Catalina Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Catalina 22 by Rico Jones

Year built
Location of boat	barned wntr; moored inalnd lk in summr
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1995
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes. It was the perfect starter boat for me.
Gear that's been added	A navico tiller pilot, 6 gallon potable water storage tank, electric sink pump, bilge pump, Genoa, Spinnaker, 2-bank battery storage w/seletor switch, 6 switch panel (fused), VHF, stereo, 12 volt socket
Structural or complex improvements	No.
The boat's best features	It responds well to maintenance and can accomodate quite a bit of outfitting. It is an easy boat to start on and has the ability to grow with you, and meet a variety of needs. Stable and solid.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Forward hatch needs to be stronger. Tiller arm mount fatigued. Thru-deck fittings could be better reinforced. Cowel vents of a lower quality than the rest of the hardware. But the boat was built in 72, so what can you expect?
Sailing characterisitcs	Good on all points of sail. Especially good running wing and wing with the keel up (centerboard models), However, in strong wind with a following sea I found it to have a tendency towards surfing with the keel up and broaching with the keel down. Heels rather evenly, but seems to prefer a minimun angle. Sails very well under auto pilot.
Motoring characterisitcs	Motor sails very nicely. Can just reach hull speed in average conditions with my Evinrude 6hp, an 8hp would be best.
Liveability	I don't find it problematic. One just nees to realize it's a 22 footer. It took four adults and one dog on a three week cruise and served admirably well, as there was plenty of stowage area and cooperative weather. It can certainly hold all the essentials with room for some niceties. It only requires organization and a positive attidue on part of the crew. The quality of the interior finishing is above average for this size boat.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
Other comments	I have an earlier model (#1178). These models appear to be especially solid. For a boat which has spent maybe a total of 15 years on a trailer, it has very little trailer hogging, or other hull deformities, as compared with later models. These boats must have more glass in them. I would encourage any of you out there in the market for a Catalina 22 to definately consider an early model. Given a sound hull and topsides, everything esle is worth fixing.

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