[155Palma]

All:

I''ve been presented with the opportunity to acquire either a Catalina 22 (with swing keel on a trailer) or a Bristol 22 "Caraval," both, for what''s essentially a dime and a prayer. Question is which one do I want? I live just outside of Boston. Which ever boat I get will be used primarily for daysailing with an occasional near-coastal cruise (out to Maine coast, Cape Cod, Mass Bay, maybe LI Sound, etc...).

The Bristol: She''ll need some work, but is on overall decent condition. She''s not really trailerable, so I''ll have to keep her in the water. Will likely need so extensive cosmetic repairs (along with some in-house rigging work). I heard that these are great sailing boats, but haven''t yet sailed one.

The Catalina: Needs some work too, but mostly just minor cosmetic stuff. I''m leaning toward this one b/c I can trailer it and just dump it in when I want to use it, but am hesitant about the seaworthiness/stability/sailing prowess of the swing keel, but I haven''t personally sailed on one.

So my question is: as between the two, is the Bristol significantly more seaworthy or in any way "better" than the Catalina so as to make up for the inability to (easily) trailer?

Thanks in advance!