[C320-list] Sad News: Frank Butler, Catalina Yachts

[argates2nd at comcast.net]

I met Frank in St. Petersburg about 20 years ago at an owner appreciation party at the City Marina. He was real easy to talk with and he loved to talk about sailboats, even the modest Catalina Capri 26 we had at that time, although the marina had a dozen new models in the slips, including the new Catalina Morgan 44 and a couple of Catalina 47s.
When our boat was new 30 years ago it had a port list and the Cape Yachts dealer Dave Nolan was having trouble getting factory help to fix the problem.  As the proud owner I asked Dave for the CEO’s name and phone number, and
I called the CA HQ in Woodland Hills, asked for Frank, told him the  problem, and was more than a little impressed when it was fixed that same week!

More recently, as a C320 owner for 18 years, I have spoken on the phone with chief designer Gerry Douglas about racing more efficiently, and with the plant manager in Largo, FL about component and parts sourcing.
What a refreshing, professional and helpful organization. 
Rollie  #182  Charlotte Harbor

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Begin forwarded message: 

From: Jack Brennan <jackbrennan at bellsouth.net>
Date: November 18, 2020 at 9:39:41 PM EST
To: C320-list at catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Sad News: Frank Butler
Reply-To: C320-List at catalina320.com

The wonderful thing about Frank Butler’s Catalina is how attuned it is to the people who sail the boats. It allowed the company to survive and thrive while most of the others died off.

I marvel at how hard they strived on the 320 to make everything accessible, enjoyable and excellent quality. That’s not an easy thing to do on smaller sailboats.

I’ve owned a C&C, a Bristol and a Compac over the years and been on many others. While they were all great boats, they were terrible to work on. Boat yoga, I called it, after my wife’s favorite exercise.

The only way to adjust the stuffing box on the Bristol was to hang upside down. Many C&Cs have those reverse drives that are impossible to service. Beneteaus cheaped out their through hulls and use iron in their keels. Compacs have concrete keels!

An added bonus is that the 320 is fast for its size and design. And the wheel has little weather helm and is easy to handle. Catalina put a great deal of effort into making our days fun.

Not to mention, the company’s chief designer answers the phone at the plant!

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, FL

Sorry to learn of this loss of a sailing icon and true gentleman.  Fondly
remember my phone conversation with him as the result of a letter I wrote
regarding my experience with obtaining needed parts for the repair of my
first( of 3) Catalina boats. He thanked me for allowing him to know of the
experience, and then making suggestions for improvement from a customer
perspective. This was back when the only factory was in California and East
Coast dealer/customer contact was limited. He then outlined what was in the
works for improving customer service to the East Coast folks.  I love the
way his company supports his product.

Brian McLamb. S/V Serenity #1075


Catalina Yachts https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catalinayachts.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cehurley%40aimmedia.com%7C9b78ecad38c448038dbb08d88bf6d33d%7C8e799f8afc0b4171a6cfb7070a2ae405%7C0%7C0%7C637413239506097672%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=0p2vA4JfwqHNNNCgkCaaz55hz7Ge4bVCsRL4BEixX4A%3D&reserved=0  has announced the passing of their founder and CEO Frank Butler. Butler was a sailing icon credited with introducing hundreds of thousands of people to sailing during his lifetime, with over 85,000 Catalinas on the water throughout the yachting world. His boatbuilding career began in 1962, when he contracted with a Southern California builder for a 21’ daysailer. The builder was unable to finish the boat, and Butler took over the project. He completed it himself, found he enjoyed the process and agreed to take over the company.

A few years later he founded Catalina Yachts, which has grown to become the largest builder of fiberglass production sailboats in the United States. Butler was known for his attention to Catalina customers and much of his success can be attributed to this personalized effort. Handling warranty issues himself, owners were often surprised and reassured to get a personal call from Frank to discuss their concerns.

Butler was inducted into the  National Sailing Hall https://nshof.org/  of Fame in 2013. In recognition of his support of the  Congressional Cup https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecongressionalcup.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cehurley%40aimmedia.com%7C9b78ecad38c448038dbb08d88bf6d33d%7C8e799f8afc0b4171a6cfb7070a2ae405%7C0%7C0%7C637413239506107663%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=D1Xy5MzTqgNDXOJngpWJRGOt9PHL%2FtmeTa5mQ3LFWhI%3D&reserved=0 , a world match racing event, Long Beach Yacht Club awarded him the  Crimson Blazer. He was also a founder and lifelong member of the Westlake Yacht Club in Westlake, CA.

November 2021


https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/eight-bells-frank-butler?utm_campaign=enewsletter_SAIL&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=100267049&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8sYk2eyo8vRuTEY1OWL9Ac27paNVT-BG5nf1v6o_bav28OyfNTgHo_UdEdIJv2IRHWB7ii6N0eB3p4N0ZJSyTsgKqKbA&utm_content=textlink&utm_source=sail-enewsletter&fbclid=IwAR37WQpFk90dnPkM47nRqtu-iLsXcOjwD2eBHAlDv1vrlmO7mSLYRLDZVNY