Catalina 380 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Catalina 380 means weighing a 1997-origin design that was built around owner feedback into a heavy, volume-forward cruiser. The boat's 38.42-foot length and just-over-12-foot beam give it more interior room than several contemporaries, and the used fleet reflects a practical cruising brief rather than a racer's resume.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available; ex-charter examples are common. The original accommodation choice was dual aft cabins or a single aft stateroom, and the single-stateroom version carries an island bed with access on both sides. The head is a big single unit to starboard, accessed from the aft stateroom or saloon, with a separate shower stall. Ventilation runs to six cabin-top hatches and eight opening ports, and the V-berth suits a six-foot sailor. The dining table drops into the wraparound settee as an emergency double, and the navigation station has its own spring-loaded seat.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Autopilots, chartplotters, dodgers, bimini tops, radar, air conditioning, and dinghy davits are commonly fitted to boats on the market. Furling mains, inverters, cockpit showers, solar, heating, and electric winches are often seen. Hot water, a swim platform, AIS, an EPIRB, and a freezer are less common and usually represent owner upgrades. The factory standard set is substantial in its own right — Edson steering, Schaefer furling, Adler Barbour refrigeration, Maxwell windlass, Autohelm instruments, Lewmar winches, Dutchman system, Z-spar mast, Garhauer blocks, and Spinlock clutches — so a well-kept example may need little beyond the usual electronics refresh.
What to Inspect
The documented faults are specific and worth a careful look. The cockpit table has supports that always break, which is an expensive repair each time, so check the table base and its mounts closely. Headroom is very low under the steering-pedestal box in the aft island bed, a built-in constraint rather than damage. Galley space for cooking gear is very limited by design. On deck, movement toward the bow is a bit more difficult, and the mainsheet at the cabin-trunk trailing edge gets awkward. Early boats carried a Westerbeke 42-hp diesel; owners have reported burned or broken valves far from home, and early owners wished for the Yanmar that arrived at Hull #225 in 2000. Most owners would have preferred the saloon's open shelves as enclosed cabinets — a minor liveaboard note, not a defect.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Catalina 380 turns up in the United States, Australia, and Canada. For a shopper, the priorities are simple: confirm which engine is fitted and its service history, inspect the cockpit table supports, verify the aft-cabin headroom suits your plans, and check the galley's limited stowage against your cooking style.
- Confirm which engine is fitted and review its service records
- Inspect cockpit table support brackets for prior breaks
- Test aft-cabin island-bed clearance against your height
- Note galley stowage limits and saloon open-shelf layout
- Verify standard gear (windlass, furling, refrigeration) is intact
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Catalina 380. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 15 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25 | 1 | $ 99,000 | — |
| May 25 | 3 | $ 82,000 | -17.2% |
| Jun 25 | 2 | $ 99,500 | +21.3% |
| Jul 25 | 2 | $ 91,250 | -8.3% |
| Aug 25 | 1 | $ 59,900 | -34.4% |
| Sep 25 | 10 | $ 95,750 | +59.8% |
| Oct 25 | 6 | $ 99,900 | +4.3% |
| Nov 25 | 1 | $ 106,000 | +6.1% |
| Jan 26 | 13 | $ 89,900 | -15.2% |
| Feb 26 | 2 | $ 89,950 | +0.1% |
| Mar 26 | 7 | $ 39,500 | -56.1% |
| Apr 26 | 19 | $ 85,000 | +115.2% |
| May 26 | 10 | $ 100,009 | +17.7% |
| Jun 26 | 7 | $ 94,900 | -5.1% |
| Jul 26 | 2 | $ 91,000 | -4.1% |
Where they're listed
Catalina 380 listings appear across 3 countries. United States has the most listings with 71 (97.3%), followed by Australia and Canada.
Country view
73 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 89,900 | 71 | 24 | 97.3% |
| Australia | $ 98,069 | 1 | 0 | 1.4% |
| Canada | $ 98,984 | 1 | 1 | 1.4% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
11 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAGOON 380 | 37.89' | $ 221,569 | 370 | 90 |
| Bluewater Cruiser 38 | 40.35' | $ 80,709 | 192 | 52 |
| Catalina 34 | 34.5' | $ 34,500 | 144 | 52 |
| CATALINA YACHTS 380You are here | — | $ 90,000 | 79 | 31 |
| Hunter Marine 380 | 37.25' | $ 74,900 | 69 | 19 |
| Island Packet 380 | 39.58' | $ 169,000 | 62 | 21 |
| Catalina 400 | 40.5' | $ 99,000 | 45 | 10 |
| Najad 380 | 37.89' | $ 251,746 | 21 | 2 |
| Bavaria Yachts 350 | 35.25' | $ 54,354 | 12 | 7 |
| Tartan 3800 | 38' | $ 129,000 | 10 | 5 |
| Catalina Morgan 38 | 38.42' | $ 74,900 | 9 | 0 |