Im boat shopping

Dec 11, 2016
16
Oday 240 Lake Jacomo
Ill start by saying that I am new to sailing. I have spent my life in/on/around the water but in power boats. So, Im not new to boating but know very little about sailing other than that I had had soem oppertunities to sail with some people and have really enjoyed it.. I guess Im getting older and no longer crave the speed/noise of a power boat.

I have been looking at 25-27 ft boats... and have started to lean towards the Catalina 25.

I THINK that is a good starter size boat that my wife and I could enjoy. Our local lake has a max size of 30 ft. I also THINK I want the swing keel for easy trailering and removal when needed. We HAVE to remove our boats from the lake by Dec 1 each year.

I live in Missouri and have found this one: http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/56899
(I hope that it is ok that I posted that link?)

Anyhow, I am curious if that seems like a fair price. It needs a new bottom job and the local sailboat shop has quoted me a price of $1500.00 PLUS paint... They tell me it had a blister repair done in the past and it was a poor job.

I kind of think that it is over priced with the work that is needed on the stress crack and the bottom paint job... but I honestly dont know.

It also has a stress crack in the gel coat in one area...Ill post a pic of that separately.

Im curious what other questions I should be asking.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
Jul 14, 2015
840
Catalina 30 Stillhouse Hollow Marina
Great boat. That was my first midsize boat and we loved it. Really not very trailer-able for setting up and taking down. Price with trailer and it's current setup is not bad. Check for soft spots or depressions around where standing rigging enters the deck, the base of mast, and the entire top surface. If that stress crack is not soft, a good fiberglass repair should handle it. Check around where keel is attached for cracking.
 
Feb 20, 2011
7,990
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
She looks great in the photos on the sailboatlistings site (perfectly fine to post the link).

Does your local lake have dry, mast-up storage? If so, you could forget about the bottom paint issue.
Edit- or just deal with the seller over that expense...?
 
Last edited:
Jul 14, 2015
840
Catalina 30 Stillhouse Hollow Marina
She looks great in the photos on the sailboatlistings site (perfectly fine to post the link).

Does your local lake have dry, mast-up storage? If so, you could forget about the bottom paint issue.
Mast down is ok too. No need to bottom job if it comes out for the winter. Just power wash.
 
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Dec 11, 2016
16
Oday 240 Lake Jacomo
We have to pull our boats by Dec 1 each year. I THINK we can put them back in sometime in March. And we can rent a "spot" near the launch area to store over winter, which I would do as I cant keep her at my house.
 
Jun 29, 2010
1,287
Beneteau First 235 Lake Minnetonka, MN
How old are the sails? Sailing with old sails is a nightmare..... You could paint the bottom yourself but, that can be a messy job and not fun on the trailer.

Mast down is ok too. No need to bottom job if it comes out for the winter. Just power wash.
It needs paint if you look at the pictures....


EDIT: Please tell us you will rename it.... ;)
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
It needs bottom paint if you plan to leave it in the water for any length of time. Which means you might want to repair the below waterline blistering.
Also remove the OB in the off season so it doesn't get stolen, and secure the hatch.

Yeah, it needs a new name. It was cool for a movie about a WWII U boat, but a sailboat...not so much. And I was born in Germany.
 

sdstef

.
Jan 31, 2013
140
Hunter 28 Branched Oak Lake
Nicely equipped small boat. Self tailing winches are great, the interior looks good. I would say $6100.00 is a fair price. I am not a fan of swing keels. I have owned two of them. It will be almost at easy to load on the trailer as a 25 foot power boat. You will not want to do much trailering and mast raising with it. Too much trouble, unless you are going someplace and staying for a few days. Only thing I see negative is the engine propeller looks like it is barely underwater. I wonder if it is a standard shaft length. 25 inch is usually the minimum. Good luck. Get here soon and you can tweak her in before spring.
 
Dec 11, 2016
16
Oday 240 Lake Jacomo
YES... If I buy her, she will get a new name although Im not sure how easy it would be t take the current name off of her.

Are there some rules for nameing a boat? I saw a boat at the coast last year named "Sails Call" and really liked that but was not sure of etiquette for naming a boat.
 

sdstef

.
Jan 31, 2013
140
Hunter 28 Branched Oak Lake
No problem renaming it, unless it's coast guard documented. Acetone will help remove the name if it's painted on. Heat gun used carefully for decals.
 

SFS

.
Aug 18, 2015
2,066
Currently Boatless Okinawa
Acetone will help remove the name if it's painted on. Heat gun used carefully for decals.
I'll be going through this soon. Didn't I read somewhere here that acetone will mess up gel coat??
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Every time I've seen a Catalina/Capri with a sunbrella saloon cover, its been to stanch a leak they cannot find in the cabintop. Take a hose to it.

Also get used to spending money. That doesn't stop after you buy it. That's when it STARTS.
 
Nov 7, 2012
678
1978 Catalina 30 Wilbur-by-the-Sea
On the name, You can get a 3m eraser wheel for a power drill, it will remove vinyl letters in a jiff but you will have a shadow on the paint from the UV. May be able to buff it out, may not.

As for $1500, if that includes blister repair not that bad a price. Painting is easy as is blister repair but you will never get the two or three weekends of your life back you spend doing the work yourself. It is all a trade off, and boats are just a money sink...
 

Apex

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Jun 19, 2013
1,197
C&C 30 Elk Rapids
interior is small on 25 so you may prefer the traditional layout instead of dinette. i had l shaped interior and wished to be able to fold the table against the bulkhead.

6100 is mid market price 10k at the top. for swing keel check keel trunk very carefully. that is keel drop damage zone and mot often properly repaired. also check with current owner on turning ball and cable replacement. genral consensus is replace every couple of years. better aailing is the fin, that we had, but not a trailer sailor.
 
Oct 3, 2011
825
Anam Cara Catalina 310 Hull #155 155 Lake Erie/Catawba Island
She LOOKS like a great boat but you have to do your due diligence and check her out. We owned a 1987 Catalina 25 hull #5612 but she was not a dinette model. We loved her, you have shore power, nice clean interior, roller furling with ASYM. We used our pop top with cover extensively and also our alcohol stove was Non Pressure and wife cooked regularly on it. You also have a magma grill with it also adds value. Check the sails for rips etc.
We had a cover over our poptop not because it leaked but to keep the teak handrails from getting exposed to the sun. But like Jack said check for leaks! We replaced our keel cable, pin,turning ball and blocks along with volcano hose-out of the water- all those parts are available from Catalina Direct ! Remember to get on and join the Catalina 25 group, you can learn a lot from that group. This forum is also a great resource. Trailer looks great with electric brakes! You will also do a lot to personalize your boat at a reasonable cost-the bigger the boat-the bigger the cost for "STUFF". Self tailing winches are great and will help you and crew sail the boat easier-single handed also. Here is what a good friend told me about buying boats. "you can pay too much to buy a bad boat but you cannot pay too much to buy a good boat"-obviously within reason. Ultimately if the boat is good reasonablely priced and you want a good sailing boat with a good history,safe,easy to singlehand, reasonable to buy parts to repair and easy to work on. If you want to change the name google the "Name change ceremony" I think BOATUS has one listed also. This boat has a lot going for it, that I can see. Remember everything is negotiable also, when we bought our 310 the broker said "Throw out a number, you can't insult the owner, we threw out a # that was WAY below value and what we would have paid for her and it was excepted! Best wishes, keep us in the loop-there is lots of great support here and no dumb questions.!
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Im curious what other questions I should be asking.
The question you should be asking yourself is: "How come I've found this great forum but maybe haven't found this one, the Catalina 25 Association website forum?"

It comes up on a Google search for Catalina 25...just sayin'.

http://catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=3

They're great guys and know everything about that boat. I had one for 13 years. They're great. Good luck.