Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 22 by Eric Lardner

Year built	1984
Location of boat	Lake Texoma, TX
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	less than 10 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2003
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Sure - its a great boat. Previous owner bought it new, took great care of it and moved up to a larger Catalina which says something right there.I am very happy with the amount of support, both in the form of Internet groups, as well as mail order companies for parts that exist for this boat. The best part about the boat is that, in the event that I need work done that is beyond my capability, I can just trailer it to my repair shop of choice rather than deal with the typical marina restrictions on outside mechanics.I often sail the boat alone and am very comfortable doing so. Its in amazing shape for its age.
Gear that's been added	Yes, a jib furler and spinaker crane and block.
Structural or complex improvements	No
The boat's best features	The swing keel - I am the king of running aground. If I had a fixed keel boat I would be a very unhappy sailor.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	So far, so good. Of course the boat requires the occasional simple repair but this is mostly due to age.
Sailing characterisitcs	Very stable and easy to sail. Very forgiving and seems to handle itself well in higher winds, given its size.
Motoring characterisitcs	As little as possible. My Yamaha 5hp starts every time and gets me in and out of the marina. That is all I ask for.
Liveability	I could live on it but, as the guy I bought it from said, you have to think of the Catalina 22 as the pop-up camper of sailboats.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	N/A
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	N/A
Other comments	Keep in mind that, just like a house, every additional increment of size means higher maintenance costs. The 22 is big enough to allow for overnighters and/or larger groups of passengers but small enough to be affordable and trailerable.No wonder there are so many of them out there.

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