Catalina Yachts first launched the Catalina 30 sailboat in 1975 to capitalize on boating market trends that were pushing manufacturers towards larger, roomier boats. Catalina intended to create a bigger version of the company's popular Catalina 27 for cruising and racing.
The tactic clearly paid off, since the Catalina 30 had a remarkable run – Catalina built more than 6,400 Catalina 30s, not launching the last one until May 2008. Catalina since has replaced the 30 with the Catalina 309, which it bills on its website as "much the same as the original Catalina 30."
Catalina built the boat to a price, which means it lacks the features and strength of a sailboat designed to go offshore. But it works well for bay cruising, lake cruising and carefully chosen wider-water passages.
These days, it's possible to purchase a 30-year-old Catalina 30 for $10,000 or less, while sellers of boats built in the late 1990s or more recently are asking around $60,000. Either way, the boat represents a good value in an inland and coastal cruising sailboat design that also has an active racing community.
Catalina 30 Provides Spacious Belowdecks Accommodations
When it was introduced, the Catalina 30 quickly gained traction with cruisers, even weekend cruisers, due to its voluminous cabin.
The Catalina 30 owners' association boasts that the boat has more room than most 34-footers, which is true: most 30-foot boats do not offer six-foot-four-inch headroom, nor can they accommodate seven adults overnight.
The boat's standard layout provides a forward v-berth cabin, a head directly aft to port with a hanging locker opposite, a generous salon with three potential berths, a full-sized galley with a double sink and a two-burner stove aft to port, and another double berth aft to starboard, partially under the cockpit.
Many owners, especially those with older boats, have updated their cabins in various ways, but potential buyers of older boats should watch out for well-used systems that may require repair or replacement.
In addition, some of the older Catalina 30s on the market still have their original Atomic 4 gasoline engines, which a potential owner may wish to upgrade. However, most of the boats available on the used boat market come equipped with diesel engines.
Stiff Boat Under Sail, Catalina 30 Has Some Weather Helm
Under sail, the Catalina 30 behaves well, although the boat has a tendency towards some weather helm in a fresh breeze. Owners report it's a stiff boat, which makes it well-suited to beginning sailors and perhaps also to family sailors.
Racers might want to look for a boat that comes with the optional tall rig, which is two feet higher than the standard rig and adds considerably to sail area.
Three keel styles are available. The original keel draws 5 feet, 3 inches, which will work well in areas where draft isn't a problem but could cramp a cruiser's gunkholing in places like the Chesapeake Bay or the west coast of Florida. The boat also came with a 4-foot-5-inch shoal draft keel, which Catalina Yachts later replaced with a 3-foot-10-inch wing keel.
Used Catalina 30 Sailboats Appeal to Families, Weekenders
Catalina Yachts never intended the Catalina 30 to be a blue water cruising sailboat. The company designed the boat to suit a market that wanted more living space than itssai popular Catalina 22, Catalina 25 and Catalina 27 sailboat models provided. The Catalina 30 suits families and weekenders well, and has an active Catalina 30 owners' association.
In designing the Catalina 30, Catalina Yachts developed a winning hull design, cabin layout and rig that continue to please sailors to this day. In fact, Sail America inducted the Catalina 30 into its American Sailboat Hall of Fame in 2001.
Sailors seeking to move up from a smaller sailboat such as the Catalina 22 or the MacGregor 26, both of which have only limited, camping-style weekend accommodations, would do well to check out used Catalina 30 sailboats.
Jane Anderson - Jane M. Anderson spends as much time as possible on the water, working and sailing on boats. She grew up sailing Sunfish and Rhodes 19s on ...
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