To purchase 72 Catalina 27 or not

[JanS48]

Greetings
I can get a 72 Catalina 27 for next to nothing. It appears to be in fairly good condition overall. The previous two owners did not sail it much. The deck appears sound, the Edison wheel has nearly no play and the sails are in good shape.
It's currently in the water so I can't inspect the bottom, however the marina owner that is selling it says it's a sound vessel that has been well cared for. It's an estate situation.

What typically goes wrong with a vessel this old? Particularly the Catalina 27? Is the age of the fiberglass a consideration?

It's an outboard rig, and I'm planning on getting a fairly new motor for it. Which brings up another question - what is the largest motor that vessel will handle safely?

I've currently got an 85 Seafarer 22 which has been a solid boat needing only bottom paint every other year or so. Is the Catalina 27 a fairly maintenance free boat as well?

BTW - to anyone in New England - the Seafarer 22 goes for free if interested. It's currently in Newport and goes with a an old Honda 5 which still runs like new.

Also, I've sailed smaller Catalina swing keel models can I expect the fin keel 27 to handle at least as well?

Thanks in advance
-- Jan

 

[The Garbone]

We had a 74 with OB. Nice boat. Go for a 9.9 longshaft. A 4 stroke may require opening the hole in the transom a bit to allow it to tilt up, not a deal killer. Just be sure to adjust the trim on the motor as it can touch the rudder if set too low.

The good thing about the older models is they are less prone to blisters as they used a different type of resin before the mid 70s. We had out 74 hauled an not one blister, our 78 C30 had 16.

Look for rotten bulkheads near the chainplates, leaking windows, rotten compression block in the forward bilge with deck sag as a result. Also the plywood core under the keel bolt can rot causing a severe smile. Hairline cracking at the external keel joint happens but if it weeps water or has a sizable crack after pulling her out you may have an issue.

Our 74 sailed very nice. She did well in light air and we had no complaints. Our particular boat had a 3 to 5 degree port list to it. It was 5 when we bought her, I moved the batteries and such to starboard but never got her perfectly level. As a result we always did a few degrees closer on a port tack than starboard. Funny.

 

[HillbillyWanderer]

Have heard that the older 27 had thicker hulls. No idea if this is true. Would love for somebody that actually knows answer that.