Review of Catalina 355

Basic specs.

The Catalina 355 aka C-355 is a sailboat designed by the maritime architect Gerry Douglas in the late 2000.

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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.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 4+3 berths, 364.0 liter fresh water capacity and 102.0 liter waste water capacity.

Rig

The Catalina 355 is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Keel

Keel of Catalina 355 anno 2015. Osprey

The Catalina 355 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.

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 only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.09 - 2.19 meter (6.86 - 7.16 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Catalina 355 is 2.00, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

EU classification

Catalina 355 holds a CE certification:

The boat is by European Union certified as Class A. OCEAN:

Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force 8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights of 4 m and above but excluding abnormal conditions, and vessels largely self-sufficient.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.4 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 355 is about 225 kg/cm, alternatively 1261 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 225 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1261 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.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Catalina 355 is 24.5.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 42% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Catalina 355 is 2.87.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 82% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Catalina 355 is 224 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

62% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Catalina 355 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.9, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.6.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 38% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Maintenance

Rig

Dimensions of sail for fractional 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.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	34.6 m	(113.7 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	34.6 m	(113.7 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	34.6 m	(113.7 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet	10.5 m	(34.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	10.5 m	(34.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	26.3 m	(86.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	23.1 m	(75.9 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Cunningham	4.1 m	(13.5 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap	8.2 m	(27.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul	8.2 m	(27.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 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.

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Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Catalina 355 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.