Buying a Pre-owned C34 - What to look for?

[Jon W]

Hello, My name is Jon and I have been looking for a boat in the 34 foot size range for several months. As I looked at various yacht for sale websites, I kept reading about the Catalina 34, the great manufacturer support, and the great owners forum. So last weekend I went to look at a couple of Catalina 34's. It didn't take long to see why people like these boats. For a C34, I'm looking in the 1987-1990 range due to price. I would appreciate some tips on what to look out for.
Two of many questions I have are -
      I've heard the keel stepped mast has leak problems through the mast. Is that an issue, or just a lone comment from someone?
      One boat I looked at didn't have a windlass. Is adding an electric windlass with it's own battery simple or difficult?

Thanks and looking forward to hearing your thoughts on buying a pre-owned C34.

Jon W.

[sailaway]

Jon I have a 1986 keel stepped mast I only had a leak problem once when the water can down the sail tract. A small amount of caulk in the sail tract stopped that. All boats have leaks hatch  portlits my boat is dry right now but it is an on going battle good luck C34 are great boats. You do get some water down the center of mast that ends up in the bilge . Charlie

[Ken Juul]

Browse the site you will get a feel for what to look for.  Start with the Critical upgrades section, move on to the 101 section.  They are both on the top in the blue section.

In the tech wiki is a post that might help.  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7323.0.html

We have all been in your shoes.  Most of us have taken a year or more to find the right boat.  Enjoy the search.

[Ralph Masters]

Jon,
We have owned our 87 Catalina 34 for 5 years now, and I do get a bit of water in every time it rains. The last rain we just had here in San Diego I had maybe a cup of water.
I installed a windlass a couple of years ago and it it turned out pretty nice, I'm at Pier 32 if you're ever in the area and would like to look at it.
We view our boat as more then "a hole in the water to throw money into" primarily because it is a Catalina quality boat.

Ralph

[Noah]

I am also in San Diego and would be happy to chat and give you a tour of my "brand-new" 1990 C34.

[mregan]

I've got an '86 and never get any water down the mast.  Don't have a windlass and don't have any problem hauling the anchor in.

Do look at the vented stanchions on the port and starboard side.  They are prone to leaking.  Port side is above the elec. panel and starboard side is above the icebox area.  Check the critical upgrades like Ken mentioned.  My boat didn't have any of the upgrades made when I bought her but she was in great shape otherwise.  I've been going through them and replacing the items as I go along.  I always figured as long as the engine, hull and rig are in good shape, I could fix/replace the rest of the items in time.

[Stu Jackson]

Hi, Jon,

http://www.c34.org/faq-pages/faq.html

All this stuff is in the wiki, I just find this "archive" a handier way to read the topics.

[pablosgirl]

Hi Jon,

My wife and I bought a 1988 model in 2009 and find that it has one of the best lay outs down bellow that rival boats in the 40 foot range. A good c34 can be had in the 38K-45K range.  We found that it can be one of the driest boats out there.  We re-bedded the lifeline stanchions and around the mast with butyl bedding tape and the boat has been dry ever since.  See the "support Mainsail" topic in the blue section at the top of the message board and in the first post is a link to his how to on bedding hardware.  You will use any other sealant after reading the article!  We also replaced the rubber seals on the aft cabin hatches.  We don't use an anchor windless but as we get older it would be a nice back saver.

If you plan to use a dingy, I would recommend finding a Mark 1.5 boat  (90' and 91') with the walk through transom.  It makes it a whole lot easier entering and exiting the boat without having to climb over the stern pulpit.

Good luck with your search.

Paul and Cyndi

[Ted Pounds]

Look for leaks at the stanchions that have the water and waste tank vents (waste by nav station, water by galley).  I did get rain water down my keel-stepped mast but I never worried about it.  Also check the "CRITICAL UPGRADES" at the top of this board.  Overall she's a GREAT boat. I don't think she has any more issues than comparable Hunters or Beneteaus.  Get a survey and find a surveyor that will let you shadow him/her during the survey (this applies to any boat).  Good luck.

[Jon W]

My apologies for taking so long to respond to your feedback. I've been reading lots of different subjects on this site, but truth is it took a while for me to find the reply button at the bottom of this thread. Hopefully I'm doing this right.

Thanks everybody for the great feedback. I't seems each question I have had, there is not one, but a couple of answers either by yourselves, in the Tech Notes, the Tech Wiki, other links, or the links you sent. Concise, informative, I'm truly impressed.

I realize there is a difference between a Catalina and a Baba for example, but I got a kick out of the 1,500 nm trip story and to hear the failures he had. They really weren't much different than I've read from people on "true bluewater cruisers" like a Baba. Capability going up and down the west coast of California to Mexico was another question I had, and sure enough got an answer to that. Maybe the comments about the boat not being durable in the Cruisers forums, are exagerated?

I appreciate the offers from those that offered tours of your boats and to see the windlass installation. I may be taking you up on that offer. Well Saturday I'll be looking at a few more boats, and hopefully getting closer to the right one. Thanks again.

[Stu Jackson]

Jon, glad we could help.

In making up your mind on what boat to buy, please keep in mind the "indirect support" of websites such as this.

I doubt you will find many around about other boats that are as comprehensive as this one.  A few come to mind, like the Catalina 36, the Catalina 30 (although their data is spread over many different platforms) and the C25 is very good, too.  The Catalina 22 also is spread over many platforms and even blogs which are kinda hard to find.

Other brands?  Not so much.  And I've been reading internet boating stuff for over 16 years.

We just try to keep all this stuff in one place.  

I think there's a real VALUE to this kind of information, which doesn't get involved in the purchase price, but is, well, priceless.

[SPembleton]

I definately second Stu's comment above.  I am new to boat ownership and this site has been fantastic.  Having access to expeeiwnced sailors like Stu, Mainsail, ken and many others has been incredibly valuable.  I habe asked many basic questions, but no one has ever made me feel stupid, (even though in hindsight some were!) 

[Stephen Butler]

We have owned boats for 45 years, and our C34 for the last 10.  Without doubt, owning any craft is a continuous learning experience and the C34 site has been an outstanding resource for us...not only saving us literally thousands of dollars, but making the ownership experience so much more enjoyable.  Buy a C34 and join the association!

[chuck53]

When we were in our boat search mode, I had lots of questions about the C34.  Got all my questions answered here.  This forum really is second to none.

[Ralph Masters]

Just completed the stripping, sanding and 5 coats of new varnish, Awlgrip M3131, for the third time in 5 years of ownership. The only thing I would look at is a boat, Hunter for instance, that does not have teak trim.  But it looks great right now