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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

How wet a ride is the C250?

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Initially Posted - 02/02/2010 : 16:13:06

I know that in heavy weather almost any sailboat will give a wet ride. But under normal (<15 kt) conditions, is the cockpit pretty dry on the C250? We are going to keep her on the Delaware River for at least the first year, and my wife is not too keen on the water quality. Can we count on a fairly dry ride?

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

Edited by - TakeFive on 02/02/2010 16:17:15

JimB517
Past Commodore

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USA
3285 Posts

Response Posted - 02/02/2010 : 16:52:37

My C25 is very dry. I've sailed on a C250 and found it to be the same. The boats have pretty high freeboard. It is very unusual to take spray all the way to the cockpit. You virtually never put the side decks under (or even anywhere close to the water).

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 02/02/2010 : 17:50:12

The only time we get wet is if the bow hits a wave/swell just right and water comes over from the front of the boat. If you are heading into the wind it makes it more likely but does not happen a lot. When it does I actually like it, adds excitement to the sail.

Tell you wife to keep her mouth closed in heavy weather.

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 02/02/2010 : 22:26:20

I've had the occasional splash. But, the weather and conditions had to be just right.

Edited by - on

jlannutti
Navigator

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USA
102 Posts

Response Posted - 02/03/2010 : 03:13:12

I also keep my boat on the Delaware. Where will you be? The 250 is about as dry as you can get in a 25' boat. An occasional splash if there is a lot of chop. It's darn near impossible to get the rail near enough to the water to get even close to the coaming. I following wave from a large vessel if conditions are just right can send a small bit of water into the cockpit via the swim ladder area, but just enough to get the rear section of the floor wet.

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 02/03/2010 : 06:27:34

Thanks everyone for the info! With the high freeboard of the C250 I expected the ride to be pretty dry for a boat of this size.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by jlannutti
 I also keep my boat on the Delaware. Where will you be?...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
The boat I am considering is currently on the hard at Winter's near dock C. It has no name, and only has temporary PA registration stickers on its bow. The current owner only had it since May or June 2009, and I get the feeling from his lack of knowledge that he barely used it. If you know which boat I'm talking about let me know - you might have some useful info on it.

Which boat are you? I've seen a few other C250s on the hard there.

I plan to move it downriver to Essington, PA, probably in Anchorage Marina, which has the least problem with parking lot flooding at high tide. It's less scenic than your part of the Delaware, but 12 minutes from my home.

Edited by - TakeFive on 02/03/2010 06:28:28

willy
Captain

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USA
422 Posts

Response Posted - 02/03/2010 : 08:32:18

I sail the Delaware Bay,(and Atlantic Ocean),in my 250, and the only time I get wet is when we really "take it in the teeth" through big chop. Under 15 knots of breeze you should be 95% dry. While I understand nobody wants to swim in the Delaware, most of the things you would want to avoid are dumped in the water between Philadelphia and Delaware City. While there is some tidal backwash, the current should keep it reasonably clean from Philadelphia going North. Congrats on the new boat!
Willy

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 02/03/2010 : 09:07:50

Arrrr! We had a good taste of salt when we hit the 8' waves on our way to Bimini!

But other than that we stay dry with execptions noted above.

Any more info on the boat on the hard?

Paul

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 02/03/2010 : 15:21:22

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by willy
 I sail the Delaware Bay,(and Atlantic Ocean),in my 250, and the only time I get wet is when we really "take it in the teeth" through big chop. Under 15 knots of breeze you should be 95% dry. While I understand nobody wants to swim in the Delaware, most of the things you would want to avoid are dumped in the water between Philadelphia and Delaware City. While there is some tidal backwash, the current should keep it reasonably clean from Philadelphia going North. Congrats on the new boat!
Willy
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
We will be slightly downstream from Philly in Essington, but hope to sail up the river whenever the tidal schedule cooperates. Of course, downriver things seem to open up a bit (at least that's the way the charts look to me) which might make it nice to keep a tack for more than 10 minutes.

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Silar_Phas
Deckhand

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Canada
22 Posts

Response Posted - 02/10/2010 : 22:58:13

Bimini u say britinusa ? you went to the Bahama whit your 250 ? I would like to do that someday , I will have to look for info on that ...

Concerning the dryness of a 250 I think it is better then the one I had before , which was an exellent boat too but shorter (Rhode 22), so I guess the smaller the boat the wetter it gets

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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2010 : 04:35:45

The C250 water ballast has the manners of a full keel in a seaway and thus is dryer and offers a more comfortable ride.

I've pulled into a harbor on the Great Lakes on several occasions to chat with owners of much larger boats who had holed up for the day because of rough conditions. They invariably insist that we must have gotten beat up really bad to wit an explanation is offered that no, the 250 doesn't hobby horse and provided a good passage.

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2010 : 05:08:56

I am aware that because of the greater fore-aft weight distribution of the water ballast (higher moment of inertia), the C250WB is more steady through chop. Unfortunately my family is very tall (my oldest son is 6'5", and my youngest will be someday), and the C250WB lacks sufficient headroom for us to sit down in the cabin. So we need to go with the WK version.

Edited by - TakeFive on 02/11/2010 05:09:39

bear
Admiral

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USA
909 Posts

Response Posted - 02/11/2010 : 05:48:18

If that interior height is becoming a major concern I would have your son go down inside, close the boat up and take stock of interior clearances. The WK may not be comfortable for a person 6'5.
JMTCW

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jlannutti
Navigator

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USA
102 Posts

Response Posted - 02/13/2010 : 06:12:39

Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I've been checking this site only about once a week.I also keep my 250 @ Winters, on D Dock. I've owned owned my '98 WB model for about 4 years now and sail quite often. Let me know if I can be of help.

Edited by - on

ruachwrights
Captain

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USA
258 Posts

Response Posted - 02/15/2010 : 00:35:56

We sail the WK version out of E. Greenwich R.I. on Narraganset Bay and things very dry at 15kts of wind, even if the boat is well heeled. Have fun and happy sailing!

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Ray Seitz
Captain

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USA
416 Posts

Response Posted - 02/18/2010 : 07:24:25

I also would have to say the 250 is very dry. We sail on Lake Erie which can become quite choppy and I have seen larger sailboats really taking a beating with lots of water over the bow and we had none of those issues. Our last sail last season was in 4'-6' waves and in about 3 hours of sailing only one broke over the bow and sent some (small) amount of water in the cockpit.

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MartinJW
Navigator

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USA
241 Posts

Response Posted - 02/27/2010 : 14:21:32

Hi RD,

Our previous Catalinas - a Capri 16 and Catalina 18 mkII - were a lot of fun, but they could be pretty wet in strong conditions. Our C-18 used to take lots of waves over the bow and into the cockpit when we were beating into stiff winds on Lake Tahoe.

By comparison, our C-250 is very dry and comfortable. We often sail in 15-20 (and sometimes 25) knot winds (on Tahoe), and we've hardly ever been splashed.

Hope this is helpful,
Martin

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 02/27/2010 : 15:42:39

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by MartinJW
 Hi RD,

Our previous Catalinas - a Capri 16 and Catalina 18 mkII - were a lot of fun, but they could be pretty wet in strong conditions. Our C-18 used to take lots of waves over the bow and into the cockpit when we were beating into stiff winds on Lake Tahoe.

By comparison, our C-250 is very dry and comfortable. We often sail in 15-20 (and sometimes 25) knot winds (on Tahoe), and we've hardly ever been splashed.

Hope this is helpful,
Martin

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Thanks, Martin. We have a Phantom for when we want to get wet. We love it for what it is, but want to get a C250 for something different. An occasional spash will be fine, but getting soaked should be reserved for the Phantom - and for the cleaner lake waters where we sail it.

Edited by - TakeFive on 02/27/2010 15:43:30

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