catalina 42 owners

[bob griswold]

Were looking for feedback from mkII 42 owners on cruiser satifaction. Pretty sure we'vedecided on a new boat, and we plan on living aboard the five years it will take us to pay it off, before we take off cruising. Anyone our there cruising? what have you learned? what kind of things haveyou had todo?bojangriz@aol.com

[Bob Teeter]

We have a 1990 C 42 and plan to go cruising in 4-5 years.Suggust you check out the C 42 Association Web. There are several articles with reference to cruising and some very good contacts.We are slowly adding equipment to the boat. Fuel tanks, water maker, stay sail and maybe even a gen set.

[Mark Johnson]

C42 Association. www.catalina42.org I know there have been many 42's that have been modified for long range cruising. I think there is an article about Moonspun that has or is in the process of being redone for long distance cruising. Makes for very good reading. They have addressed the issues of water storage, extra fuel, more storage area etc. I had a 42 2 cabin version which I loved. It was fine for 2 or 3 weeks, but needed more water, fuel and storage for longer cruises.Mark Johnson

[Michael Yorke]

Bob, I have a 1997 Catalina 42 Mk II. It is a wing keel, 3-cabin version. My wife and I love it. It is a lot of boat for the money and is very seaworthy. Our cruising ground is Long Island Sound to Nantucket and we find the boat very comfortable and easy to handle.Last June I sailed the boat from New York to Bermuda, and back. Weather conditions ranged from flat calms to squalls of 37 kts. Seas in the Gulf Stream were 10-12 feet in NW winds. The C42 handled it beautifully. I did do a couple of modifications to the boat for that trip. I added an inner forestay and running backstays. I had a third reef put in the main. I added securing bolts to the companionway washboards, and I secured the normally unsecured anchor locker. Additionally, I added the appropriate safety and communications equipment, including liferaft, high capacity Edson pump, SSB radio, 406 EPIRB, etc.The configuration of the boat for coastal cruising is great. For blue-water cruising the fuel tankage limitation is a drawback. The standard tank is 38 gallons. I carred 6x6 jerry cans on deck. I would prefer not to do that in the future. Some C42's have been modified to carry extra tankage. C42 Moonspun upped his diesel capacity to around 180 gallons by putting in extra tankage. His work was carried in Mainsheet last year. If you check the C42 website I think that there is an article + pictures.Net, net, the C42 is a very liveable boat. It is very capable. It is a lot of boat for the money and I've never met a C42 owner who was dissatisfied.Hope this helpsMichael YorkeC42 Mk II, #573, Certa CitoPort Washington, Long Island, New York

[Dan Smith]

I just finished installing 160 gallons on my 1996 mkIII did it with half the work required for Moonspun. I put all water in theunder sole where it lowers the CG A thought on how easy it was to vastlyimprove range . cost was under 4000 for everything installed including transfer pumps and custom 3 filter racor system which holds 1 filter in reserve at all times.With an "autoprop" and at 2100 rpm we have a gross boat speed foward of 5.8 Kts... and a fuel burn of .7 gph !!That figures to a 1322 mile rangeDan Smith REUNION hull 533