A good reason to live on a boat, Patagonia walking the talk, and Blue Heron Blast with some current news and a needful read...
OK, I'll be honest and admit to not really grooving on boats by Catalina. Which does not mean that I don't think they're good boat but just that, for me at least, there just isn't that spark that gets me excited. For those readers who are into guitars I pretty much feel the same way about Fender guitars (with the exception of the pre-CBS Fender electric XII-string) none of the various Fenders get me excited while Gibsons and Guilds do. Sure I admire the Stratocaster and Telecaster but neither has the excitement factor that a Les Paul, Firebird, or Guild Thunderbird does for me.
Anyway, I meant to talk about a Catalina design that makes all kinds of sense and, as Catalina made a whole bunch of them, pretty much anywhere you go you'll find some Catalina 27s for sale.
When I say that Catalina made a ton of these boats (the actual number is actually 6662) over a twenty year period that's really a very impressive accomplishment.
With so many boats out there it's not surprising that you see a lot of these boats for sale and, as there are so many it's hardly surprising that the going prices are pretty affordable.
Even better, is that they're a very good design which performs well, has a pretty livable interior, and very few issues. That said, most of the issues are well known and have already been dealt with by previous owners or can be sorted out pretty easily if you need to.
Designed as an affordable boat to a price point (think VW bug) it is certainly not a "yacht" in terms of interior joinery and suchlike and in my mind that's the best thing about it. There is a lot to be said for a boat that does its job at an affordable price and is pretty much available anywhere you look.
The thing is, while the boat never quite got me excited, it's still one of the boats I tend to use as a baseline when comparing other designs of the VolksCruiser ilk and may just be the most bang for the buck in terms of an under 30-foot cruising boat.
Listening to some music from my youth
So it goes...
