Trailer Sailor/Lake Sailor

[cahow]

My Mac 22 trailors and sails well. I take a friend out for trips lasting 3 days and the accomodations though sparse are more than adaquate. I guess it's alll in what you want your boat to be.
You can come to Arkansas and sail with me if itll help you with you descision.

[SHNOOL]

I had a similar issue when I picked my boat. My criteria was a little more focused even... i wanted a simple non-swing keel. Which is why I have the cat capri 22. I also wanted something that had all the sail controls of a racer, but some comfortable overnighting berths.

But, in that price range... using the JIMMY as your tow vehicle constraint (as the JIMMY is an S-10 with a body), so you are probably limited to #4000 max.

Consider:
Cat 18 fixed keel
Cat 22 swing or wing keel
Capri 22 wing keel
Hunter 23.5 wing keel
Hunter 22 swing keel
Starwind 22
S2 (racer) - if you are only going to use the 1/2 ton truck
Mac (us sailors like to pick on the mac, but there are still a helluva lot of them out there)
Compac 19 (or 23 if you use only the 1/2 ton truck)
Precision 18 (or 23 if you use only the 1/2 ton truck)
J/22 is a pain to launch with anything other than 1/2 ton truck.

My wife and I do a lot of towing. We have horses, and of course the boat, plus we used to own a camper as well. Honestly the big deal with towing isn't really the weight, it is the surface area of the thing being pulled. IE: the boat sits high, and would significantly CLEAR the JIMMY, but the 1/2 ton (depending on model) would sit higher and scoop the wind better. Trust me you could be at half cap of towing for the Jimmy, if that boat sticks up high above it, it'll make trailering an unhappy experience.

Compac if you want a great cruiser
Hunter compromise of cruiser/racer lighter
Catalina compromise of a cruiser/racer light
Precision compromise of a cruiser/racer lightest
Capri/Starwind/S2 if you want more racer than cruiser
J/22 if you want a racer.

[LandLocked66c]

Be careful when selecting your trailer sailor. The most important thing to consider will be whether you can step the mast yourself. My 1970 Oday 23 is tralerable, but stepping the mast is another story!

[DRFerron]

Originally Posted by mdbee

Most of them get the classic models mixed up with the power sailers.

I had a 1972 (Mac) Venture 2-22, which was a sailboat, not one of the Mac hybrids. It was no frills with a sound hull. We stayed weekends on it.

[cahow]

Originally Posted by LandLocked66c

Be careful when selecting your trailer sailor. The most important thing to consider will be whether you can step the mast yourself. My 1970 Oday 23 is tralerable, but stepping the mast is another story!

I have to agree here. I had to learn to single handedly step my Mac 22 mast, I devised my own method but there are several out there to choose from.
One more thing I'll add is that a boat this size may work for you today but you may want to look a few years out to determine fit. Topside is where most folks want to be and a cockpit fills up pretty fast, that can be challenging on some points of sail.

[SHNOOL]

Agreed, raising the mast is a "challenge." Even mine isn't something I've done YET alone. However, it is my SINGLE GOAL. I am going to devise an a-frame to do JUST that.

Camping, can be defined a lot of ways.
For any trailer sailor make a list:
trailerability (swing, wing, centerboard, shoal, or fin keel)
camping ability (bunks, or ice box, or sink, or enclosed head)
speed (usually the better the camper, the less it is fast)
comfort (how stable a boat is)
Sailing ability (how well it points, how easy it is to single hand, how many controls for sails)

Then order them by priority. Likely you'll be surprised how each boat excels in one of the above more than the others... and if you set your priority ahead of time you'll know which boats are best matched for you.

Is what I did... It basically matched me with glorified day sailors, with fixed keels... It also lead me to wing keels (cause the fin is slightly harder to launch).

Hope that helps.

[Sailorman_glh]

With the right tackle and gear, I can singlehandedly raise the mast of my Catalina 22. It's the most popular trailer-sailor in the world for a reason. And Catalina Direct has all sorts of upgrades and gear that covers the boat from stem to stern. Parts are very much readily available. And used ones are inexpensive!

Regular cabin, or pop-top. Wing-, swing-, or fin-keel models are out there and each has their own idiosyncrasies.

Good luck in your search!!!

[Allen-deckard]

I decided on a boat and want to thank everyone for there input.

In the end I found a very nice well kept and equiped catalina 22.

One of the things that leaned me in the direction of the catalina 22 is the number of them out there and the number of manufactures out there that make parts aftermarket specifically for the catalina 22 and the amount of website forum support for that specific boat.

Yes I know very well that there are better sailoring boats there are much better made boats and the catalina 22 fits sort of in the middle somewhere. But for my first sailboat I really like all the info and support that I have out there helping me get things going.

Who knows what my next boat will be where I'll be putting it what size it will be or where my life will be taking me but for a first boat I just couldnt get past all the support that I found for the catalina 22 simply due to the shear number of them that exist.

Again thanks everyone for the suggestions some of them were right up there and an oday 24 was way close to being in my boat slip and I think it was a better boat but the deal went threw but in the end I'm kind of glad it did as I'm really happy with the boat I got.

Add to that the seller came down to my lake helped me set it up first time sailed around with me showing me how everything works for the afternoon and was all around a great guy and the price was low enough I'm pretty sure without much doubt that I could turn right around and sell it for a profit (which I have no intention of doing)

Anyway have been sailing nearly everyday for the last month give or take and havin a ball.

Thanks all and happy sailing.

[LandLocked66c]

Congrats! Great choice!

[DRFerron]

Originally Posted by Allen-deckard

I'm pretty sure without much doubt that I could turn right around and sell it for a profit (which I have no intention of doing)

It will turn over quickly when you're ready for the C30.

Consider joining the C22 owners association. Mainsheet magazine has lots of good technical articles.

Congratulations and continue having fun!