Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina Capri-22 by David Long

Year built	2004
Location of boat	Texoma, TX
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	5-6
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2004
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely!! We have been sailing it for the last two months (good winds this time of year in North Texas). We had a Catalina 22, but this is really a good step up (performance-wise). The Catalina 22 is not all that comfortable for weekending (so, we basically daysailed it).
Gear that's been added	Raymarine Bidata (depth and speed), Windex, Compass, performance package.
Structural or complex improvements	No
The boat's best features	Speed response and huge cockpit. We get upto hull speed really quickly and we comfortably sit 5 people in the cockpit.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The boom height is a bit low.
Sailing characterisitcs	You can feel the acceleration after a tack coming back upto hull speed. The amount of weather helm at 15 knots of wind very acceptable. Above that, with the main reefed at 20 knots, it is hard to balance the helm (I only have one reef point on the main, so I'm still running a bit too much sail).The adjustable backstay provides a lot of adjustment for fore/backstay. This is great in light wind situations. Twist control adjustments are also great (both of these are in comparison to Catalina 22).
Motoring characterisitcs	We have a 5hp Honda that effortlessly gets us upto hull speed (using only the "start" throttle position). Seems like I have steerage at any speed (.5 to 1 knot). Also seems like I have more prop walk in reverse than I remember with the Catalina 22 and a 8hp Johnson.
Liveability	The vinyl cushions in the cabin would suck if we were spending a bunch of time in there. Given that we don't, they are very easy to maintain.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	I bought this at St. Louis Sailing Center in St. Louis, Mo. and trailered it back to Dallas. I saved a bunch of money doing this and the experience with the folks at St. Louis Sailing was outstanding! I highly recommend them!
Other comments	It is a real head turner! What a good looking boat!

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