Review of Catalina 27

Basic specs.

The Catalina 27 aka Jaguar 27 is a sailboat designed by the maritime architect Frank V. Butler together with Bob Finch from United States of America in the early seventies. The Catalina 27 is built by Catalina Yachts.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

Keel

The Catalina 27 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

One option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.22 - 1.32 meter (4.00 - 4.30 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel

Another option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.04 - 1.14 meter (3.41 - 3.71 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel

Another option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

Catalina 27 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.91 - 1.01 meter (2.99 - 3.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard engine

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.3 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Catalina 27 is about 119 kg/cm, alternatively 667 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 119 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 667 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Catalina 27 is 3.07.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Catalina 27 is 40%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This righting moment (ability to resist heeling) is spot on average!

Over- / underrigged

The Catalina 27 has more rig than 79% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 19m² (204 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	23.2 m	(76.0 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	23.2 m	(76.0 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	23.2 m	(76.0 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet	8.2 m	(27.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	8.2 m	(27.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet	20.6 m	(67.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	18.1 m	(59.4 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Cunningham	3.1 m	(10.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap	6.3 m	(20.6 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul	6.3 m	(20.6 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Catalina 27 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.