising ground is Long Island Sound to Nantucket and we find the boat very comfortable and easy to handle. Last June I sailed the boat from New York to Bermuda, and back. Weather conditions ranged from flat calms to squalls of 37 kts. Seas in the Gulf Stream were 10-12 feet in NW winds. The C42 handled it beautifully. I did do a couple of modifications to the boat for that trip. I added an inner forestay and running backstays. I had a third reef put in the main. I added securing bolts to the companionway washboards, and I secured the normally unsecured anchor locker. Additionally, I added the appropriate safety and communications equipment, including liferaft, high capacity Edson pump, SSB radio, 406 EPIRB, etc. The configuration of the boat for coastal cruising is great. For blue-water cruising the fuel tankage limitation is a drawback. The standard tank is 38 gallons. I carred 6x6 jerry cans on deck. I would prefer not to do that in the future. Some C42's have been modified to carry extra tankage. C42 Moonspun upped his diesel capacity to around 180 gallons by putting in extra tankage. His work was carried in Mainsheet last year. If you check the C42 website I think that there is an article + pictures. Net, net, the C42 is a very liveable boat. It is very capable. It is a lot of boat for the money and I've never met a C42 owner who was dissatisfied. Hope this helps Michael Yorke C42 Mk II, #573, Certa Cito Port Washington, Long Island, New York
