I am thinking of buying a late model97-99 Catalina 380. Is ist worth holing out for the 98 0r 99 model? Did thety change form the original? Any problems with the first series. What hull numbers were made in 97? 98? What if any are hte draw backs of this boat?
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'97 Cruising World Boat of the Year
When Cruising World bestows that honor on a boat, it says a lot. I don't think you'd be disappointed in the 97 model but maybe you like that "new boat smell"!
Have fun! LaDonna
When Cruising World bestows that honor on a boat, it says a lot. I don't think you'd be disappointed in the 97 model but maybe you like that "new boat smell"!
Have fun! LaDonnaAll boats have draw backs
Catalina has made only small improvements on the 380. So a 97 model is an excellent boat. That is why it was "Boat of the year". But as with all boats, everything is a compromise. The 380 is no exception. If the compromises are in your favor, then you win. When you first look at the boat, it is like a breath of fresh air, roomy, well laid out, etc. But keep looking. The v birth is small, well that's OK, we will use the rear birth as the main cabin, well do you and your first mate get friendly, is there room, head room? What about storage, they made the whole inside of the boat living space, but do you have the storage space for extended cruising. Laserattes large enough to hold a deflated dingy/life rafts or motor, room for generator, water maker, etc. Look at the whole boat. Not just the first impressions. Good luck Bob
Catalina has made only small improvements on the 380. So a 97 model is an excellent boat. That is why it was "Boat of the year". But as with all boats, everything is a compromise. The 380 is no exception. If the compromises are in your favor, then you win. When you first look at the boat, it is like a breath of fresh air, roomy, well laid out, etc. But keep looking. The v birth is small, well that's OK, we will use the rear birth as the main cabin, well do you and your first mate get friendly, is there room, head room? What about storage, they made the whole inside of the boat living space, but do you have the storage space for extended cruising. Laserattes large enough to hold a deflated dingy/life rafts or motor, room for generator, water maker, etc. Look at the whole boat. Not just the first impressions. Good luck Bob
Talk to actual Owners
Check out the C-380 Association Web site at www.catalina380.org. This web site gives you honest information Below is some comments from that web site. Is there a noticeable difference in interior volume and storage space? Lots more storage per Joyce Estes. The 380 is a big 38' boat. Plenty of room for storage for us per Tom McMahan. We looked at other boats and the amount of storage space was one of the things that convinced us to get the C380 per Paul and Carol McManus. Can two people, mostly me and the autopilot sail it? My wife and I sail our C380 by ourselves all the time. My wife has M.S. and has trouble moving around so her duties are really limited to steering. With the help of the A/P I find it no problem per George LaForge. No problem. I regularly single hand the boat. Docking in 20 knots and above isn't pretty, but it works per Tom McMahan. My wife and I are new to sailing. We took sailing lessons in the summer of 98, bought the C380 (our first boat) in the winter of 98/99 and have been sailing all spring and summer. We have had a great time sailing this spring and summer. Most of the time it has been just the two of us. If you have a C320 already you are probably much more experienced than we were when we got the C380. The most difficult thing for us to master has been docking and that probably relates to our experience. We use the Autopilot quite a bit and because the all lines are lead to the cockpit, the C380 is easy to sail. We have a tall rig and so we end up reefing quite a bit. The C380 makes reefing easy. Paul and Carol McManus, Sea Sea Rider #185, Seattle . Is it worth the extra $ to move up? $$Don't know ... I moved up primarily because my C320 was destroyed by fire. We chose the C380 for the obvious reasons of room, etc..., but my wife was motivated by the shower stall and my giving in to adding air conditioning (definitely worth it in Georgia) per Randolph Camp. I love the shower. It made the move up very worth while for me per Joyce Estes. Is the mast keel stepped? The keel is deck stepped. But is very secure (and doesn't leak).per George LaForge. Is the interior floor plan different enough from the 320? Different from C320? Yes, quite different per Randolph Camp. Is the cockpit table as much trouble as I imagine it will be? We love the table. It makes a large cockpit more secure in rough weather. Also consider the amount of time you are actually spend sailing to the amount of time you're in the cockpit. It is great for entertaining per George LaForge. Cockpit table is great. It can get in the way occasionally, but it is also great to brace against. I have heard at least one skipper who got the boat without the table later add it. The cockpit would be pretty big and open without it. Both plus and minus per Tom McMahan. Cockpit table: I felt the same way at first, but now we love it per Randolph Camp. We find the cockpit table very useful but we are cruisers not racers. Some people have asked Catalina not to install the table per Paul and Carol McManus. How about speed and it's ability to move in light winds under sail? It performs well in light air once you get 20,000 pounds moving. It punches through light chop with no problem. Just remember its no light weight J-Boat. Not a racer, but I am pleased with the light air performance. We have the 155 genoa per Tom McMahan. A bit slow with winds under 3 - 4 knots, even with a 155 genny. Overall, I have been very pleased with speed and sailing performance. Sails better to me than the C320 as I like the beefy hull per Randolph Camp. Is the aft cabin's ceiling to low for a couple? It is a touchy question especially after you touch (bang) your head into the ceiling. We use the V-Berth because of the low ceiling per George LaForge. We really like the aft cabin. Would like more ceiling height though. The cover for thesteering gear is the main problem. It is a real head knocker. Lost more lateral room than in the vee berth per Tom McMahan. Very comfortable cabin although more height would be nice. A couple of knocks gets your attention per Randolph Camp and seconded by John Estes. My wife and I had some concerns about the head room over the berth, and ventilation. You will "knock" you head a couple of times before you get use to it. However it is not as bad as you may think. The only real problem is the steering cover, but you soon learn to do all your other activities on the side of the berth and only sleep under the wheel cover. The first year that I saw the boat, I immediately said "no way" on the aft cabin. But when you look at how well it is design for storage, and comfort you will change your mind. Ventilation has been great. The two large hatches and two entrances to the cabin works! We added fans to really make it comfortable. BTW, the two entrances really help in traffic flows. My wife and I really love the aft cabin, the storage, ease of getting into and out of the berth, the large berth and the large width of the cabin. These features out weighs the compromise of the low headroom. Per Duane Maher. The aft stateroom is one the main reasons decided on the C380 and we have not been disappointed. The ceiling height has not caused us any problems. per Paul and Carol McManus.
Check out the C-380 Association Web site at www.catalina380.org. This web site gives you honest information Below is some comments from that web site. Is there a noticeable difference in interior volume and storage space? Lots more storage per Joyce Estes. The 380 is a big 38' boat. Plenty of room for storage for us per Tom McMahan. We looked at other boats and the amount of storage space was one of the things that convinced us to get the C380 per Paul and Carol McManus. Can two people, mostly me and the autopilot sail it? My wife and I sail our C380 by ourselves all the time. My wife has M.S. and has trouble moving around so her duties are really limited to steering. With the help of the A/P I find it no problem per George LaForge. No problem. I regularly single hand the boat. Docking in 20 knots and above isn't pretty, but it works per Tom McMahan. My wife and I are new to sailing. We took sailing lessons in the summer of 98, bought the C380 (our first boat) in the winter of 98/99 and have been sailing all spring and summer. We have had a great time sailing this spring and summer. Most of the time it has been just the two of us. If you have a C320 already you are probably much more experienced than we were when we got the C380. The most difficult thing for us to master has been docking and that probably relates to our experience. We use the Autopilot quite a bit and because the all lines are lead to the cockpit, the C380 is easy to sail. We have a tall rig and so we end up reefing quite a bit. The C380 makes reefing easy. Paul and Carol McManus, Sea Sea Rider #185, Seattle . Is it worth the extra $ to move up? $$Don't know ... I moved up primarily because my C320 was destroyed by fire. We chose the C380 for the obvious reasons of room, etc..., but my wife was motivated by the shower stall and my giving in to adding air conditioning (definitely worth it in Georgia) per Randolph Camp. I love the shower. It made the move up very worth while for me per Joyce Estes. Is the mast keel stepped? The keel is deck stepped. But is very secure (and doesn't leak).per George LaForge. Is the interior floor plan different enough from the 320? Different from C320? Yes, quite different per Randolph Camp. Is the cockpit table as much trouble as I imagine it will be? We love the table. It makes a large cockpit more secure in rough weather. Also consider the amount of time you are actually spend sailing to the amount of time you're in the cockpit. It is great for entertaining per George LaForge. Cockpit table is great. It can get in the way occasionally, but it is also great to brace against. I have heard at least one skipper who got the boat without the table later add it. The cockpit would be pretty big and open without it. Both plus and minus per Tom McMahan. Cockpit table: I felt the same way at first, but now we love it per Randolph Camp. We find the cockpit table very useful but we are cruisers not racers. Some people have asked Catalina not to install the table per Paul and Carol McManus. How about speed and it's ability to move in light winds under sail? It performs well in light air once you get 20,000 pounds moving. It punches through light chop with no problem. Just remember its no light weight J-Boat. Not a racer, but I am pleased with the light air performance. We have the 155 genoa per Tom McMahan. A bit slow with winds under 3 - 4 knots, even with a 155 genny. Overall, I have been very pleased with speed and sailing performance. Sails better to me than the C320 as I like the beefy hull per Randolph Camp. Is the aft cabin's ceiling to low for a couple? It is a touchy question especially after you touch (bang) your head into the ceiling. We use the V-Berth because of the low ceiling per George LaForge. We really like the aft cabin. Would like more ceiling height though. The cover for thesteering gear is the main problem. It is a real head knocker. Lost more lateral room than in the vee berth per Tom McMahan. Very comfortable cabin although more height would be nice. A couple of knocks gets your attention per Randolph Camp and seconded by John Estes. My wife and I had some concerns about the head room over the berth, and ventilation. You will "knock" you head a couple of times before you get use to it. However it is not as bad as you may think. The only real problem is the steering cover, but you soon learn to do all your other activities on the side of the berth and only sleep under the wheel cover. The first year that I saw the boat, I immediately said "no way" on the aft cabin. But when you look at how well it is design for storage, and comfort you will change your mind. Ventilation has been great. The two large hatches and two entrances to the cabin works! We added fans to really make it comfortable. BTW, the two entrances really help in traffic flows. My wife and I really love the aft cabin, the storage, ease of getting into and out of the berth, the large berth and the large width of the cabin. These features out weighs the compromise of the low headroom. Per Duane Maher. The aft stateroom is one the main reasons decided on the C380 and we have not been disappointed. The ceiling height has not caused us any problems. per Paul and Carol McManus.
Real mattresses-Great Boat
We took delivery in July this year of a C-380. It is a 2000 model boat. It is everything we thought it would be an more. It's a realatively heavy boat that sails well and handles heavy air well. We sailed several times in 25 knots with a single reef in the main and the Genoa down to about 125% from the 155% with just me and my wife and had a comfortable ride. Our previous boat was a Tartan 37 and in winds over 25 we would suffer from seasickness from the rougher ride. The vee berth and aft cabin are provided with real intersprung mattresses. Very comfortable. Lots of room both inside and in the cockpit make this boat a pleasure to sail and live aboard.
We took delivery in July this year of a C-380. It is a 2000 model boat. It is everything we thought it would be an more. It's a realatively heavy boat that sails well and handles heavy air well. We sailed several times in 25 knots with a single reef in the main and the Genoa down to about 125% from the 155% with just me and my wife and had a comfortable ride. Our previous boat was a Tartan 37 and in winds over 25 we would suffer from seasickness from the rougher ride. The vee berth and aft cabin are provided with real intersprung mattresses. Very comfortable. Lots of room both inside and in the cockpit make this boat a pleasure to sail and live aboard.
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