Volume 26, Number 3, August 2008

Catalina Yachts
FEATURE

Some exciting changes are taking place at Catalina and we’d like to share the details with our extended family, Catalina owners.

Since 1969, we’ve dedicated ourselves to building boats using traditional craftsmanship in modern manufacturing facilities using state-of-the-art technology. With a history of boat building now spanning nearly five decades, Catalina has manufactured some 75,000 vessels. Until 1984, everything was done in Woodland Hills, California when we acquired Morgan Yachts in Largo, Florida.

Every Catalina model will be built in Florida now, a consolidation that’s been in the works for some time, and scheduled to be completed by year’s end. In fact, all new Catalinas designed and built in the past ten years were built in Florida...

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ONE THOUSAND CATALINA 42s
By Garry Willis and Sandy Golden • COVER STORY • C42

Hull #1,000 was recently put on display and christened at an open house at Catalina Yacht Anchorage in Marina del Rey, Ca. on March 29, 2008 to celebrate its history making production.

Think of it…over 1,000 Catalina 42s have been built since its introduction in 1988. That’s over 50 built each and every year for 20 years! No other production sailboat over 40 feet has or most likely ever will surpass that figure in the history of recreational boat building and the boat continues to be built with strong customer demand all over the world.

That’s an incredible testament to a builder and the owners who sail this wonderful vessel all over the world and proves how strong, reliable and popular this vessel truly is...

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Last Resort
Photo Shoot in Mexico
By Richard “Dick” Drechsler • C470

Setting out aboard S/V Last Resort, we anticipated a six- or seven-hour motor-sail to Coral Marina, just north of Ensenada, Mexico. The primary purpose for the trip was to visit our friend Spike Webb, who was experimenting with using a model seaplane as a platform to take aerial photographs, and we would be the first sailing vessel he would attempt.

Our trip started out uneventfully and it looked like we were going to be motoring all the way. But shortly after we passed Mexico’s Coronado Islands, the wind picked up to around 13 knots. I decided to haul out the spinnaker and give it a try. We were still getting used to our new spinnaker – a 1336-square foot expanse of fabric wrapped around a RollGen – and we had some trouble rigging it. But, once it was unfurled and dialed in, it looked like we were in for a really smooth ride.
We got pretty relaxed, so Sharon decided to head down below for a nap. Well, no sooner had she gone to sleep when the wind picked up and we started getting headed badly, so I decided to jibe. Just when the sail started to come over to the starboard side, the sheet let loose and there I was, holding a line to nowhere. I quickly led the port sheet around the bow and tried to haul it in. But I couldn’t control the sheet without help, so no more nap for Sharon! Once we got that sorted out, she went back to try to get that nap in, after all...

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