Look inside 1979, 25 Catalina

[Captain-Will]

Hi all have owned this boat for a few months now, I love it shes my first sail boat. 1979 25, Catalina. Thought you would enjoy a look inside

I am curious to see how you would rate the condition of the interior cabin, there is some mold mildew dew that was present and is now creeping back, the cushions seem to be in pretty decent shape. Seems to be no wood rot.

. I have not had the time to properly clean the inside, but wonder is this cabin in good enough condition to put some time and money into?

I guess the best course of action would be to get everything out and do a thorough cleaning with bleach and water to kill the mildew and mold, and then focus on repainting the wood

even tho I just have taken her her out and winter is fast approaching, i am already thinking about early spring and getting her looking healthy again

 

[DArcy]

I am curious to see how you would rate the condition of the interior cabin

Not atypical of a 45 year old 25 footer. Your walkthrough shows pretty much what I would expect of a boat that was at one point well used, and more recently, not well loved. Some elbow grease, a good clean out and scrub would go a long way. I like Catalinas, they are well designed and built boats. This is a fairly simple boat but the wiring scares me. It looks like it was modified by someone that didn't have a great deal of knowledge or (and) wasn't concerned with workmanship. My current boat had DC wiring issues and I spent the first year owning her sorting them out. I don't see any obvious water intrusion issues but that may not be evident from the video.

wonder is this cabin in good enough condition to put some time and money into?

If you are knowledgeable, or willing to learn, and you have time on your hands then yes. It would not be worth paying someone to fix up. It will be a continuous effort to keep this boat going. All boats are.

 

[BarryL]

Hello,

Congratulations on your boat. She looks OK to me. I would say your boat is definitely worth some love and time and cleaning. Spend a few hours cleaning, tidying, and removing unused gear.

What are your long(er) term plans? Do you plan on day sailing, making weekend trips, racing, or longer distance cruises?

Is that a porta potty between the v berth and salon table? Does it work? There is no stove / oven in the galley. Do you need one?

Good luck,
Barry

 

[Captain-Will]

Not atypical of a 45 year old 25 footer. Your walkthrough shows pretty much what I would expect of a boat that was at one point well used, and more recently, not well loved. Some elbow grease, a good clean out and scrub would go a long way. I like Catalinas, they are well designed and built boats. This is a fairly simple boat but the wiring scares me. It looks like it was modified by someone that didn't have a great deal of knowledge or (and) wasn't concerned with workmanship. My current boat had DC wiring issues and I spent the first year owning her sorting them out. I don't see any obvious water intrusion issues but that may not be evident from the video.


If you are knowledgeable, or willing to learn, and you have time on your hands then yes. It would not be worth paying someone to fix up. It will be a continuous effort to keep this boat going. All boats are.

Thanks for the reply, definitely going to try and put some care into her. The wiring definitely has become a problem it started to have some issues on the last trip out that need to be addressed. hopefully I can tackle most of it myself

 

[Captain-Will]

Hello,

Congratulations on your boat. She looks OK to me. I would say your boat is definitely worth some love and time and cleaning. Spend a few hours cleaning, tidying, and removing unused gear.

What are your long(er) term plans? Do you plan on day sailing, making weekend trips, racing, or longer distance cruises?

Is that a porta potty between the v berth and salon table? Does it work? There is no stove / oven in the galley. Do you need one?

Good luck,
Barry

Thank you, and yes she definitely needs some, and it is my hope that by the spring season I can have her looking much better. More long term plans are mostly day trips with some single overnight. Yes it is an original porta potty between the V berth and the table, i haven't attempted to use it yet honestly. I would like to get a new stove for there

 

[Indysailor]

There's not much money or expertise required to get the interior to the point where you'd be pleased with it, or not embarrassed to invite someone aboard. The most expensive item- cushions- appear to be in relatively good shape. First, thoroughly study, document the electrics and get rid of anything that doesn't work or isn't needed. Then get rid of anything aboard that isn't directly needed to sail the boat. Ditch that carpet or whatever it is, unless it's glued down. Scrub the hell out of everything, clean the woodwork (and re-varnish if motivated).

 

[JBP-PA]

Lots of things can be done over winter. As you said, bring all the drawers, cupboard doors, companion way steps, dinette table, etc. Indoors and refinish them. Varnishing is immeasurably easier indoors in your basement or garage.

Remove the foam from the cushions. The covers look good, just wash them gently. You can choose to replace the foam if it's bad, wash it if you like but drying foam is tedious, or just reuse it as is (lookup the vacuum trick for cushions!).

You can do wiring in the winter, especially if can get shore power to your boat with a small electric heater. You could also do small refinishing, but you need to be especially careful about fumes since you are probably sealed up tight in winter.

Take off your engine and do the routine maintenance somewhere warm (oil change, gear oil change, plugs, fuel filter, impeller as required).

Things that are difficult in winter are epoxy, paint, and varnish on things that are not easy to remove, but they can still be done. Do all the prep and wait for the rare 65 degree day.

 

[Captain-Will]

There's not much money or expertise required to get the interior to the point where you'd be pleased with it, or not embarrassed to invite someone aboard. The most expensive item- cushions- appear to be in relatively good shape. First, thoroughly study, document the electrics and get rid of anything that doesn't work or isn't needed. Then get rid of anything aboard that isn't directly needed to sail the boat. Ditch that carpet or whatever it is, unless it's glued down. Scrub the hell out of everything, clean the woodwork (and re-varnish if motivated).

Definitely going to rip up the carpet, and hopefully underneath is nice, If it’s glued down what’s the best way to get it out?

 

[Captain-Will]

Lots of things can be done over winter. As you said, bring all the drawers, cupboard doors, companion way steps, dinette table, etc. Indoors and refinish them. Varnishing is immeasurably easier indoors in your basement or garage.

Remove the foam from the cushions. The covers look good, just wash them gently. You can choose to replace the foam if it's bad, wash it if you like but drying foam is tedious, or just reuse it as is (lookup the vacuum trick for cushions!).

You can do wiring in the winter, especially if can get shore power to your boat with a small electric heater. You could also do small refinishing, but you need to be especially careful about fumes since you are probably sealed up tight in winter.

Take off your engine and do the routine maintenance somewhere warm (oil change, gear oil change, plugs, fuel filter, impeller as required).

Things that are difficult in winter are epoxy, paint, and varnish on things that are not easy to remove, but they can still be done. Do all the prep and wait for the rare 65 degree day.

Hey thanks for the reply, never thought about bringing all that wood inside to paint, it’s a great idea.

I’ll definitely wash the covers, and check out the vacuum trick, thanks for the great tips!