Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 22 by Rick Evans

Year built	1988
Location of boat	Canyon Lake, Texas
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	solo
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1999
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes.
Gear that's been added	A boomkicker which is a fibrglas rod system which supports the boom thereby dispensing with the need for a topping lift.
Structural or complex improvements	no
The boat's best features	The wing keel gives it great stability. It is fast and, although it doesn't have as much cabin room as the standard Catalina 22, it has much, much more cockpit room. When you're sailing, who wants to sit down in the cabin anyway. All my friends want to be outside and this cockpit is big enough to easily accomodate them. Also, the side decks are much wider than the regular Cat 22 making it much easier and safer to walk up to the foredeck.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	No problems
Sailing characterisitcs	Very fast. Much faster than a regular Catalina 22. The boom is perhaps too low but I eliminated that problem by "reverse" reefing. In other words, I reefed the sail by about 8 inches but, instead of pulling the sail down, I raised the boom. It made negligible difference in performance and now allows all my passengers to sit wherever they want without fear of the boom hitting them.
Motoring characterisitcs	Not unusual. I use a 4 hp outboard which is more than adequate.
Liveability	It can sleep 4 just like a regular Catalina 22 but this is strictly an overnight or weekend boat. I wouldn't want to go on a week long cruise although some hardier souls may think it fine.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
Other comments

Contact
About
Terms of Use