It has lots of room both above and below, and has a thoroughly comfortable layout.

This ideal sail-boat is perfect for a weekend getaway on the San Francisco Bay (a very challenging place to sail), as well as the newer MarkII has a design for warm water fun as it has one of the easiest boarding decks with walk-through transom made.

Frankly, the Catalina 34 has a marvelous design; it is roomy and very stable. It can be sailed shorthanded very easily and handles in big winds very well.

The Catalina 34 Mark I was first introduced in 1986. Today's Mark II design was first introduced in 1996.

Over 1,700 Catalina 34's have now been produced and the 2005 model Catalina 34 Mark II still closely resembles the 1996 markII model.

The Catalina 34 is an ideal cruiser. Its' performance is very responsive, its' interior is accommodating, and its' an outstanding value. The Catalina 34 is a sleek yacht with crisp clean lines and sturdy construction. A one piece fiberglass hull, and engineered sub sole structural system with stainless steel tie rods, a molded structural hull liner, and a stainless steel truss at the mast step provides reassuring strength at sea. A structural aluminum chain plate reinforcement system tie all mast loads to the hull. On board the deck has molded-in non-skid surfaces. The cockpit seats are comfortable and large to sleep or sun bathe on.

The Catalina 34mkII has inboard shrouds which leaves more room for secure footing on the non-skid deck and provides for narrow sheeting angles and the ability to carry large genoas. The standard rigid boom vang and double ended mainsheet system makes sail handling easier and more secure than other designs. The wider than average aft cabin has a larger berth than most comparable sized sailboats. It's a very "forgiving" boat with a lot of room and comfortable surroundings. Note that the sailing characteristics of the Catalina 34, the max speed, and stability are almost identical to the Catalina 36.

Catalina is currently the largest sailboat builder in the country, Except for the old Catalina 38's (which was not a Frank Butler design), all the Catalinas seem to have a similar conservatively (yet) modern look, spade rudder, short overhangs, and a flat like sheer line. The distinctive cabin house and diamond-shaped sail emblem help identify a Catalina anywhere.