Atlantic City Cat Boat Buyer's Guide
The Atlantic City Cat Boat, with D. Martin as designer and Mark-O Custom Boats starting her build in 1980, is a 24-foot American cruiser that brings the single-sail catboat formula to the used market with a retractable centerboard and a six-berth interior. For a shopper, the appeal is shoal-draft flexibility and traditional simplicity, but the boat's optional equipment list means no two examples are fitted alike.
Layouts on the Used Market
Below, the boat sleeps six via a convertible aft dinette double and two forward settees with pilot berths above. The head is in the forepeak, and the cabin carries 6.17 feet of headroom. A key layout variable is the galley: it was an optional L-shaped unit on the port side just forward of the companionway, with a two-burner stove. Some boats will have it, others will not. The centerboard uses a forward cutout so the cabin lacks a trunk intrusion, making the 11-foot beam feel open. A navigation station and a fireplace were also factory options, so their presence is hull-specific.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The period-correct auxiliary is a 12 hp German BMW diesel used for docking and maneuvering—buyers should treat any added propulsion expectations as misaligned with the design. The gaff cat rig uses aluminum spars and mainsail hoops instead of cars, so sail-handling gear centers on traditional hoops and a single large 452-square-foot mainsail. Factory options worth confirming include the port-side L-shaped galley, the navigation station, and the fireplace; these define how "equipped" a given boat really is.
What to Inspect
The dominant handling characteristic to understand before purchase is that the 452-square-foot sail, all in one piece of cloth, can be hard to manage. Inspect the mainsail hoops and gaff hardware for wear, since the rig departs from modern cars. Confirm the retractable weighted centerboard operates smoothly and that its forward cutout area shows no structural staining. The solid laminate fabmat hull with wood trim should be checked for gelcoat and trim condition rather than core issues. Verify the BMW diesel's mounting and cooling given its docking-only role.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
For a buyer, the checklist is simple: confirm whether the optional galley, nav station, and fireplace are present; test the centerboard retraction and rudder (tiller or optional wheel); assess the single-sail gaff rig for manageable condition; and survey the BMW diesel as a low-duty auxiliary. A well-kept example offers traditional catboat cruising with shoal-draft range and six-berth shelter.