Catalina 22' Boats

[StuBone278]

In the classifieds, I see many Catalina 22' sailboats for sale around 2000-4000$. Although some are old, is this still about right? I guess I'd have to see for myself, but not having sailed before, that seems awfully cheap. Is there something about Catalina I should know about? Any help appreciated.

 

[Mark SF]

Re: Catalina 22' Boats

Nothing particular wrong with Catalina boats per se, though all older boats have their potential issues you should look for.

With any older sailboat the issue is not so much the purchase price, but rather the maintenance and upkeep, not to mention the cost of fixing any problems at the time of purchase.

What you have in the Catalina 22 is potentially a good starter sailboat, well suited to sailing in calmer seas and sheltered areas.

There's one rule when buying a sailboat - be very, very, very careful. Firstly that the candidate is in good shape, but also that it is the right boat for you.

If you have never sailed before I'd suggest getting some experience before you look at buying. Take a course and try crewing someone else's boat. That will give you experience and also help form an idea of what boat you want for what kind of sailing.

Factors :

Where you will be sailing
Conditions
How many on board?
For how long and how far? Daysailing? Around the world?
Trailerable or in a marina?

 

[lbdavis]

Re: Catalina 22' Boats

Mark makes great points. The most important of which IMO: be honest with yourself about how you *will* use the boat, not how you'd like to use it or how you imagine you'd use it. Get on some sailboats. Lots of 'em and ask the captain questions. We all like talking about our boats!

But none of this goes to answering your question.

Generally speaking Catalina would be the Chevy or Ford of production boats. Nothing wrong with them per se, it would depend upon what you wanted to use it for. The Catalina 22 was a wildly popular boat. I'm not sure how many where made, but it was a lot. That's one of the big reasons they are so cheap. There aren't a lot of trailerable sailboats that a couple could cruise for weeks with.

Going back to the first point, if weekending/short cruises with a trailer-sailer is what you're looking to do, a Catalina 22 at the proper price point is a great buy, IMO.

 

[jrs_diesel]

Re: Catalina 22' Boats

There are over 15,000 Catalina 22's produced so far. It is still in active production to this day by the original company, Catalina Yachts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_22

No other trailer sailer has come close in terms of numbers produced or the following that it has. I have an O'Day 22 (a very similar trailer sailer), and the company went out of business, and only a little over 3000 were made.

 

[StuBone278]

Re: Catalina 22' Boats

A trailer-able boat is what I'm looking for. I'll be using it on oxbows of the Mississippi and big lakes. I have no desire to take it offshore, I'm not quite that crazy yet. I'm not particularly looking for something for this much, just kind of intrigued. Thanks for the replies.