27' Catalina 275 Sport Racers and Cruisers

Speed, comfort, and fun! The Catalina 275, a newly designed sport cruiser by Gerry Douglas, is a sailboat with a hull form, waterline, and rigging that matches any racer. Even more, this trailerable boat with its modest 8 foot, four inch beam has cruising accommodations that provide comfort, convenience, and storage for weekends or longer.

And yet, its tall mast rigging with a high roach reefing mainsail and a 100 percent self-tacking jib is designed for maximum fun on the water, especially with a furling symmetrical chute tacked to the optional bow sprit. Simply, the Catalina 275 recaptures the joy of sailing!

The 275 exceeds the performance of any comparably sized boat.  Once aboard, the captain and crew notice the spacious cockpit that has comfortable long bench seating and high, sculpted seatbacks. Cushioned seats accommodate at least 5 hefty fellas who can easily access all lines to tend the sails, hike out on the coaming, and see the next buoy to round. The helmsman steers with a carbon fiber tiller and can sit on an elevated helm seat to give audible commands and navigate to the mark with unobstructed sight lines.

As a training vessel, an instructor can comfortably stand aft of the helmsman, remain dry and balanced, and safely direct all crew activities from near the open transom. Ample safety features include an aft swim ladder, wide decks, molded toe rails, 24 inch stainless life lines, stainless bow pulpit, manual bilge pump with thru deck handle, self-bailing cockpit, cockpit lockers, coaming storage, anchor locker, and non-skid decks.

The working sails, a fully battened mainsail and 100 percent jib that self-tacks on a traveler mounted just forward of the mast, drive the boat effortlessly upwind and especially on a close reach. Tacking merely involves the helmsman slightly pushing the tiller leeward. The standard fin keel and spade rudder produce nimble and responsive steering. With a full back stay, she is well-balanced in all points of sail.

Before test sailing this boat on Tampa Bay out of Sailboat Row on a Friday afternoon with a crew of four experienced sailors, one of us spent a couple of minutes to prerig the code Zero spinnaker furling system before leaving the dock. Once out of the channel and without any deck work, we unfurled the spinnaker and the 275 instantly accelerated and acted like the sport boat that Gerry designed her to be. Her long waterline worthily delivers precious speed. The mainsheet traveler with 4:1 purchase controls empowers the crew to trim for additional velocity.

Below, the cabin space is generous. The enclosed head, roomy V-shaped settee with adjustable table that converts to a double berth, galley sink, innovative galley drawer that holds a capacious cooler, and quarter berth that is long enough to stow a stand up paddle board or kayak can comfortably accommodate two couples or a couple with children. Four removable gear bags hang on the V berth walls. The cruising couple can easily pack these bags at home and minimize packing and unpacking for a weekend sail. The port aft quarter provides stowage for lines, fenders, cruising chute, and even a rolled up dingy.

An inboard Yanmar 2 cylinder 14 HP Diesel with Sail Drive SD 20 provides plenty of power and is easily accessible aft of the companionway stairs.

Gerry has listened to what many sailors have been saying: they no longer need that big boat, but donââ?¬â?¢t want to forego racing, day sailing, or an occasional overnight trip. The 275 Sport delivers on all three with characteristic Catalina quality. Catalina quality includes lead keel, 5 year hull structure warranty, ââ?¬Å?Strike Zoneââ?¬ï¿½ impact absorbing chamber, hand laid fiberglass hull, one piece fiberglass deck with infused resin, and solid wood for the interior. Quality is evident at every step of the fabrication of this sailboat.

Only one question came from Fridayââ?¬â?¢s crew as we gathered our gear to leave for the day and the companion way hatch was locked: ââ?¬Å?How soon can we take her out again?ââ?¬ï¿½