From: dmb@IEDV4.acd.com ( Dave Barker )
Subject: Re: Cruising Boats (was Re: Book "Maiden Voyage")
Organization: Applied Computing Devices, Inc., Terre Haute IN
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 18:22:49 GMT

Wayne Simpson writes:
--------------------
>
>Hoo Boy! (he says, beginning to hyperventilate) Now you've gone and 
>done it. Off come the gloves!!!    :-) (for the humor impaired)
>
>Yes,  Catalinas look very much like average boats. That's because they
>are average boats made for the average guy. They are intended to give
>the sailing public what they want for a little less than anyone else.
>They are not, and were never intended to be "character boats". In spite
>of this, or perhaps because of it, Frank Butler has built more boats
>(over 50,000) than anyone else in the sailing industry.
>
>The boats are conservative in design with an eye towards maximizing interior
>volume without ungainly height of topsides. This dictates a boat with 

	This is one thing I have always liked about Catalinas: the
	fact that they don't have tall, ungainly doghouses especially
	for the interior volume they offer for a given LOA.

>fairly short ends, with fairly vertical transoms, at least on the boats
>30' and under. This profile was very common in the 70's, and that's when
>all of the under 30' Catalinas were designed. Newer or longer Catalinas,
>the 28, 34, 36, 38, and 42, all show rakish reverse transoms, which is 
>the style today.
>
>As for Catalina being a committee designed boat, the committee has never
>numbered more than 2. All design work is done in house by Frank Butler
>with the help of a naval architect (Robert Finch in the early days,
>Gerry Douglas nowadays) to get the design right. This means that they
>all follow pretty much the same design philosophy, and if you don't like
>one Catalina, you probably won't like any of them. On the other hand, an
>owners who likes his Catalina will probably like all of them and more
>often than not, will trade from one Catalina to another when it's time
>to step up.
>
>If you want to learn more about Catalina as a company, there is an
>article in the September issue of Sailing magazine

	I read the article and it is impressive what Butler has managed
	to do. That is, market a line of boats of consistent
	quality aimed at the average consumer. The $250,000 floating
	pieces of handcrafted furniture (at least the interior) that
	many smaller companies make are probably a lot easier to make
	than a less expensive, quality boat like a Catalina. After all,
	those companies don't have to worry about things like how to
	save $10 on a particular fitting-the cost is just passed on
	to the buyer. 
	I saw and boarded a Catalina 50 at last year's Annapolis show 
	and was impressed with the amount of interior volume this boat
	has. This was also the first time I had a chance to board a
	Catalina 30 (although there are quite a few on the lake
	where I sail) and was impressed with the space and layout of
	this boat. That was what prompted my earlier post about the 
	feasibility of using one for long distance cruising. They seem 
	like a lot of boat for the money.

						Dave

>
>I have sat on both sides of the aesthetics issue. My first boat was a 
>Seafarer 23, designed by Sparkman and Stevens. It was beautiful and
>sailed well, although it was a bit wet and quite tender initially.
>People would circle me in anchorages and heap compliments on my boat's
>pretty lines. They never do that for my Catalina. But I can stand up
>in my Catalina. I can sit on a nice settee with a backrest. I can cook
>a meal, and sleep in a comfortable berth. I can also sit on a proper
>toilet. These things make all the difference.
>
>I would describe my Catalina 27 as handsome, but hardly beautiful. She
>is, however, an emminently practical, good handling, highly capable
>sailing machine.
>
>Wayne Simpson (no fancy .sig this time)


From: cgr@otter.hpl.hp.com (Chris Romans)
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 15:57:53 GMT
Subject: Re: Re: wooden boat finishes (a big can of worms)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK.