[C320-list] Handling chop & short period waves

[Brad Kuether]

Mike,

I moved up from a C&C 29 Mark II.  On that boat the upper Chesapeake chop 
was nuts.  Of course that boat is light as a feather.

We have younger children as well and a comfortable ride was a top priority. 
I can assure you, that once we moved to the Cat 320, I never heard "why is 
this fun?" in anything we have come across since.

I LOVE the fat ass of the Cat 320 when it comes to accomondations.  We live 
on the boat during the weekend and don't feel crowded.  I will admit that 
rear quarter chop can get un-nerving.

Now I came from a racing boat and will tell you that the wing keel is a 
compromise.  However I was very surprised that with the 150 up, I can point 
pretty high.  Of course my C&C could actually sail directly into the wind, 
(or so it seemed) so this is a pretty good endorsement.

I have never sailed a 34 and I have not matched one back into the river. 
However the 320 is fairly fast once the wind gets cranking.  Light wind 
performance is so so, I am putting a feathering prop on this year to make up 
for that.

Good luck with your decision and if you want to "try before you buy" you are 
welcome to the Baltimore area.  Between us likely 25 some boats in the 
northern Chesapeake.  I am sure someone will give you a "test sail".  :)

-Brad, Mary, Monica, and Jarod
"Independence"
2004 Catalina 320 Hull 1006
Middle River, MD

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Barrowman" <watercayman at hotmail.com>
To: <c320-list at catalina320.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 9:29 AM
Subject: [C320-list] Handling chop & short period waves



Hi folks,

My first post here - please forgive me if I've done this wrong.

My family currently has a C250 which we are selling, looking for a larger 
boat.  I've narrowed the list to the C320 and the C34, leaning toward the 
320.  I will need to sail (or have sailed) the boat from the US upon 
purchase to Cayman, so it needs to be able to handle the trip -- which I 
believe the 320 can, and know for sure the 34 can.  Any comments?

90% of my sails will be day sails solo, and it seems the 320 is a good boat 
for this.  But, with my wife and young daughter on the boat, one of my key 
needs is a boat that handles chop well.  Our current 250 bounces over the 
waves a bit too much, which prevents my daughter from enjoying it.  Our bay 
is very shallow and typical winds of 15kts build very short period 1-2 foot 
waves.  How would the 320 handle these conditions?  The weight of the 250 is 
only 4K #, so I'm hopeful the 11K # 320 will slice right through, but after 
searching the archive, I'm not sure I've seen a direct comment on this.

Many thanks,
Mike