Looking at 82' Catalina 25

[Aksaildog]

New to boat ownership and some community advice would be appreciated.
$3000, never been in salt water, used 3-4 weekends/year, 7000gvrw trailer, 9 hp 2012 outboard, clean enough, no musty smell, main, jib, 135 Genoa, spinnaker, lines and fenders, anchor.
Small rust spot showing through bottom paint. Is this a do now job or can I wait for a year or two.
Question to all out there is buying a boat so seldom used a problem.
bottom line for me is to go sailing not boat yarding

 

[MaryEllaRose]

Go to the Catalina-Capri-25s International Association website. Under the Technical Tips there is an article by Larry Charlot about what to look for when buying a Catalina 25

 

[...3TacksontheWater]

Welcome to the forum. The Catalina 25 is a very popular boat. Is the rust on the swing or fin keel? Everything else below the waterline is fiberglass or, maybe you have a thru hull that is rusting. Having said this, do not think for one minute that a forty-three year old boat will not need some upgrading and/or, TLC. Unless you have information that dates the standing rigging as being less than 10 years old, that would be on my to do list for starters. If you do buy this boat, and it looks in good condition, it won't hurt to take her out for the remainder of the season and make a list for the off season. In this regard, Sailboat Owners Forum is your friend. There are a great many threads of what others have done to maintain and upgrade their boats.

George

 

[Stu Jackson]

Go to the Catalina-Capri-25s International Association website. Under the Technical Tips there is an article by Larry Charlot about what to look for when buying a Catalina 25

That is here:

Association Forum - Catalina 25 Specific Forum

 

[MaryEllaRose]

George is spot on about Sailboat Owner Forums. There’s a vast store of tribal knowledge about all things sailboat.

I can understand about wanting to sail with minimum yard time but with any older boat there’s things to be aware of and things that will need attention. If this is this a swing keel boat there will be maintenance on the keel pivot pin, cable and associated hardware. Crash dropping the swing keel and damaging the keel trunk or loosing the keel entirely would be catastrophic. Water intrusion around deck fittings can cause rotting of the balsa core and weaken their attachments, especially around the chain plates where they attach to the interior bulkheads. The condition of the standing rig is paramount. So count on having to do some work on the boat even if to compensate for the ravages of time. Also, a lot of improvements were made to the C25 series over the years. One nice thing about Catalina boats is that there is a great support network for parts. Catalina Direct has all the stuff you’ll need for repairs and upgrades (and to lighten your wallet).

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. Send pictures!

Tom G

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Fixed or swing keel?

Any photos

 

[Aksaildog]

Hello All,
Thank you for input. I bought the 82 Catalina 25 swing keel and yes it will need work but at that age it should. Along with the many other items the keel lifting mechanism is high on the list. Everything looks in really good shape but access to the turning ball is still a mystery (as does finding the teck tip on the subject). It is on the trailer so I can remove the hose from the fiberglass. Is this ball mysteriously hidden under the hose. I would like to know its condition.
Any tips would be helpful

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I worked on an 84 C22 once. The ball was under a cap or something where the cable enters the assembly. It was right after the winch and cap.

 

[Aksaildog]

Project-Mayhem, thanks for the input. I scrolled down YouTube until I found a C25 video. So now have a pretty good idea on what needs to be done to inspect.
Next on my priority list is the standing rigging. Always on fresh water lake, no sign on wear or corrosion.
What does the community suggest here. Run it as there is no sign of needed replacement or replace?

 

[Stu Jackson]

What does the community suggest here. Run it as there is no sign of needed replacement or replace?

I bought a 1981 C25 in 1987 and sailed it until 1998 when I bought our C34. This was in SF on salt water. If your boat still has the closed body turnbuckles, I STRONGLY urge you to SERIOUSLY inspect them. Why? When I had a rigger check my standing rigging, when he tried to loosen one of the backstay turnbuckles, it literally disintegrated!!! The reason is that those closed body turnbuckles catch water and rust from the inside out, you can't see it. Get open body turnbuckles, or else... Your wires could still be OK, but please, please, please check thoroughly.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

For fresh water, it's advised to replace every 10-20 years based on usage and storage

 

[Project_Mayhem]

For closed body turnbuckles, I found that the end of these coax crimpers worked ok. Still, open body is much better in nearly every way

 

[JBP-PA]

Project-Mayhem, thanks for the input. I scrolled down YouTube until I found a C25 video. So now have a pretty good idea on what needs to be done to inspect.
Next on my priority list is the standing rigging. Always on fresh water lake, no sign on wear or corrosion.
What does the community suggest here. Run it as there is no sign of needed replacement or replace?

Throughly inspect the rigging. Any wires with broken or kinked strands need to be replaced. In theory, there is no hard rule about stainless rigging age on entirely fresh water boats if it was cared for and not abused. On the other hand, if you are reasonably handy, replacing the standing rigging on a 25 ft boat is not too hard nor expensive. You might be able to buy new rigging from Catalina Direct. You can take the old rigging to a shop and have them build new ones for you. Or you can buy wire and swageless fittings and do it yourself. Swageless fittings can get pricey though.

A bigger concern, in my opinion, is the deck core. Are the decks balsa cored? Are they soft? That job is a lot of work.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

CD was about half the cost of local riggers when I got quotes last year. You can see pricing on their website as well

 

[JBP-PA]

I bought a 1981 C25 in 1987 and sailed it until 1998 when I bought our C34. This was in SF on salt water. If your boat still has the closed body turnbuckles, I STRONGLY urge you to SERIOUSLY inspect them. Why? When I had a rigger check my standing rigging, when he tried to loosen one of the backstay turnbuckles, it literally disintegrated!!! The reason is that those closed body turnbuckles catch water and rust from the inside out, you can't see it. Get open body turnbuckles, or else... Your wires could still be OK, but please, please, please check thoroughly.

Good point, with no tension you should easily be able to turn the turnbuckles by hand. Another reason closed body turn buckles self destruct is that they are typically stainless, whereas open body is typically chromed bronze (don't know why this is, but it seems true). The stainless on stainless threads start to bind up because of galling.

 

[Aksaildog]

Thanks to all, yes standing rigging is on the agenda. We also are inspecting/replacing swing keel cable and pivot

 

[SailingLoto]

Hello All,
Thank you for input. I bought the 82 Catalina 25 swing keel and yes it will need work but at that age it should. Along with the many other items the keel lifting mechanism is high on the list. Everything looks in really good shape but access to the turning ball is still a mystery (as does finding the teck tip on the subject). It is on the trailer so I can remove the hose from the fiberglass. Is this ball mysteriously hidden under the hose. I would like to know its condition.
Any tips would be helpful

Yes, the turn ball is in the hose

I have an 83 c25 I love. If it's solid and clean, buy it. They are simple boats. You will sail it more than work on it. Anything you need to repair will be easy and quick to fix.