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Review of Catalina 470


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Catalina 470 is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect Gerry Douglas in the late nineties. The Catalina 470 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.


Interior

The boat is equipped with 4+3 berths and 810.0 liter fresh water capacity.


Rig

The boat has more than one rig.

One option is 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.


Keel

The Catalina 470 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

The Catalina 470 is equipped with 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.

Catalina 470 can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.39 - 2.49 meter (7.84 - 8.14 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

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 most marinas as the draft is just about 1.68 - 1.78 meter (5.51 - 5.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar 4JH-TE diesel engine at 75 hp (55 kW). Calculated max speed is about 8.0 knots

The fuel tank has a capacity of 333.0 liters (87 US gallons, 73 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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Catalina 470 is 1.86, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


EU classification

Catalina 470 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 8.7 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 470 is about 366 kg/cm, alternatively 2050 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 366 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2050 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 470 is 28.7.

Low High 31% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 31% 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 470 is 3.32.

Slim Wide 62% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 62% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Catalina 470 is 33%.

Low High 38% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Catalina 470 is 164 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

Heavy Light 76% 0 50 100
76% 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 470 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.9.

Low High 38% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 38% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 46% 0 50 100
The Catalina 470 has more rig than 46% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.


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 64m2 (688 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 for masthead rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

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
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 40.5 m(133.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard40.5 m(133.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard40.5 m(133.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet 14.2 m(46.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet14.2 m(46.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 35.4 m(116.2 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet31.2 m(102.3 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Cunningham6.1 m(19.9 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap12.2 m(39.9 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul12.2 m(39.9 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 44.7 m(146.6 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard44.7 m(146.6 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard44.7 m(146.6 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet 14.2 m(46.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet14.2 m(46.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 35.4 m(116.2 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet31.2 m(102.3 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Cunningham6.1 m(19.9 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap12.2 m(39.9 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul12.2 m(39.9 feet)14 mm(0.55 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 470 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