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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

Visit to the Catalina Factory

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Rick Evans
1st Mate

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USA
38 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/30/2003 : 18:53:33

My wife and I just came back from touring the Catalina factory in Wooodand Hills, California. I had some yellowing problems in my 2 year old 250 and couldn't seem to get it resolved via long distance. Therefore, while on a business trip to LA, I called and invited myself over to the factory. You won't find a nicer bunch of people. Even though we were drop ins, we were soon ushered into the office of Frank Butler, the founder and President of Catalina Yachts. He is an amazing man and we talked for well over an hour. Sharing a common interest in golf, he showed me the putters he had been making. In fact, when we left the building, he walked out with us to his car in order to show me his golf clubs in the trunk. He must be into his seventies yet he only took up golf 3 years ago and is not an addict. During our visit, he personally handled the simplest details of complaints he received from purchasers. One of the recent posts on this site involved a boat which the owner claims lists. Mr. Butler got a call from the dealer and was on the problem immediately. The same for some guy whose door to the head wouldn't shut right. And so on. Nothing was too small for his personal attention. The factory tour was awesome. We went from the sail loft, to the upholstery section, to the rigging section and, of course, to the molding place where they build everything up to 42 feet. If you want to know the sequence of construction, right down to casting and bolting on the keel, let me know. All of this occurs in a very non-descript building in a rather posh looking suburb. The entire factory isn't that big and amazed me given that Catalina is the largest boat builder in the U.S. Mr. Butler told my wife and I how he came to found Catalina Yachts. Its an incredible story and traces its origin to a man who tried to swindle him when he bought his first sailboat many moons ago. If you want to know the details, let me know and I'll post them. Yes, he still loves to sail but tennis, golf and his many other businesses occupy much of his time. Oh, one more thing. I finally learned which is better. The water ballast or the wing keel thereby putting an end to a never ending controversy on this site. But I'm not telling. You'll have to go there yourself to find out. You won't find a nicer group of people at Catalina. Right down to the receptionist. It felt more like a 10 person company. When you meet somebody like Mr. Butler and some of vice presidents, you will clearly understand why this country has become what it has. They are true Horatio Alger stories.

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 03/30/2003 : 19:30:35

Rick....thanks for the report on your Catalina factory visit... I enjoyed greatly. Yes...it appears that Frank Butler is a unique person.

Arlyn C-250 W/B #224
<img src="http://www.stewartfam.net/arlyn/rr.jpg" border=0>
N/E Texas and Great Lakes

[url="http://www.cox-internet.com/arlynstewart/"]Arlyn's C250 Mods n Cruisin Stories[/url]

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Bryan Beamer
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1038 Posts

Response Posted - 03/31/2003 : 10:32:18

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I had some yellowing problems in my 2 year old 250 and couldn't seem to get it resolved via long distance. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

What did they do to take care of this?

Bryan Beamer
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3dc23b3127cce9462f2858f2b0000001010" border=0>
Daylight Again
C250wk #495

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3323 Posts

Response Posted - 03/31/2003 : 10:51:12

"I finally learned which is better. The water ballast or the wing keel"
Aw, shucks Rick! Please put us all out of our misery...<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
Derek

<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3dc30b3127cce942c608d6f1e0000001010" border=0>
TRFK#2262"This Side Up"

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Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 03/31/2003 : 14:22:55

My boat is the one listing.......what did he say? what did he say?WHAT DID HE SAY?

Oscar
<img src="http://www.woodenshoemusic.com/Images/familypics/LKforumshot.jpg" border=0>
Lady Kay 250 WB #618
In the driveway in Behtlehem, PA ready to go anytime.

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Rick Evans
1st Mate

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USA
38 Posts

Response Posted - 03/31/2003 : 17:43:34

Oscar,
Frank Butler personally fielded the call from the dealer who sold you your boat. It went straight to the top. He was obviously concerned about the listing complaint and the head engineer confirmed that nobody has had this problem before. It's not like its something they've known about. You are apparently unique. His first question, obviously, was to find out about the size and weight of the outboard motor. I mentioned to him that the web site email mentioned a concern that it could be the distribution of the water in the ballast. The engineer indicated that wouldn't be possible. Mr. Butler then asked the dealer for some more technical information. I gather the dealer was going to get it for him and put it all down in writing. Both Mr. Butler and the chief engineer are very much aware of your complaint and certainly seemed motivated to find the solution. He took the matter very seriously.

As to the yellowing, this problem has occurred on other 250s but only very rarely. Too bad it was mine. The gel coat supplier Catalina used at the time has since gone out of business. The warranty doesn't cover this problem either. It was some odd reaction to UV sunlight. However, Mr. Butler nonetheless asked me to get an estimate on having the area stripped and re-gel coated. In fact, when I got back to my office on Monday, I already had a letter from Mr. Butler to that effect. Now that's a company that stands by its product.

I did learn that the new 250's were conceived because of the fact that the original Catalina 25 was considered too easy to sail and not challenging enough for real sailors. The engineer explained that it was originally designed for small, novice women to sail as a starter boat. It was widely popular at first but, once a person could sail, something more challenging and more manly was needed and sales were declining. In fact, a recent Catalina study showed that the only current owners of the old 25 are either small women or men who are afraid to sail the new 250. To keep those owners happy with their 25, the factory has a built in fiberglas panel that drops into the water over 5 knots on the new 250s. This slows the 250 considerably and allows the 25 owners the chance to compete against the 250 and still feel like real sailors. Okay, okay. At least the first two paragraphs of this reply were true. I had to write it to give Derek a hard time. However, I did learn some differences between the water ballast and wing keel but that secret is going with me to the grave. They're both excellent boats depending on what you need her to do.

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 03/31/2003 : 22:14:16

I did learn that the new 250's were conceived because of the fact that the original Catalina 25 was considered too easy to sail and not challenging enough for real sailors. The engineer explained that it was originally designed for small, novice women to sail as a starter boat. It was widely popular at first but, once a person could sail, something more challenging and more manly was needed and sales were declining. In fact, a recent Catalina study showed that the only current owners of the old 25 are either small women or men who are afraid to sail the new 250. To keep those owners happy with their 25, the factory has a built in fiberglas panel that drops into the water over 5 knots on the new 250s. This slows the 250 considerably and allows the 25 owners the chance to compete against the 250 and still feel like real sailors. Okay, okay. At least the first two paragraphs of this reply were true. I had to write it to give Derek a hard time. However, I did learn some differences between the water ballast and wing keel but that secret is going with me to the grave. They're both excellent boats depending on what you need her to do. - Rick Evans


Hi Rick,

You should've saved that last paragraph until tomorrow ... April Fools Day ... you certainly had me going!

I guess Aggies can take it, AND dish it out ... right?

Buzz Maring
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3df23b3127cce9306a9b3abad0000001010" border=0>
~~Freya~~
C-25 SK/SR #68

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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3323 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2003 : 11:44:32

Buzz - do you want to tie a bucket to his keel, or should I do it..<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> On second thought, maybe we should add a trolling motor to it - give him a chance to keep up with us! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Derek

<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3dc30b3127cce942c608d6f1e0000001010" border=0>
TRFK#2262"This Side Up"

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Dragonfly
1st Mate

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USA
64 Posts

Response Posted - 04/01/2003 : 13:39:27

That's really great news -I will be in Cal. next month - I will call and get tour.

C-250 WK #641
Flywater@sbcglobal.net
Lake Texoma, Texas

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