Practical Sailorvideo
Is This the Best 35-Foot Sailboat Ever Made? Catalina 350
June 1, 2026 · 12 min · 28K views
What this video covers
The Catalina 350, a 35-footer designed by Jerry Douglas specifically for cruising couples and small families, earns a detailed evaluation against the crowded 32-to-38-foot used-boat market.▶ 0:00 The hull carries nearly 13 feet of beam held well aft, producing a large cockpit, generous interior volume, and strong initial stability — but Bob Perry's original critique stands: the shoal wing keel (4'6" draft versus 6'8" for the fin) trades windward bite and pointing ability for access to the Chesapeake, Florida Gulf Coast, Bahamas, and Georgian Bay.▶ 2:19 The rig is a masthead sloop with a mid-boom mainsheet and in-mast furling, prioritizing shorthanded ease over performance.▶ 3:13 Below, Catalina chose a two-cabin, one-head layout rather than cramming three cabins into 35 feet; the U-shaped galley with double sinks, two-burner stove with oven, and divided refrigerator rivals boats ten feet longer.▶ 8:04 Headroom of 6'8"–6'9" was achieved by lowering the cabin sole, which creates a shallow bilge — a noted trade-off.▶ 9:17 The Universal M35B 35-hp diesel handles marina maneuvering for short-handed crews.▶ 5:52 The 350 sails better than its accommodation volume suggests, with 731 square feet of sail area and a well-balanced rudder, but reefs earlier than a deep-fin boat in a building breeze.▶ 4:43
Boats in this video
More from Practical Sailor
From Practical Sailor — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analyzed video.