# Marshall 22



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Cruising in a catboat*

Hello to all.
I am new here and have been looking around for a few days and see a lot of good advice;
My name is George and I live on the so shore in Ma.
My question would be....
Has anyone done any extended cruising in a Marshall catboat?
I am contemplating moving up to the 22 from an 18 ft and cruising to Fla. maybe Bahamas.
How sea worthy is a 22 ft Marshall catboat? Big enough to cross the stream?
Is there enoughf room for 2 for an extended cruise?
I have been sailing for about 5 years and am ready to start cruising...
Thanks in advance........George


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Yes, extended cruising can be done in a catboat. I'd highly recommend you read Catboat Summers, by John Conway, which is about just that. He sailed various catboats out of the Buzzards Bay area. I don't see why you couldn't cross the Gulf Stream to the islands, provided you timed it properly with a good weather window. 

To cruise with two people aboard a 22' catboat would require that the two be very friendly.  

I'd also recommend you read the post in my signature to help you get the most out of your time on sailnet.


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## sander06 (Sep 18, 2003)

Check out...

Small boats, long distances... sailFar.net


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Good website that one.....


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## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

Duxbury,

Welcome to SailNet! Those Marshalls are nice boats. Do you keep your 18 in Duxbury Bay? If so, I may have seen it at some point or another while poking around the Bay in our dinghy.

Hopefully you will get a reply to your questions from an owner. No first hand experience here, but I agree with comments above that you could cruise far afield on a Marshall 22. They are certainly large enough for two crew -- probably nearly as much interior volume as a conventional 30 footer. One of their big limitations is tankage -- not much fuel or water (12 gal and 22 gal, respectively). The necessity to re-fill regularly makes them more suited for coastal hopping.

Also, I would personally be hesitant to do a Gulf Stream crossing with one. Catboats have loads of form stability, but are not self-righting if they go over much past 90-100 degrees. This limitation is yet another reason they are primarily suited for coastal cruising.

MAYBE I'd hop across to the Bahamas from FL in an ideal weather window, properly equipped, after gaining experience in the boat and learning its idiosyncrasies. Once there, it would be great in the shallows! But in the remoter parts of the Bahamas, tankage might become your biggest limitation again.

P.S. Conway's _Catboat Summers_ (recommended above) is definitely a worthwhile read, but it is simply a compilation of the _Buckrammer_ articles that were published in Messing About in Boats during the mid-90's -- in case you already read those.


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## Herreshoff01 (Mar 7, 2008)

I've cruised a bit on the south shore - from Boston to the islands- in Marshall 22's. For 2 the Marshall is quite comfy. 100 years ago it would be considered quite normal for a small party to cruise in such craft (LFH like). While the aforementined book is "good" the best book on this sort of thing with catboats is the famous "Me, the Boy, and the Cat". Many concider this to be the best crusing book ever writen - not just on Catboats.I highly recomend to all cruisers. A different time for sure but still a good read. Certainly makes you think what we call cruising today....


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## Wileyone (Mar 2, 2009)

*Cruising on a Marshall 22*

I have owned a Marshall 18 for 25 years and find it very seaworthy for it's size and unsinkable if there is no inboard engine installed. I am even considering purchasing a 22 for coastal cruising. However, having sailed my 35 Wauquiez Pretorien to Maine and back several times, I would not recommend the 22 for offshore sailing. It has tremendous form stability, but would not right itself after capsizing. In fact, the lead pigs would probably fall out of the bilge in a capsize making it even more stable upsidedown, if it didn't sink! If memory serves, a catboat went down in the Gulf Stream. You could probably have it shipped to the Bahamas and back.


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