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Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts
Initially Posted - 03/09/2006 :  10:40:01  Show Profile
A friend is interested in trying to decide bewteen the new water ballast Catalina 250 and the wing keel-older models and the swing keel. Any one have any research or opinions? We bought "Leprechaun" because of many factors and he is trying to make the same deceision any comments are welcome..
Alan & Eileen
2001 Catalina 310 Hull #155
"Anam Cara"
ex-1987 C25 TR/SK #5612
"LEPRECHAUN"
Troy Ohio USA / Lake Erie-Catawba Island
ASA 101 103 104

"The clink of an anchor - chain, the 'Yo-Ho!' of a well time crew, the flapping of huge sails - I love all these sounds."

John 'Rob Roy' MacGregor

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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts
Response Posted - 03/09/2006 :  10:58:06  Show Profile  Visit britinusa's Homepage
There are plenty of threads on this subject.
For us the deciding factor was:
Trailerability: We didn't want to leave it in the water.

But other issues are:
Headroom: (Cabin height) it's much less in the WB, but I'm 6' and handle it just fine, I'd still have an issue in the WK.

Locale: We have a lot of stop signs down around SoFla, we haven't hit one yet with the SW, but we normally pull it up a way when entering shallow areas.

Paul
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Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts
Response Posted - 03/09/2006 :  11:57:23  Show Profile
Paul, Our criteria was late 80s,Tall Rig,wing keel,shore power,marine head,trailer. As we intend to sail other locations at some point, Tall rig for light wind(You can always reef) ..We also needed shoal draft for our lake is man made and max depth is 10'..(11 miles long X 3 miles wide was hand dug for the canal system). Sailing magazine rated Grand Lake St Marys as one of the 15 best sailing lakes in America. Well we found-after searching for 1 1/2 years what we wanted..except we ended up with a swing keel. But we are VERY Happy with Leprechaun. Our friend looked at the New water ballast 250 and he will sail it the same place as we do, and was interested in it.Eileen and I are much more traditional and I believe that the older boats sail better. (?).
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Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts
Response Posted - 03/09/2006 :  11:58:26  Show Profile
Paul, Our criteria was late 80s,Tall Rig,wing keel,shore power,marine head,trailer. As we intend to sail other locations at some point, Tall rig for light wind(You can always reef) ..We also needed shoal draft for our lake is man made and max depth is 10'..(11 miles long X 3 miles wide was hand dug for the canal system). Sailing magazine rated Grand Lake St Marys as one of the 15 best sailing lakes in America. Well we found-after searching for 1 1/2 years what we wanted..except we ended up with a swing keel. But we are VERY Happy with Leprechaun. Our friend looked at the New water ballast 250 and he will sail it the same place as we do, and was interested in it.Eileen and I are much more traditional and I believe that the older boats sail better. (?).BTW my wife and I are both 5'8" and our friend is 6"..
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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 03/09/2006 :  12:12:11  Show Profile
Both the "older" (C-25) and newer C-250 come with wing keels. For trailerability for the C-25, the wing supplanted the swing in later years and is preferred by most because while it draws only an inch or so more than the fully raised swing keel, it eliminates some maintenance issues relating to 1500 lb.s of cast iron on a pin and a cable. (I won't go into the sinking stories...)

The water-ballast C-250 is considerably lighter on a trailer than any of the C-25s, partly because you leave the ballast in the lake, and partly because it's just a lighter boat (with ballast).

For many, the biggest factor is price--C-250s are newer and generally substantially more expensive. Many people also have strong preferences for the style and layout of one or the other--a larger open cabin layout and open transom (C-250) or a more traditional looking boat (C-25). But often the biggest factor is the boat you find on the market. If it's a good one, he likes it, and the price is right, it might be the boat! He's not likely to go wrong with a Catalina. The outboard and sails should be taken into consideration with the price, and a survey is highly recommended.

BTW, your 6" friend should have no trouble with headroom in any of them...
Edited by - Dave Bristle on 03/09/2006 14:59:27
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 03/09/2006 :  14:49:42  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
We have the only Catalina dealer for a very large radius, there is not a single 250 at our lake. There have been three over the production run of the 250 and each was sold out of state after a season. We have 5 Hunter 260s and 12 Catalina 25s.
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.