Catalina Yachts website is gone?
- Thread starter VFR750
- Start date
The ownership of Catalina Yachts, the brand and the assets was sold earlier this year. It is now a subject of litigation. Tartan yachts is also involved. There has been several articles in the boating press. Check out the Loose Cannon on Substack.
Right. I knew that. I was wondering if maybe they did not pay their bill to the ISP.
I am definitely aware of the change in ownership and the halting of production. It was supposed to be temporary: "one month"
Losing the website seems far more terminal than just a pause.
Approximately 10 boat were in production and an untold number of deposits on boats waiting to go into production. All of that was in limbo. Now it seems like a loss. I feel sad for those trapped in this litigation BS.
It also means I have lost my warranty coverage on my boat. Simply lovely.
Losing the website seems far more terminal than just a pause.
Approximately 10 boat were in production and an untold number of deposits on boats waiting to go into production. All of that was in limbo. Now it seems like a loss. I feel sad for those trapped in this litigation BS.
It also means I have lost my warranty coverage on my boat. Simply lovely.
I seem to recall that it was said that the boats in contract prior to the sale would be delivered by the previous company. The new owners would have looked after the new orders. There was some reports in nautical news that there was a transition plan, with payments from the new to the old owners and that those may not have happened. If litigation gets involved, things will certainly get messy.
How does placing a new boat order work, in terms of financials? The contract is between the buyer and the broker/dealer. Does the broker hold deposit in escrow? Do dealers have to place deposits to the manufacturer?
Sad to see, but not surprising. There has been a gradual shift from the late 80s to today from sail to power. With aging demographics curve in North America, it's no surprise that new sailboats are less in demand in comparison to power boats. With the post covid elevated interest rate, the market for sailboat producers got a little more challenging. Increased marina slip costs is another factor. You get more internal space in a 40' powerboat than a 44' sailboat...
Luckily we have companies like SBO (thanks Al, Bly !) and CatalinaDirect to support owners and keep the boats going...
How does placing a new boat order work, in terms of financials? The contract is between the buyer and the broker/dealer. Does the broker hold deposit in escrow? Do dealers have to place deposits to the manufacturer?
Sad to see, but not surprising. There has been a gradual shift from the late 80s to today from sail to power. With aging demographics curve in North America, it's no surprise that new sailboats are less in demand in comparison to power boats. With the post covid elevated interest rate, the market for sailboat producers got a little more challenging. Increased marina slip costs is another factor. You get more internal space in a 40' powerboat than a 44' sailboat...
Luckily we have companies like SBO (thanks Al, Bly !) and CatalinaDirect to support owners and keep the boats going...
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In Chicago, we see far more sailboats than motorboats. There's been days when you couldn't look anywhere on this end of the lake without seeing them. Travel an hour inland to the Chain O Lake however, and it's all power and no sails.
I think the market is flooded with used boats and few of us are willing to pay the price for a new one. I hear the price for a Beneteau 235 is around 70-80k
Our broker (Springline Yacht Sales) took a ~non-refundable deposit. It was in escrow. The purchase contract was between SYS and us.
SYS placed the order with Catalina. I don't think Catalina got any money when the order was placed.
I also know SYS bought boats on speculation. Not sure it they needed a deposit at the time of the order either.
Catalina tells the broker they are about to start production, and then, probably, Catalina got a portion of the deposit. There is no turning back at this time.
Catalina sent an invoice to our broker upon completion of the boat at the factory. Financing starts ~ 3 weeks before completion and is finished after the serial number is created and documented. The mortgage check went to SYS, and they distributed the funds to Catalina. Then the boat gets shipped. Completion to arrival at SYS was about 4 weeks.
Catalina was on the hook for the cost of the boat until delivery. As of October, they had ~10 boats started, and needed them to be completed to get the balance due them. Probably 3-4 million tied up in production. A cash flow problem.
As of today, May 17, 2026, it looks like the Catalina Yachts website is down permanently this time. Every link to the Catalina website brings up an ‘Account Suspended’ message.
Sad day...
Here's the auction.... there's a partially completed 426 (no keel / rudder / mast) coming up, along with all of the molds!
It will be interesting to see what the hulls go for .... there's no details on whether they have an interior or not and it looks like some of the materials (interior / stainless molds for cockpit lazarettes etc...) are being sold off seperately... Even at ten cents on the dollar, there's likely a lot of time / money to go into them (no mast, keel, rudder, engine, unknown interior, etc...)
I guess the family had no interest in continuing the company, and the company that tried to buy them out was over leveraged. Is the market for new sailboats that slow that Beneteau or any other didn't see the opurtunity? I suspect that with China rapidly ramping up pleasure craft production, the market will change quickly in the next 5-10 years.
Here's the auction.... there's a partially completed 426 (no keel / rudder / mast) coming up, along with all of the molds!
It will be interesting to see what the hulls go for .... there's no details on whether they have an interior or not and it looks like some of the materials (interior / stainless molds for cockpit lazarettes etc...) are being sold off seperately... Even at ten cents on the dollar, there's likely a lot of time / money to go into them (no mast, keel, rudder, engine, unknown interior, etc...)
I guess the family had no interest in continuing the company, and the company that tried to buy them out was over leveraged. Is the market for new sailboats that slow that Beneteau or any other didn't see the opurtunity? I suspect that with China rapidly ramping up pleasure craft production, the market will change quickly in the next 5-10 years.
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