# What is so great about the Catalina 22



## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

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?


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

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?


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

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


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

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


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## radioguy (Jul 26, 2010)

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


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## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

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


Pretty much sums it up.


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## olson34 (Oct 13, 2000)

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


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

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.


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## dhays (Jul 9, 2010)

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.


If I'm not mistaken, isn't there a growing number of Cat 22s in PDX that are being raced as one-design? The advantage is that they are very cheap to buy, and cheap to outfit to race as a one-design. Fun idea.


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## MarkCK (Jan 4, 2009)

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.


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## Sailormon6 (May 9, 2002)

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.


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## stuartmartell (Oct 20, 2004)

*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


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## NCC320 (Dec 23, 2008)

MarkCK said:


> 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?


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## olson34 (Oct 13, 2000)

dhays said:


> If I'm not mistaken, isn't there a growing number of Cat 22s in PDX that are being raced as one-design? The advantage is that they are very cheap to buy, and cheap to outfit to race as a one-design. Fun idea.


IIRC, the local fleet never really died, but did fade down to a low number, but has remained active. The Ranger 20 fleet (as well as the Cal 20 fleet) made a strong come back in the last 10 years and is doing well now.
The economics work well for any of these... I could buy a full-up Ranger 20 today for about $2500. with a trailer.  
Heck, that's less than the cost of a new main sail for my 34 footer!


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

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


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## casioqv (Jun 15, 2009)

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.


The Practical Sailors review is poorly informed- all of the issues they complain about were addressed on the C22 by the early 80s, and many of the older boats have now been retrofitted with these improvements. Catalina Direct sells retrofit kits even with easy to follow instructions.



davidpm said:


> 1. Iron swing keel prone to problems


Only if moored in saltwater and not maintained at all with proper paint and zincs. You can also get a fiberglass over lead version now from Catalina (used on the Capri) but they kept the iron one for one design purposes because the fiberglass one performs better.

They also sold fixed and wing keel versions- the swing keel was marketed solely for trailering, and not for mooring. When trailered, the swing keel doesn't really have problems.



davidpm said:


> 2. Screwed deck joint that seems to leak


I'm pretty sure the deck joint is bolted? No cases of them leaking have come up on the C22 forums I frequent. My 1974 deck joint does not leak...



davidpm said:


> 3. I have never seen one that didn't have some soft decks


This is a legitimate concern- most of the old ones do have soft decks, but it's mostly from owners improperly resealing deck hardware which causes core intrusion. Easily prevented with butyl tape in chamfered holes.



davidpm said:


> 4. Walking forward is difficult at best


It's as good as any boat this size, if you remove or don't have the lifelines (which will also save the deck core).



davidpm said:


> 5. Only one bunk of any use


This only applies to the earliest models, and is easily addressed. With some removable boards across the center walkway- my '74 C22 has a "queen sized" bed that easily fits me, my wife, and dog.

I'm 6'2 and for me the V berth was too low (head room), the starboard bunk too narrow (shoulder width), and the portside bunk too short. But this is a small boat, and it was easy to fix this issue.



davidpm said:


> 6. Massive amount of wasted space.


This also only applies to the earliest models- and is easily fixed by adding some access doors.



davidpm said:


> 7. Gas tank in unsafe stowage area


Once again, only the earliest models don't have an isolated and vented tank stowage area. I just keep my fuel tank in the cockpit, which creates more storage down below. In my opinion- it doesn't make sense to store fuel down below even in a proper locker, on a boat this small. In fact, I personally believe that gasoline should never be stored below deck for safety reasons. Larger boats that require below deck tanks should have diesel engines only. The C22 only needs 3-6 gallons of fuel storage, and there's no good reason not to keep this in the stern of the cockpit where fumes can't accumulate, and the tank can be easily viewed and accessed.

I have two serious issues with the C22:
1) This boat is designed for short people. Neither the bunks, nor pop-top offer sufficient length/height for somebody 6' tall or bigger, although this is fixable.
2) Dissimilar metals were used in the keel hanger/pivot assembly. Catalina could have- and should have made this entire assembly from marine grade silicon bronze, and permanently bonded a silicon bronze bushing into the keel. They also should have installed zincs on the iron keel.


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