Engineering:Catalina 30

Short description: Cruiser/racer class of sailboats

Catalina 30

A Catalina 30 with the optional bowsprit fitted
Development
Designer	Frank Butler
Location	United States
Year	1972
No. built	6430
Builder(s)	Catalina Yachts
Boat
Boat weight	10,200 lb (4,627 kg)
Hull
Type	Monohull
Construction	Fiberglass
LOA	29.92 ft (9.12 m)
LWL	25.00 ft (7.62 m)
Beam	10.83 ft (3.30 m)
Hull draft	5.25 ft (1.60 m)
Hull appendages
Keel/board type	fin keel
Ballast	4,250 lb (1,928 kg)
Rudder(s)	internally-mounted spade-type rudder
Rig
General	Masthead sloop
I (foretriangle height)	41.00 ft (12.50 m)
J (foretriangle base)	11.50 ft (3.51 m)
P (mainsail luff)	35.00 ft (10.67 m)
E (mainsail foot)	11.50 ft (3.51 m)
Sails
Mainsail area	201.25 sq ft (18.697 m2)
Jib/genoa area	235.75 sq ft (21.902 m2)
Total sail area	437.00 sq ft (40.599 m2)
Catalina 309 →

The Catalina 30 is a series of United States sailboats, that were designed by Frank Butler and later by Gerry Douglas.

The Catalina 30 design was replaced in the company's line by the Catalina 309 in 2010.

Production

The boat was built by Catalina Yachts in the United States , but it is now out of production. During its production run from 1972 to 2008 in many versions, the design sold 6,430 boats, making it one of the most successful keelboat designs ever built.

Design

The Catalina 30 is a small recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, an internally-mounted spade-type rudder and a fixed fin keel.

The design was initially fitted with a Japanese Yanmar diesel engine or a Universal 5411 or Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine, but by the mid-1980s these had been replaced by the three-cylinder Universal M-25 diesel.

Variants

Catalina 30

This model was introduced in 1972 and was designed by Frank Butler. It has a length overall of 29.92 ft (9.1 m), a waterline length of 25.00 ft (7.6 m), displaces 10,200 lb (4,627 kg) and carries 4,250 lb (1,928 kg) of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of 5.25 ft (1.60 m) with the standard keel, 4.30 ft (1.31 m) with the optional shoal draft keel and 3.83 ft (1.17 m) with the optional wing keel. The boat has a hull speed of 6.7 kn (12.41 km/h). An optional tall rig has a mast about 2 ft (0.61 m) taller. A bowsprit was optional.

Catalina 30 Mark II

This model was built between 1986-1991 and was designed by Gerry Douglas. Improvements include a T-shaped cockpit and a new deck and liner design. It has a length overall of 29.92 ft (9.1 m), a waterline length of 25.00 ft (7.6 m), displaces 10,200 lb (4,627 kg) and carries 4,200 lb (1,905 kg) of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of 5.25 ft (1.60 m) with the standard keel and 3.83 ft (1.17 m) with the optional wing keel. An optional tall rig has a mast about 2 ft (0.61 m) taller. The boat has a hull speed of 6.7 kn (12.41 km/h).

Catalina 30 Mark III

This model was built between 1990-2008 and was designed by Gerry Douglas. Improvements include a re-designed cockpit, an open transom with a boarding and swimming platform, an updated galley and new topside windows. It has a length overall of 29.92 ft (9.1 m), a waterline length of 25.00 ft (7.6 m), displaces 10,185 lb (4,620 kg) and carries 4,189 lb (1,900 kg) of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of 5.25 ft (1.60 m) with the standard keel and 3.83 ft (1.17 m) with the optional wing keel. An optional tall rig has a mast about 2 ft (0.61 m) taller. The boat has a PHRF racing average handicap of 186 with a high of 201 and low of 180. The boat has a hull speed of 6.7 kn (12.41 km/h).

American Sailboat Hall of Fame

The Catalina 30 was inducted into the now-defunct Sail America American Sailboat Hall of Fame in 2001. In honoring the design, the hall cited, "Designer and builder Frank Butler is in many ways a contradiction in terms. On the one hand he's an innovator and a risk taker. On the other, he takes those risks and uses those innovations to build boats for the common man; good solid boats that combine performance and comfort without costing an arm and a leg ... This design philosophy is perhaps best expressed in the Catalina 30, a racer-cruiser that set the trend for many of today's most successful lines and is itself still going strong after a production run of 25 years and more than 6,500 boats."

See also

Catalina 30

A Catalina 30, showing the transom shape

A 1984 Catalina 30 showing the optional tall rig with bowsprit.

• List of sailing boat types

Related development

• Catalina 309

Similar sailboats

• Aloha 30
• Alberg 30
• Alberg Odyssey 30
• Annie 30
• Bahama 30
• Bristol 29.9
• Cal 9.2
• C&C 30
• C&C 30 Redwing
• CS 30
• Grampian 30
• Hunter 29.5
• Hunter 30
• Hunter 30T
• Hunter 30-2
• Hunter 306
• J/30
• Kirby 30
• Leigh 30
• Mirage 30
• Mirage 30 SX
• Nonsuch 30
• O'Day 30
• Pearson 303
• S2 9.2
• Santana 30/30
• Seafarer 30
• Southern Cross 28