First time sailor buying a 1979 catalina 22, Questions?

Question

my partner is interested in buying in 1979 Catalina 22 sailboat I'm a little concerned with the expensive part of it, docking it and trailers we don't have a trailer and he's interested in using it and storing as a sailing home and of course using in sailing during summer there is a possibility we may move down south or potentially Hawaii.

now neither I nor my husband have any training in sailing prior however our family does own boats we are concerned with the condition of the boat considering it is being sold for a very fair price. however the owner says it is completely in great condition, what would be easy things to look for and reliability of this boat, I've heard they are easy to capsize is this true and how hard is it to learn sailing through this boat?

ultimately this can be a life changer and I am considering the cost, docking and insurance and liability fees would this be a smart move, we're both very young and still have time to play

Answer 1

The Catalina 22 is a very good starter boat. It is trailer-able and you should be able to find a used trailer for a few hundred. I'd recommend that you carefully inspect the boat and sails, but I'd be surprised if there where any real issues. They are well built and reliable.



The Catalina isn't easy to capsize and lot's of people learned to sail in one. I'm not sure about your reference to using the boat as a sailing home. It's to small for a 'live aboard" but you can weekend, even though it's a little cramped.



You can take it with you "South" but it isn't worth shipping to hawaii. It would cost several times what you are paying for it to ship.



Insurance should be below $75 a year, (State Farm). So the biggest expense would be slip fee (docking) for the summer. Even that isn't to bad for a 22 ft. boat. I would store on a trail or blocked up over the winter. If you really want to live aboard, winter isn't the time to start, and you need to pick a bigger boat. The Catalina 27 is very nice. There are lots of slightly older 30 ft. Sailboats on the market at give away prices.



I hope I've been helpful!

Answer 2

Catalina 22 Review

Answer 3

Catalina 22 Sailboat

Answer 4

Quite a good starter boat to learn on. Not a good prospect for a long term live aboard boat mainly due to its lack of headroom (unless you are less than 4ft tall ).





If you plan to spend long periods on the boat I would recommend something a little bit bigger, at least 25ft. My wife and I and two small children lived quite happily on a 25 ft sailboat (a Snapdragon747 ) in the Mediterranean for six years.



Smallest boat I have sailed across the Atlantic was 22 ft.



Smallest boat to sail around the world was 17ft 6 inches (Shane Acton in Shrimpy)



Until recently my partner and lived on a 29ft C & C for 3 years in Newfoundland. Very safe boat. In 2007 I was caught in a hurricane (60 ft waves & 150 kmh winds) for 5 days on the Grand Banks. Boat was damaged but didn't capsize.



You can teach yourself to sail, in fact Shane Acton (see above ) had never sailed a boat before he set sail around the world. And that was in the days before gps etc! Excellent book, worth reading.



You could take some sailing lessons or you could read all the books you can find, buy a boat, kit it out with all the safety equipment you can afford, find a nice safe bit of water and go out and learn from your mistakes. I have been sailing for 40 years and have crossed the Atlantic ocean over 30 times delivering or racing sailboats and I am still learning from my mistakes.



Warning.



Sailing is highly addictive!

Answer 5

You don't give much info that we can help you with. Price, keel type, condition, equipment, etc. If you are going to get into sailing you should learn the costs for mooring, hauling, storage, trailer if you are going that way. You can learn sailing in local clubs or hire an instructor for you boat in some areas. The catalina 22 is a good boat when found in good condition. Get a knowledgeable person or marine surveyor to check out the boat. The Cat 22 is a good safe boat. If you get into sailing take some lessons and take some safety training (EG US POWER SQuadron).