Catalina 42

The Catalina 42 is an attractive, capable and versatile cruiser with a comfortable interior and a nice sailing hull shape. Designed by Gerry Douglas, nearly 800 of the 42's were sold before the update to the MKII. The bow is raked just enough to give it a clean entry and still maintain a relatively long LWL of 36 feet. The hull flares quickly but the wide, 13-foot, 10-inch beam is nicely absorbed into the overall flow of the boat. The beam is carried well aft, providing space for double aft cabins and a roomy cockpit, yet it doesn't seem excessive like many of today's boats. It actually tapers a bit at the transom.  

This 42 is rigged as a sloop with slightly swept-back double spreaders and a solid boom vang. The working sail area is just under 800 square feet. The design displacement is 18,000 pounds, translating into a respectable SA/D of 18.5. 

Construction
The Catalina 42 is a well-built production boat. The 42 was designed to be affordable and to appeal to a broad spectrum of sailors: daysailors, club racers, weekenders, and to a lesser extent, long-distance cruisers.

The hull is solid fiberglass, reinforced with a molded liner that incorporates the cabin sole and furniture facings. The deck is cored with balsa except in areas that support hardware where one-half inch plywood is used instead. The hull and deck are joined on a flange and includes stainless steel fasteners and 3M 5200. Catalina has always used lead ballast. The interior finish work is nicely executed.

On deck

The Catalina 42 cockpit is spacious and well laid out. The seats are long enough to stretch out on. The 40-inch wheel is large enough to make steering enjoyable but still easy enough to climb around when going aft to the stern step. The helm seat opens to allow access to the molded stern step. The 42 was one of the first boats with the stern step feature and it's nicely incorporated into the lines. The Lewmar primary winches are reachable from the helm and Lewmar secondaries are mounted by the companionway. Two deep lazerettes and two coaming hatches offer plenty of storage.

The traveler is forward of the companionway, with a midboom sheeting arrangement that really loads up the boom. The mainsheet is led aft to the starboard coachroof. The shrouds are inboard, allowing for relatively tight sheeting angles and easy mobility on deck. Cleats and deck hardware are adequate. The anchor windlass is located in the chain locker and two anchors are mounted on the stemhead fitting. 

Down below
This 42 is the popular three cabin arrangement featuring a large head and shower forward of the double berth to the port side. 
The salon in the three-cabin version features a nice L-shaped dinette to port with the galley opposite. The nav station is aft to port and uses the settee for the seat. There is a small second head with shower to starboard aft of the galley. 

The three-cabin model features two double cabins aft. The cabins are, for the most part, more spacious than similarly styled European boats. Each contains a hanging locker and enough elbowroom to stand up and change clothes. 

Overall the interior is roomy, bright and airy. There are numerous opening ports and overhead hatches throughout. 

Engine
The standard engine has always been a Yanmar diesel, the four-cylinder, 44-horsepower model. Access to the engine is good, and the stuffing box can be reached from a panel in the aft cabin. Owners claim that the boat will move at 6-plus knots, at half throttle, burning all of a one-half gallon per hour. While this means that the realistic cruising range is around 400 miles. A three-bladed fixed prop was standard.

Underway
The Catalina 42 can hoist a lot of sail and move along smartly in light air. Owners talk of attaining 8 knots off the wind without surfing and 7 knots upwind. Throw a following sea into the equation and the 42 can really make miles on passage. The PHRF rating averages 105.