Catalina 25 for Sale Buyer's Guide, Specs and Values

Why there is always a Catalina 25 for sale near you

Search for a Catalina 25 for sale almost anywhere in the United States and you will find several within driving distance. That is simply arithmetic. Catalina built somewhere between about 5,300 and 6,000 of them from the late 1970s to the early 1990s (Practical Sailor cites 5,332 sold from 1976 to 1990, Wikipedia 5,866 built from 1978 to 1994), and Wikipedia describes it as the most popular sailboat in its size range ever built in the US. Frank Butler took the formula of the Catalina 22, stretched it to 25 feet, added 8 feet of beam, an enclosed head and a real galley, and kept the price within reach of the same families who had started on the smaller boat.

Practical Sailor's verdict has aged well: not fancy or fast, but economical, a fair sailer and roomy for its size. That is exactly what most buyers want from a lake or bay cruiser. The challenge is that 'Catalina 25' covers a wide range of boats, from early cast iron swing keel models with self-tapped hatches to the much improved post-1987 boats, and the price differences between them are justified.

Five keels over one production run

Few production boats offered as many underbodies as the Catalina 25. Over the years buyers could choose a cast iron swing keel, a cast iron fixed fin, an unglassed cast lead fin, a cast lead wing keel, and on later boats a lead keel encapsulated in a fiberglass jacket. More than half the fleet left the factory with the swing keel.

The Catalina 25 swing keel draws about 2 feet 8 inches with the keel up and closes to the shallowest launch ramps, but it brings the same maintenance list as the Catalina 22 on a heavier scale. The galvanized lifting winch corrodes in salt water, the pennant can break where it attaches to the keel, and there is no mechanical lock, so the keel can knock side to side in its trunk. Owners also report that raising it takes considerable effort.

Fixed fin boats draw 4 feet and point higher. Wing keel boats draw about 2 feet 10 inches and are a smart compromise for thin water without the moving parts, although they still need a tongue extension at most ramps. Cast iron keels rust and need regular grinding and barrier coating, so a lead keel is worth paying for if you plan a long ownership.

• Swing keel: 4,150 lb displacement, about 2 ft 8 in board up
• Wing keel: 4,400 lb displacement, about 2 ft 10 in draft
• Fin keel: 4,550 lb displacement, 4 ft draft, 1,900 lb ballast

Standard rig or tall rig, and the weather helm question

Catalina offered a standard and a tall rig. The tall mast is about two feet taller and the boom attaches roughly a foot lower, which adds useful sail area for light summer air. Practical Sailor lists PHRF ratings of around 228 seconds per mile for the standard rig and around 222 for the tall rig, and Wikipedia gives 225 for the fin keel boat. Either way you are looking at a theoretical hull speed of about 6.3 knots.

Both rigs develop strong weather helm in 15 knots or more, and owners agree on the fix: reef early. The low boom on the tall rig is a real head-knocker in the cockpit, so if you sail mostly in breezy places like San Francisco Bay or the Great Lakes in the fall, the standard rig is the more relaxing boat. For light-air lakes in the Southeast and Midwest, the tall rig is the better buy.

Catalina 25 interior: dinette or twin settees

Two layouts were offered. The dinette version puts a table and facing seats on one side of the saloon, which makes meals more sociable and converts into a double berth. The settee version has opposing benches and feels more open. A V-berth forward, an enclosed head, a small galley with a sink and room for a two-burner stove, and an aft quarter berth complete the plan.

Headroom is 5 feet 6 inches with the pop-top closed and 6 feet 4 inches with it raised. The pop-top was optional until 1987 and standard afterwards. It is heavy, and some owners rarely lift it, but with a canvas skirt it can stay up at anchor in rain. Never sail with it raised: a knockdown with the top open could flood the cabin.

Be skeptical of the berth count. The aft double is really a wide single quarter berth, and Practical Sailor notes the port settee is short for an adult. Two adults and two children is a realistic weekend crew. The icebox was redesigned in 1983, and later boats hold ice noticeably longer.

The 1987 makeover and why later hulls command more

Catalina reworked the 25 for the 1987 model year with a more contemporary deck, a refined interior with less teak and more molded fiberglass, jiffy reefing as standard and a more sophisticated electrical system. Early hulls also had a forward hatch held with self-tapping screws until 1983, and a hull to deck joint fastened the same way, both frequent leak sources.

For most buyers, a 1987 or later boat is worth $3,000 to $5,000 more than an otherwise similar early boat, mainly because it needs fewer fixes in the first two seasons. If you want an earlier boat, look for one where the previous owner has already replaced turnbuckles, rebedded the deck hardware and dealt with the windows.

Pushing 4,500 pounds with an outboard

Most Catalina 25s use an outboard on a folding transom bracket. A 6 hp engine gives about 5.5 knots and an 8 to 9.9 hp engine about 6 knots, according to owner reports gathered by Good Old Boat. Choose a 25-inch extra-long shaft over the standard 20-inch version, because the prop ventilates in steep chop and the engine sits a long reach from the helm.

Remote throttle and shift controls are a valuable upgrade. A small number of boats were fitted with an inboard diesel of about 10 hp, but Practical Sailor found it disappointing for speed, and it complicates maintenance on a boat this size. Electric outboards are a growing retrofit for lake boats that rarely motor more than a mile.

Trailering a Catalina 25 is possible, not casual

The 25 is trailerable in the sense that it fits the legal road width at 8 feet of beam. In practice the towing weight with trailer, outboard, gear and provisions is roughly 6,000 to 7,800 pounds, which calls for a full-size pickup or a large SUV. Mast stepping is a two-person job with a gin pole. Most owners trailer once or twice a year, to and from winter storage, and keep the boat in a slip or on a mooring during the season.

If you want to tow every weekend, the Catalina 22 or a MacGregor 26 is a more sensible choice. If you want a boat that can move between lakes a few times a year and saves you winter storage fees, a swing or wing keel Catalina 25 on a good tandem axle trailer is a strong value.

What Catalina 25 sailboats for sale cost in 2026

Used Catalina 25 prices run from about $4,000 for a tired early swing keel boat needing work to about $20,000 for a late, well-equipped fin or wing keel boat with a trailer. Most clean, sailable boats change hands between $7,000 and $14,000. Older pricing references from Practical Sailor and Good Old Boat show the same shape: early boats under $8,000, late 1980s equipped boats in the mid teens.

Annual costs are modest. Expect roughly $3,000 to $8,000 a year for a slip or mooring, insurance, bottom paint, outboard service and small parts, depending on region. Catalina Direct and the Catalina 25/250 owners association keep parts, manuals and upgrade advice easy to find, which keeps labor costs down for owners willing to do their own work. Catalina Yachts itself is gone, having halted production in 2025 before its tooling was auctioned in June 2026, but a 25 built in the 1980s has relied on that association and aftermarket network for decades, so the closure changes little for owners or for resale.