Hurley 22

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Stockers

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Hello all, this is my first post and I hope I've put it in the right place.

I am considering buying a Hurley 22 with bilge keel's and would like to know what other people think of them before I commit myself.
 
Right place and welcome.

I had a Hurley 22 and sailed it quite happily from The Solent to The West Country and X-Channel many times and always felt very safe.

The only thing that I HATED about it was the outboard well. Yes, it was better than having the engine hanging off the back but the exhaust fumes were terrible and often seemed to choke the engine.

This was back in the 70's so engine tech. might have moved on.

Apart from that I would thoroughly recommend them
 
A Hurley 22 was my introduction to boat ownership and, in retrospect, I couldn't have made a better choice.
Mine was the long-keel version which proved very forgiving at sea. Without knowing your sailing area it is difficult to advise, but unless you are a ditch-crawler I would think again about the bilge-keels.
A very pretty "little ship" some of which have gone transatlantic and further. Accommodation is sufficient for a couple for longer cruising. Mine had a sea-toilet but chemical toilets between the foreberths are common.
There is sitting headroom and with a bit of neck-contortion it is possible to stand at the galley with the head through the hatch.
While not the fastest on the planet they sail well (or the long-keelers do) but the sides and fore-deck are small so leading controls back to the cockpit to avoid going forward is advised.
For the size of boat the cockpit is reasonably spacious, comfy for a couple and sprog.
There are couple of weak points; the first being that most have lost their inboard engines if they ever had one. The normal set up is to have an outboard in a well which I found to be a pain. Without the hatch open (noisy) the engine is starved of air and will choke on its own exhaust. The alternative is to put the outboard on the transom which makes reaching it to start and engage gear interesting. In either case the outboard is fixed and steering is by the ships rudder. I don't know about the bilge keeler but mine would not go astern, the prop being behind the rudder.
Another potential weak point to look out for is sagging of the deck-head where the mast step is located. The deck is supported by the internal bulkhead which can fail due to water ingress at the top so it fails to give adequate support. This was worse in later versions which had cut-aways in the bulkhead for an open plan interior. The problem can be fixed, but why bother when there are planty of sound H22s about.
 
The mast gave way on our ancient hurley, and one other that I looked at had similar white crusty bits around fittings, so just be aware, as replacing it is disproportionately expensive.
 
The fittings on many of the old Hurley masts would have been s/s and possibly fitted with not much insulation, if you find a Hurley get the mast looked at closely. I guess a new mast would be between £1500 and £2500 depending on who you use, you may also need rigging so say another £500. The other problem will be the mast step, again if an old mast this will not match a new mast so some deck work may be required. A new boom between £300 and £500. Sails may also need work on, a new mast may not have the same track so new sail slides or bolt rope. I guess a toal for a new rig of 3 to 4k could be spent.
 
I have a 1969 Hurley22 bilge keeler and am generally pleased with her sea keeping though the accomodation is pretty cramped by modern standards. I mostly single hand so it isn't a huge problem With the prop behind the rudder she is a bit of an unpredictable sod for marina manouvering which can be entertaining for others although I'm getting used to her tricks now. The engine on mine doesn't choke if I shut the lid and the mast hasn't snapped either.
 
merlin3688 said:
The fittings on many of the old Hurley masts would have been s/s and possibly fitted with not much insulation, if you find a Hurley get the mast looked at closely. I guess a new mast would be between £1500 and £2500 depending on who you use, you may also need rigging so say another £500. The other problem will be the mast step, again if an old mast this will not match a new mast so some deck work may be required. A new boom between £300 and £500. Sails may also need work on, a new mast may not have the same track so new sail slides or bolt rope. I guess a toal for a new rig of 3 to 4k could be spent.
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May have been slighty over the top on the standing rigging price, phoned a friend who knows more about the Hurley 22 then I do, he say's the standard rigging size for the Hurley is 4mm wires apart from the Forestay which is 5mm, if this is the case then new rigging would be nearer £300. The standard rig I think has single lower shrouds and a babystay, not sure if all were rigged this way
 
Thanks for all the replies. I live on the North Kent coast and if I buy her (which I think I will considering your views) I will be keeping her on the Medway so figured the bilge keeler would suit me better. She's a 72 model, inboard has been removed, she needs alot of cleaning but everything is there with the exception of one spreader but I can have her at a bargain price as she's sat un-used in a yard for at least three years.

Thanks for the link Tommy.
 
If its a 72 model with original rig then almost certanly the spreader will not be available, mast is probably an old Proctor (now Selden). There could be a small cost to sort that out but if you are lucky it will be a round tube which can be purchased, the end itting may be more difficult, someone Sailspar may be able to help.
 
I had a 1968 bilge keel Hurley 22 for 7 years. They are great little boats which will do their best to look after you in most weather conditions you are likely to meet. Mine wasn't brilliant at beating into the wind but otherwise sailed and handled very well. Ideal starter boat.
 
merlin3688 said:
If its a 72 model with original rig then almost certanly the spreader will not be available, mast is probably an old Proctor (now Selden). There could be a small cost to sort that out but if you are lucky it will be a round tube which can be purchased, the end itting may be more difficult, someone Sailspar may be able to help.
Click to expand...

I bought materials to renew spreaders on mine when I next take the mast down as one is a bit wonky - it is 1 inch tube. I plan to put a bolt through the end to retain the shroud and trim it with a plastic cap. All the bits came from Trident Marine in Gateshead for about 20 quid.
 
I'm on the Medway. I'd say that the owners of bilge-keelers hardly ever dry them out on purpose except for scrubbing off so that advantage is mostly theoretical since a dock to lean against is easily found here. Mind you, my boats a skinny long-keeler and accidental groundings lean me over at about 30 degrees - only happened 3 times.
I know that Hoo Ness yacht club have some river moorings on trots available. Due to silting some of them might dry which is when bilgers would have the advantage. Good, friendly club and worth enquiring.
 
Stockers said:
Hello all, this is my first post and I hope I've put it in the right place.

I am considering buying a Hurley 22 with bilge keel's and would like to know what other people think of them before I commit myself.
Click to expand...

I've sailed both a b/k and a fin H22, both nice boats, very safe for their size, though cramped below. The bilge keeler is not that much slower than the fin, overall.
 
I had a bilge keel H22 for 3 years.
Overall I liked it, though I was soon ready to move on to standing headroom and an inboard engine. Refuelling a petrol outboard at sea has little to recommend it.
Fine for local pottering, less so for extended cruising. Forget all this built-like-brick-****-house-sail-across-the-atlantic ****e. As Sleightholme said, the sailor makes that happen.
With hindsight a Hunter Sonata would have been better.

I hope it is cheap and you are younger than 30. Otherwise you will need an understanding wife.
 
Spuddy said:
I know that Hoo Ness yacht club have some river moorings on trots available. Due to silting some of them might dry which is when bilgers would have the advantage. Good, friendly club and worth enquiring.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Spuddy. If I weren't already a member of the Medway Cruising Club I'd have been interested.

This Hurley is silly cheap and basically sound, yeah there's a lot of work to do but I'm not afraid of getting stuck into it over the Winter. Come April/May I reckon it'll be worth about £3k.
 
Auxiliary engines

Good boats, but they maybe suffer from wetted area drag & windage ?

When my boat, also 22' beat a Rival 34 home against a solid F6, the owner of the Rival - who was a serious sailor inc' ex National Champion on dinghies - commented " The Hurley 22 would have stopped dead in that " - he wasn't too chuffed about his 'Ocean Girdling Cruiser' coming second, either...

Nonetheless, they seem solid and have travelled long distances; my boat has an outboard well too, and I've never found it a problem ( maybe a different design avoided snags almost accidentally ?! ).

Talking of the outboard well, modern 4-stroke outboards may produce less smoke, but they are incredibly heavy to lift and stow ( and you will be stowing the thing on any decent trip, fitting a flush fairing plug, won't you ? ) 1 knot + advantage and better handling with the engine out, not to be sneezed at if one wants to make port before closing time.

I find a Mariner 5hp 2-stroke with a charging coil & remote fuel tank does the job admirably.
 
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