The Catalina 30 is a series of American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

s, that were designed by Frank Butler and later by

Gerry Douglas Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice pres ...

. The Catalina 30 design was replaced in the company's line by the Catalina 309 in 2010.

Production

The boat was built by

Catalina Yachts Catalina Yachts is a U.S.-based builder of fiberglass monohull sloop-rigged sailboats ranging in sizes from eight to 54 feet in length. It was founded in 1969 in Hollywood, California by Frank Butler . Catalina Yachts is one of the largest boat m ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, but it is now out of production. During its production run from 1972 to 2008 in many versions, the design sold 6,430 boats, making it one of the most successful

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

designs ever built.

Design

The Catalina 30 is a small recreational keelboat, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

, with wood trim. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, ...

rig, an internally-mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. The design was initially fitted with a Japanese

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, cons ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

or a

Universal 5411 Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

or Universal Atomic 4

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

, but by the mid-1980s these had been replaced by the three-cylinder Universal M-25 diesel.

Variants

;Catalina 30 :This model was introduced in 1972 and was designed by Frank Butler. It has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel, with the optional shoal draft keel and with the optional

wing keel The winged keel is a sailboat keel layout first fitted on the 12-metre class yacht '' Australia II'', 1983 America's Cup winner. Design This layout was adopted by Ben Lexcen, designer of '' Australia II''. Although Ben Lexcen "had tried the wing ...

. The boat has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-t ...

of . An optional tall rig has a mast about taller. A

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay A bobstay is a part of the rigging of a sailing boat or ship. Its purpose is to counteract the upward tensio ...

was optional. ;Catalina 30 Mark II :This model was built between 1986-1991 and was designed by Gerry Douglas. Improvements include a T-shaped cockpit and a new deck and liner design. It has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the optional wing keel. An optional tall rig has a mast about taller. The boat has a

of . ;Catalina 30 Mark III :This model was built between 1990-2008 and was designed by Gerry Douglas. Improvements include a re-designed cockpit, an open transom with a boarding and swimming platform, an updated galley and new topside windows. It has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the optional wing keel. An optional tall rig has a mast about taller. The boat has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 186 with a high of 201 and low of 180. The boat has a

of .

American Sailboat Hall of Fame

The Catalina 30 was inducted into the now-defunct Sail America American Sailboat Hall of Fame in 2001. In honoring the design, the hall cited, "Designer and builder Frank Butler is in many ways a contradiction in terms. On the one hand he's an innovator and a risk taker. On the other, he takes those risks and uses those innovations to build boats for the common man; good solid boats that combine performance and comfort without costing an arm and a leg ... This design philosophy is perhaps best expressed in the Catalina 30, a racer-cruiser that set the trend for many of today's most successful lines and is itself still going strong after a production run of 25 years and more than 6,500 boats."

References

External links