Right behind ya Capt Ron!
Dave in NOLA, You did not say what year C27 you were looking at although as Capt Ron points out the 'Catalina smile' is a well known and unloved feature that occurs on some of these boats. The Catalina smile is a crack that forms in the hull in the location described in the post below. Not every C27 has this unloved feature though so a good inspection of the boat by yourself AND a decent surveyor should help you decide what action to take next. Here is the link to the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors: http://www.marinesurvey.org/index2.html There are quite a few in Louisiana accredited by SAMS Here is the link for National Association of Marine Surveyors: http://www.nams-cms.org/ Also a number in your area accredited by NAMS. Some surveyors even belong to both as well as ABYC and a whole bunch of other acronyms. The more acronyms following their names the more accredited education they have. How do I know this? I was and may still be planning to join one of these organizations although it occurred to me that it might be difficult to actually make money being a surveyor. I own a 27' sailboat (a 1967 Tartan) and we have raced against a Catalina 30' that we always seems to beat us (we haven't won yet). I am not sure if it is the crew or the boat or both. I do think that a 27' of whatever brand is a good sized and manageable boat for getting back into sailing. There were lots of Catalina 27s made as well so you should be able to shop around if this is the boat for you. Good luck.
Dave in NOLA, You did not say what year C27 you were looking at although as Capt Ron points out the 'Catalina smile' is a well known and unloved feature that occurs on some of these boats. The Catalina smile is a crack that forms in the hull in the location described in the post below. Not every C27 has this unloved feature though so a good inspection of the boat by yourself AND a decent surveyor should help you decide what action to take next. Here is the link to the Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors: http://www.marinesurvey.org/index2.html There are quite a few in Louisiana accredited by SAMS Here is the link for National Association of Marine Surveyors: http://www.nams-cms.org/ Also a number in your area accredited by NAMS. Some surveyors even belong to both as well as ABYC and a whole bunch of other acronyms. The more acronyms following their names the more accredited education they have. How do I know this? I was and may still be planning to join one of these organizations although it occurred to me that it might be difficult to actually make money being a surveyor. I own a 27' sailboat (a 1967 Tartan) and we have raced against a Catalina 30' that we always seems to beat us (we haven't won yet). I am not sure if it is the crew or the boat or both. I do think that a 27' of whatever brand is a good sized and manageable boat for getting back into sailing. There were lots of Catalina 27s made as well so you should be able to shop around if this is the boat for you. Good luck.
