Catalina 270 vs. The Beneteau First 265 Used Boat Match-Up

People who start in small boats and trade up often view 27 feet as some kind of milestone, and rightly so. At around 27 feet, an in­board engine and the possibility of standing headroom are enticing. Accommodations often become spacious enough for two couples or a family of four to live aboard for a couple of weeks without strain. And hull speed with appropriate sail and engine power typically permits average-weather runs of 35 to 40 miles in an 8-hour day—long enough legs to satisfy the wanderlust of most cruisers.

Two of the most popular 27-foot cruising boat designs are from Beneteau and Catalina, both huge builders. Beneteau bills itself as the largest sailboat company in the world; Catalina lays claim to being the largest in the U.S. The designs of both companies often set the tone for styling by other sailboat makers.

Checking out both boats in recent sales listings, we noticed their Euro-styled interior layouts are at least superfi­cially similar as well, as are hull and sail plan dimensions (see chart, courtesy of our friernds at Sailboatdata.com. Which boat, we wondered, is the better buy, and for whom?

DESIGN

Both the Beneteau and the Catalina utilize modern wide-body, fin-keel, spade-rudder configurations, relatively long waterlines, and moderate rigs with shrouds moved in­board to permit a nar­rower sheeting base. The Beneteau has a slightly shorter LOA but longer LWL (length waterline), and a nearly plumb bow. The 265’s draft is mid-range (4′ 2″ vs. the Catalina’s choice of 5′ 0″ deep fin or 3′ 6″ fin with wings).

Both test boats have inboards. Catal­ina does not offer an outboard option as it once did with its old 27. Catalina’s chief engineer, Gerry Douglas, doesn’t think it’s suitable for a 27- footer, especially one weighing 6,400 pounds-and, he says, neither did most buyers of Catalina 27s over the last several years. (Among other prob­lems, in a seaway an outboard prop tends to ventilate excessively).

Both the Beneteau and Catalina offer easy access to their respective sugar-scoop transoms for boarding, but the Beneteau’s standard tiller simplifies transit through this space. Note the single lifeline and pelican hook arrangement to secure the transom (so-so) and the nicely canted cockpit seat backs with integrated grab rails.

Still, Beneteau, with a 4,800-lb. boat, offered an outboard version of the First 265 when the boat came out in the 90s, and rec­ommends a 9.9-hp. outboard for those who wish to go this route. So far, few buyers have. Beyond the ventilating prop problem, the reason is mostly economic: By the time Beneteau buyers acquire the outboard engine and associated paraphernalia, the dollar difference between inboard and outboard shrinks to around and those who opt for the outboard miss the shore power option and electric hot water heater option which Beneteau threw in” free” with the inboard pack­age.

The rigs of the two boats may ap­pear quite similar at first glance, but upon close inspection a number of important differences emerge.

The Beneteau features a seven­-eighths rig with single spreaders, adjustable split backstay, mast stepped on deck with compression strut in the cabin, and shrouds tied into a force grid molded into the cabin top via a set of studs threaded into a patented con­figuration involving stem balls set into bronze plates. (We’d prefer a set of conventional-and more easily ad­justable and replaceable turnbuckles.) The mast is stepped on a hinge for lowering the spar at bridges, trailer ramps, or for maintenance, but Beneteau says use of the hinge is not recommended without side-sway preventers- currently available as an option in Europe, but not in the U.S.

The Beneteau’s genoa sheets lead to cars riding on C-shaped aluminum tracks, which double as handrails, on the cabintop. It’s not easy to grab the tracks/rails, which require feeding your fingers through a narrow slot molded into the coach roof. We’d rather see separate handrails. We’d also prefer to see the Beneteau’s cockpit­ mounted mainsheet traveler track moved forward onto the cabintop (as the Catalina is configured), so crew moving from cockpit to cabin don’t have to dodge the mainsheet and car. But, unfortunately, moving the track forward isn’t feasible because of the long companionway bridge deck, which reaches forward beyond the boom’s midpoint.

The Catalina’s masthead rig, even with double spreaders (permitting use of a lighter spar than the Beneteau), is more conventional. Although the Catalina’s mast is shorter and its main­sail is smaller, the foretriangle height is two feet taller than the Beneteau’s, resulting in more total sail area when setting a big genoa.

The Catalina’s rig design strives for simplicity and ease of use (no backstay bridle ad­justment, no line-adjusted genoa car position as on the Beneteau). Helping to make sailing the Catalina a no-hassle experience is an impressive array of standard equip­ment not seen on the Beneteau: A double-ended mainsheet, adjustable either at a cam cleat on the traveler car or at a cabin top stopper, where a winch can be used; a pair of two-speed Lewmar self-tailing #30s (compared to Beneteau’s single speed #16s); a standard 135-percent genoa on a good ­quality Hood single-line furler (compared to Beneteau’s standard 100-percent jib and furler hardware available only as an option); a total of five cabintop rope clutches (vs. three for the Beneteau); Dutchman mainsail flaking sys­tem; and single-line reefing (though our Catalina test boat did not have single-line reefing rigged).

Other features on deck also favor the Catalina. Working aft from the bow: The welded pulpit, like the stan­chions, is 1-inch stainless steel tubing (vs. the Beneteau’s 7/8-inch), has two horizontal rails (vs. one for the Beneteau) and four legs (three for the Beneteau). There are twin anchor rollers at the stemhead (one on the Beneteau). Both boats have anchor lockers built into the forward deck, but the Beneteau’ s locker has a water tank fill cap in its bottom. This can make it extremely inconvenient to fill the tank when line and chain are piled over the cap. And the combination bow light is mounted directly behind and partly obscured by the center support of the pulpit.

Moving further aft, the Catalina’s six stanchions are fitted with double lifelines and, being 24-3/4 inches off the deck, give a good measure of security. In con­trast, the Beneteau has only four stanchions, less than 18 inches high, with sin­gle lifelines. The low lifelines are at “tripping height,” and while the scale may be aesthetically pleasing, safety is compromised.

The cockpits on both boats have comfortably high, canted coamings and angled seats. The Catalina’s cockpit is noticeably roomier, due not only to the absence of a cockpit traveler, but also to the placement of the wheel way aft, with an athwartships helm seat 5 feet wide-big enough for three for cocktails at the mooring. On the Catalina, there’s room for nine at the dock, as big a cockpit as could be desired in this size boat. And that doesn’t include a pair of “observation seats” built into each corner of the push pit.

In contrast, the Beneteau seats no more than seven at the dock, and that assumes that one passenger is seated atop the traveler and the tiller is swung up out of the way.

We have no objection to tillers-in fact we generally prefer them in this size boat—provided there’s no no­ticeable drag in the rudder tube and that the forward end is a comfortable height over the sole.

Catalina chose Edson for its 32-inch stainless steel destroyer wheel on a pedestal, a brand we associate with high quality and reliability. The size and placement is good for steering from either a sitting or standing posi­tion; brake and compass binnacle (4- inch Danforth Constellation) are stan­dard; pedestal-mounted brackets for additional instruments such as depth sounder and speedo are extra.

The Beneteau’s compass is option­al, mounted along with any other op­tional instruments on the cabinhouse bulkhead, a better position for crew viewing but not as good for the helms­man.

Both boats have swim platforms and stainless swing-down swim ladders. The Catalina easily wins the Ladder Sweepstakes with a four-step, 24-inch wide ladder with flat plastic treads, compared to the Beneteau’s three-step, 8-1/2-inch wide ladder with treads only 1-1/4-inch wide, made by flattening the stainless tubing a bit.

The Catalina’s ladder swings up to form the center part of the push pit, a clever and neat-looking design. The Beneteau ropes off the transom area with a length of lifeline and a pelican hook.

Both swim platforms are molded into “sugar-scoop” transoms, and both are elevated 9 inches off the water, with a bit of transom projecting below.

CONSTRUCTION

Both boats utilize external bolt-on lead keels, suitably thick fiberglass lay-up schedules, solid glass hulls and balsa­cored decks, with reasonably stout hull-deck connections. Both have highly engineered force grids molded into their hull liners, of particular note since the shrouds in both boats lead not to traditional chainplates but to intermediate tie rods that in turn are joined to metal plates for the most part hidden behind interior liners. On both boats we would prefer better inspection ports to view these crucial connections.

On both boats, the pulpits and stanchions are fastened to the deck with a single large threaded stud, projecting down through the deck and secured with a large washer and nut. Four through-bolts and large backing plates to distribute the load would be better.

Deck hardware (blocks, tracks, hatches, ports) on the Catalina is mostly made by Garhauer, Nibo, and Beck­son, all vendors noted for producing decent-quality but low-cost equip­ment. On the Beneteau, Harken, Spin­lock, and Lewmar are predominant and, in our opinion, something of an upgrade. As already mentioned, both boats use Lewmar winches. We judged all branded hardware on both boats to be of acceptable quality.

INTERIOR

The interior layouts on the two boats are quite similar: a large double-berth aft, galley to port next to the compan­ionway, head opposite the galley, U­-shaped dining area around a smallish table supported by the mast compres­sion post with a V-berth forward. (See line drawings.)

All berths on both boats have com­fortable 4-inch cushions. The aft berth on the Beneteau measures 60″ x 77″, and you sleep parallel to the keel; the Catalina is slightly narrower at 57 inches wide, is 74 inches to 86 inches long depending on which side you’re on, and you sleep athwartships. We wouldn’t be inclined to sleep two in either aft berth, since the inside party not only doesn’t have much vertical roll-over room due to incursion of the cockpit sole, but also must crawl over the outside party to get up.

Neither the Catalina nor the Beneteau forward berths have these prob­lems. On the Beneteau, you can lower the table and set up the berth without undue commotion; but setting up the Catalina berth involves a lot of fussy positioning of the raised forward seat and locking it in place with a pair of hard-to-reach latches.

The forward berth on the Beneteau measures 19 inches at the front, 76 inches at the back, and is 88 inches long. On the Catalina it’s 10 inches at the front, 68 inches at the back, and 75 inches long. Tall folks will appreciate the larger Beneteau berth.

The Beneteau has the edge on locker space, with three separate hanging lockers (including one open-air unit in the head), and a liquor cabinet under what a Beneteau brochure de­scribes as a nav station.  Still, this small horizontal surface gives the galley slave some countertop space. The Catalina also suffers from lack of sufficient galley top work­ing space…one of the compromises you’ll find in boats of this size range.

The use of maintenance-hungry exterior wood has been completely eliminated on the Catalina, and min­imized on the Beneteau except for the companionway drop slides (King Star­Board plastic on the Catalina, nicely varnished cherry-veneer plywood on the Beneteau). Below, both boats use some wood to visually warm up the otherwise mostly white interior. The surface is totally fiberglass on the Catalina, but on the Beneteau, soft white foam­-backed vinyl lines the upper halves of the hull sides. .

Catalina’s use of wood is sparing (varnished teak doors and trim, teak dining table, small patch of maple and teak sole forward), while Beneteau’s is lavish (varnished cherry bulkheads and trim, full teak sole). The wood is set off on both boats by neatly made upholstery on berths and settees, on the Catalina by a combination of Ultrasuede-like material and light pat­terned cotton fabrics, on the Beneteau by a practical and soft dark green velvet.

The Beneteau interior gives an impression of good craftsmanship with a dark though pleasant­ly airy cabin. On the Catalina, the impression is of a more basic, but much lighter and equally airy boat. The Catalina’s lightness is helped by a skylight of milk-white Plexiglas (two layers thick) aft of the mast, and more area in the main cabin ports. For ven­tilation, the Catalina has six opening ports plus a forward hatch, while the Beneteau has eight plus a forward hatch. Screens for the ports (but not for either the forward or main hatch) are standard on both the Catalina and the Beneteau. Neither boat has a roll­up sunshade over the forward hatch, which would be a nice touch.

PERFORMANCE

We did our testing on the Manatee River off Palmetto, Florida. Both boats seemed quite stiff, well balanced, and very responsive to the helm. Both could be spun in more or less their own length. The day we sailed the Beneteau, it was blowing 15 knots steadily and 20 in gusts, and the 265 heeled not more than 25 degrees close-hauled with full sail. This impressed us. So did the Catalina, which was at least as stable on a breezier day (wind 20-25, occasional gusts to 30) with full sail, only burying the rail once in a particularly vicious wind burst. In short, we wouldn’t hesitate to sail either boat in dusty weather.

Though hard to judge in such strong, shifting winds, we think the Beneteau had the edge in sailing speed, as her specifications would indicate. Un­der power, however, her smaller engine and prop (single-cylinder, 9-hp., 26-CID Volvo, 15 x 12 optional fold­ing prop) was definitely not as effective upwind as the Catalina’s (three-­cylinder, 18-hp, 3 7-CID Perkins, two-­blade 13 x 10 prop). The Catalina’s Perkins also was smoother and quiet­er, despite the fact that its engine box (two removable clam-shells back to back, of fiberglass-foam sandwich construction) had no added insula­tion, while the Beneteau’s plywood box was lined with soft foam. Engine and shaft log access was very good on the Beneteau, superb on the Catalina.

At the moment, PHRF for the Beneteau is 168. The Catalina’s is 198.

THE BOTTOM LINE

To some extent, the choice between the Beneteau 265 and the Catalina 270 is a trade off between elegant French styling on the one hand, and no-non­sense American practicality on the other.

The choice comes down to the Beneteau’s lighter hull with quicker acceleration, and the Catalina’s equal­ly maneuverable but heavier hull with greater load-carrying capacity and liv­ing space below.

All boats are compromises, and personal taste and prejudices do enter the picture. That said, we admit to a clear preference for the Catalina. We especially like the lightness and bright­ness of its interior, enhanced by nu­merous large ports and an overhead skylight. Most of all, we like the Catal­ina’s greater value for the money-not just because the overall price is about 10 percent lower than a comparable Beneteau, but because of the better choice of standard items. For example, note the differences between some of the Beneteau’s items and the Catal­ina’s: 9-hp. raw-water-cooled engine vs. 18-hp. freshwater-cooled; no en­gine tach or fuel gauge vs. both stan­dard; 8.25-gallon fuel tank vs. 14 gal­lons; 16.25-gallon water tank vs. 26 gallons; holding tank 11.5 gallons vs. 18; single-speed #16 self-tailing Lewmars vs. two-speed #30 STs; a 1.6- gpm Shurflo pressure water pump vs. a 2.8-gpm Shurflo pump: a gimbaled two-burner non-pressure alcohol stove vs. a gimbaled two-burner LPG stove, and so on.

The Catalina is heavier, more stable, roomier, and better equipped. The Beneteau has more stowage lockers, faster acceleration, and French-flavored rather than California ­flavored Eurostyle. Both boats do well in heavy air. Neither is a racehorse likely to win much in competition. Neither wins the prize as the ultimate low-cost 27-footer, though the Catalina 270 may come close. Now if Catalina had only installed a good-size hanging locker, put in more working counter surface in the galley, make it easier to make up the forward berth…

Market Scan - Recent Listings for Beneteau First 265 and Catalina 270

Beneteau First 265/Catalina 270
1993 Beneteau First 265	Murray Yacht Sales
$14,000	(985) 789-4210
New Orleans LA	murrayyachtsales.com
1994 Beneteau First 265	Colorado Sail and YC
Price on request	(970) 531-9008
Grand Lake CO	csyc.com
1995 Catalina 270	Snug Harbor Boats
$26,950	770-790-5261
Buford GA	Boats.com
1995 Catalina 270	Murray Yacht Sales
$21,900	985-789-4210
Dallas TX	Murray Yacht Sales

This review was first published November 23, 2015 and has been updated.