Cruising World - November - December 2016

105

november/december 2016

cruisingworld.com

W

here, oh where,

have all the U.S.

production boat-

builders gone? The simple

answer, if there is one, is that

over the past several years,

as high-volume European

builders have leveraged their

size and ei ciency to become

ever-larger players in the

American marketplace, the

homegrown domestic manu-

facturers have been squeezed

tighter and tighter by a vast

fl eet of imports. Along the

way, there have been multiple

casualties among the ranks of

Yankee boatbuilders.

Thank goodness that the

venerable American builders

of Catalina Yachts have not

been among them. In fact,

with the introduction of the

new 425 — more than 1,000

units of the company’s previous

42-footer, originally launched

in 1988, were built — Catalina

has issued a statement, and it’s

a strong one. As wholesome

and iconic a brand as good old

Chevy, Catalina has produced

in the 425 an af ordable, well-

crafted boat that might not

look much like the current

wave of French and German

imports (no straight stem, no

hard chine, no drop-down

folding transom), but which

represents fi ne value, ingenuity

and integrity. The 425 is a thor-

oughly modern example of an

old-school cruising boat, and

I mean that as nothing but a

pure compliment.

There is an important link

between the old Catalina

42 and the fresh 425: Both

were imagined and brought

to fruition by the company’s

longtime in-house designer,

Gerry Douglas. Inspired by the

opportunity to take another

swing at a boat he originally

drew nearly three decades

ago, at the outset Douglas

established some clear priori-

ties for the new design.

Saving weight was one of

them. Thanks to a carbon core

in the deck, a ¾-inch end-grain

balsa core above the waterline,

and the elimination of alumi-

num toerails at the molded

hull/deck joint, among other

innovations, the new boat is

some 2,000 pounds lighter

than the original model. Safety

was another priority. The 425

has a seriously bulked-up rud-

der on one end and a watertight

crash bulkhead, in case boat

meets container, at the other.

Finally, believing that accessi-

bility and maintenance go hand

in hand, Douglas made sure

that the steering quadrant was

reachable from the dual aft cab-

ins; that there were dedicated

lockers for fi lters and machin-

ery, including the genset; that

the Yanmar diesel could be fully

accessed quickly and easily; and

that all the through-hulls were

Ample Accessibility

One of designer Gerry

Douglas’ priorities on the 425

was system accessibility. This

is evident in the dedicated

locker, with all through-hulls

grouped together, along with

manifolds for all tankage.

BORN in the USA

As American production boatbuilding huddles on the sidelines, the builders of the homegrown, impressive

CATALINA 425 knock one through the uprights.

BY HERB MCORMICK

COURTESY OF CATALINA YACHTS (TOP); HERB MCCORMICK

BOATS & GEAR