Catalina

We spent three days in San Diego, a perfect place to get re-acclimated to life in the States. We shopped for American goods and foods that were not available in Mexico, changed our boat insurance to domestic instead of Mexican, switched from Mexican Banda Ancha (broad band) to Verizon, and generally adapted to the faster pace of life here in the USA. When we were done, we decided that it would be more fun to set a leisurely pace for our return to our home port of Long Beach.

Rising early on June 24th, we departed from our dock at Southwestern Yacht Club at 0600, bound for Dana Point harbor, about sixty miles north.  Motoring out from San Diego harbor, we set a course that took us well to the south and west to avoid the extensive kelp beds off Point Loma before turning northwest toward Dana Point. With flat seas and zero wind, we motored through the chilly and overcast morning. In the afternoon the sun broke through the clouds and a light wind sprang up, but by then we were nearly at the harbor mouth. From there we motored up the channel and took a berth at Dana Point Yacht Club, where we had a nice dinner.

The next morning we slipped out of the harbor at dawn, bound for Avalon, near the east end of Catalina Island. The sky was completely overcast as we motored over a flat sea and no wind. The morning haze remained dense, keeping the island out of view until we were within five miles of it. Then the sun burst through the clouds revealing the deep green of the hills around the harbor at Avalon. We took a mooring among hundreds of other boats. Accustomed to anchoring in Mexicos tranquil waters, we experienced a bit of culture shock with paddlers, kayakers, jet skiers, and motorboaters all passing within feet, and sometimes inches of our boat. In the afternoon we went ashore and checked out some of our old haunts here, but chose to return to the boat for a quiet dinner instead of going into an overcrowded restaurant. The weekend will be over today and the hordes will head back to the mainland, and well move up the island to Two Harbors, where we expect to spend one more week before returning to the mainland, and our lives ashore.

Beneteau 423 Rig Conversion

Now that weve had the boat for a couple of weeks and Ive been able to dig deeper into the systems and construction of the Finisterra and Im able to start putting together a serious to-do list. Our purpose is to outfit the boat for long distance cruising so the number one item on the list is to lose the in-mast furling system. There are two basic ways to go about this. The easiest is to simply pull the roller furling main out of the mast, put slides on it and run it up the luff groove that is built into the mast. The other option is to chuck the entire roller furling (RF) mast and sail, and buy a new rig. Of course there are a few options between those two extremes, but they arent worth talking about.

Beneteau 423 close reaching under a 140% jib and RF main

After pondering the alternatives and doing the math, we chose to go all the way and put a new rig in the boat. Youre probably wondering why someone would take a perfectly good rig out of a boat and exchange it for something that is usually more work to set trim and douse. My answer is that RF mains work well for many things, but they can fail in ways that could be inconvenient at best and dangerous in some circumstances. They also cant deliver the performance that a full battened main can. In terms of danger, all you have to do is visit the B423 message board to read about a range of problems people have had with their RF main sails. Sails jammed in the slot, batten pockets torn, more jammed sails, maintenance issues on the furling system, etc. Dont misunderstand me, most B423 owners seem to love their RF main sails and have very few problems with them. But if youre planning for offshore cruising to remote places with a shorthanded crew, you want your rig to be 100% manageable in all conditions. So its out with the furling rig.

As it turns out, we can do the conversion for a very reasonable price if we manage it well. US Spars, the company that built the original B423 rigs happens to have some mast extrusions left over from the production days, and agreed to build a new classic rig for us at a very attractive price. We found a local rigger here in SoCal who will take the old rig on consignment and we can surely sell the sail at Minneys, our local marine surplus store. So with the new rig, modifying the boom and buying a new mainsail, I estimate that the entire project will cost around $15.000.

423 with classic main and stackpack

We will include a Battcar system, lazyjacks and a Stackpack to make sail handling easy. With full battens the sail falls neatly into the pack, eliminating the whole flaking exercise. More importantly, the sail can be reliably reefed in all conditions. Ill keep you posted on the progress for this project.

Mainsail neatly stowed. 

The Beneteau 36s7

Now that the Honcho is back home in its berth in Long Beach, Ive had some time to reflect on the boat and how well it performed as a cruising vessel on this voyage. First and foremost I should say that we had a fantastically enjoyable time while we lived aboard the Honcho. We set sail fully aware of the small size of the boat and planned the outfitting, provisioning and sailing route accordingly, and so got along very well aboard the Honcho throughout the voyage. Still, it would be valuable to anyone who is planning such a voyage as ours to consider some of the lessons we learned along the way. So Ill begin with the design and construction of the boat, then the outfitting and provisioning, and finally the sailing of the Honcho.

The Beneteau First 36s7 is designed as a racer/cruiser, with the emphasis more on cruising than racing. This results in a moderately lightweight boat that performs well enough under sail to make the sailing fun. It’s also important to be able to sail your way out of trouble, especially upwind, so you don’t have to rely on the motor if the weather turns nasty. The Honcho performed well whenever called on for such duty.

After living aboard the Honcho for nearly a year, I’ve had ample time to ponder her accommodations. I guess the fact that we never felt the desire to change anything speaks for the basic accommodations plan. We really like the large drop-leaf table in the salon, with its built-in wine storage, and the auxiliary wine locker over the port settee. One thing I would have changed if we had spent the summer in the Sea is the hot water heater plumbing. It uses engine cooling water to heat the freshwater. That’s good most of the time.  But the heater is located under the quarterberth and when it’s blazing hot out and the water temperature is over eighty degrees, it makes for a very warm berth. If I had it to do over, I’d rig a bypass line, so that I can bypass the heater when I want to.

The Honcho on the hard, getting an epoxy barrier coat

Given the size of the boat, the galley worked really well. I built a cutting board to fit over one of the sinks to expand the counter space, which is always in short supply on a small boat. The galley is equipped with a two burner stove, which is adequate for the cooking we did. When we stayed in marinas we dined out regularly, but it was almost always easy to find plenty of high quality fresh food in the local markets or big-box stores. Costco was our favorite of the big stores, though it was more  fun to visit the smaller stores and bargain for fresh picked fruits and vegetables.

We would have preferred a built-in freezer, but that’s not practical on a boat this size. The little freezer compartment in the icebox could be relied on to make two trays of crystal clear ice cubes, and that was enough for four tall cold drinks everyday regardless of the temperature outside.

One improvement we would have liked was a bigger cockpit. There is ample room to have designed a longer, wider cockpit with an open or step-through transom. As built, it was fine for a crew of two, but it gets tight with four or more. On the other hand, the transom extension was an invaluable addition.

When cruising as we did in Mexico, you’ll spend about 85 percent of the time at anchor or in a marina. Over a span of about nine months, we sailed a total of just over 5,000 miles. At an average of 5.5 knots, that works out to about 38 sailing days out of 270. Pretty good for a 36-foot boat. We would like to have gone further during the voyage, and would have if we could have gone faster. We missed some interesting places in the Sea of Cortez because we ran out of time. Of course we could have spent more days sailing, but we always enjoyed being where we were. So the lesson we learned is that in the future we would like to have a faster boat, which translates directly to a longer boat.

Cruising in Mexico involves a lot of sailing dead upwind or dead downwind. The Honcho is a pretty good upwind boat, but most of the time when our destination was upwind, we motor-sailed. Having raced thousands of upwind miles I had always thought that cruising sailors were a bit on the wimpy side for motoring when they could sail. However, it’s much quicker and more comfortable to motor-sail a hundred miles upwind than to spend thirty hours heeled thirty degrees in a twenty-knot headwind.  So the lesson here, for us at least, is that our next boat will be one that motors well and has plenty of fuel capacity. The Honcho has a nice three bladed feathering prop that proved itself many times, especially on the long bash up the Baja coast. Our 24-gallon fuel tank, adequate for local cruising was not enough for the longer passages we made, or for cruising in the Sea of Cortez where fuel docks are few and far between. We usually carried two 5-gallon jerry jugs of diesel on deck, and added four more for the passage between Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada.

Mexico has to be one of the world’s great cruising grounds, with literally hundreds of beautiful, remote anchorages in addition to many fine marinas. We always preferred to anchor whenever we could, and stayed in marinas only when there was a compelling reason to do so. Two things make riding at anchor a pleasure or a trial. Your ground tackle, and how the boat rides at anchor. I prefer to have big anchors and all chain rodes, so I fitted the Honcho with a 35lb Manson Supreme and 120 feet of quarter inch high-test chain. For backup, we had two Danforths of 22 and 12 pounds, with a 20’ chain and 150’ nylon rode. We also took another 150’ foot nylon rode for just in case. I’ve read the Internet arguments about the Manson vs. Rocna and the other brands…That’s mostly just wind in the rigging. But there is no doubt in my mind that the basic design of the Manson/Rocna type is superior to the plow and fluke type anchors. Ours never dragged, always popped free when we wanted it to and never gave us any trouble.

As for how the boat rides at anchor, the hullform of the Honcho, rather full in the ends and relatively light displacement, meant that it had a tendency to sail around quite a bit while on the hook. We didn’t over-burden the boat with a lot of extra stuff on deck so it didn’t roll much though, and I’ll take the sailing over rolling any day. With a chain rode, it was always prudent to rig a nylon snubber to keep the boat from being jerked as the chain went taut in windy conditions. I usually rigged a double snubber about 10’-15’ long led to the port and starboard bow cleats. This arrangement helped to dampen the yawing as the boat sailed around the chain, but a narrower, heavier boat would certainly have ridden to the anchor better.

The honcho at Catalina a week before departing for Mexico

The Honcho’s rig is a fractional sloop. When we bought it, the boat had a roller furling jib and lazy jacks on the mainsail. The main on this boat is quite big, and set up with slab reefing. In heavy air, it was easy to reef and we did so quite often. The boat sails well under main alone with the apparent wind at 40 degrees or more and we often sailed that way. Before we left, I took the roller furler off the boat. It was worn out and I thought it would be just as well to just hank the jib on the headstay. That way it would be easy to shift gears from the big jib to the little one. This system worked well, but it was labor intensive to set, douse and stow the jibs. Hanks are foolproof and furlers are not. But I found myself on the foredeck wrestling a jib more often than I would have liked, so in spite of the efficiency and safety of the hanks, our next boat will be fitted with a roller-furling jib.

As for safety gear, we took plenty of it and wore self-inflating life vests at night and whenever it was rough out. We carried a MOM and a LifeSling and thankfully never had to use them. Our jacklines were polyester webbing led to heavy-duty padeyes on deck. We carried a Switlick Rescue Pod instead of a full-fledged liferaft. It was a good compromise given that we were only going down the coast and not crossing any oceans.

No one should leave without a good EPIRB with integral GPS. We used an ACR Globalfix.

Wherever cruisers gather, the conversation eventually turns to communications and navigation equipment. Some argue that with Sat-phones, there is no need for a single sideband radio. I’m not convinced. We used our SSB regularly for weather reports and forecasts as well as to talk with friends who were hundreds of miles away, for free. We liked to get away and were always glad to find a hidden anchorage with no other boats around. But it was also nice to know that we could get in touch with someone almost instantly with the SSB. Could the same be done with a Sat-phone? Possibly, but I liked the ability to broadcast when I wanted to, while the phone only enables you to call a certain phone number.

We did not carry AIS or Radar. The AIS is a great piece of equipment and we won’t leave home again without one. There were times when Radar would have been handy. The Mexican coast has plenty of fog and more than once we waited for fog to lift a bit before entering a bay or anchorage. The newest models use less energy than before and we’ll install one on our next boat.

Finally, the sailing: We always enjoyed sailing the Honcho. She handled well in all the conditions we encountered, giving a good turn of speed reaching and running, and always well balanced and easy to steer. With her wide stern, I first thought the rudder would be too short to give good control when the boat heeled under sail, and I thought I might add some depth to it. But time ran out as we prepared to leave and I never got around to it. It was just as well because it proved to be just fine as is. We used the autopilot a lot and it worked flawlessly the entire trip. In my opinion it’s a good idea to get one that’s rated for a bigger boat than you have, and ours never strained or complained. Upwind in light conditions, I could skip the autopilot and just lock the wheel and the boat would sail along for miles with nothing more than occasional attention to the traveler in the puffs and lulls.

Before we left I went through the boat from keel to masthead, and made sure she was ready in all respects for the conditions and adventures we expected to encounter. Good materials and workmanship served us very well throughout the trip. We never had a serious breakdown and spent virtually no time on repairs except for routine maintenance and, once, a corroded connection at the windlass. That left us free to enjoy the wonders of Mexico, and share a leisurely and mostly carefree voyage along the coast and in the beautiful Sea of Cortez. I’m pleased to report that the Honcho arrived home after a voyage of some 5,000 miles in excellent condition, as did we.

When planning this trip, we decided to find a smallish boat that would be capable of handling the voyage we were contemplating with a minimum financial investment, yet still provide the comfort and safety we desired, and the Honcho filled that requirement beautifully.

Home For The Summer

Finisterra left Avalon at 0900 on June 23rd for the short trip to the Isthmus, or Two Harbors as it is called on the charts. We picked up a mooring there at 1130 and sat back to enjoy the view of one of our favorite places in the world. Though weve anchored in many beautiful coves and harbors in Mexico, there is something about the Isthmus that makes it more special to us than anywhere else. In the afternoon we hiked over to Wells Beach in Cat Harbor. Its a beautiful walk with views of the surrounding hills and the broad bay below. It was nice to be back.

The following day we hiked three or four miles up the road toward Avalon until we reached a peak that overlooks the Isthmus and out toward the west end of the Island. Catalina, like the rest of California has been suffering from a prolonged drought and the vegetation along the way was pretty dried out. But compared to the sere landscapes of the islands we visited in the Sea of Cortez, Catalina still looks fairly lush.

The superyacht Attessa IV was at anchor off Avalon when we arrived. Weve crossed paths with this well traveled yacht in Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and La Paz.  For more info on this magnificent vessel visit: http://www.superyachttimes.com/yachts/details/1243

After the shark, the next fish to come aboard was this plump little perch, which we released after taking its portrait. 

Two Harbors. The coves on the far side of the bay are called Fourth of July and Cherry cove.

This pretty little schooners home port is Dana Point. Ship Rock is in the background.

Another schooner passes by Ship rock.

Walking back to the harbor, we stopped and chatted with a couple of people chipping golf balls in a little clearing near the village. Turns out they cruised in Mexico a few years earlier aboard their Morgan 44, "Missteak" and will be heading south again about the same time as us. They had found this little makeshift chipping range, so the next day we went back and I spent an hour or so learning how to hit the ball with a wedge. Fun. The following day we hiked toward the west end, passing Fourth of July cove, Cherry Cove, Little Geiger and Big Geiger Coves, and Howlands Landing. It was great to get back in touch with what we consider our home island.

When we left Long Beach back in January we had no intention of coming back, so we gave up our slip in Alamitos Bay. Of course that marina is full now, so we were forced to look elsewhere for a place to keep Finisterra. We had once kept a boat at California Yacht Marina in Wilmington and after checking with the folks there, we took a slip on gangway E. The location is not quite as upscale as Long Beach, but the people are really friendly and its a great place to get work done on the boat. Well probably stay here until we head south again next fall.

A Season in Mexico Part 2 Marinas

The Honcho took berths in ten Marinas in Mexico and found them comparable to American marinas in many ways. Each of those marinas is listed below, along with a summary of our experiences there.

Cruiseport (Ensenada)  http://ects.enseit.com/ecpvmarina/
Located just past the Naval Base in the port of Ensenada. The entrance channel is well marked and easy to navigate.This is a modern marina with good facilities and excellent staff. Cruiseport Marina is the ideal place to officially check into Mexico. They will assist you with all the necessary paperwork and drive you to the Port Captains office at no charge. If youre not fluent in Spanish, Jonathan will translate and assist you with all the necessary forms and documents. There are many marine stores, restaurants and tiendas within walking distance, but youll want a cab to get to the local Costco or Walmart. I think this is the best marina in Ensenada because of its central location and low cost. One downside is that there is no fuel dock there, but Jonathan offered to drive me and four jerry jugs to a gas station downtown that sells diesel at no charge. Very friendly and helpful.

Marina Cabo San Lucas (Cabo San Lucas)  http://www.igy-cabosanlucas.com/
This is a very well equipped marina in the heart of the tourist area in Cabo. It is expensive (we paid $125 USD/night in November, 2010 but I think they have lowered their prices somewhat recently). The staff was friendly and the marina offers clean showers and laundry facilities and even a small swimming pool for guests. The central location was nice because nearly everything is within walking distance, but there are at least a dozen nightclubs within shouting distance, so we were serenaded every night until around 0400 by a dozen bands. The music and high prices drove us out of Cabo after only two nights.

Puerto Los Cabos (San Jose del Cabo)  http://www.puertoloscabos.com/about_the_marina.php
This is a new marina and is part of the Puerto Los Cabos Resort. As of June, 2011 the slips were completed but not all had electrical outlets. Prices were much better than at Cabo. We got a slip for $40 USD/night in a slip without electricity, which was fine with us. The same size slip with electricity was quoted to us at $80/night. Restrooms and showers were in trailers but there are plans for more permanent facilities. The harbor at San Jose del Cabo did not show on our Maxsea electronic charts nor on our GPS, but the Navionics app on our I-Pad showed it. Its a moderately long walk to downtown San Jose so youll want a taxi to get to the local (new) Walmart. There is a restaurant and gift shop at the marina. Prices are high, but the burgers were good. This marina is about 16 miles from Cabo San Lucas and is, in my opinion, a better place than Cabo to stay while waiting for a weather window for boats that are headed north along the Pacific coast of Baja.

Marina Palmira (La Paz)  http://www.marinapalmira.com/
Located just outside of downtown La Paz, Marina Palmira is our favorite place to stay in La Paz. While not a new marina, it is well maintained, with electronic gate locks on the gangways and plenty of security. It is affiliated with the Hotel Marina so we had free access to the large hotel pool, a necessity from May through October. There are a couple of good restaurants at the marina, and its a pleasant 3 mile walk to downtown La Paz from there along the beautiful malecon. We provisioned twice in La Paz, visiting the Soriano and Walmart. They are both too far to walk, but taxis are inexpensive in La Paz. Like most of the other marinas we visited, Marina Palmira offers free wifi, and like the others, it was spotty  at best. We always relied on our Telcel 3G cards in Mexico and were seldom disappointed by them.

Marina de La Paz (La Paz)  http://www.marinadelapaz.com/
This is the main marina in downtown La Paz. Older that the others, it has a character of its own that makes it hospitable to many long-time live-aboards. For us, the key attraction of this marina is its location in the heart of downtown La Paz. There are several marine stores as well as hardware stores, shopping mall, immigration office, restaurants and other services all within walking distance of this marina. Being downtown, its noisier and more crowded than Marina Palmira. This marina is also home to Club Cruceros de La Paz. This organization offers all sorts of services and information for cruisers in the Sea of Cortez http://www.clubcruceros.org/. We stayed in this marina in the month of May, and it was quite hot, with little wind during the day and the surrounding buildings and geography blocking much of the cooling Coromuel winds at night. The local year-round liveaboards assured me that you get used to the heat. Im not sure I want to do that myself, but its clear that many American and Canadian expats have found a home here.

Marina Mazatlan (Mazatlan)  http://www.marina-mazatlan.com/
Located about 10 miles north of downtown Mazatlan, most charts dont show this marina very well so I recommend using the Pacific Mexico Cruising Guide by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer for accurate navigational information. The channel entrance is narrow and sea conditions can sometimes make entering or leaving tricky. The channel entrance requires constant dredging to keep it navigable and it is occasionally closed due to ongoing dredging operations. If in doubt, hail the marina on the VHF to check on conditions.
 Mazatlan is an important commercial port and you can find almost anything you need here. There are good restaurants, a shipyard and other conveniences within walking distance of the marina, but its too far to walk downtown, which is where you need to go for provisions. You can take a bus, taxi or pulmonia for a few pesos. The pulmonia is unique to Mazatlan.  It is a small open vehicle with a canvas top. Its cheaper than a regular taxi and in Maazatlans warm climate you dont need doors and windows, so whenever possible we took a pulmonia, which was more fun than a bus or taxi.

There has been some drug related violence in Mazatlan and at the time we were there cruise ships were not calling at the port of Mazatlan, so the town was a bit quieter than normal. We enjoyed the beautiful old city of Mazatlan and could have stayed there longer if wed had time.

Marina Riviera Nayarit (La Cruz de Huanacaxtle)  http://www.marinarivieranayarit.com/
This was our favorite marina in Mexico. Nearly new and very well maintained, Marina Riviera is probably as good as it gets. It is located in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, on the north shore of Banderas Bay. La Cruz is a picturesque town with just the right combination of old Mexico charm, yatistas and an interesting mix of expats from around the world. The marina sports a yacht club with an excellent restaurant and bar, fuel dock, shipyard with 150 ton travelift, convenience store and laundry. There are plenty of good restaurants within walking distance, ranging from high end Italian to funky outdoor places with live music. We especially enjoyed Philos, Ana Bananas and Frascati. If I could visit only one marina in Mexico this would be it.

Paradise Village Marina (Nuevo Vallarta)  http://www.paradisevillagemarina.com/
Located in Nuevo Vallarta, about 10 miles from downtown Puerto Vallarta, Paradise Village marina is built on an estuary, so bring your bug screens. This marina is a bit older than the one in La Cruz, but it is well maintained, with good facilities and friendly help. It is part of the Paradise Village resort, so visitors have access to the hotel pool and beach. This place reminded me of Marina Del Rey in California. So if you like Del Rey, youll like Paradise Village Marina.

Marina Vallarta (Puerto Vallarta)  marvta@prodigy.net.mx
Located in the port of Puerto Vallarta, this marina was once a fine place to stay while you visited the city of PV, but when we visited, it was fairly rundown. Security was so-so, and the noise level was only a few decibels this side of Cabo San Lucas. It does have the benefit of close proximity to downtown PV, which is a wonderful city.

Marina Ixtapa Nautica (Ixtapa)  www.marinaixtapa.com
Like Paridise Village Marina, Marina Ixtapa Nautica is also part of a larger resort. As such it offers good facilities, access to fine restaurants and shops, and a nice beach.  It is located a short bus or taxi ride from the beautiful city of Zihuatanejo, where there an excellent anchorage for when you tire of marina life. Isla Ixtapa is less than five miles away by boat and is a perfect place to anchor for the day and snorkel or lounge on the beach. While anchored there I cleaned the bottom of our boat, which is prohibited in the marina due to the large crocodiles that occasionally swim through.

Morris 45RS Review

M45RS with non-overlapping jib and in-boom furling main. 

Weve been having a grand time tinkering with the Finisterra but the previous owner was so meticulous in his care of the boat that there is little for me to repair or rebuild. So while were waiting for the new mast, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the M45RS, the latest offshore racer/cruiser from Morris Yachts. Morris has been around since the 1970s and has had a longstanding relationship with Chuck Paine, who designed this boat as well as the pretty double-enders that Morris was originally known for.

A modern and powerful rig on the M-45RS. Notice the spreaders and non-overlapping headsail.  This is a racing rig on a sleek hull with a deceptively cruisey deck.

Morris describes this new boat as a "Fast yet extremely durable IMS and PHRF racing yacht, [yet] she is also highly qualified for long distance adventures." Im not too sure about optimizing for PHRF, but the M45 is clearly a faster ride than we ordinarily expect from Morris. The rig certainly would not look out of place on a pure racing machine. Its tall, with non overlapping headsails and a carbon fiber three-spreader mast. The sail area/displacement ratio is a healthy 19.30 and the displacement/length ratio is 149. These ratios indicate a fairly powerful rig on a medium displacement hull. The ballast/displacement ratio of .42 is somewhat indicative of a stiff boat that should go upwind quite well, but the drawback in these impressive performance numbers is the draft, which is only 5.83. That will compromise the upwind performance of the M45. Of course there are many parts of the world where more draft would limit the places you can go in this boat, so the choice is to put a deeper keel on the boat and go get some trophies, or settle for fewer trophies and more cruising destinations. Since I live in California where the water is plenty deep, Id go with a deep keel if theyd offer one.

Notice the mid-cockpit main traveler and exposed windlass.

The deck layout of the M45 is an interesting compromise for racing and cruising and it exposes the difficulty of trying to be both a racer and a cruiser. Starting at the bow, notice the traditional pulpit. It works fairly well for a cruiser, but makes handling the asymmetrical spinnaker, which is set on an extendable pole, tricky. The foredeck, which is quite small is further cluttered by the windlass, making scrambling around up there a bit more challenging for the bowman. Moving aft, there is a pair of dorade vents just forward of the mast which will be much appreciated when its hot and sultry in the galley, but add more clutter to the foredeck. I was surprised to see the drawings showing the mainsheet led forward along the boom, admirals cup style, then aft along the deck to a pair of winches adjacent to the traveler. Im certain that arrangement was quickly changed to a cabintop traveler and conventional mainsheet system. The cockpit is too small for that sort of arrangement and few cruising families would tolerate the traveler bisecting the cockpit. Aside from those small items, dont you think the proportions of the sheer and cabin trunk are simply elegant? I also like the slim lines of this boat. It is a bit narrower and finer in the stern than youll find on similar sized production cruisers. This gives up some space below but will result in an easy motion and good all around performance.

Morris offers the boat in two basic versions, galley up and galley down.  In the galley up version, the main salon is forward and a step down from the raised portion of the cabin trunk. Just forward of that is the forward cabin, which includes a queen size berth, plenty of seating and storage and lots of varnished wood.

Sweet lines are evident in the hull shape. Is this a practical layout?

In the raised part of the cabin youll find a large galley to port, offering the cook lots of light and splendid views through the large windows. The nav station, to starboard is equally inviting, with lots of finely crafted wood and all the instrumentation you need to circle the globe. Adjacent to the companionway is the boats only head. Its spacious and incorporates a shower stall. Opposite the head is a quarter cabin to port, with a double berth and what appears to be plenty of storage.

Galley down arrangement. I like the shape of the underbody, but not so thrilled with the saildrive.

In the galley down arrangement, the main salon is in the raised part of the cabin, along with the head and nav station while the sleeping cabins are the same as in the other arrangement. In this version, with the galley forward where the motion of the boat is greater, cooking will be a bit more challenging. I like this arrangement almost as much as the other, but neither seems quite right to me. I think its better to have the dinette as well as the galley in the raised part of the cabin, and the head forward, next to the forward cabin. I keep trying to imagine us living aboard this boat and I have a feeling Id want to change things around before long. Imagine yourself living on this boat. What do you think?

One thing we can be certain of is the quality Morris puts into the boats they build. There are photos of the M 45RS on the Morris web site (www.morrisyachts.com) which is where I got the drawings and photos for this review. I encourage you to visit the site and enjoy not only the photos of this boat, but the earlier boats that Morris built. You cant help but admire them.

Catalina 385 Review

A conservative approach to the modern cruiser

As we continue our search for a new boat we would be remiss if we didnt take a look at the new Catalina 385. Catalina Yachts moved out of its headquarters in Woodland Hills, California a few years ago, undoubtedly motivated as much by the dismal business climate for boatbuilders in this state as by the fact that the bulk of the sailboat market is nowhere near California anymore. They are now headquartered in a large and modern plant in Largo, FL where the 385 and all their other models are built.

The 385 is an interesting departure if you consider that its main domestic competitors, Hunter and Beneteau have fully embraced a modernistic approach to the styling and design of their boats while Catalina has taken a more traditional approach.  To get a sense of these differences, click on the Beneteau Oceanis 37 http://www.beneteauusa.com/Sailboats/Oceanis/Oceanis-37 or take a look at the Hunter 39 http://www.huntermarine.com/Models2011/39/39Index2011.html .

That is not to say that one design philosophy is better than the other. There is plenty of room in the ocean for all kinds of boats and I am sure that Catalina is dead certain of the market segment they are pursuing, and doing so with a good deal of success. Some may say that their designs are uninspired or stodgy, I disagree, they are inspired by a market segment that has made them arguably the most successful homegrown boatbuilder in the country. So lets take a closer look at the 385 and learn what it is that makes this company so successful.

The hull shape of the 385 is rather traditonal compared to its competition. Notice on the sailplan that bow is raked about 45 degrees and in the accommodations plan, the beam is concentrated more amidships than the Beneteau or Hunter. I dont think this is necessarily a bad thing. The trend seems to be toward boats with very wide transoms. This allows for lots of space below but does affect the sailing qualities of the boat. As the boat heels the bow is forced down and the rudder is pulled up. I think there is an optimum ratio between beam aft and beam amidships for different types of boats and perhaps Catalina feels that theyve gone far enough in that direction.

The Catalina 385 shows a more traditional approach to hull design than its competitors

The rest of the exterior of the boat is nicely designed and very much in keeping with the conservative philosophy in the hull design. The cabin trunk is pure Catalina, with its trademark windows and familiar T-shaped cockpit. Notice the vertical battens in the mainsail, indicating an in-mast furling system. In spite of the fact that practically every production builder uses this arrangement, Im not a fan. I prefer a fully battened mainsail with slab reefing.  Catalinas conservative approach to the sailplan is carried through to the almost masthead rig with fore and aft lowers. Notice that the mainsheet traveler is at about the midpoint of the boom, with a block attached about three quarters of the way aft of the mast. This arrangement will allow for a mainsheet-free cockpit but does put a lot of load on the boom and cabin top.

Here are some dimensions:
LOA (hull):  38 - 2"
LWL: 34 - 5"
BMAX: 13 - 1"
Draft (deep keel):  6 - 10"
Draft (shoal keel):  4 - 8"
Disp. (deep keel): 15,500 LB
Ballast (deep keel):  5,200 LB
D/L (deep keel):  169
Sail Area: 676 sf
SA/D:  17.0

The T-shaped cockpit with walk-thru transom looks like a comfortable place to be. Notice the instruments. Those mounted to starboard will be hard for the helmsman to see when driving from the port side. This is a popular, if impractical, arrangement.  The problem is that you have to be sitting aft of the wheel to see them. A better arrangement is to locate them above the companionway so everyone can see them.

Going below, the accommodations plan carries on the conservative theme, which in my opinion is a good thing. The galley is big and well designed, with plenty of counter space and double sinks. The aft cabin features a king size bunk with plenty of storage space under, a good sized seat and plenty of locker space. Also notice that access to the engine appears to be good on the port side. Im a big fan of good engine access. The main cabin is quite spacious. Im glad to see that the designer didnt try to squeeze too much into this area, but I prefer a dedicated nav station instead of the small table at the aft end of the dinette. I guess this is a nod to the the fact that navigation and chart work are not very important in this coastal cruiser.

Catalina 385 galley

The head, located forward of the main bulkhead is also spacious, with access from the forward cabin as well as the main cabin. The forward cabin contains a large V-berth and plenty of storage. Once again, its nice to see that the Catalina design team didnt try to stuff a 42 foot interior into a 38 foot boat.

Cat 38 Accommodations. Plenty of open space and a nice arrangement for weekends at the island.

The Catalina 385 is, in my opinion, a nice balance of traditional and modern design. Theres plenty of living space and reasonably good performance here along with what I would call American styling. Thats refreshing.

Catalina Golf

The harbor was fairly full when we arrived at Avalon so we were fortunate to get a mooring near the Tuna Club. We had arrived just in time to relax in the cockpit and watch the sun set over the hills behind the town. The next day we went ashore and visited some of our favorite places in town.

One of my goals when I retired last year was to learn to play golf and we actually took clubs with us to Mexico, but we never got around to playing, and to this day I still havent played on a regular course. So we made a point of playing a round of miniature golf in Avalon. Lisa is an experienced tournament golfer, with a handicap of 22, so I need to work hard to catch up. The course in Avalon is not like the typical miniature golf course on the mainland, with rotating clown faces and castles, etc. It is more like a botanical garden with artificial greens. Anyway, we teed off around 1:00 pm and Lisa played the front nine pretty well, with two birdies and couple of bogeys to be even at the turn. I stayed close with two birdies and three bogies until the eighth hole, a tricky dogleg fairway and a fairly rough green. I was on the green in two, then blew up and four putted the hole. On the back nine Lisa scored two holes in one while I struggled, with a couple of birdies and three bogeys. Now I know how Tiger Woods feels. After golf we retired to the 19th hole where we spent an hour or so relaxing and people watching. 

Heres a link for more info on the mini golf course:  

http://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/activities-adventures/golf/mini-golf