Catalina Yachts Cruising Sailboats
Catalina 355 for Sale, a Buyer's Guide to Gerry Douglas's Last 35
Cruising World's 2011 Domestic Boat of the Year, built like a small 445 and now one of the few late-model American 35 footers on the brokerage market.
- Length
- 35.4 ft10.8 m
- Beam
- 12 ft3.66 m
- Draft
- 6.7 ft2.03 m
- Cabins
- 2 (forward owner's cabin with island double, aft athwartships double)
- Used price
- $145K to $290K
On this page
- Overview
- Catalina 355 for sale: what you are actually shopping for
- Built as a 445 in miniature
- A cockpit with a locker big enough for a bicycle
- Two cabins, a powered berth and one clever head
- Five knots in ten knots of wind, seven under power
- Systems laid out by a designer who did his own maintenance
- Fin or wing keel, and how the 356 differs
- What a fair price looks like in 2026
- Specifications
- Price and value
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Used buyer checklist
- Rivals
- Our verdict
- FAQ
The Catalina 355 is a 34 ft 6 in Gerry Douglas design launched at the 2010 Annapolis show and built in Florida until the 6 Series Catalina 356 replaced it in 2025. Two cabins, one head, a Yanmar 29 hp diesel and fin or wing keels.
- Couples cruising the East Coast and Bahamas
- Owners moving up from an older 30 to 34 ft Catalina
- Buyers who want an American-built boat with modern systems
- Weekend and two-week cruising with occasional guests
Catalina 355 by the numbers
- Sail area to displacement
- 15.9A cruising rig sized for comfort, so expect to motor in very light air.
- Displacement to length
- 224Moderate displacement, a classic cruising balance between load carrying and speed.
- Theoretical hull speed
- 7.4 knThe practical top speed of a displacement monohull under normal sailing, based on waterline length.
- Ballast ratio
- 38%A typical ballast ratio for a cruising monohull.
- Capsize screening
- 2.00Above 2.0, so this hull leans toward coastal stability over ultimate offshore resistance.
- Motion comfort ratio
- 24.5A quicker motion in waves, typical of light, beamy hulls.
- Length to beam ratio
- 2.95 : 1A beamy hull with lots of volume for its length.
Catalina 355 for sale: what you are actually shopping for
Anyone searching for a Catalina 355 for sale is looking at one of the last mid-size cruisers designed and built in the United States by a volume builder. Gerry Douglas drew it as a scaled-down Catalina 445, and Catalina introduced it at the 2010 Annapolis boat show. It went on to win Cruising World's Domestic Boat of the Year and Best Midsize Cruiser, 30 to 39 Feet, for 2011. Sailboatdata's record lists 2008 as the first year, but the builder's own launch timing and the magazine coverage point to a late 2010 debut.
The boat stayed in the range until 2025, when Catalina's 6 Series repackaged it as the Catalina 356. Months later the company paused production and in June 2026 its tooling was auctioned, so every 355 on the market today is a used boat and the supply is finite. That is the context for prices, which have held up better than you might expect for a production 35 footer.
Built as a 445 in miniature
According to SAIL's review, Douglas's brief came straight from 445 buyers who loved that boat but found it bigger or more expensive than they needed. The answer kept the 445's systems and structure in a 34 ft 6 in hull with a 30 ft 2 in waterline and 12 ft of beam. Like the rest of the 5 Series, the 355 is built in five major parts: hull, deck, a full structural grid, an interior liner and a deck liner. Cruising World's judges liked that rig and keel loads go into the grid and hull, leaving the furniture isolated from them.
Catalina wrapped the details in trademarks. The StrikeZone bulkhead is a watertight collision compartment aft of the anchor locker. The T-Beam MastStep gives a deck-stepped mast the support of a keel-stepped one, SecureSocket chainplates take the shroud loads, and the DeepDefense rudder is molded without a leading-edge seam around a 316 stainless core. The hull has a vinylester barrier coat and the deck an end-grain balsa core, and the company offered five-year hull structure and blister warranties.
A cockpit with a locker big enough for a bicycle
SAIL's tester singled out the cockpit ergonomics. The helm seat is raised so most drivers can see over the coachroof sitting down, the side benches are set lower so the coamings support your back, and the twin backstay chainplates are pushed outboard to clear the helm and the stern seats on either side of the walk-through transom. Five people worked the boat in the cockpit during that test without getting in each other's way.
The port cockpit locker has a shelf and a gull-wing lid, and Douglas, a keen cyclist, made it deep enough to take a full-size bicycle with the front wheel off. Sail handling is old-school in the best sense: a 5 ft traveler on the coachroof just forward of the dodger, long inboard genoa tracks that take everything from a 155 percent genoa to a storm jib, and inboard shrouds for tight sheeting angles.
Two cabins, a powered berth and one clever head
Below, the forward owner's cabin is lifted almost directly from the 445, with a full island double whose head end rises electrically for reading. The saloon has twin chairs and a table to port that convert to a full settee and a dinette to starboard with a quad-leaf folding table. Cushions never have to come off to reach stowage, which Cruising World's judges noted along with plentiful handholds and drawers.
The head uses a raised glass vessel sink on a lowered counter to free space for a dedicated shower area. The galley has a front and top opening fridge and generous stowage. Its flaw is the same one owners of older Catalinas will recognize: when the aft cabin door is open it blocks the stove, so the aft cabin guest is shut in while dinner is cooked. The aft cabin itself is a proper athwartships double with a port and two opening hatches rather than a cave.
Five knots in ten knots of wind, seven under power
Neither magazine got a windy test. Cruising World's judges sailed in 9 to 11 knots of true wind and saw boat speed hovering around 5 knots, with a predictable tack and easy handling of the optional cruising gennaker on its removable sprit. SAIL had even lighter air and reached about 5 knots under a furling gennaker, with light, responsive steering.
Under power the 29 hp Yanmar pushed SAIL's test boat a little over 7 knots at full throttle in flat water and about 5.5 knots at 2,200 rpm, with a turning circle of about one and a half boat lengths and predictable backing. The 30 gallon fuel tank is small, so plan longer motoring legs around fuel stops. Sailboatdata's ratios describe a coastal cruiser with moderate power: displacement to length 224, ballast ratio about 38 percent and a capsize screening value of 2.0.
Systems laid out by a designer who did his own maintenance
Douglas sailed and maintained his own boats, and it shows. All wiring runs in conduits under the sole, the engine's fuel and oil filters live in a dedicated filter locker in the head, the main electrical panel is backed by an auxiliary panel for added electronics and the holding tank has a sight gauge. Water is split between three tanks, 38 gallons forward, 32 starboard and 20 aft, for 96 gallons, with a 6 gallon water heater and a 27 gallon holding tank.
A Quick Rider 1000 windlass and 5/16 in chain were standard, as were Selden spars with internal halyards and two-speed self-tailing winches. For most coastal sailors the boat needs little beyond electronics, an autopilot and a bimini to go cruising.
Fin or wing keel, and how the 356 differs
The 355 came with a 6 ft 8 in lead fin or a 4 ft 6 in wing. The wing boat carries a thousand pounds more ballast and weighs 14,800 lb instead of 13,800. For the Chesapeake, Florida and the Bahamas the wing is the practical choice and it is the more common configuration on the US market; for the Great Lakes, New England and the West Coast the fin points higher.
The Catalina 356 that replaced it in 2025 uses the same 34 ft 6 in hull with a new Selden rig, a Mars shoal bulb keel in place of the wing, a mainsheet that can be trimmed from either side of the coachroof, multiaxial laminates with carbon in high-load areas, a Sensar monitoring system and diesel heating options. Catalina's 356 specifications quote a half-load displacement of 16,800 lb and 76 gallons of water. Very few were built before production stopped, so for most buyers the 355 is the realistic choice.
What a fair price looks like in 2026
Early 2011 to 2013 boats are now trading in roughly the $145,000 to $200,000 range, mid-life boats around $180,000 to $245,000, and the newest examples close to $290,000. The 2015 boat Eastern Yacht Sales listed at $229,000 in 2024, with 423 hours and Raymarine electronics, is a useful yardstick for a well-kept mid-life example.
Running a 355 costs roughly $11,000 to $22,000 a year in the US, covering a 36 to 40 ft slip, insurance, haul-out and bottom paint, Yanmar service and a sail and rigging reserve. With Catalina gone, proprietary parts such as deck hardware moldings and interior fittings will become harder to source, so a complete, unmodified boat is worth more than one with improvised repairs.
Catalina 355 specifications
| Length overall | 35.4 ft10.8 m |
|---|---|
| Waterline length | 30.2 ft9.2 m |
| Beam | 12 ft3.66 m |
| Draft | 6.7 ft2.03 m |
| Air draft | 54.8 ft16.69 m |
| Displacement | 13,8 lbs6,26 kg |
| Ballast | 5,2 lbs2,359 kg |
| Sail area | 572 sq ft53.2 m² |
| Fuel capacity | 3 gal114 L |
| Fresh water | 96 gal363 L |
| Cabins | 2 (forward owner's cabin with island double, aft athwartships double) |
| Berths | 5 to 6 (two doubles plus the convertible dinette and settee) |
| Heads | 1 with dedicated shower space |
| Standard engines | Yanmar 3YM30AE diesel, 29 hp, shaft drive with three-blade prop |
| Maximum power | 29 hp |
| Cruise speed | 5.5 knots |
| Top speed | 7 knots |
| Hull type | Moderate displacement fin keel monohull with spade rudder |
| Keel | Lead fin, 6 ft 8 in (5,200 lb ballast) or lead wing keel, 4 ft 6 in (6,200 lb ballast, 14,800 lb displacement) |
| Rig | Fractional double-spreader Selden sloop; in-mast furling main with vertical battens standard, 135 percent genoa, removable gennaker sprit |
| Hull construction | Fiberglass hull with bonded structural grid and liner, vinylester barrier coat; balsa-cored deck |
| CE design category | A |
| Builder | Catalina Yachts, United States |
| Naval architect | Gerry Douglas |
| Production | 2010 to 2024 |
| Status | Discontinued |
Figures come from builder documentation and independent tests where available. Displacement is usually quoted light, so a loaded cruising boat will weigh more. Compare these specs with another model.
How much does a Catalina 355 cost?
Practical Sailor put a new Catalina 355 at $300,000 to $350,000 in early 2025, shortly before the 356 took over. In 2024 a like-new 2015 wing-keel boat with 423 engine hours was asked at $229,000 through Eastern Yacht Sales, which is a good mid-market reference. Since Catalina stopped building boats in October 2025, nobody is discounting new 35 footers against the used fleet, which has helped late 355s hold value; electronics, a conventional slab-reefed main and air conditioning move prices more than the keel choice does.
Estimate your yearly cost
A planning estimate using common rules of thumb: insurance near 1.5 percent of value, maintenance near 3 percent, haul out and bottom paint by length. Your marina, region and use will move these numbers. Open the full cost calculator.
Versions and options
- Catalina 355 fin keel
- 6 ft 8 in draft, 5,200 lb ballast, 13,800 lb displacement. Better pointing and the choice for deep-water regions.
- Catalina 355 wing keel
- 4 ft 6 in draft, 6,200 lb ballast, 14,800 lb displacement. The common choice in the Southeast and on the Chesapeake.
- Conventional mainsail option
- Slab-reefed main with more roach instead of the standard in-mast furler, worth seeking out for light-air sailing.
- Catalina 356 (2025)
- 6 Series update of the same hull with new Selden rig, Mars bulb shoal keel, revised mainsheet and lighter multiaxial and carbon laminate.
Catalina 355 timeline
- 2009Catalina 445 launched, setting the template for the 5 Series
- 2010Catalina 355 debuts at the Annapolis boat show
- 2011Named Cruising World's Domestic Boat of the Year and Best Midsize Cruiser, 30 to 39 Feet
- 2025Replaced by the 6 Series Catalina 356; Catalina pauses production in October
- 2026Catalina's tooling and remaining assets auctioned in June
Strengths and weaknesses
What owners like
- Excellent cockpit ergonomics and sightlines for a 35 footer
- Strong structural grid construction and watertight collision bulkhead
- Systems laid out for easy maintenance
- Large forward owner's cabin with powered berth
- Wing keel option for shallow cruising grounds
- Award-winning design with a solid used-market reputation
What to weigh up
- Only 30 gallons of fuel
- Aft cabin door blocks the stove when open
- Standard in-mast furling main limits light-air performance
- Builder no longer exists for parts and warranty support
Used Catalina 355 buyer checklist
Take this list to a viewing. Your ticks are saved in this browser so you can come back to it.
Always commission an independent marine survey and an engine survey before you buy. How a marine survey works.
Rivals to consider
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349
Wider, twin-wheel French alternative with a more open interior; lighter build and often cheaper on the used market.
Beneteau Oceanis 35
Contemporary Beneteau with modular interior layouts and a big cockpit; a more modern look but less thought given to maintenance access.
Compare side by sideHanse 345
German self-tacking jib cruiser that sails briskly; a more minimalist interior finish.
Catalina 34
The older Catalina mid-size cruiser at a third of the price, with far simpler construction and systems.
Compare side by sideOur verdict on the Catalina 355
The Catalina 355 is the kind of boat that wins on the dock rather than the race course: a cockpit that works, an interior where everything is reachable and a structure designed by someone who expected to own and fix it. It is not quick in light air with the standard furling main and the fuel tank is too small, but for couples cruising the US East Coast it is about as sensible a 35 footer as was built in the last fifteen years. Buy a well-documented boat, budget for the inevitable electronics refresh and expect to sell it later for close to what the market is paying today.
Catalina 355 questions answered
How much does a Catalina 355 cost?
Used Catalina 355s generally ask between about $145,000 and $290,000 depending on year and equipment. A 2015 boat was listed at $229,000 in 2024, and Practical Sailor put a new one at $300,000 to $350,000 before production ended.
When was the Catalina 355 built?
It debuted at the 2010 Annapolis boat show and was built until 2025, when the 6 Series Catalina 356 replaced it.
What engine does the Catalina 355 have?
A Yanmar 3YM30AE diesel of 29 hp driving a three-blade propeller. SAIL saw a little over 7 knots at full throttle and about 5.5 knots at 2,200 rpm.
Is the Catalina 355 a bluewater boat?
It was built to CE Category A with a watertight collision bulkhead, but its 30 gallon fuel tank and coastal cruiser ratios make it best suited to coastal and island cruising rather than ocean crossings.
What is the difference between the Catalina 355 and 356?
The 356 is a 2025 update of the same hull with a new Selden rig, a Mars bulb shoal keel instead of the wing, revised mainsheet and lighter laminate. Very few were built before Catalina paused production.
Does the Catalina 355 have a wing keel?
Yes, a 4 ft 6 in wing keel was offered alongside the 6 ft 8 in fin. The wing version carries 6,200 lb of ballast and is common in the US Southeast.
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