Question Re: 1985 Catalina 27

rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,548
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Hello everyone, I’m looking at a Catalina 27 with an outboard on a bracket. It looks like there’s a space under the companion way or a diesel might have been housed, the owner is claiming this boat never had a diesel. Does anyone here know if a 1985 Catalina 27 came without an easel as an option?
 
D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,320
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
An inboard engine was offered on the Catalina 27.

sailboatdata.com

CATALINA 27 - sailboatdata

The CATALINA 27 is one of several models from this builder that has achieved historic popularity. In it’s first 3 years of production nearly 1500 boats were sold. Total production was 6662 hulls. Offered originally with a std. outboard well, in 1973, Catalina offered an inboard Atomic 4 engine...
sailboatdata.com sailboatdata.com

Look for a shaft log for the prop shaft, should be under the cockpit. Also look for a fuel tank vent and a fuel tank fill.
 
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Scott T-Bird

Scott T-Bird

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Oct 26, 2008
6,216
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
If you read the Practical Sailor article you'll find that Catalina 27 came in a variety of options including outboard, Atomic 4, small Petter diesels and Universal diesels. The Atomic 4 was installed under the cockpit in a bad location. I imagine those were 70's models. It's entirely feasible that this one was originally purchased with outboard and never had a diesel. I think a lot of 27' boats in that era came with either diesel or outboard options. My 1984 Starwind 27 was made for either option.
www.practical-sailor.com

Catalina 27 - Practical Sailor

Since 1974, Practical Sailor’s independent testing has taken the guesswork out of boat and gear buying.
www.practical-sailor.com www.practical-sailor.com
 
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Scott T-Bird

Scott T-Bird

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Oct 26, 2008
6,216
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
BTW, I'm not a big fan of the Catalina 27. They have a functional interior, but the side decks are extremely narrow. Performance isn't the best, either. It's not much of an improvement compared to the boats you are familiar with IMHO.
 
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Siamese

Siamese

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Aug 2, 2009
651
Catalina 315 Muskegon
Plenty of clues to go by. As has been mentioned, the big shaft going through the hull would mean there'd be a noticeable patch.

Haven't seen it myself, but I've heard that the stuffing box on a Catalina 27 is a real beast to access and repack. So, if an outboard suits your purposes, you're avoiding that.
 
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rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,548
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
All good info .... thanks everyone. This one looks cosmetically well cared for with many recent upgrades. The OB has only 30 hours, the electronics are all less than two years (including charging system and bats)... a new main sail The canvas is fresh, the wood varnished and the cushions recovered. The gel-coat even looks recently buffed....And the asking price is under $17K. The low ball price made me wonder if the diesel had been scrapped and now this boat is a Frankenstein wearing lipstick...
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I guess I'll have to put my eyeball on it....
 
shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
7,387
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
That does sound a bit rich. I would look for a 38 year old 27' boat to be under 10K - I think.
Is our good professor a bit smitten?
 
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rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,548
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
shemandr said:
That does sound a bit rich. I would look for a 38 year old 27' boat to be under 10K - I think.
Is our good professor a bit smitten?
Click to expand
I'm going to go look today.... I guess I will find out. In the Charleston area... $10K wont buy much more than a jon boat with a 5hp.

And if I'm being perfectly honest with myself... I find diesels intimidating.... so I might have a bias agaist them.... (I just purchased Calder's book - I'm working on it :). I've only ever owned boats with OB's.
 
Scott T-Bird

Scott T-Bird

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Oct 26, 2008
6,216
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Charleston area with current? No way I would ever rely on an outboard. I found it very easy to get comfortable with a diesel ... and that was a long time ago. Besides that, you will definitely want to get acclimated to an upgraded electrical system that depends on an engine-mounted alternator and shore charging system with AC/DC panels.
 
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D

dlochner

.
Jan 11, 2014
12,320
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
rgranger said:
And if I'm being perfectly honest with myself... I find diesels intimidating.... so I might have a bias agaist them.... (I just purchased Calder's book - I'm working on it :). I've only ever owned boats with OB's
Click to expand
Diesels are much easier to deal with than OBs.
 
shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
7,387
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I went from outboard to Atomic 4 to Yammie and each was an improvement. That was my experience. I loved that diesel. It could run 12 hours without a hiccup.
It liked it.
 
rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,548
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
I got mixed up… todays boat was an O’day 28.
I’m looking at the Catalina laternext week (I hope)

I also checked out a freedom 27 last week. Nice boat… well kept. I might circle back to that one.

There is also a Hunter 280 not far I might go look at.

todays look was a walk away … there was a horrible smell when I lifted the bilge hatch… lots of half completed DIY projects…. orphaned wires all over the place… Oil all over the engine… corrosion all over the engine… all the running rigging was shot and I’m guessing all of the sanitation hosses were original… I’d be willing to bet the plastic sheaves are brittle in all the blocks etc. I also saw some rust on a shroud turn buckle

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31AE7297-4067-4D31-94A3-3A85EF1C71EB.jpeg
 
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