Catalina built a lot of boats, and Practical Sailor has reviewed most of them. Its verdict on the 1990s and later boats is consistent: good space and speed for the money, built by mass production with liners that hide the hull. The details it found are the ones to check.
The keel and rudder on the Catalina 34
The 34 was built in several versions, with the Mark II from 1994 getting a larger cockpit and an open transom. Practical Sailor says that on any 34 hull over 20 years old, it would consider dropping the rudder and keel for inspection before heading far offshore. The more serious owner complaints it heard, slop in the rudder bearing and messy wiring, were confined to older boats. Later boats got a longer elliptical rudder that cured a persistent weather helm, and owners of fin keel boats can fit it.
Where to look. The keel joint outside for cracks and weeping; the bolts and backing inside the bilge for rust and movement; play at the rudder blade, measured and recorded; which rudder is fitted.
Wiring and the bilge on early 320s
The 320 came out in 1993 with a solid fibreglass hull, vinylester skins against blistering, a plywood cored deck and a balsa cored cabin top. The interior is moulded liners tabbed to the hull. Practical Sailor reports that on some of the first 320s, wiring runs were buried under the liners and chafed and broke. Those boats were rewired and fitted with PVC conduit, and later boats were redesigned. The bilge on early models was too shallow, so water sloshed about amidships. Those boats were given baffles; later moulds had deeper cavities under the floorboards.
Where to look. Ask whether the rewiring was done and look for conduit where you can see the runs. Lift the floorboards and check the bilge depth and baffles.
Liners and plywood deck cores
On the 34, Practical Sailor found the plywood deck core gave the foredeck a little more flex than balsa or foam cored boats, and it disliked how the pan liner flexes and hides most of the hull. The 320 also has a plywood cored deck. A liner tabbed to the hull means you see the hull from inside only where the liner has openings.
Where to look. Meter and sound the deck around every fitting and on the foredeck. Use every access panel to look at the hull, the liner tabbing and the wiring behind it, and say in the report how much of the hull was hidden.
Mast step and compression post
The 320's mast is stepped on deck, and the loads go to an anodised compression post below, Practical Sailor notes. On the 470, Catalina put the mast on a 1/2 inch aluminium plate welded to the top of a 5.5 inch compression post, metal to metal.
Where to look. A straightedge across the cabin top at the step; the compression post and its base for crushing or corrosion; the deck core around the step.
Ports and chainplates
Practical Sailor calls leaky chainplates a common criticism of Catalinas. For the 470, Catalina's Gerry Douglas told the magazine a new ball and socket chainplate through a round hole in the deck spreads the load and is bonded so it doesn't leak.
Where to look. Stains and wet core around every chainplate and port, and the chainplates themselves where they pass through the deck.
What to check on a Catalina
| Area | What to look for | Source of the concern |
|---|---|---|
| Keel and rudder on a 34 over 20 years old | Keel joint, bolts, rudder bearing play | Practical Sailor, Catalina 34 |
| Rudder on a 34 | Original or longer elliptical rudder | Practical Sailor, Catalina 34 |
| Wiring under the liner on early 320s | Chafe, breaks, whether it was rewired in conduit | Practical Sailor, Catalina 320 |
| Bilge on early 320s | Shallow bilge, baffles fitted | Practical Sailor, Catalina 320 |
| Plywood cored deck | Flex and wet core around fittings | Practical Sailor, Catalina 34 and 320 |
| Mast step | Cabin top deflection, compression post condition | Practical Sailor, Catalina 320 and 470 |
| Ports and chainplates | Leaks and wet core | Practical Sailor, 470 |
Writing it up
"Chainplate, starboard upper shroud: sealant cracked at the deck, water staining on the bulkhead below and moisture readings well above the dry reference over about 150 mm around the plate. Recommend the chainplate is removed, inspected for crevice corrosion and rebedded, and the deck core around it checked." On a Catalina 34, note which rudder is fitted.