Yeah, we began missing sailing and overnighting a lot, so we picked up something inexpensive to keep in a slip on the local 2,000 acre lake next year. They'll let us keep it in a 16' slip, the least expensive. Despite the short size, the cockpit is huge, with 6'10" long seats, and the quarter berths that go back under them are 7'6" long.
Overview
Specifications
OTOH, the v-berth is only 5' long, with the potty underneath, so we're going to leave the cushions out and build in storage there with a table that slides out between the cabin seats
like another 18 owner did.
It came with a 48 quart Coleman cooler like MacGregor used in the X. That can be stored back under the companionway, but when it's out and being used as a step, there's room for two 5 gallon jugs of water aft of it under the companionway. We've ordered a small butane stove for it and will probably just use a dishpan for a sink rather than install a through hull for a sink drain.
The fuel compartment is large enough for a 6 gallon tank plus a 2 gallon reserve can. Our 4 HP's tank is only 3 gallons so there's lots of room left over. The light 4HP 2-stroke on the swing-up motor mount is only 15" so I should be able to lift it off onto a dinghy fairly easily.
Our 18 is a 1999, the last year the Capri name was used. Henceforth, it's the Catalina 18. In 2004, they redesigned the deck mold and it became the mkII. Ours uses star board outside where the older models used teak, but there's still the same teak inside, some of which the mkII's don't have. Ours also has the white vinyl interior cushions with blue piping vs the cloth upholstery of the older models. It came with a roller-furled 135 genoa and coaming tracks and winches, where the older models had a hanked on working jib and cabin top tracks and winches. I was really surprised at how much came standard on this boat, and ours has quite a few of the options.
Equipment
What Barb likes most is despite the 425 lb lead keel (with a 45 lb battery on top of it), the boat has positive floatation, with no through-hulls below the waterline. In fact, it only has one above it, that for the included manual bilge pump outlet. The entire areas under the v-berth, and aft of the lined lockers in the quarter berths, contain poured in foam. With the 2'4" draft, when (not if) we run aground, it'll only be in waist-deep water for her. Of course, she loves the cockpit cushions, and is out buying a tarp for a boom tent as I write this.
Indeed, it'll need a steeper ramp than the X, with the boot stripe sitting 3'4" (aft end of bunk) to 3'6" off the ground. But as you can see in the picture TT posted, the TrailRite trailer has a built-in tongue extension that goes almost all the way back to the keel. If that's not enough with the 4' or so overhang of the long bed truck, I might try a hitch extension like the guys with truck campers use. But this will only be an occasional thing with us slipping the boat.
Anyway, we're in the process of cleaning her up, and I took the day off today to rebed the chain plates and other deck fittings.
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Moe