Catalina 310

Not all "concept" boats start out with the right concept or end up with the right fiberglass reality, but the Catalina 310 is a bold stroke in the right direction. What’s so bold about this boat? Instead of creating yet another family cruiser, Catalina has delivered the systems, stowage, and accommodation features of a 40 footer in a 31 foot two-person cruiser. The payoff of a smaller boat is easier sailhandling and a dramatically lower price tag. To accomplish this, the 310 breaks the two "rules" of midsize interior layout; the master stateroom is forward, not aft, and the dinette is sized to feed one or two couples, not a multitude.

The two-person concept doesn’t end with the interior layout; the boat’s features and system have been chosen to make live aboard for a couple both more convenient dockside and more civilized on long cruises. The on-centerline double berth forward, for example, is huge (6 feet, 6 inches long by 5 feet wide, and a full 48 inches wide at the foot) and has an innerspring mattress (with rust-resistant epoxy coated springs). The 20 gallon hot-water tank and the 550-amp-hour battery capacity surpass that of many 40-footers. SAIL’s judges rated the boat’s wiring installation and overcurrent protection as above average. Engine soundproofing, however, needs improving.

The 310 is most strikingly different from the other family cruisers in its saloon, with its minimal 22-inch-by-16-inch table for two (a 2-foot-by-4-foot dinette table, which is stowed in the aft double berth, can be substituted for entertaining). The main bulkhead features a closable opening to the stateroom (you can choose privacy or openness via a slide-up shutter panel) and a swing-out TV. The TV swing arm permits viewing in the owner’s cabin or in the saloon (next it’ll be the home computer that’s swinging between cabins). The 310’s galley, which includes top-and frontloading icebox, and the head compartment function well. But the aft cabin and nav area are less user-friendly/livable; the nav table is not easy-access, and the double-berth area is roomy but needs more light and air.

Under sail, the boat is a step up from entry-level cruising boats; a generous amount of sail and ballast mean better-than-average boatspeed and sail-carrying ability. Effective nonskid and wide side decks add to on-deck security, and the anchor arrangements are well-sized for coastal work (an electric windlass is standard). SAIL’s judges rated the cockpit as safe and comfortable and the quality of the optional dodger as above average.

Overall, SAIL’s judges agreed that the Catalina 310 lives up to its promise – in the designer’s shorthand, it "sleeps two, feeds four, and drinks eight" -- and the boat is well-built and properly outfitted. In the flesh, this 31 foot concept works; for satisfying two-person cruising, you do not need a 40-foot boat.