Various type of Catalina 22

[Sailboat101]

I am looking at a Catalina 22 for my first boat, My choices are Fin, Retractable, Winged Keel. Whats the difference. Do they all perform the same? Also I can't seem to figure out how fast does the catalina sail as compared to wind speed.

Thank you!

[BarryL]

Hello,

Fin keel is the standard fixed keel. Retractable is the swing keel. This allows for shallow draft with the keel up and decent sailing performance with the keel down. The last is a winged keel. This is a fixed keel, but with less draft than the standard keel.

For sailing performance, the standard fin will have the best performance. I would think that the swing keel would be second with the wing keel last.

To determine which keel is right for you, you need to answer a few questions:
1. Do you plan on trailering the boat? If so, the swing keel will be the easiest to launch and recover
2. Is there shallow water in your area? If so, the swing keel or the wing keel would be best
3. Are you going to leave the boat in salt water and you have shallow water? If so, the wing keel is best.

Your second question requires the polar charts for the boat. I don't have them, but I bet you can find them somewhere.

Good luck,
Barry

[MarkCK]

It seems like the majority of the 22's sold were the swing keels.

[kwaltersmi]

If you plan to trailer, you'll likely want the swing or wing keel. If you plan to keep her in a slip or on a mooring, the fin keel might make more sense. Where do you sail? What type of sailing are you planning? Based on you speed question, it seems you might be interested in racing, in which case a fin keeler will likely be fastest on the wind or close reaching. The swing keel might pick up some speed while running with the keel retracted.

[Sailboat101]

Hello BarryL,

Thank you for the insight! I will trailer the boat for now, as I can't seem to find an inexpensive slip for the boat. My experience so far is with fresh water however I am taking classes this weekend for deep-water sailing. I plan to use my boat in the Gulf of Mexico and hope to take a few trips to the Caribbean and Florida. My wife is hang-up on the Macgregor 26x for the flat bottom and because she likes the way it looks (Kinda fast looking even though it is very likely slower compared to a real sailboat). I just missed out a on a 1991 Catalina 22 that had a crazy looking keep. it looked like a Fin Keel but with a wing at the bottom and had a wing at the end of the keel. I really wish I had bid on it. Here is a link if any one can tell me what it is and if there a better keel option out there.

1991 Catalina 22ft Sail boat, Clean , No Reserve : eBay Motors (item 270563666554 end time Apr-21-10 14:28:47 PDT)

Thank you.

Originally Posted by BarryL

Hello,

Fin keel is the standard fixed keel. Retractable is the swing keel. This allows for shallow draft with the keel up and decent sailing performance with the keel down. The last is a winged keel. This is a fixed keel, but with less draft than the standard keel.

For sailing performance, the standard fin will have the best performance. I would think that the swing keel would be second with the wing keel last.

To determine which keel is right for you, you need to answer a few questions:
1. Do you plan on trailering the boat? If so, the swing keel will be the easiest to launch and recover
2. Is there shallow water in your area? If so, the swing keel or the wing keel would be best
3. Are you going to leave the boat in salt water and you have shallow water? If so, the wing keel is best.

Your second question requires the polar charts for the boat. I don't have them, but I bet you can find them somewhere.

Good luck,
Barry

[Sailboat101]

I am leaning towards a fin keel but am a little worried about drowning our mini van trying to get fin keel in the water. However this is just a guess. I also read for deep waters a heavier boat is better. The exact quote was "Longer is faster. Bigger is roomier. Heavier is more seaworthy." Would you agree?

Originally Posted by kwaltersmi

If you plan to trailer, you'll likely want the swing or wing keel. If you plan to keep her in a slip or on a mooring, the fin keel might make more sense. Where do you sail? What type of sailing are you planning? Based on you speed question, it seems you might be interested in racing, in which case a fin keeler will likely be fastest on the wind or close reaching. The swing keel might pick up some speed while running with the keel retracted.

[blt2ski]

"SOME" trailers have extend-able tongues, so once you get to the launch pad, you can extend the tongue some so you do not need to drown the boat. Now with that said, sailboat with much of a fixed keel will have a hard time launchng unless on a steeper ramp. Most of the time you need some kind of lift from a marina to put the boat in.

Then as far as speed goes, an email to catalina to see if they have polars for the C22 might be worth a try to see how fast they figure the boat will go in different wind speeds.

Marty

[Sailboat101]

Thank you Marty! I will try that.

Originally Posted by blt2ski

"SOME" trailers have extend-able tongues, so once you get to the launch pad, you can extend the tongue some so you do not need to drown the boat. Now with that said, sailboat with much of a fixed keel will have a hard time launchng unless on a steeper ramp. Most of the time you need some kind of lift from a marina to put the boat in.

Then as far as speed goes, an email to catalina to see if they have polars for the C22 might be worth a try to see how fast they figure the boat will go in different wind speeds.

Marty

[btrayfors]

The Catalina 22 is a wonderful boat and, I believe, the most popular one-design ever, with something like 17,000+ built. I had one for 10 years which I kept near my home, just to keep me from going crazy when I couldn't get to my big boat in the Caribbean.

That said, I think you'll find the swing keel is best if you're going to trailer the boat. Much easier to deal with than the fixed or wing keel. And, it has excellent performance, better than the fixed or wing keel when going downwind because you can retract or partially retract the swing keel.

You said you plan to cruise the Caribbean. I hope you're not thinking that the Catalina 22 is a suitable offshore boat. It's not. It's a great boat for day sailing and the occasional overnite in protected waters, and even for open waters in good weather, but a long-distance cruiser it is NOT. I wouldn't hesitate to take on on the Atlantic ICW, though.

Bill

[sailingdog]

If you're planning on trailering the boat regularly, go for the swing or wing keel. If you want to keep the boat in the water most of the time, then the wing or fin keel would be better options. If you can't find a slip you can afford, you might want to look at moorings. They're usually a lot less money and often many marinas will have a launch service to ferry you out to your mooring and back... however, owning a dinghy is a better choice if you're on a mooring, since you're not limited to the times you can go to and leave your boat.

As for the saying... longer is usually faster, bigger is usually roomier, and heavier is usually more seaworthy...but not always... When it comes to boats, there are no absolutes. For instance, my boat is bigger than a Catalina 27, but the Catalina 27 probably has more cabin space... my boat is shorter than a Catalina 36, but I can usually run them down without much trouble... etc..

Originally Posted by Sailboat101

I am leaning towards a fin keel but am a little worried about drowning our mini van trying to get fin keel in the water. However this is just a guess. I also read for deep waters a heavier boat is better. The exact quote was "Longer is faster. Bigger is roomier. Heavier is more seaworthy." Would you agree?