I live on Long Island and am relatively new to sailing. Current use a 15 foot dinghy sailboat and now want something bigger as a day sailor. I am thinking of keep on a mooring and trailer at beginning and end of season. What Catalina would you recommend? Is a swing keel safe on a mooring?
Sailboat Recommendations?
- Thread starter PConti2025
- Start date
I am new to sailing and most times my wife will be with me although some I may need to single hand the boat. I am a killer concerned with the swing keel - seized bolts crank handle and thought I read somewhere the winged keel fixed model is better suited for a mooring. Finally I am not sure if it is self bailing
A fixed keel is generally easier to deal with except for trailering. A swing keel can seize and it is a pain. For me, on a smaller boat a swinging keel would be preferred. As with everything, pros and cons. A Cat 22 cockpit is self-draining, it should have an automatic bilge pump for any water that gets in the cabin.
Catalina 22's are great, but there are a lot of other options in addition to Catalina 22's. If you only launch/retrieve it once a year, you can get some better features, more headroom, a heavier boat with a shoal keel/center board, or even a trailerable pocket cruiser.
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9 Best Trailerable Sailboats
Sailing is an excellent activity for the weekends, especially in remote mountain lakes or sheltered waterways. The United States is full of small isolated waterways, inland lakes, and rivers—which make the perfect environment for an adventure in a small sailboat. Unfortunately, many people are...
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The 10 Best Trailerable Sailboats of 2026 | Keel Index
The 10 best trailerable sailboats of 2026, ranked. The Catalina 22 is our Best Overall pick — live used prices, tow weights and named award picks for all 10.
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For those of us who have owned one the Catalina 22 meets each and all of those criteria! 
It's light enough to trailer, and heavy enough to keep on a mooring. It is stable to sail in heavier winds (4 years on SF Bay). It is roomy enough to sleep two comfortably, especially if you build the insert with the galley slid aft to make the entire dinette a berth and avoid the V berth - makes it more than camping. A pop top model also helps open it up when on the hook. We bought a 1981 boat in 1983 and it was still a good deal. Mark Is go for great prices are easily cleaned up if they only need elbow grease, and parts are readily available from Catalina Direct (even with CY closed down). Patrick Royce's excellent book, Sailing Illustrated, details the C22 and is a fantastic basic sailing book on its own, highly recommended.
It's light enough to trailer, and heavy enough to keep on a mooring. It is stable to sail in heavier winds (4 years on SF Bay). It is roomy enough to sleep two comfortably, especially if you build the insert with the galley slid aft to make the entire dinette a berth and avoid the V berth - makes it more than camping. A pop top model also helps open it up when on the hook. We bought a 1981 boat in 1983 and it was still a good deal. Mark Is go for great prices are easily cleaned up if they only need elbow grease, and parts are readily available from Catalina Direct (even with CY closed down). Patrick Royce's excellent book, Sailing Illustrated, details the C22 and is a fantastic basic sailing book on its own, highly recommended.
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I grew up boating on the Great South Bay. The bay is noted for being shallow with shoaling, a swing keel is an advantage in that kind of water.
All boats require maintenance and parts need replacing over time. The keel winch and cable are not for ever parts, they will need to be maintained and replaced. If you are looking at about that needs these parts replaced, then that should be factored into the selling price.
Wow thank you very much for taking the time to reply. Your recommendation are very much appreciated.
A Catalina 22 seems pretty ideal. I had an ODay 23 for many years that we liked because it had an enclosed head and felt a lot bigger, but they are harder to find. One recommendation, while it's important to make sure the mechanical parts all work - swing keel, outboard, especially - pay close attention to the sails. An awful lot of used boats are sold with rags, which add $3-5k to your purchase. Plus, old blown out sails reduce your enjoyment and increase your frustration.
PConti2025:
Your question has been asked and answered over 16,000 times. If you consider the fact that many times a boat has had multiple owners, I am sailing my second C-22 and to my knowledge, I am the third owner of this great little boat. So the actual number of people who have happily owned C-22's could be two or three times greater than the number of boats produced.
Regardless of which keel design you decide on, you cannot go wrong with a Catalina 22. If you've found a 22 in great condition, don't wait too long. Someone is going to buy that boat for sure but don't worry, there are a lot of C-22's available on the used market. These boats don't wear out, they just get passed to the next owner as we either out grow and move up in size or grow older and age out of sailing.
George
Your question has been asked and answered over 16,000 times. If you consider the fact that many times a boat has had multiple owners, I am sailing my second C-22 and to my knowledge, I am the third owner of this great little boat. So the actual number of people who have happily owned C-22's could be two or three times greater than the number of boats produced.
Regardless of which keel design you decide on, you cannot go wrong with a Catalina 22. If you've found a 22 in great condition, don't wait too long. Someone is going to buy that boat for sure but don't worry, there are a lot of C-22's available on the used market. These boats don't wear out, they just get passed to the next owner as we either out grow and move up in size or grow older and age out of sailing.
George
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Ok. If I was to use the boat moored on Long Island then trailer it to warmer climates in winter months would a single axle trailer be sufficient. Would I need to upgrade trailer? Bearing buddies better tires? I will post this same question in Trailer Sailor forum. I want to find a way to extend my sailing experience as I approach retirement
Please do not post duplicate or essentially duplicate questions in the forums. If a member does make duplicate posts one of them will be deleted.
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Answer is YES. Real issue is TIRE quality.
I would trailer our C22 four hours north from SF to Clear Lake, California. A friend of mine pulled his from Chicago to Florida at least three times. I had a standard two axle trailer that came with my 1981 boat, #10496.
I would trailer our C22 four hours north from SF to Clear Lake, California. A friend of mine pulled his from Chicago to Florida at least three times. I had a standard two axle trailer that came with my 1981 boat, #10496.
Having towed both my previous 1974 C-22 and my current 1988 New Design on long cross country trips on single axel C-22 specific trailers, I can say it sure is doable. You do need to have the correct towing vehicle (which is not, per your other post up to the task). My only long trip with Waffle House was with a one (1) ton [3500] vehicle and I needed to fastidiously employ my cruise control to maintain a reasonable and legal speed. I will also say that I am not planning any trips from our current slip on a regular basis. If I were to make frequent future trips I would prefer a dual axle trailer for safety’s sake but a single axel trailer which is well maintained with proper tires can sure make trips of any distance. Safety favors dual axel trailers. They are not a must have but, they are sure the better way to approaching long distance commutes.
George
George
Here is the sailboatdata information on 3 catalina 22’
Click on definition next to the different categorie for more information about the data
sailboatdata.com
sailboatdata.com
sailboatdata.com
Click on definition next to the different categorie for more information about the data
CATALINA 22 - sailboatdata
The CATALINA 22 is one of the most popular sailboats ever in anything close to this size,. 15,000 boats sold (2009) It has been built in different plants around the world..(Known in Australia as the BOOMAROO 22.) A fixed keel version introduced in the early 1970’s Draft: 3.5ft; Displacement...
sailboatdata.com
CATALINA 22 MKII - sailboatdata
Upgraded version of the original CATALINA 22, one of the most popular boats of this size ever built. Wing keel version draft: 2.5′. Swing keel: – draft: KU: 2.0′ KD: 5.0′ – displacement: 2,250 lbs – ballast: 550 lbs The CATALINA 22 SPORT was released in 2003. Originally it was to be called the...
sailboatdata.com
CAPRI 22 (CATALINA) - sailboatdata
Wing keel (most sold) version available. Wing keel displacement: 2,250 lbs / 1,022 kg Wing keel draft: 2.66 ft / 0.81 m Wing keel ballast: 700 lbs / 318 kg Tall rig: I: 29.0’/8.84m J: 8.16’/2.49m P: 28.0’/8.53m E: 9.75’/2.97m
sailboatdata.com
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