Catalina 25 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Catalina 25 means weighing a high-production small cruiser built from 1978 to 1990 in Woodland Hills, with more than 5,000 hulls afloat and a correspondingly deep pool of boats to compare. Frank Butler and Gerry Douglas’s design matured through an extensive 1987 deck and interior update, so the used fleet splits cleanly between earlier teak-trimmed boats and later, leaner ones with a standard pop-top.
Layouts on the Used Market
Two saloon arrangements were offered: a dinette version and a two-settee version, and both survive in number among used Catalina 25s. The pop-top was optional up to 1987 and standard afterward, so closed-headroom boats without it are limited to 5 feet 6 inches, while pop-top examples reach 6 feet 4 inches in the main cabin when raised. The cockpit is nearly 8 feet long, but sidedecks are a mere 7 inches, a dimension that matters when walking forward and when judging how a particular boat has been trimmed with hardware.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used fleet, biminis and solar panels are often seen, useful for cockpit shade and house-power support on a boat with limited interior volume. A chartplotter or autopilot appears as a less common owner upgrade rather than standard kit, and a buyer should treat those as negotiating points, not assumptions. The more consequential ownership choice remains the outboard: most boats use a long-shaft outboard to reduce prop cavitation in rough water, and the step from a 6-horsepower unit at about 5.5 knots to an 8- to 10-horsepower unit near 6 knots is the upgrade that most changes day-to-day motoring.
What to Inspect
The deck is plywood-cored, so any compromised penetration is a moisture path that warrants survey attention hull-to-deck joint is fastened with self-tapping screws and the shoebox joint should be checked for weeping or loosened fasteners. Early swing-keel boats carry a cast-iron keel and trunk that deserve scrutiny for pivot wear and leakage, and the later cast-iron or cast-lead fin and wing keels should be assessed for their respective corrosion profiles. The hand-laminated single-skin hull with fiberglass liner is robust, but the liner-integrated berth flats mean interior water intrusion can hide where furniture meets hull.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Catalina 25 is typically found in the United States, Australia, and Croatia, giving a transcontinental spread of candidates. For the buyer, the short checklist is: confirm keel type and matching trailer or berth plans, verify pop-top presence on later boats, inspect the plywood-cored deck and screw-fastened hull joint, and size the outboard to intended motoring. Choose the dinette or settee layout that fits your cabin use, and treat bimini, solar, chartplotter, and autopilot as variable rather than standard equipment.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Catalina 25. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 19 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25 | 1 | $14,950 | — |
| Feb 25 | 1 | $47,000 | +214.4% |
| Mar 25 | 1 | $4,200 | -91.1% |
| Apr 25 | 1 | $3,000 | -28.6% |
| May 25 | 2 | $5,750 | +91.7% |
| Jun 25 | 2 | $7,000 | +21.7% |
| Jul 25 | 6 | $7,590 | +8.4% |
| Aug 25 | 8 | $5,225 | -31.2% |
| Sep 25 | 4 | $6,750 | +29.2% |
| Oct 25 | 5 | $7,500 | +11.1% |
| Nov 25 | 3 | $9,500 | +26.7% |
| Dec 25 | 4 | $6,045 | -36.4% |
| Jan 26 | 6 | $8,168 | +35.1% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $5,500 | -32.7% |
| Apr 26 | 13 | $6,950 | +26.4% |
| May 26 | 6 | $17,500 | +151.8% |
| Jun 26 | 6 | $6,400 | -63.4% |
| Jul 26 | 2 | $8,295 | +29.6% |
| Aug 26 | 6 | $9,500 | +14.5% |
Where they're listed
Catalina 25 listings appear across 3 countries. United States has the most listings with 52 (92.9%), followed by Australia and Croatia.
Country view
56 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $7,500 | 52 | 12 | 92.9% |
| Australia | $10,760 | 3 | 1 | 5.4% |
| Croatia | $13,983 | 1 | 0 | 1.8% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalina 25You are here | — | $ 7,590 | 58 | 14 |
| Catalina 28 | 28.5' | $ 25,000 | 38 | 7 |
| Cape Dory 25 | 24.83' | $ 9,000 | 29 | 8 |
| Jaguar 25 | 25' | $ 5,743 | 10 | 2 |