New C355 in Alameda

[Bob Mobley]

 

Hi,
We visited the new boat(C355) in Alameda yesterday.   We spent about 45 minutes looking into every area we could.  We like most of the new features a lot.  We are willing to trade our 1989 C34.  $200,000?

I remember reading the comments from people that have looked at the boat elsewhere and am interested in the locals views.

Bob Mobley

[Dave Spencer]

Hi Bob,
We visited the 355 at the Toronto Boat Show in January.  We just recently acquired our C34 Mk1.5 so we're still learning about it and we definitely weren't in the buying mood but it's fun to look for ideas on new boats.   Our favourite things about the 355 were the cool foldout "quad leaf" table and the cavernous cockpit locker on the port side where my fuel tank is located.  I didn't dig deep enough on the show boat to figure out where they put the fuel tank.   I also like Yanmars having had positive experience on a previous boat.  The hatch in the aft cabin is nice... now mandatory in new boats. I'm a fresh water sailor so the increased fresh water capacity to over 100 gallons doesn't mean much to me.  The holding tank is still 27 US Gallons which is adequate for my needs.  There's an extra 3 or 4 inches of headroom which is handy but it comes at a price of windage.  Overall... a great looking boat.  Almost as nice as the C34!   

[Steve Sayian]

We saw the boat at the Boston Boat Show this past Sat (hull # 23).
My wife liked it but I didn't.  Less storage space than the 34, no hanging locker beside the chart table (we use it for foul wx storage), why the 'make-up desk' in the vee berth (could have put a locker/shelf there), and the obvious ugly sink in the head. 
Positives were the seats on the aft comings, rigid cockpit table, ice box closer inboard and a bit more counter space.

My$0.02.

Steve

[wind dancer]

I haven't seen one in person yet, but from the specs I've seen they've made just about every improvement I could have asked for on my C34.  Watertight bulkhead, longer waterline, more headroom,  taller lifelines, stronger v-berth hatch, quieter engine -- it will likely be my next boat.  As far as the sink in the head -- I don't understand why that bothers people.  Sinks are easy to replace.  The low counter top bothers me much more.

[tonywright]

At first glance I thought: C34 MKIII.  Saw it at the Toronto boat show. Basic layout is the same as a 34 MKII with tweaking. LOA is actually 2 inches shorter than the 34 MKII.

What I liked:

1. The metal toe rail, and the built in mid-ship cleats
2. The dual anchor rollers and the sprit
3. The cavernous cockpit locker, with a holding tank inside twice the size of a MKII (with even a transparent strip for visual checking of state of fill).
4. The fridge/ice box accessible front and top.
5. Good tweaking of the seating and tabletops in the salon
6. The shower compartment in the head
7. The signature non-skid pattern of the 34.
8. Easy fuel filter accessibility

Things we didn't like so much included the smaller v-berth and loss of closet space, and the loss of space to the left of the galley sink (It was moved to the end of the peninsula to make way for the ice box at the other end). The aft berth seemed smaller as well, although the rep said not.. Also not so keen on the new cockpit layout with a very small instrument mounting pod each side: I like what we have on the MKII. The undersized telescopic boarding ladder - great for stowing when backing up to a dock, but probably less practical/substantial for actually boarding.

I would really like to know where they put the fuel tank!

Tony

[Stu Jackson]

Some earlier discussions:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5801.0.html

There are three more, search on C355, if you're interested.

[Ken Juul]

If I were to guess (and that's what I'm doing) I would say the fuel tank is under the aft berth.  Lots of unusable space.

[Dave Spencer]

Ken,
Under the aft berth makes sense for the fuel

Tony,
I agree 100% that the toe rails are a major improvement.  We've just had our C34 Mk1.5 for a short time but I'm already fretting about what I'll do without those handy strong points along the rail.  Midship cleats are also a notable improvement.
Is the MkII holding tank really that small.  We have 27 gallons on our Mk1.5... same as the 355.
I think you may be mistaken on the LWL.  Brochure specs for the all C34s shows LWL = 29' 10".  The 355 shows 30' 2" in its brochure.  A small increase. 

The 355 LOA is reported to be (predictably) 35' 5" with a hull length of 34' 6"... exactly the reported "LOA" of the C34.  I seem to recall that in the past, Catalina identified their yachts based on the hull length but called it "LOA".  I know this is true on the C320 that has a hull length of 32' 6" but, an LOA of (you guessed it) 34' 6"!!
http://www.catalinayachts.com/yachts.cfm?act=model&id=79&sid=0&link=spec
 
So, do we really have 35ft+ yachts when the pulpit overhang is included?

[waterdog]

Nobody answer that question.  My marina may be reading this...

[Dave Spencer]

I'm with ya Steve.  What I really meant to ask is "Isn't it a rip-off that our boats are called 34s but they are really only 32 ft long?" 
What was I thinking?