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NOTE 1: One field that went backward was the DISPLACEMENT. The new Catalina was lightened considerably by reducing hull weight and reducing ballast. Myself, I don't consider this a desirable feature. I'll take the older thick hulls any day. Reducing displacement makes an easier driven (faster) boat but gives a harsher or less-friendly ride. Reducing hull/ballast weight also makes a boat cheaper to build. When ballast is reduced, sail area, mast height and aspect ratio must also be reduced. The old style Catalina has sailed around the world but I consider the new style a beefed-up daysailer due to this hull/ballast weight reduction.
NOTE 2: The waterline length was increased dramatically on the new model Catalina thus giving it a faster hull speed. Waterline length does not help hull speed in light air. This brings to my mind a ride on a Catalina 36 last summer. We entered a half mile channel, going wing and wing downwind, with a Catalina 27. We were both flying a main and a 155 jenny. We were both making about 3 knots and the 27 slowly walked away from us. Our captain remarked "he shouldn't be able to do that, we have a longer waterline length!". Actually, the LWL meant nothing at 3 knots. As soon as we made the turn in the channel, came up to a nice broad reach and reached our hull speed, we dusted the 27...
| Make | Catalina 27 | Cal 27 | Catalina 27 | Favored Cal? |
| Year | old style | 1974 2-27 | new style | . |
| LOA | 26' 10" | 26' 7" | 27' 0" | . |
| LWL | 21' 9" | 22' 1" | 23' 9" | favored Cal |
| BEAM | 8' 10" | 9' 4" | 9' 10" | favored Cal |
| DRAFT | 4' | 4' 6" | 5' | favored Cal |
| DISP (FIN KEEL) | 6550 | 6700 | 6240 | #1 above |
| BALLAST (FIN) | 2700 | 3100 | 1840 | #1 above |
| SAIL AREA | 340 | 371 | 316 | #1 above |
| I | 34' 5" | 36' 0" | 33' 4" | #1 above |
| J | 11' 25" | 12' 0" | 9' 3" | #1 above |
| P | 29' ?" | 30' 8" | 28' 3" | #1 above |
| E | 10' 5" | 12' 3" | 11' 6" | #1 above |
| TYPE HULL ** | Racer/cruiser | Racer/cruiser | Cruiser/racer | more cruiser |
| CAP/RATIO ** | 1.73 | 1.99 | 1.98 | favored Cal |
| HULL SPD ** | 6.3 | 6.3 | 6.6 | #2 above |
| SA/DISP ** | 15.54 | 16.7 | 14.91 | #1 above |
| DISP/LWL ** | 278 | 277 | 204 | favored Cal |
| LWL/BEAM ** | 2.704 | 2.351 | 2.626 | favored Cal |
| COMFORT ** | 26.77 | 22.15 | 20.37 | LESS comfort |
** Explanation of catagories . . . LOA: Length Over All: Total length of the yacht, including bowsprit if the yacht has one . . . LWL: Length at Water Line: Hull length at the waterline, the longer, the better. . .TYPE HULL: Sailing Category: The four categories are racer, racer/cruiser, cruiser/racer, and cruiser in order of descending performance . . . CAP/RATIO: Capsize Ratio: A value less than 2 is considered to be relatively good; the boat should be relatively safe in bad conditions. The higher the number above 2 the more vulnerable the boat. This is just a rough figure of merit and controversial as to its use. . . HULL SPD: Hull Speed: This is the maximum speed of a displacement hull. Some racers and lighter boats are able to achieve greater speed by lifting over the bow wave and riding on top of the water,that is, planing. . . SA/DISP: Sail Area To Displacement: The sail area is the total of the main sail and the area of the front triangle. I cannot be sure that this datum was entered correctly for each listed boat. A racing boat typically has large sail area and low displacement. A number less than 13 probably indicates that the boat is a motorsailer. High performance boats would be around 18 or higher. . . DISP/LWL: Displacement To LWL: A medium value would be 200. 300 would be high (Heavy Cruising Boat) and 100 would be low (Ultra Light Displacement-ULDB). Boats with low numbers are probably uncomfortable and difficult to sail. . . LWL/BEAM: LengthWaterLineToBeam: A medium value would be 2.7. 3.0 would be high and 2.3 would be low. A higher number is better (long and skinny is better). . . COMFORT: MotionComfort: Range will be from 5 to 60+ with a Whitby 42 at the mid 30's. The higher the number the more comfort in a sea. This figure of merit was developed by the Yacht designer Ted Brewer. This text covers most of the above catagories, the ones not covered are self explanatory.
Please mail me a comment about this page. go2erie@bright.net
snailmail... Dan Dalrymple, 5751 S. Honeytown Rd., Wooster, OH 44691. . . FAX 330-698-6403