Sailing Links & Opinion Page

Sailing Links

Trailer Sailor Page – A great site for technical tips, advice and ideas.

Catalina 22 Owner’s Association – National site for Catalina 22 Owners.

Catalina Direct - Popular third party retailer of Catalina 22 parts.

Catalina Owners- A new and interesting site for Catalina Owners

Champion Trailers – Everything you need for your trailer, build them from scratch too!

Catalina Yachts – Check out what’s new at Catalina Yatchs. Dream about your next boat!

Rhodes 22 Site – This is your trailer sailor when money is no object. A beauty !!!

Sailnet - See the "BoatCheck " section for comments about various makes & models.

Sunfish Site - A site dedicated to those fun little boats.

Opinion Page

Every body has opinions, and I thought I would share some of mine for those who may be interested.

Thoughts about my Catalina 22

Most people like their boats, and I would consider myself no different. I like mine, that’s why I bought it. Based on my experience with it so far, this is my list of pro’s and con’s.

Pro’s

• Appearance
• Interior layout
• Rigging is fairly substantial
• Swing keel - allows me to get into shallow areas, yet puts the ballast down low while sailing.
• Fully equipped - my particular boat has the full trimmings (life lines, swim ladder, slide-away galley, etc.)
• Functional & uncluttered
• Lots of Storage

Con’s

• Could be a bit bigger (overall length is 21’ 6’’; interior would benefit from a little additional length).
• Boat is somewhat slow (287 PHRF), theoretical hull speed is just under 6 knots.
• The boat would be a bit stiffer with more ballast. The fin keel model has about 150 lbs more ballast than the swing keel.

Every one who has seen my boat has been very impressed with it. The boat has performed very predictably, and has given me no surprises.

Buying New vs. Used . . .

I am more of an advocate of buying a used boat instead of a new one. This may not work for the next person, but it works for me for the following reasons.

• Lower investment $$$.
• Usually the previous owner has given the boat what it needs in terms of practical additions. If you buy new, its all up to you to figure these things out and add them yourself.
• The ‘newness’ has worn off, and you can see what the boat really looks like.

Water Ballast ???

I'm not a big fan of water ballast boats, even though there are some reasonable WB boats around. My take is that in order to achieve sufficient righting moment with water ballast, you have to carry around a lot more weight than with traditional ballast in the keel (see my Water Ballast Page). This effects sailing performance as the boat is a heavier object to move around.

Typically, the manufacturer tries to compensate for excessive weight by designing in less ballast, which leads to a 'tender' boat. The compromise of these two extremes is often a boat that is slightly heavier than a traditional keel boat, and is also more tender. Some WB boats are actually lighter than their lead ballasted counter-parts, indicating an altogether different approach to design and construction.

I prefer a weighted keel versus a water ballast boat.

Other Boats I Like . . .

There are lots of boats out there. These are some of my favorites.

• Chrysler 22 & 26 - solid boats
• Catalina 25 - More room than my 22.
• J24 - fast
• S2 6.9 & S2 7.9 - well built, fast, bring close to shore. Maybe my next boat.
• Ranger - not many built, but has a loyal following
• Alerion Express 28 - fast, beautiful

follow on to "the final chapter" - selling the boat.