Catalina 309
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The Catalina 309 |
 The Catalina 309 is a good-looking sailboat, even when docked. The bimini, as seen in the photo above, is high enough that sailors can easily enter and exit the cockpit even with the bimini deployed.  The mainsail furling line never enters the mast, so it can't get snagged or entangled inside there. The line itself leads back to the cockpit for easy furling.  The cockpit is spacious.  The salon is spacious. A cruising couple would likely never need to fold out the table, but it folds out to provide room for 4 or even 6 to dine comfortably.  The galley has plenty of storage, an LP stove, and a DC-powered refrigerator with a freezer compartment.  The companionway stairs swing out of the way to provide full access to 3 sides of the Yanmar diesel engine. Catalina 309Cruising Sailboat from CatalinaThe Catalina 309 was introduced by Catalina to replace the popular Catalina 30 — keeping the features that made the Catalina 30 so popular, but offering many improvements over the original. The original Catalina 30 was a popular cruiser for families as well as a racing sailboat. It was known for its good performance and handling characteristics, its roomy accommodations, and its value for the money. The Catalina 309 The Catalina 309 accomplished its mission so well that it was named 2007 Boat of the Year by Cruising World magazine. Sailing the Catalina 309The 309 sails exceptionally well and handles beautifully. With a roller-furling jib and in-mast furling mainsail, it's easy to deploy both sails without leaving the cockpit, and both can be reefed easily by simply furling them partway until you have exactly as much as much canvas out as you want for the weather conditions — you're not limited to specific reef points. It's a simple matter to trim both the mainsail and jib to exactly the right size and shape for conditions. The boat is responsive to small adjustments, so that you're able to determine quickly if your trim adjustments are achieving the results you wanted. The mainsail furler is operated by a continuous-line loop that runs from the mast to the cockpit through a set of line clutches. The line turns a winch that is mounted on the mast, and the winch operates the furler itself. The furling line cannot become entangled inside the mast, because it never enters the mast. Should it be needed in an emergency, the furler can be operated by inserting a winch handle in the mast-mounted winch and cranking away. The Catalina 309 is RoomyThe cockpit of the 309 is both long and wide — roomy enough for tall people to stretch out, and with enough space in the center to to put a cooler there and still have room for your feet and legs. Catalina thoughtfully installed a wheel that can be folded up when at anchor, making it easy to move aft of the wheel — say, to the walk-through transom — and back into the cockpit again. There are 2 stern rail seats, as well, equipped with drink holders for your soda or adult beverage. The salon is surprisingly spacious for a boat this size. It has sufficient headroom for a six-footer to stand upright without bonking his head. The salon table folds out to provide room for 2 couples to dine without any crowding, and there would be room for a couple more people with little crowding. The galley is well laid out with everything in easy reach of the cook. The 2-burner stove with oven runs off a 10-lb. LPG tank, and there's a DC-powered refrigerator with a freezer compartment. There is a large double berth aft, and the v-berth includes a "filler" inside the V that slides forward under the cushions during the day, and pulls out at night for more sleeping room. Engine and SystemsThe companionway stairs swing out of the way to provide full access to 3 sides of the Yanmar diesel engine. The transmission is easily accessible via a panel in the quarter berth. An AC/DC electrical panel at the nav station provides room for expansion.
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