Review of Catalina 250
Basic specs.
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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.
The boat is equipped with 2+2 berths and 45.0 liter fresh water capacity.
The Catalina 250 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.
The Catalina 250 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Wing keel
But be aware that even though a Wing Keel keel is very good for speed racing, a fishing nets and the like in the water can easily make you into a troublesome situation.
The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.35 - 1.45 meter (4.43 - 4.73 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
CentreBoard
One option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
Catalina 250 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.51 - 0.61 meter (1.67 - 1.97 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
An outboard motor is often used on this boat. In that case the boat will typically require a power of 4 - 5 hp, alternatively 84 - 101 lbs thrust if you prefer an electrical motor. Electric outboards are becoming popular for sailboat owners who want clean instant power with less noise and no exhaust fumes.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 53.0 liters (14 US gallons, 11 imperial gallons).
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.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Catalina 250 is 2.11, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.
Catalina 250 holds a CE certification:
The boat is by European Union certified as Class C. INSHORE:What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.2 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.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Catalina 250 is about 112 kg/cm, alternatively 629 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 112 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 629 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.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Catalina 250 is 16.7.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Catalina 250 is 2.94.
The ballast ratio for Catalina 250 is 23%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Catalina 250 is 195 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Catalina 250 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.1, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.9.
Maintenance
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.
Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.
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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 19.8 m | (65.0 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 19.8 m | (65.0 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 19.8 m | (65.0 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 7.6 m | (25.0 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 7.6 m | (25.0 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 19.1 m | (62.5 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 16.8 m | (55.0 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Cunningham | 3.3 m | (10.8 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 6.6 m | (21.6 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 6.6 m | (21.6 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
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