Bristol 22

[johnsys]

Hello:

Are there any other Bristol 22 owners out there? I've recently taken ownership of a '72 Bristol 22 and would like to hear from other owners.

Thank you!

John

[marycalisurveys]

My family owned a Bristol 22 for years, cruising from Norwalk Conn to Martha's Vineyard and back.

Solidly built, yet responsive under sail, it has all the basic amenities you need for cruising. It's also a fun day sailer and we did some racing with it (and a HUGE genoa jib that we rigged up like a spinnaker going downwind).

One of my favorite boats of all time. Eventually I'd like to find one to buy.

It's small, but a delight to sail. Enjoy!

[johnsys]

marycalisurveys:

Thanks so much for your reply! I'm so looking forward to sailing around Narragansett Bay next summer in my good old boat..

Happy Holidays!!

John

[marycalisurveys]

Oh, this boat is perfect for Narragansett Bay! With its shallow draft, you'll be able to explore all the "nooks & crannies" of the bay, and its cabin is great for weekend overnights.

One hint - we had custom cushions made for the cockpit seats, making it much more comfy seating, and sleeping out under the stars in nice weather is awesome!

I live in RI, so I'll be down at the shore watching for you and your Caravel next summer!!

Happy Holidays & a Healthy New Year

Mary

[MABristol22]

Hi. I'm up in Boston, and I bought a 22' Bristol made near the end of the cycle, in 1976. It's great sailing.

The cabin is very small, and not much deck room, but the tiller is very responsive. I have fixed keel, draft of 3'6" and in and around the few Boston Harbor islands I have to be careful, but she's way easy to handle. Bought mine a couple years ago, and been slowly fixing her up, not that she needed much. The jib sail is huge, and mainsale smaller than I expected, but you get used to it. I have the original alcohol stove, works great, and small icebox and sink. None of the electronics are original however, and I'm looking to put new lights on her, this year.

Maybe we can meet over by Cape Cod Canal, sometime! Cheers.

Yvette

[Camsail]

I bought Bristol 22 almost 2 years ago here in the San Francisco bay area. She was in sound but cosmetically tired condition. The boat sails very well in the big tidal and wind conditions we have. I am a relative novice with just a few years sailing under my belt, but feel very secure sailing her in the slot between the Golden Gate and Berkeley where we have a reliable sea breeze consistently above 16 knots during the summer. The Bristol needs a moderate breeze to move along compared to the fin keel Santana 22's of similar size and weight which are more common here - with only 206 sq ft. of sail a big genoa is good standard equipment, but around here the 130% furling jib the previous owner put on my boat is just fine.

I have gone a bit crazy restoring her and at this point have all the lights, hardware bedding, port lights and minor defects corrected. Biggest lesson I've learned is about the port lights: if you want a dry boat inside, replace them. The thru-bolted design is very leak prone and the cabin liner makes it difficult to pinpoint the origin of the leak.

Other than that, this small Bristol is a remarkably sturdy, serviceable, and easy boat to sail.

[TheMaltesePigeon]

I have just bought a 1975 caravel 22 and in RI too. I have started the full on and restore, and so glad I found this thread. I hope I can make in the water this summer and plan on keeping her at the port Edgewood marina. One question though for the owners in this thread, can anyone point in a direction where I can find mast spreaders? Also, if anyone could email pictures of the running rigging (specifically the boom connections and rigging) it would so greatly appreciated!

[TheMaltesePigeon]

Sorry I forgot any pictures of the mast boot and how it is stepped would be wonderful as well thank you!

[Camsail]

I would try Rig-Rite for the spreaders. They seem to have a great variety of this type of hardware. Rig-Rite Inc. - Masts, Booms, Spars, Rigging, and Hardware for Sailboats.

I'll try to take some pics of my set up, but there's really nothing that exceptional about the Bristol 22's rigging setup. The only challenge I have run into is leading the halyards back to the cockpit using blocks mounted to the cabin trunk, due the relatively narrow clearances between the hand rails on the cabin trunk and the companionway hatch. The bolts for the halyard lead blocks leading away from the mast fall very close to the bulkhead inside the cabin. If your mast is not set at the moment, it may be better to get a mast plate and attach blocks directly to it.