I'm looking at buying a Catalina 387
It has a draft of 1.6mt and has a winged keel.
Are these good ocean going vessels.
I'm thinking of doing a trip to South East Asia and the South Pacific.
Thanks
Try this Catalina Owners Association for info - catalina.sailboatowners.com/
I think the Catalina 387 would be fine for the Pacific and SE Asia; plan to avoid the Hurricane/Cyclone Seasons. From the research I have done Catalina Yachts seem to be well made and easy to maintain. I like the availability of shallow draft versions for cruising. Owners seem quite happy with their wing keeled choice with only marginal pointing ability sacrifice. I like the lead keels as well!
Hi. I am guessing you mean the 387 in Tasmania? We owned a Catalina 320 for five or six years and have sailed on Catalina 34, 387 and 42s as well. Catalinas are generally well built solid boats and the standing rig and winches, cleats are usually larger and more solid than required. The lead keel is good, and we found our boat with a deeper keel would point higher than the wing keeled 320, 387 and 42. Downwind and reaching though nor much difference in performance. These boats generally reach beautifully. Just a couple of things, we found the fridge on ours didnt cope with our summer temperatures too well so we added xtra insulation. We also made back rests for the chardy seats on the stern. The ad mentions the dutchman flaking system, we found that it was a bit of a pain so changed over to lazyjack system, but others we know like it. We also addd an MPS with sock which was well worth doing. A bimini and link cover would be something worth looking at on this boat, particularly if you are going north.
The owners associations are fantastic, really helpful and well worth joining. Basically they are a good solid boat and like them very much indeed. Not a racing boat, more of a solid, comfortable cruiser with a reasonable turn of speed.
If the boat is the Tasmanian boat it is Australian registered, this is a big plus if you intend to go out of Australian waters. Getting Australian registration on an older boat is a pain.
Jode5 is right about the registration, that is a big plus. He also knows the Catalinas as his last boat was a larger Catalina than ours. Sorry Jode5 can't recall the size? I think generally he was happy with the boat but preferred something a little speedier.
