Catalina Capri Forum?

[Monsterfish]

Hello,

I just wanted to see if there are out there any Catalina 18' (Capri) owners for a chat about their experiences. So far there seems to be a "gap" of information about this boat. The overall public seems to be divided between the "daysailors," "cruising boats," and alike." It's very strange. No boat is designed for anything specifically. It is up to the skipper how you use it and where. It seems like CP18 is "lost" in the convention of categorizations with most of the public following the trend. Even some websites that offer "anything Catalina" have everything from CT14 to the latest models EXCEPT Catalina 18. I am just looking for Catalina 18 enthusiasts who may have some real experience and advice beyond the standard "day sailor", "Cruising," "Racing," "Blue Water" industry impositions.

Thank you

 

[dlochner]

The forums on SBO are sliced and diced several ways. As you note they are divided by use and they are divided in varying degrees by manufacturer, size, and model. Additionally there is a forum for trailer sailers. The balance in forums is to provide enough specificity to stimulate and maintain interest and not becoming so narrowly focused that a critical mass of users do not participate.

In real life there is often little difference between similar sized models within the same brand. I suspect the there are more similarities between the Cape 18 and 22 than there are differences. And frankly between other Catalinas and North American made production boats.

Some questions will be better asked in the large general forum, Ask All Sailors, others in a more boat specific, such Catalina-Small Boats, and others in Trailer Sailers. With that said, understand the powers-to-be here on SBO frown on duplicate posts and will remove or merge them.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@Monsterfish

There are several places for information on the Capri/Catalina 18 to include Wikipedia, Sailboatdata.com, Sailboatowners.com, Catalina 18 Association, etc , and myself. On Sailboatowners,com, go to home page and under forum search, put in Catalina 18 and there are 150 response some of which are from me. Sources for parts are Catalina Direct, Gerhauer, Catalina sailboats plant in Largo, Florida, Sailboatowners.com and generic parts from retail outlets. Catalina Direct is not owned by Catalina Sailboats. The Catalina plant in California is long gone. The chief designer of Catalina sailboats, Gerry Douglas, is retired and the founder of Catalina, Frank Butler is deceased. Sharon Day now runs Catalina in Florida.

The Cari line of sailboats was acquired by Catalina in the early 1980’s. The Capri 18 debuted in 1985 with a deep fin keel designed by Gerry Douglas as a pocket cruiser. During the later 1980’s when the wing keel was offered as an option, it was referred to as the Catalina/Capri 18. Eventually the referral to Catalina 18 occurred around 2000. I am not sure when the fin keel became an option as the wing keel became the standard keel.

The trailer for the 18 was built with a keel tray to carry the weight of the boat with three supports each side for bunk boards. A long extension is needed for launching. You have to be careful adding guides to the keel tray due to the wings on the keel. On the east coast, the two major trailer suppliers were Precision ( closed) and Road King which no longer builds sailboat trailers. I am not sure if Magic Tilt has the plans for the 18.

I use to be a Catalina dealer who use to bring the Catalina 18 to the Annapolis shows. I suggested two people raise and lower the mast while the boat was on the trailer. Make sure you have a long ramp which to launch the boat. Boat is designed as a pocket cruiser but not for high seas. Comfortable for four in the cockpit but six, no. You can anchor and sleep but make sure paticularly on inland lakes you have a 360 degree light hanging from the boom as power boaters do not look up but straight ahead. Install a boarding ladders with at least three steps because you do not have a walk through transom. Max engine ho is 5-6 hp. Never heel over 15-18 degrees Always check the weather before you go

If you ever meet Sharon, ask her if she ever drank any home made peach brandy from the mountains of Virginny which is called moonshine from Crazy Dave

Crazy Dave

 

[Monsterfish]

Awesome! Thank you so much! I appreciate all the info and your time.

 

[Monsterfish]

In fact, we just returned from the trip on Lake Champlain. We did stay overnight and slept in a cabin. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that with the middle part in (between two sleeping berths) my wife and I could sleep comfortably across the length of the hull. And yes, we did have a small overhead light hanging from the boom at night. All in all - a great experience. We love our C18. Its a small but pretty capable and comfortable boat. Plus, 18 feet of the boat is an economic advantage for us where everything in the marina is based on the price by foot.