Thinking about buying a Catalina 22...any advise

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Little Star

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Hi

I have been a dinghy sailor for the last 10 years and now wanting to trade up to a trailer/sailer and inparticular a Catalina 22 (1991). Anyone one out there got any thoughts about this boat?

Thanks
 
Little Star said:
Hi

I have been a dinghy sailor for the last 10 years and now wanting to trade up to a trailer/sailer and inparticular a Catalina 22 (1991). Anyone one out there got any thoughts about this boat?

Thanks
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Sometimes called a Jaguar 22, even though american built.
Great little boat, basically a dinghy with a lid & good to sail, particularly ditch crawling -will sail on wet grass with plate up .
Check out the wire on the centreplate & replace if doubtfull, also the peculiar 'suction' heads system.
Where do you intend sailing?
 
Little Star said:
Hi

I have been a dinghy sailor for the last 10 years and now wanting to trade up to a trailer/sailer and inparticular a Catalina 22 (1991). Anyone one out there got any thoughts about this boat?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Not fammiliar with the Jaguar.
have sailed the Catalina 22, Great wee boat. Was definitly on my list of boats if I could find for right price when looking in size range.
 
Trailer sailer owning is an interesting compromise. I have found I think that it covers the best of all worlds of sailing. However you need a big (thirsty) car to tow it with. You need a decent ramp to launch and retrieve it and need the energy to rig before sailing and derig before going home. It can take half an hour to an hour.
On the other hand After some years of towing for sailing I got a swing mooring. This makes sailing a lot more convenient and I can bring the boat home each winter for maintenance. Maintenance is almost a joy when it is in your own yard. You do not need to tow a dinghy as you can usually get ashore wit plate up.
The down side of TS is that the boat will be light and so susceptible to head seas and a strain in strong winds. You need to get all your reefing options operable. Your outboard power is not likely to be too good in bad conditions. You need an adjustable height O/B bracket.
So I have had my TS slightly smaller for 34 years so obviously I think they are OK. I think your boat is also built as Sonata 22 in Oz and is quite OK for club racing etc. good luck olewill
 
Scotty123 is correct, also known as a Jaguar.

Unless incredibly cheap and in sparkling condition I'd think twice.

The main hatch is very big as it's an American design, they are not known for striking seaworthiness or performance, just adequate.

The twin keel version, unless I'm mistaking for a different design, has silly huge apertures in the keels, preventing them doing their job while increasing drag.

Much worse though, I have seen two of the lift keel versions on shore where the hull was so weak it had sagged all around the keel stub like a pudding, really !

Check this...
 
Make sure you're prepared for the aggro that comes with Trailer Sailoring. Driving to the water after getting your boat off the drive, putting the mast up, and then reversing into the water, then after a good hard day's sailing, doing it all in reverse!

It's quite physical work, and I lasted 4 months before I thought stuff this, and bought a mooring :-) I guess I still have the option now, if I want to go somewhere else, but it was just too much physical work after a day or weekend's sailing...
 
chrisbitz said:
Make sure you're prepared for the aggro that comes with Trailer Sailoring. Driving to the water after getting your boat off the drive, putting the mast up, and then reversing into the water, then after a good hard day's sailing, doing it all in reverse!

It's quite physical work, and I lasted 4 months before I thought stuff this, and bought a mooring :-) I guess I still have the option now, if I want to go somewhere else, but it was just too much physical work after a day or weekend's sailing...
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Agreed, trailer sailing is a pain in all sorts of ways, I have a 22' lift keel boat ( a bit more sunbstantial than a Catalina 22 ) and would never dream of trail sailing, except maybe to relocate to somewhere exotic out of sailing range, for a summer holiday.

Trailing home for the winter is not such a good idea as it sounds either, as unless one goes to the effort of adapting the trailer the boat will be sitting with keel retracted, preventing maintenance to the keel plate.

Get a half tide mooring ata club with a crane or hoist, and put her on high trestles over the winter - however see my earlier misgivings about the Catalina 22 design / strength...
 
Seajet said:
Scotty123 is correct, also known as a Jaguar.

Much worse though, I have seen two of the lift keel versions on shore where the hull was so weak it had sagged all around the keel stub like a pudding, really !
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Mine sits on it's trailer and the hull does sag a bit round the keel stub. Whist it annoys me, does this represent any more serious problem? Is it likely get worse?

Other than this I think the Jaguar 22 is a great boat, good active community of owners, and easy to maintain.
 
jag22 said:
Mine sits on it's trailer and the hull does sag a bit round the keel stub. Whist it annoys me, does this represent any more serious problem? Is it likely get worse?

Other than this I think the Jaguar 22 is a great boat, good active community of owners, and easy to maintain.
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With a hull that weak, I would worry about it gradually getting worse, and particularly if settling as the tide ebbs if there are any waves to bounce her on the bottom, though I'd never dry any boat, lift or twin keel, on a very firm seabed, always soft mud for me.
 
I've only owned my Jaguar for just over a year and whilst we have a lot of fun with her, I think in hindsight I wouldn't get a lifting keel boat like this again. There are too many worries about the keel pivot, cable, hangers etc.
 
Seajet said:
With a hull that weak, I would worry about it gradually getting worse, and particularly if settling as the tide ebbs if there are any waves to bounce her on the bottom, though I'd never dry any boat, lift or twin keel, on a very firm seabed, always soft mud for me.
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Making nasty slurs again Seajet!

My mate bought one a few years ago, against your obvious 'advice' & everything you stated is complete rubbish!
It is currently out of the water at Keyhaven & shows no sign at all of any 'saggy bottom' & the hatch is not huge. Its been in the water since purchase on a swinging mooring & in spite of the inclement weather, is as dry as a bone inside & as sound as a bell. Sails quite well & perfect for the Solent.

Catalina's, are well built & can be compared with a Westerly.
 
There was a thread recently where an owner of a Caravelle wooden lift keeler with a swing plate was in all sorts of trouble with the pivot pin, which on those boats can apparently wear half through in a season ! On most such boats it's usually fairly easy to access and change the pin.

On my boat the keel lifts vertically, no pivot; the wire is easily replaced, I do this every few years. The winch is a simple braked trailer winch, mine packed up a few years ago - it fails 'safe' down - but thankfully they're still available off the shelf.

I think it fair to say lift keels require a little more thought and effort than twin keels, though I've known plenty of those give the owners grief with weeping bolts etc, when one thinks of the loads on splayed keels it's toe-curling while a lift keel is a lot more elegant solution.
 
alant said:
Making nasty slurs again Seajet!

My mate bought one a few years ago, against your obvious 'advice' & everything you stated is complete rubbish!
It is currently out of the water at Keyhaven & shows no sign at all of any 'saggy bottom' & the hatch is not huge. Its been in the water since purchase on a swinging mooring & in spite of the inclement weather, is as dry as a bone inside & as sound as a bell. Sails quite well & perfect for the Solent.

Catalina's, are well built & can be compared with a Westerly.
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Not rubbish when I've seen two such catalinas myself and an owner confirms here.

I've had my Anderson since 1977 and have seen a lot of other lift keelers come and go at the club...

I'd like to see the Westerly you're comparing it to...:rolleyes:
 
Hello Little Star

I had a Catalina 22 for a few years and sold it recently to upgrade to a Catalina 36. My 22 was built in 1987, so a little older than the one you're looking at. American built and built really well. Like any boat they require maintenance and care. I replaced the keel cable and regularly monitored the keel pin.

I think the critical aspect is where you sail if. For me it was on the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, Australia. A very large expanse of protected water. The boat is suitable for bays and lakes. I definitely would not take it out in to open sea.

All Catalinas, including the 22, have fantastic web based support and you can get virtually any replacement by going to Catalina Direct via the web.

If you're wanting to take your wife sailing and she is new to the sport then a great boat. Will round up if too windy and can be sailed pretty flat in most winds.
 
Is it a Catalina 22 or the Jaguar UK built version you are looking at, if it's a 1991 boat I suspect it won't be the Jaguar?

Both are good lightish boats probably best suited to coastal hopping/day sailing in sheltered waters, what most folk want from a 22' boat really.
There are other boat options it depends on how big your vehicle is and how far you want to go to get about.

You don't use a trail sailer like a dingy, well I don't anyway. I keep mine on Windermere on a swinging mooring and have the option of draging her out and taking her somewhere else for a change of scenery for a cruise of a week or two. I can take her home for the winter too, if I want to.

Some folk keep them on a drive and do the cruise bit, sometimes involving a ferry. It is possible to have a long w/e away but there is some effort involved in towing, launching and rigging so that's up to personal preferance.

Where are you and where were you thinking of using as your regular sailing area?

Edit. I take it that you have found this site:
http://jaguaryachts.co.uk.g8seq.com/j22summary.html
 
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@Seajet: There was a bilge-keeled Jag 22 at our club until recently; it was one of a very few produced with bilge keels (and weighed more as a result) and didn't have keels with holes in. It did, however, suffer with a leaky keel on one side. Otherwise the owners were happy with it and owned it for about 7 or 8 years.

But to summarise: not as seaworthy as your Anderson 22 or as fast as my old E-Boat.

@Littlestar: The Jag/Catalina are pleasant, normal boats. A typical consumer product. You will enjoy sailing it and I'd recommend that, if you do, you keep it on a deep water mooring as it won't limit your sailing like a half-tide mooring will. Trailer sailing in theory is great but is actually a pain in the b*m as it takes a while to launch, raise the mast, rig and stuff. Seajet's waxing lyrical about A22s is worth listening to though, they are an exceptional boat.

You might also consider an E-Boat. Fast, seaworthy enough and reasonably priced. Buy a good one and you'll be very pleased with it. (but make it a GRP one, not a plywood or alloy one...)
 
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My first boat was a 22' lift keel boat - but rather more substantially built than any of the Catalinas I've seen. I believe the Jaguar version had slightly heavier lay-up than the US one.

Equally, my experience of the catalinas has been that they had a remarkable turn of speed (definitely faster than the Jaguar).

I never did use my boat as a trailer sailer (on the trailer it was just under 2 tons on a weighbridge), only trailed it home at season end, though we did cause a Brittany Ferries mate to pull his hair out when we trailed it over to the Odet for a fortnight's holiday. (He put us with the artics). It certainly didn't sail like an International 14, but used to cross the channel regularly from Poole, even coming back from Cherbourg in the Jubilee gale. Launching and recovery was an all-day affair.
We once slept 9 on it (mainly 6-11 year olds) and apart from X Channel, raced her (2nd in class Round the Island), two fortnight-trips to Devon, Cornwall and the Scilly. The designer did reprove me for taking her so far afield - probably because I'd just beaten him to the finish line...

Great fun, teaches one how to cruise (and to sail everywhere NOT rely on an engine).

PS the Catalinas (from memory) used to run rings around the Andersons in races - that may have had more to do with the helms...
 
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