Anderson 22

How to dissaffect all caravan and A22 owners in 8 short words?Respect!
That is extremely efficient
Don’t know about crane drivers -maybe they’re just glad of the work ??

I have owned boats from 20 foot 9inches to 40
The 20 probably exuded the mostest, simplest , funnest, joui de vivre?

I remember a YM article where the staff tested a handful of small handy trailer sailers around the Walton Backwaters some years ago . And came back absolutely beaming like a bunch of school kids after the bestest beach holiday ever . That sort of accolade
 
In my early sailing days when young and impecunious a group of us formed a small syndicate and bought our 1st boat together ( a Leisure 17) we had a great time with the Leisure of a few years but then wanted something bigger, so off the the Earls Court Boat Show to look around, we agreed that a trailer sailer option was sensible as we could tow it back home for the Winter, my real choice was the Anderson 22, but I was out-voted and we ended up with a Foxterrier 22.
I still regret us not buying the Anderson agreed its accommodation was more 'compact' than the Foxterrier, which just about had full headroom in places, but I am still convinced that the Andersen was by far the better boat, quality of construction was excellent, far better than the Foxterrier, and from various reviews over the years the Anderson always seems to score top marks.
As for Mr Cassandras' comments, from the various contacts I have had with Seajet, I know he was always prepared to be helpful and was very knowledgable, such unnecessary comments will probably be like water off a ducks back or off the foredeck of an Anderson
 
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My only input to this thread is if you have not bought the boat yet, the stuck keel is the current owners problem. Either he frees it to your satisfaction or you buy it as it is for a cheap price as a project boat with an as yet unknown cost of repairing the keel.

I did prevously own a (different) lifting keel boat and although I never had any particular problems with my keel, there were a few things that worried me. One being the entire weight of the keel was supported (in my case) with a single lifting wire. If that ever broke while the keel was up, I strongly suspected the keel would not stop when it hit the bottom of the boat and would just keep on going leaving a big hole behind it. It was VITAL to regularly inspect that lifting wire.
 
I do hope the OP has not gone away or been put off by all this nonsense. There are links to the owners association and facebook group within the first 10 posts, useful contribution from an owner and detail about the keel issue from an owner of a boat with the same design keel. All this should enable him to assess whether the boat is worth buying and some idea of how to free off the keel.

Pity there is no way of reaching him as a new user apart from posting on this thread as he might think PBOers are a weird bunch.
 
Welcome, oh this will be fun... the Anderson 22 is a boat of folk lore around these parts.

You want to try and contact the oracle of Anderson @Seajet but he has not been seen here for quite a while
Hello again thanks to evry one for the advice including the caravans and such. how does the anderson handle upwind? own a wegu 18 happy seilor ( swing keel not good going upwind) and a hurlye 18. regards poulb
 
Trying to find an excellent review of the Anderson by one of the Yachtie magazines back in the 70's, I seem to remember the journalists were impressedwith its heavy weather handling and I'm almost certain that it got good comments on its windward performance. It may have been one of those 3 or 4 boat comparison tests.
Maybe someone else has a record of this review?
It may be available via the Anderson Association.
 
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Hello again thanks to evry one for the advice including the caravans and such. how does the anderson handle upwind? own a wegu 18 happy seilor ( swing keel not good going upwind) and a hurlye 18. regards poulb
I do remember that Michael Poland, PBO's writer on a wide range of yacht histories, was very impressed by the Anderson 22. He is usually not afraid to criticise where deserved, so this is probably a good guide.
 
Hello again thanks to evry one for the advice including the caravans and such. how does the anderson handle upwind? own a wegu 18 happy seilor ( swing keel not good going upwind) and a hurlye 18. regards poulb
They go pretty well up wind if the sails are good. I have beaten larger boats in club races. The lift keel is the same silhouette as a fin keel and has some airfoil shaping in cross section. Mine will balance nicely just off the wind going at 5.5 knots with the tiller lashed amidships .
Reference the keel lifting wire, It must be galvanised steel not stainless, 7x19 construction if I remember correctly and should be replaced every few years because of fatigue in use. Very cheap part though
 
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I do remember that Michael Poland, PBO's writer on a wide range of yacht histories, was very impressed by the Anderson 22. He is usually not afraid to criticise where deserved, so this is probably a good guide.

Being a pedant, I think you mean Peter Poland, of Hunter Boats fame ;-) As you say, he tends to be pretty forthright
 
I had an Anderson 22 for about 10 years sailed it and raced it. The boat sails very well ,slightly undercanvassed in very light airs . Only needs a 4 to 6 hp engine (ours had a 4 hp.)

Headroom is a bit cramped , berths are wide and comfortable .

Very well balanced ,can be left to sail itself for long periods with the tiller tied off.

Great boat in big seas.No tendency to broach ,surfs down waves without scaring you.

If the keel is jammed unless you can do all the work yourself it could be expensive to fix.Whats the rest of the boat like ? It's usually not economically wise buying a boat of this size that needs a lot of work,you can quickly spend more than the boat is worth. It may be wiser to pay a bit more up front to get a boat in usable condition.

I loved my A22 sailed it round lots of the Welsh and Irish coasts.
 
Very well balanced ,can be left to sail itself for long periods with the tiller tied off.
Oliver Lee first made his name as a designer of model racing yachts, and I have a theory that that's where he learned to design perfectly balanced boats. The Hunter 490 is absolutely lovely to sail, and I am told that the same goes for a Hunter 701, which is more-or-less a fin keel A22. And, of course, the Squib is still in (limited) production, 54 years after the first one came out, which is pretty good going.
 
I still own one but have not sailed it for a couple of years. I seem to be reluctant to sell it for some reason.

Has a genuine lift keel as opposed to a plate . The lifting mechanism is reliable but rather crude to have, and to look at, inside the boat. The access to the deck is poor and the main sheet track intrusive in the cockpit. I think the boat is pretty side on but ugly from the front.

Punches above it's weight from a sailing perspective and reliable in the choppy stuff. Nicely balanced considering a transom hung rudder. Solidly built but the best bit is sailing her.
 
My only input to this thread is if you have not bought the boat yet, the stuck keel is the current owners problem. Either he frees it to your satisfaction or you buy it as it is for a cheap price as a project boat with an as yet unknown cost of repairing the keel.
What he said; it's either a means of negotiating a lower price or a problem for the current owner to sort.
 
My boat is 6.5 metres with a vertical lift keel.(castle 650) The keel is GRP with lead inside about 100kg. With more ballast under floor. The top of the keel is rectangular shaped going to foil shape outside the hull. It sits ina box much like a dinghy CB box. The keel does not have a bulb so lifts up to make the hull flat. For shallow draft or easy rolling on to a trailer. Now the keel is lifted by a 4 purchase rope out on to a halyard winch. Quite laborious to lift. I believe later models use trailer winch. Some have a cast iron keel much heavier.
Anyway re mention above of concern re dropping the keel unrestrained. In my case when on the water the keel is dropped free fall. Yes a bit scary with just the thickness of the hull and difference between the foil shaped cut out and square top to stop it. What happens in water though is that the box filled with water a few inches deep makes a wonderful shock absorber. As the water is pumped out into the cabin When the square top displaces the water.
Keel can easily jamb if boat is not perfectly level fore and aft. I have set a spirit level in the stern locker to help check level.
Other problem is that when I run aground. (all to frequently) the keel pushes back against the aft end of the hole damaging the trialing edge. I have alleviated this problem somewhat by fitting a bolt across the box against the top of the keel. This bolt is right at the back of the keel so stops it swinging aft and up.
All in all a great arrangement. An underwater shape that is near perfect giving good windward performance.
I reckon the A22 would be an excellent similar boat. The lump of iron on the bottom would make it just a little more difficult to get on to a trailer. But aid self righting. Boat would have to come off the trailer to get the keel extended for maintenance. I leave my keel down and locked all summer so have to antifoul the keel.
Just a few thoughts ol'will
 
Re lowering the keel ashore etc,the local A22 uses a launching dolly that hauls up onto the main trailer.This obviously protects the trailer,but also gives you some limited ground clearance under the bulb.For extra height,jack up the launching dolly.
Hope this is of help.
Cheers
 
Further to the keel lifting cable breaking, we had a Foxterrier 22 lifting keel, and the winch cable snapped just as the keel was being raised to its fully raised position, as William.H found in #38 the water in the ke box acted as a shock absorber and the keel did not crash into the hull, ....but the winch operator did get a bit wet from the 'water cannon effect'. The Anderson keel box is more enclosed so operator less likely to get a soaking.
 
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