When our Boat of the Year judges stepped aboard the new Catalina 425, they were swept away by its warm, inviting interior, the quality of the workmanship, and once again by the attention to detail that Gerry Douglas brings to his designs. In particular, technical judge Ed Sherman praised the behind-the-scenes details he found in the electrical panel and glasswork. To quote BOTY judge Tim Murphy, “With detail after detail, there’s a lot of value in this boat, which comes in at $315,000.” Added Ed Sherman, “It had a higher level of finish than some of the more expensive boats in it’s category.
It’s not every designer that gets to take two swings at the same boat. Gerry took what he learned from 20 years of building the very successful Catalina 42, and with the 425, he hit one out of the park. It’s an all-around great sailboat and definitely earned its place as Cruising World‘s 2017 Domestic Boat of the Year.
