Catalina 355 Review from Annie Bennett (Sydney Private Sailing)

[Diane]

Last week I found a nice review (including pros and cons) of the C-355, written by a C-320 owner, Annie Bennett.  I requested her permission to reprint it on the Catalina 355 website as a blog entry.  Some of you former Catalina 320 owners may have already read it.  If you haven't seen it, please go to http://www.catalina355.net/1/post/2011/08/catalina-355-review-from-sydney-australia.html.  Her review will likely elicit thoughts from your perspective as an owner.  Please feel free to comment on the blog, or open a new discussion thread over here in the forum!

Happy Sailing,

Diane

Tenacious # 6

[michael Apt]

Thank You

Michael Apt
Arcadia Group
(631) 680-5655

[Jon]

As a former 320 owner, I did see Annie's excellent review when she
posted. We just got back from a two week cruise here in New England
and put over 300 miles on the boat both under sail and power. This
gave us a really good feel for her. Overall, the boat is incredibly
comfortable to 'live on'--overall the ergonomics couldn't be better.
Everything from the layout to the extra tankage made us feel that we
could stay on the boat indefinitely--not so much on our old 320.
Sailing performance was excellent in all but the very lightest of
winds, which is where the spinnaker comes in. Very dry boat with
excellent handling characteristics. The items that we did find
troublesome were minor, but nevertheless issues.
As Annie noted, the traveler cam cleats are not fair and are too low.
I've sent Mr. Douglas a note as I believe they could potentially be
dangerous. I have yet to hear back, but if/when I do, I will report
back. I would like to change mine as I hope the the factory will and
am looking for guidance from Gerry. However, the ease of the
traveler's movement and the same side adjustments (which I didn't
think I'd like) are excellent.
The other two issues relate to the fridge. As mentioned on an earlier
post here, their is a condensation problem on the settee side of the
fridge. Not extreme, but definitely indicates lack of insulation.
Also, there is no drain in the fridge, another nuisance. On the other
hand, the layout and space of the fridge is excellent.
My final issue is the location of the pump out deckfill--the
horizontal run of the hose and the deckfill on the transom don't make
any sense--I also asked Gerry about this. Overall though, we couldn't
be happier with the boat!
--BTW, I have heard that the 355 will NOT be at the Annapolis Boat
show this year--rumor is the economy, but doesn't make sense to me
given all of the favorable reviews and keen interest in this
boat.....can anyone confirm?

> Tenacious # 6Michael Apt Arcadia Group (631) 680-5655