Posted by Garry Willis (66.42.38.211) on March 18, 2003 at 14:14:14:
In Reply to: Circumnavigate on a 42? posted by Brad on March 18, 2003 at 10:00:33:
Brad,
You're asking a very large open ended question that begs to ask more than you're asking.
These boats have sailed all over the world but I don't know of any one hull that has purposely circumnavigated. The short answer is "yes" with some "ifs" like if you don't go into the roaring 40's in the Southern Ocean, if you don't cross the Pacific around by the Aleutians etc, etc. Sticking to the typical paths and milk runs etc and the boat will do fine. It's not set up from the factory to do a rounding but you should read through this forum as there is a wealth of information from folks that have equipped their 42's for crossings and the upgrades they've made. For example, if the '95 you're looking at is hull #502 and up then you have the new rudder; lower than that and you should check to make sure that the previous owner hasn't already made the switch and do so yourself.
Catalinas are not Hallberg Rasseys where typical buyers get them to do circumnavigations but on the other hand, a Catalina 27 made a rounding several years ago. So if you are prudent, a good sailor and respect the sea then I don't see any reason that a 42 couldn't do the same thing.