Coronada 32 info/opinions or Cat30 or SanJuan

[Bryan C]

Hello all ,
My wife and i are getting close to buying our first boat and had pretty much narrowed it down to either a Catalina 30 or a SanJuan 28.5 when i came across a Coronada 32 aft cabin /center cockpit in beautiful condition with a new Universal 25 hp motor witch i find very intriguing .
The issue is that there is so little information out there about these boats because they were made for such a short period of time so if you have any knowledge of these boats i would really appreciate it.
Oh and feel free to throw in your two cents on the Cat 30 or the SanJuan .
Thanks ! , Bryan

 

[Stu Jackson]

Interesting choices to compare

You're looking at three drastically different boats. The San Juans were made for racing with IOR pinched sterns. Not much back there, is there? The Coronado were cumbersome, clunky sailing BIG boats for their time, very heavy, and very heavily made. They do not have big rigs, unless the one you're looking at is a tall rig - I'm not sure Coronado did that. Even with a brand new engine (and it could be rebuilt, unless you know for sure), you're looking more at a motorsailor than a true sailboat. The C30 is one of the most popular production boats ever made. Company is still in business, parts are easy to find either through Catalina or from Catalina Direct, a supplier that started out with C22 parts in Sacramento, CA, and has branched out to everything. A friend with a C34 just purchased a C34 stanchion from them yesterday.

There's most likely a Coronado yahoo group out there somewhere, if you can find them thru Google. Same for the SJ.

The C30 group has a website that's very helpful, and the systems on the C30 are almost exactly what we have on our C34 and also appear on C36s. The C34 and C36 websites have tremendous amounts of helpful information you simply won't find elsewhere.

Them's your choices.

Good luck.

 

[Bryan C]

Re: Interesting choices to compare

Thanks for the input !

 

[Old Skool Neil]

Bryan,

I worked at the Costa Mesa factory where the Coronado 32 was tooled and produced. The actual production happened right after I left but I have plenty of opinions as to their construction techniques, opinions formed from first hand experience. I know nothing of the San Juan so can't comment on that and currently own a Catalina 30 so again, plenty to offer there.

All boats are a compromise of some sort and Stu's advice of determining what you want to do with the boat is sound. Why get a racer if it's a cruiser you want?

Here are my opinions of 2 of your 3 choices. I apologize in advance for ruffling feathers.

Coronado 32
The Columbia/Coronado trick of the time was to take a Columbia hull and add a bustle and different deck to it to make a 'new' Coronado model. The Coronado 27, 35, 41 and Columbia 45 were the same hulls as the Columbia 26, 34, 39 and 43 racing sloops respectively. The Coronado 32 is actually the Columbia 30 hull. They advertised 'hand laid woven roving' but in reality the hulls were laid up with resin rich chopper guns and roving laid by hand over that. The hulls, that's right - HULLS, were also balsa cored, a known problem due to deterioration of the core material with water incursion. Balsa cored decks are one thing but hulls are a problem. The hull and deck joint is IMHO, just about the worst out there. It's an aluminum extrusion with pop rivets and polysulfide caulking. The rivets penetrate the fiberglass of the hull and deck about 1/2" from the edge and the fiberglass does not overlap. As you can probably tell, I'll not be owning a Columbia/Coronado product in my lifetime.

Catalina 30
Never worked there but I own one and fully refit her within the past 5 years - pictures in my profile area. Older boats have known problems such as steel keel bolts, deteriorating plywood shoe in the keel stump and substandard lower chainplates. Newer boats have stainless keel bolts, none of the offending plywood and a chainplate retrofit kit is readily available. I was not that impressed with the factory electrics and fully rewired mine. I would recommend replacing the standing rigging if it's not been done. At least on my era boat Catalina used aircraft swages and drilled them out to fit the rigging pins. Problem is the tolerances were too tight and in time the pins become frozen in the eyes. Also, the closed barrel turnbuckles seize too. What blows me away about the Catalina 30 is how nicely it sails, even compared to much newer designs. Was it last year a vintage Catalina 30 took first overall in the Ensenada race? Man, that's at least a 35 year old design taking the fleet to task. I have no reservations in recommending the Catalina 30 as long as you look at her objectively, the fleet is aging.

 

[wonkodsane]

Love my Catalina 30 and it is easy to get information and parts.

Not to mention that there is a lot of choice in the C30 line itself. Many different motors, shoal vs wing vs fin keel, tall rig vs standard rig, and a lot of elbow room in the price range. I got my '89 tall rig wing keel (in fantastic shape) for $9K. Newer ones can sell in the $30K range.

 

[Bryan C]

Thanks for the great info it's much appreciated .

The Coronada is out ....way out

Catalinas are Catalinas ... hard to go to far wrong as long as you have a good survey

Why i am considering the SanJuan , It's in really nice shape , it has a ten foot beam on a 281/2 foot boat so it's pretty roomy except for the the aft 1/4 berth , being a cruiser/ racer seams to have it's advantages as fair as cruising speed and sailing at a good clip in light winds and It's a pretty looking boat , very modern cut to it witch the wife really likes .

Thanks again for the input ! Bryan

 

[FastOlson]

Lots of info presented about the good and bad points of Cat 30's, so I would add nothing to that... And the above post about the Columbia echos what I have been told over the decades.

The SJ-28 was an in-house design that seemed to be aimed at a "fast cruiser and club racer" audience that wanted to pay less than the price of the IOR-targeted SJ-30. We have had an SJ-28 in our club in PDX that used to go up to BC waters in the summers. Not a big boat for its length, but it seemed to please the owner & family, and they never raced it.

There used to be a SJ-29 advertised, also, but my suspicion is that it was a "28" hull. This was never a huge company and they may have used one plug for several similar-size boats over time.
Rumor is that designer/NA Bruce Kirby was ticked that he only got his proper royalty for the SJ-24 and SJ-30 models. Years later, it's all just answers to trivia questions...

As to lay up schedules and general hull strength, I would put the SJ stuff about on par with Catalina of the same era.
After all these years, a good survey will tell you what you need to know to make a purchase decision. If you do not care too much about actual sailing ability, condition will probably be the most important thing.

One other thing to add to the mix is that the SJ will probably be a lot more fun to sail than the Catalina with its wide hull that that gives it quite a bit of room inside. An IOR-derived hull like the SJ will be a genuine pleasure to drive to weather in comparison. Neither boat will escape it's waterline speed off the wind anyhow, so reaching and running would be similar.
BTW, do not be mislead by the beam figures -- the Catalina carries its wide beam a lot further forward, as well as aft. That gives you more room inside and also less sailing performance.

Happy shopping!

 

[Cayennita]

Not sure if you bought a boat yet. The San Juan 28 was derived from an IOR design and as such it is very rolly going dead down wind because of the pinched stern.
The Catalina 30 has a 10'10" beam vs. 10' for the San Juan 28.
The Catalina 30 has a 25' waterline vs. 22'4" for the San Juan 28.
The PHRF rating average for the Catalina 30 regardless of configuration is 180-189 vs. 177-180 for the San Juan 28.
The Catalina 30 is roomier, a little heavier and reaches better because of the wider stern. The longer water line will beat a shorter waterline on a reach. The SJ 28 is not a reaching boat and will tend to round up. I have raced against both of them in Marblehead back in the early 80's and the Cat. 30 just about always beat the SJ 28. Only if you are only going up wind will the SJ 28 stay in front. IOR designed good upwind boats. period! I had a Seidleman 30 with a 12' beam. Nothing could touch it upwind. DDW was death rolls even with a blooper. Get the Catalina 30. Roomier, good forum, lots of help out there. Now I live in St. Croix and we have a Catalina 30 that has gone through 3 hurricanes at it's mooring and is still there. Owner visits her 2 times/year and is always dry down below.

 

[Liam]

Eventually you will sell whichever boat you decide to buy now. The best resale by far would be the Catalina. There is a reason that Catalina 30's have become one of the most popular boats ever built. They are very strong, sail well, and are roomy and comfortable. Of the three boats you are considering it is my humble opinion that the Catalina would be the best choice.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

You got lots of good info in this thread (not often found, I believe). Kudos to those who gave you their knowledge.

 

[larryw]

You can't go wrong with a clean, well-maintained Catalina 30. Best boat for the buck, and when you're ready to move up, it's easy to sell and will most likely have increased in value.