While the panel tested our various boats a few of us broke of to have a
go at the Catalina 28 Mark II from the American Builder. (Snipped
section on layout).
In the end we all found ourselves asking who this boat was for. The
Catalina 30 is well entrenched in the marketplace and while not loaded
with character or performance, it's practical design has made it a
classic by popularity alone. A seasoned sailor probably wouldn't look
twice at the 28 or 30, but these boats were built with less seasoned
sailors in mind. Still, the 30 does almost everything better, being as
fast or faster and offering more room for about the same money on the
used market. It's substantially more boat in an equally easy to handle
package. Under sail the 28 was easy going, but no one cracked a smile.
The boat loafed along on various tacks, the helm generally numb, but up
to the task. I suppose some owners will race these boats, but why
bother? It's a particularly unrewarding boat to sail and even our "new"
sailor on board was eager to move on to the Sabre. In the end we
compared the 28 to a Honda Civic; reasonably well built, but devoid of
spirit and character.

Troy Williamson
DEA-Australian Quarterly