Catalina 470 Buyer's Guide
The Catalina 470 is a 47-foot Gerry Douglas design from Catalina Yachts, introduced in 1998 and built in Florida with more than 200 delivered. On the brokerage market she presents as a serious ocean-rated cruiser rather than a day-sailer, and a buyer should weigh her construction details and standard equipment against the usual wear of a two-decade-old production boat.
Layouts on the Used Market
Most 470s follow the same Gerry Douglas interior: a 14-foot beam yielding 11 feet amidships, a C-shaped settee for six to eight, and a watertight compartment under the settee. The saloon carries 7-foot-4-inch headroom, and the centerline runs about 11 feet 6 inches. Berths are built for liveaboard comfort with 7-inch residential mattresses, and the galley holds a three-burner Princess stove with oven and Grancoat counters. A nav station with chart-sized table and a slide-out housing for a TV/VHS and CD changer reflects the original 1990s spec rather than a modern retrofit.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Boats on the market commonly carry a chartplotter, furling main, dodger, electric winches, bimini, radar, dinghy davits, autopilot, solar, air conditioning, inverter, hot water, AIS, and a split three-connector shore-power system. Often-seen additions include a bow thruster, cockpit shower, watermaker, heating, washing machine, and freezer. For a buyer, the power-and-energy cluster (inverter, solar, sometimes watermaker) determines off-grid range, while canvas and sail-handling gear (furling main, dodger, bimini, electric winches) speak to short-handed usability; navigation (chartplotter, radar, AIS, autopilot) is usually intact from the standard fit. The 1,010-square-foot rig with a Schaefer furler and Dutchman system is standard, so inspect rather than assume upgrade.
What to Inspect
The hull below 6 inches above the waterline is solid fiberglass with vinylester skin; topsides and deck are balsa-cored, so probe for core moisture at deck penetrations where hardware meets the pre-tapped aluminum backing plates. The builder described the chainplates as a ball-and-socket through a round deck hole anchor, a detail worth checking for seal integrity. Confirm the collision bulkhead at the anchor locker and the two independent waste systems, and verify the seven companionway steps still seal the Yanmar 4JHTE from the cabin. A 118-page manual should travel with the boat and diagram every system.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Typical markets are the United States and the Netherlands. For a shopper, the checklist is brief: verify balsa-core dryness at deck joints, confirm chainplate and collision-bulkhead condition, confirm the standard Yanmar 76-hp diesel and 214-gallon water capacity, and expect late-1990s electronics as baseline unless upgraded. The 470's Category A Ocean rating and 126-degree stability limit make her a credible used bluewater buy where these two markets concentrate.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Catalina 470. 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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25 | 1 | $99,500 | — |
| Apr 25 | 4 | $211,000 | +112.1% |
| May 25 | 2 | $209,000 | -0.9% |
| Jun 25 | 1 | $249,000 | +19.1% |
| Aug 25 | 6 | $230,500 | -7.4% |
| Sep 25 | 3 | $192,730 | -16.4% |
| Oct 25 | 2 | $218,000 | +13.1% |
| Nov 25 | 2 | $229,000 | +5.0% |
| Jan 26 | 5 | $189,000 | -17.5% |
| Feb 26 | 7 | $210,000 | +11.1% |
| Mar 26 | 7 | $249,500 | +18.8% |
| Apr 26 | 11 | $170,933 | -31.5% |
| May 26 | 7 | $210,000 | +22.9% |
| Jun 26 | 4 | $224,900 | +7.1% |
| Aug 26 | 1 | $188,000 | -16.4% |
Where they're listed
Catalina 470 listings appear across 2 countries. United States has the most listings with 53 (96.4%), followed by Netherlands.
Country view
55 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $210,000 | 53 | 7 | 96.4% |
| Netherlands | $181,831 | 2 | 0 | 3.6% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneteau 473 | 46.92' | $ 147,500 | 146 | 32 |
| Dufour 470 | 48.72' | $ 408,153 | 79 | 10 |
| Catalina 470You are here | — | $ 210,000 | 55 | 7 |
| Catalina 400 | 40.5' | $ 98,900 | 51 | 10 |
| Hunter Marine 460 | 46.08' | $ 114,500 | 27 | 4 |
| Passport 470 AC | 47' | $ 325,000 | 25 | 3 |
| Bavaria Ocean 47 CC | 48.16' | $ 151,429 | 23 | 0 |
| North Wind 47 | 46.75' | $ 200,703 | 23 | 8 |
| Robertson 47 | 46.83' | $ 290,000 | 20 | 3 |
| Lagoon 470 | 47.57' | $ 286,730 | 12 | 9 |
| Najad 460 | 45.77' | $ 333,068 | 10 | 3 |