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#3060When Chris-Craft fi rst
introduced its Catalina
line, it proved ahead of the
trend of converting center
consoles from utilitari-
an fi shing machines into
luxurious and seaworthy
dayboats. By protecting the
helm console behind a fully
enclosed glass windshield
it calls a pilothouse, Chris-
Craft furthers the center
console evolution.
Chris-Craft is certainly
not the fi rst builder to dothis — Everglades Boats
immediately springs
to mind — but it did an
excellent job of incorpo-
rating the windshield and
hardtop into the Catalina’s
overall design so that the
whole boat maintains a dis-
tinctive style. You know the
look — a rising sheer line,
aft tumblehome, richly col-
ored hull sides with a bootCHRIS-CRAFT
Catalina 30 Pilothouse
SPEED EFFICIENCY OPERATION
rpm knots mph gph naut. mpg stat. mpg n. mi. range range s. mi. angle levelsound
1000 4.69 5.40 2.80 1.68 1.93 299 344 2 66
1500 6.60 7.60 3.90 1.69 1.95 302 347 3 70
2000 7.65 8.80 6.50 1.18 1.35 210 241 7 72
2500 8.60 9.90 8.90 0.97 1.11 172 198 7 75
3000 12.86 14.80 11.90 1.08 1.24 193 222 5 77
3500 21.29 24.50 15.00 1.42 1.63 253 291 4 81
4000 27.37 31.50 19.70 1.39 1.60 248 285 3 84
4500 32.33 37.20 24.40 1.32 1.52 236 272 3 86
5000 36.76 42.30 30.10 1.22 1.41 218 250 2 88
5500 41.71 48.00 37.00 1.13 1.30 201 231 2 91
6000 45.53 52.40 51.20 0.89 1.02 158 182 2 93
6400 48.66 56.00 61.10 0.80 0.92 142 163 2 95
MOST ECONOMICAL CRUISING SPEEDHigh Points
Fully enclosed windshield protects the
helm from wind and spray.
Fold-down benches in the cockpit
provide plenty of comfortable seating.
Starboard-side dive door offers water
access away from the engines.Low Points
Fishing aboard this boat would be a
secondary pursuit.
Fuel tank has a smaller capacity than
some comparable models.Toughest Competitor
The Everglades 295 ( $273,956 with
twin 300s) is a slightly smaller pilot-
house center console packed with more
fishy features.·LOA: 30'6"·BEAM: 10'2"·DRAFT (MAX):
3'1"·DISPLACEMENT (APPROX.): 8,700 lb.
·TRANSOM DEADRISE: 21 degrees·BRIDGE
CLEARANCE: 9'11"·FUEL CAPACITY: 198 gal.
·WATER CAPACITY:31 gal.·MAX HORSEPOWER:
700 ·AVAILABLE POWER: Twin Mercury or Yamaha
gasoline outboardsENGINE: Twin 350 hp Mercury 350 Verado four-
stroke outboards PROPS: 151 / 4 " x 24" 4-blade stain-
less steel GEAR RATIO: 1.85:1 FUEL LOAD: 50 gal.
WATER ON BOARD: 0 gal. CREW WEIGHT: 380 lb.stripe, and as much teak as
your budget can stand. The
30 Pilothouse turns heads,
and its quality construc-
tion ensures it will do so for
years to come.
Having tested the boat
in Florida, the fi rst thing
I appreciated about the
Pilothouse helm was the
air conditioning that man-
ufactured a cool breeze as
I idled the boat out of the
marina, a task made easier
with the Mercury joystick
control. The
inset multi-
function dis-
plays at the
helm proved
easy to read
and, from a
standing position, I enjoyed
good visibility through the
tempered glass. While the
21-degree transom dead-
rise isn’t as sharp as the
designs on comparable cen-
ter console hulls I’ve tested,
the 30 Pilothouse proved
seaworthy in handling
a tight bay chop, as well
as several manufactured
rollers. With the optionaltwin Mercury 350 Verados,
I pushed this boat to a
56 mph top-end speed. At
a 30 mph cruising speed, the
boat handled lock-to-lock
turns with aplomb. Thanks
to Mercury’s Active Trim,
the boat always kept an
excellent attitude.
Chris-Craft rates the
boat for a crew of 12, and
every one of them will enjoy
a comfortable seat thanks to
the foldout benches in the
main cockpit, the sun lounge
in front of the console, and
the wraparound cushioned
bow seating. A teak table
deploys behind the lean-
ing post for entertainment
purposes. —Pete McDonaldSee a photo gallery of
the Chris-Craft Catalina
30 Pilothouse by visiting
boatingmag.com/3060.
CHRIS-CRAFT
Sarasota, Florida; 941-351-4900; chriscraft.com
PHOTO: COURTESY CHRIS-CRAFTPrice: $261,220
(base with twin Mercury
350 Verados)64 | BOATINGMAG.COM | MARCH 2018