catalina 22 sailboat

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What is so great about the Catalina 22

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First off this is a serious question, I'm not a Catalina basher. I am fond of the 27 and 30 and lust after the 305. I read the Practical Sailors review that trashed the design and noticed that the only reason I had always thought that they were a pretty good design is that they sold so well. On closer examination they: 1. Iron swing keel prone to problems 2. Screwed deck joint that seems to leak 3. I have never seen one that didn't have some soft decks 4. Walking forward is difficult at best 5. Only one bunk of any use 6. Massive amount of wasted space. 7. Gas tank in unsafe stowage area I was recently on an Oday 23 and it seemed more nicely layed out. I suspect the c22 sold because it has nice lines and cockpit. Any other models in the same range that you think are better and why?  

As I recall the K car sold well too, even saved Chrysler the first time. Nobody raves about the quality of the K car. Marketing?  

In just a casual look at a new one on a trailer it seems to have a nice large cockpit which looks good for family daysailing which is its main use And like the J24 right boat at the right time at the right price  

Here is my take on the Catalina 22. During the oil crisises of the 1970's a lot of people who would have bought small, trailerable power boats bought small trailerable sail boats. I worked for a company selling small trailerables. My job consisted of commissioning and repairing these small trailerables of this era. I also went out on their first sail with new buyers to walk through rigging procedures, first sails which were a mix of sailtrial and instruction on the use of these boats. On my own, I sometimes also taught some of these new buyers to sail their new pride and joy outside of my regular job. The sheer profusion of new trailerables hitting the market was overwelming, and each attempted to incorporate more features for less money than the next. What was not included in these features was reasonable build quality or safe sailing capabilities. For the most part the small trailerable boats of this era were very poorly built and pretty dangerous to sail if you were caught in building conditions. Simple safety features like reefing or a keel lock down were almost unheard of in the stock boats. The Catalina 22 was introduced in that period. Compared to most of the trailerables of that era, it had a little better build quality, a reasonable layout, some nicely thought through details, and sailed pretty well, well enough that they could be raced either under handicap or one-design, a real rarety for a trailerable of that era, with the Morgan 22 and San Juan 21 being the only other exceptions that I can think of. There were also some higher quality little boats like the Ranger 23 or Oday 22 and 23, but these were mostly keel boats and not easily trailerable. Beyond that, the purchase price was extremely competitive, certainly not the cheapest, but close. Boats like the Venture 21 and the Catalina 22 were pretty much everywhere in those days and the sheer production volumes allowed the Catalinas and the Ventures to eventually come down in price a little making them even more competative as other builders began to raise their prices as resin got more expensive. Unlike the Ventures, which were just plain junk, the Catalina was a decent little boat so that dispite its faults, it retained its popularity after the rush to trailerables began to slow. Today you still find a fair number of Catalina 22's of this era in use. For example you see very few of the Coastal Recreation boats or the Aquarius, Clippers, Reinells and so on still out there. So whatever their faults, they were better than most of that era, and more common that most, they got a lot of folks into sailing, and ultimately probably are remembered more fondly than perhaps they should be but that's how memory is. Jeff  

Jeff_H said: So whatever their faults, they were better than most of that era, and more common that most, they got a lot of folks into sailing, and ultimately probably are remembered more fondly than perhaps they should be but that's how memory is. Jeff Click to expand...

Cat 22 - Cheap, HUGE aftermarket parts supplier (OEM-like parts, etc - @ CatalinaDirect.com), easy to trailer, huge cockpit, etc.  

Jeff nailed it pretty well... Back in the late 70's we were sailing a Ranger 20 and there was a 50 boat fleet of R-20's in PDX. We would often sail in company with the big Cat 22 fleet and also the smaller Cal 20 group. I did only a little crew time on a Cat 22, but it did not sail too badly and unlike our Ranger, it had a lockable cabin. We were faster, but they could "camp cruise" four small people and we could cruise two adult people. They were a success in numbers and that directly led to big OD fleets... which always drives sales for even more boats. I would also agree that they were better built than the Ventures and SanJuans and others of that ilk. If you are looking for a C-22, and do not need to ramp launch regularly, try to find a fin keel model. Best, L  

olson34 said: Jeff nailed it pretty well... Back in the late 70's we were sailing a Ranger 20 and there was a 50 boat fleet of R-20's in PDX. We would often sail in company with the big Cat 22 fleet and also the smaller Cal 20 group. Click to expand...

I certainly have fond memories of my Jaguar 22 [UK version of the Cat 22] 6 week cruise from Troon to Stornoway and back. Next year 7 weeks in the Adriatic as far down as Albania and back. It was my introduction to liveaboard cruising and set me on my current path of being a retired liveaboard in the Caribbean. Sure other boats had better galleys, more headroom but I think it served it's target market well.  

Did Catalina fix/address all of the shortcomings of the original catalina 22 whenever they introduced the mkII. Just comparing pictures of the two boats the mkII looks like it has had a lot of design upgrades.  

My son and I have a 2001 C22 MK II that we bought new. (Actually, it's for sale now since I also have a C320 and my son has a job in CA and economics don't work for moving it that far). Ours is #15478 and there have been about 16,000 C22's (all versions) made so far. I believe Catalina addressed most of the issues. For example, the hull is wider, the steel/iron swing keel has been replaced with a fiberglass encapsulated lead keel, the keel supports have changed, halyards are led to cockpit, and the interior is completely different, with full length bunks down either side of the cabin and a small table over the keel trunk, giving more usable room. I'm not sure how the original one was, but there is a fiberglass liner top and bottom in the boat. The boat has been popular (in my opinion) because it was one of the best combination of features (price, appearance, layout, sailing, trailering, marketing, etc) of any of the boats of that size offered. It's like why were the Hobie Cat 16's and 18's leaders in their market, or the sunfish in its market. It gave people what they wanted. Now, you can find better features in some boats, for example some are better built, some are faster, some are more rugged. But the total package is what counts. (I had just bought my first boat when the original C22 came out in ~1970. Took one look and wished I had known that it was coming before I bought something else). Practical Sailor dissed the boat because they are snobs (in my opinion)....anything by Catalina isn't likely to get too good a readout. But if the C22 was so terrible, why did it sell so many?  

What everyone else said, plus, it was a decent boat that I could afford when I was just starting my career. In fact, it's the only boat that I ever sold for a profit. I owned mine for 13 months, and made a $1500. profit when I sold it.  

c22 vs p23 i owned a Precision 23 for several seasons. took it all over lake Mich. and Lke Superior. 8.5 ' beam was nice as well as the flat cabin sole. It's main draw backs were balast carried in keel stub, so reefing came early. It also has very stout spars. my wife and I could step the hinged mast but if it got out of control it was hard to handle. It's big cockpit and relatively large cabin was nice. If your in the market for this size boat, it's worth a look. Stu  

NCC320: As I understand it the review was of the original Catalina 22 and the basis of Practical Sailors critique were the following issues: 1. Iron swing keel prone to problems 2. Screwed deck joint that frequently leak 3. Disproportionately large number of boats with deck delamination and core rot. 4. Walking forward is difficult at best 5. Only one adult sized bunk without disassembling the interior 6. Not as efficiently laid out as other trailerable. 7. Gas tank in unsafe stowage area (by modern standards) While you may disagree with the specifics of this critique, it rings very true with my own experience with these boats. These issues were serious enough that Catalina apparently spent the money to correct (most of) these problems. If this list is close to valid, then I can't see how you can say that "Practical Sailor dissed the boat" by simply stating the issues that are typically found in these boats, and frankly if these are real issues with the original C22, but pointing them out Practical Sailor is doing their job and that has nothing to do with being a snob. When you ask why they sold so many C22's, as I said above, "The Catalina 22 was introduced in that period (when power boaters were suddenly buying sailboats). Compared to most of the trailerables of that era, it had a little better build quality, a reasonable layout, some nicely thought through details, and sailed pretty well, well enough that they could be raced either under handicap or one-design, a real rarity for a trailerable of that era." And they were close to the cheapest boats that you could buy back then. That did not make them flawless and pointing that out, does not make someone a snob, just intellectually honest. Respectfully, Jeff  

davidpm said: I read the Practical Sailors review that trashed the design and noticed that the only reason I had always thought that they were a pretty good design is that they sold so well. Click to expand...

davidpm said: 1. Iron swing keel prone to problems Click to expand...

davidpm said: 2. Screwed deck joint that seems to leak Click to expand...

davidpm said: 3. I have never seen one that didn't have some soft decks Click to expand...

davidpm said: 4. Walking forward is difficult at best Click to expand...

davidpm said: 5. Only one bunk of any use Click to expand...

davidpm said: 6. Massive amount of wasted space. Click to expand...

davidpm said: 7. Gas tank in unsafe stowage area Click to expand...

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Specifications for Catalina 22 trailer

• Thread starter Thomas F. Griffith
• Start date Aug 7, 2003
• Forums for All Owners
• Trailer Sailors

Thomas F. Griffith

Is there anyone out there who can give me the information regarding the length of bunk boards for the trailer of a Catalina 22. I am able to get lengths from 5 feet to 8 feet locally. Also the height of the supports so that the swing keel will clear the center of the trailer. I tried to find this information on the Net but cannot locate any of the information. A picture would be great. The owner's manual that I have has a lot of information but when it comes to the boat pictures on a trailer there is always someone standing in the way of the area that I want to view.Thanks so much for the previous response.Tom Griffith  

Bob Davidson

C22 trailer Refurb I just refurbed my c22 trailer in 2002.the bunk boards are 2"X6"X10' The bunk are pressure treated wood covered with dense pile indoor outdoor carpet. The carpet was first glued to the bunks then stapled with stainless steel staples. The pylons are all 12" in length fastened to the frame by two U bolts one at the bottom of the trailer frame the other at the top of the trailer frame. Here's another good tip for you my trailer was very rusty. I found a wonderful paint and painted right over the rust, it now looks new! The paint is named Hammerite and contains the chemical additive Oxcelic Acid. The Oxcelic Acid stops the rust dead in its tracks, it has almost been one year and the trailer still looks great!!Good Luck,BobFor Sail c22 #6993  

Here's a pic of my trailer setup Take a look at how my trailer is setup.  

Attachments

Re: Here's a pic of my trailer setup I should mention that the keel guides and rest was removed for keel maintenance when this pic was taken.Dave, 14447  

Tom Griffith

C22 trailer Dave, Thanks for the photograph of the trailer from stern on. It helps a great deal and now I know what setup to use for my trailer. I do not have as many cross members but I am sure it will work as this trailer is similar to the previous trailer that I used for my Aquarius 21 for many years. The big difference is the swing keel on this boat while the previou boat had a centerboard that retraced inside the boat.Tom  

C22 trailer refit Bob, Thanks for the information. It will be very useful along with the photo that Dave sent me. I believe that I can arrange everything so that it will handle my C22 now.Tom  

Re: C22 Trailer Tom,Glad to be of help. Good luck with your project!Dave, 14447  

Catalina 22 trailer spec Am I missing something???Did someone say what specifications a trailer required?I would like the same info. I got this photo at a sailboat race but didn't have tape or paper to record specifics. Would anyone help us out here?  

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