Gata Luna - For Sale

In May of 2003, we purchased a 1973 27 foot Catalina sailboat. After replacing, painting, and upgrading just about everything on her, it's time to move on to a bigger boat. Reluctantly, we are putting our Moon Cat up for sale. This would be a perfect first boat for someone looking to get into sailing with a well-found boat that needs no work, or a great 'down-size' boat for someone who is looking for an easy to handle boat that needs very little maintenance.

Just about everything has been replaced. For details you can see the Restoration page.

She is able to sleep 5 and has been as far north as Desolation Sound. For photos of that journey (and to prove she is bigger down below than many 30' boats) see the Canada Journey page.

Why this the perfect boat?
I did a ton of research before I chose this boat as our first boat. Here is why I picked this Catalina 27.

Sailing in Puget Sound
I wanted a boat that would be easy to sail, with enough room to take guests, and enough amenities that I could cruise throughout Puget Sound. 27 feet is, I feel, the perfect size for someone getting started with sailing or wanting to move down in size from a bigger boat. It’s light enough to handle easily at the dock but with enough storage and displacement to be safe on Puget Sound.

Sails
She has a mainsail with full battens and a single slab reefing point. The headsail is a brand-new 150% Genoa with foam luff (for roller reefing) made to offshore specifications, and there is a symmetrical spinnaker that I usually fly like it’s an asymmetrical. There is also a smaller jib for heavy weather.

Single-handing
Perhaps the best part of a boat this size is that it is so easy to take out by yourself. With the outboard you are very maneuverable for docking or going through the locks. With the smaller size, roller furling, and all lines lead to the cock pit, you can raise and lower the main and head sail without ever going forward. I’ve sailed many afternoons by myself with ease, and have gone through the locks and spent weeks sailing solo up in Canada.

Galley, cabin setup
This boat is perfectly set up for both easy day sailing and cruising with others aboard. Most boats have an aft galley, and two settees facing each other with a fold down table. Gata has a forward galley along the port side with a dinette to starboard. Why is this the best layout? Several reasons. 1) You have a galley as big as in a 35 foot boat – the better to cruise and entertain. 2) With a dinette you have a huge chart table, always ready, or a place to put guests as you cook in the galley. Either way, at night it turns into a nice double berth. 3) With the galley forward, you have not one but two quarter berths, one of which is the nicest berth on the boat that a forward from the Sonics would be comfortable in.

Cockpit
The cockpit is where you spent most of your sailing time. It needs to be big enough for all your guests. Gata shines here. Her cockpit seats are big enough to sleep on. And because she has a tiller and not a wheel, you can pull up the stick when you are at the dock or at anchor and have even more room. I regularly have 6 people sitting in the cockpit with me at Duck Dodge.

 
Berths
As mentioned above, the dinette layout offers the most berths. I once had a total of 5 adults aboard for 5 days in Desolation sound. And everyone slept fine. I even have the photos to prove it. Try that in a 30 foot boat much less a 27 foot boat.

Head
Ok, let’s face it. If your significant other does not like the boat, it’s the wrong boat. And if your significant other is a woman, the one thing that will turn her away from a boat (and perhaps boating in general) is ‘head smell’. Without getting into the details, head smell is common in all boats, especially smaller ones. When I bought her, Gata was plumbed straight out into the water. Tidy but illegal. I needed to add a holding tank, but how to do it without adding ‘head smell’? I rigged her as a porta-potti with a tank you can walk up the dock and dump in a toilet, plus a y-valve so you can discharge overboard in Canadian waters. Result: the holding tank is always clean and no head smell, ever.

Outboard
For a first boat, the perfect engine is an outboard. A new, electric start outboard with an alternator to charge the battery. And that is exactly what Gata has. When you are learning to sail, or if you have been sailing for years, the last thing you want to do is spend hours taking care of a diesel engine. The Catalina 27 displaces (weighs) 6,000 pounds. That may sound like a lot but it’s not as far as boats go. A 9.8 horsepower outboard motor easily pushes it at hull speed. The outboard sits at the back of the boat and does not interfere with the turning. In fact, you can turn the outboard from side to side to help turn the boat (Gata can turn a circle easily in her boat length – making for easy docking). When the motor is not in use it swings up out of the water and out of the elements.

The motor is practically new (sailboats do not use their engines much) and has an electric start and an alternator to charge the house batteries. When it’s time to do maintenance during the winter, you just pull it out of the boat, carry it up the dock (it weighs about 70 pounds) and work on it in your basement while you drink a beer and dream of sunny weather. But because it’s a two-stroke, there is virtually no maintenance to do. With no engine in the engine room, the space under the cockpit is all available for storage – we keep a rolled up dingy down there along with a ton of other stuff (see next section). Oh, and one more thing. The engine is so efficient you can motor at hull speed for about three hours on a gallon of gas. If you don’t know boats, that is a lot. With the external 6 gallon gas tank, you can walk it up the dock and buy your gas at the gas station instead of the fuel dock (saving about a dollar per gallon). One final thing to mull over – with an outboard, there is no shaft that goes though the hull. The result is a bone-dry bilge. Gata’s bilge is clean enough to eat out of. And because it’s dry, I can store stuff there (on Puget Sound it stays the perfect temperature to store wine).

Storage
As mentioned above this boat has a ton of storage. Because there is no engine, you have the full space of the engine room. I have two inflatable kayaks and an inflatable dingy along with extra PFDs and random stuff. The spaces under the dinette seats could hold a year’s worth of canned goods. I’ve also built access under the dinette floor for charts (could hold a circumnavigation’s worth), and under the galley for pots and pans. The area under the v-berth could hold folding bikes and the two quarter berths can swallow a mountain of gear brought on board by guests.

Electronics
All the electronics are new. New VHF with DSC, new stereo with iPod and SD Memory capabilities, new breaker panels with DC and AC controls. A depth sounder, knot meter, auto pilot, and GPS with charts round out the gear.

Anchoring
Anchoring is easy. I have an over-sized Bruce anchor with plenty of rode. It’s always ready to deploy (important for safety). With the big anchor and chain, it’s easy to sleep easy knowing you are safely anchored. The view at night from Blakeley Harbor over to the lights of Seattle is not to be missed. Anchoring there is free. If you have a boat.

Factory Support
Of the many sailboat makers over the years, most have sadly gone out of business. Catalina is still churning out boats. Why is this important? Because you can call the factory with a question and they will email you a diagram. Or send you a new masthead. Or allow you to order a new set of cushions. This feature cannot be overstated.

Seaworthiness
I could be sued if I stated that the Catalina 27 was worthy of going offshore. It’s not. However, in the Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat, by John Vigor the author tells how one sailor modified his Catalina 27 and went around the world with it. Would I do that? No. Is it nice to think I could? Yes.

New stuff
Practically everything on this boat is new. From the bottom of the keel (bottom job, bottom paint) to the top of the mast (both standing and running rigging) everything has been replaced and/or upgraded. The bulkheads are new. The cushions, the deck paint, the traveler, the electronics. Everything. If you want a turn-key boat, this is it. If you want a wreck that you can spend a thousand hours upgrading (a conservative estimate of the time I’ve spent), then this is not the boat for you.

Dock
Currently Gata Luna is moored in Fremont with easy access to Lake Union for Duck Dodge, Lake Washington, and Puget Sound. Because she is in fresh water, there is less maintenance, and things don’t rust. Her mast is about 40’ above the water so she can fit under all the bridges except the Fremont bridge. The moorage is assumable (subject to final say by the dock manager) and pretty cheap for Lake Union (about $250 per month). The slip is easy to dock at and you have a front row view of the fireworks for next year.

Lessons / Consulting
The final benefit to buying this boat is that my new boat is right next door. I am on the dock a lot and would be available (within reason) for consulting with questions on the boat. Since I have upgraded just about everything on her, I know every square inch of her. I could also probably be persuaded to provide some on the boat sailing lessons for her new owner. Provided you bring the beer.

If you have read this far, you need to take a look. If you are looking for a boat like this, this is a very unique opportunity.
Scott 206-300-1455
semyan@hotmail.com