Another Water Ballast Sailboat

[ROAD Soldier]

OK I have seen the Hunters Version of water ballasted boat up close both the old 260 and new one which I forgot what is called. Old really didn't do anything for me and new one was so so how about this one by catalina Anyone have any experience on one of these

http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/18731

[Wetsocks]

These look nice, I do like the stern rail seats. Headroom seems to be an issue, especially with the WB version. Less so in the wing keel version, or so I've read on other Forums.

But yeah, I'd love to see one IRL to compare it with an or .

[argonaut]

When I was scoping out boats I looked at a pretty new Cat 250, the waterballast version. My impressions:

Sailing, it probably sails better than an X, having approximate same sail area, sheet angles, length and ballast, but a full sailboat hull.
I've not sailed one, but I raced one once for fun.. you know, you just see each other and it's on. Nothing formal.
He was armed with gennie and me 100% jib in 7-10 kts... and he was closing on me on a reach after a couple of miles, but he was heeled over hard like me.
Water ballast is like that. Both boats are swing centerboards... which means shallow water friendly.
If it's faster it's not by a wide margin, certainly a MAC S or D could run one of these down and a decent skipper on an X or M too.

Exterior - It's a Catalina. Build quality is solid. It's a heavier boat than an X. I liked the cockpit size, some of us like tiller steering so you have that, a tiller is out of the way at anchor. The Mac wheel is convenient and takes up space. I liked the stern opening and built in ladder. The kicker placement seemed good. The cockpit had less obstruction because the coach is lower than an X or M. Can be good, can be bad. Depends whether you're inside or outside.

Interior - Again, Catalina. The interior has a better fit/ finish than a Mac. There is a builtin propane stove with internal solenoid shutoff. The large open area makes the forward V area essentially storage. There was a small table which could be installed in the cockpit at anchor, a cool feature. The kitchen had an icechest for storage and a basic prep area. There was a 12V labeled switch panel. The thing that bothered me, a 6 foot guy, was lack of headroom. I had to constantly bend over, I'd guess there's 5'7" of headroom on the water ballast version, mor on the keel version so I hear. Sleeping is done in the aft, I think you can sleep abeam if you drop the table too. There is a poptop, perhaps that would have made me feel better but it had to be put together and the guy couldn't do that on the trailer.

I came to like the X interior better because I could stand up easier with the seating off to the side. You can get out of someone's way who wants to go forward.
And what I really like on the X is sleeping on the forward vee berth. Looking up, seeing stars, good ventilation from the forward hatch. The aft of my X is storage. More of the boat seemed accessible on the Mac and I wanted to add things so the compartments on the X appealed to me, even if they were not finished as well. I don't remember much storage on the 250 other than the forward v.

Trailering - This is a big difference. Dry, the 250WB weighs in about 1000lbs heftier than the MacX. Also the 250 sits higher on it's trailer, and it's a big honking trailer, longer than a MAC for sure. The trailer neck is longer and the one I saw had an extension, apparently issues with ramp depth in some places. I could not imagine raising the stick every launch on one of these. The Mast spar was heftier and the mast raising process more complex. To me, the Mac shines in this department. It's suited to frequent trailering. The 250 can be trailered but I wouldn't attempt a single hand launch/recovery. I have single hand launched/recovered my X. Not as simple as a S or D, but definitely doable.

The Cat has good factory support for parts, owner's groups and active associations.

In the end the Cat 250WB would have cost $5K more for me.
I probably would have been happy with either but the Mac saved me some change and I'm really happy with the interior and easy maintenance on my X.
I'd love to see a real race over course, then switch-drivers, repeat race kind of thing.
Might even be a 30 second per mile difference!!

[bscott]

If the Cat 260 could sport an E-tec 60 and motor cruise at 10 kts it might be an OK boat. I have gentleman raced a 260 and was not impressed--we out pointed her and sailed away.

Bob