I am rather new to the Catalina 22. I have read many conflicting reports and articles about what I need for reefing and what I need for a head sail under various conditions. I plan to sail inland waters in Pa and surounding states. I want to be able to sail on days with 20+ mph winds. My sails are old and are due to be replaced. DO I NEED ONE or TWO sets of reef points??? I have both 110% and 150% jibs. If I the main is double reefed; what jib should I fly?? A sail loft said that a storm jib of about 30 sq ft is way too small for my type of sailing. The boat has to be balanced so I need to hear for those experienced sailors. What wind speed would I be maxed out at with a double reefed main and appropriate jib??? Above that the "iron jib" comes into use. Also does anyone have experience with National Sail or Atlantic Sail? I am looking for quality without a mortage!!! Thank you for your assistance!!! Boatlubber2
C-22 Sails: Where and When
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Small Sails
BL: Sailing in Rocky Mountain lakes sometimes requires small sails. Usually I get by with a single reef and the 110. A little stronger winds with gusts, I use the single reef with a "mule", ca 70. Sailing with no headsail also works, but control is lessened. I have only used my 30 once, the time a shroud failed and I was able to reach with it and no main, going a little downwind to docking. I suspect a double reef (which I don't have) plus the 30 would be good if you get into situations where you can't take cover and still need to hold off the rocks, though if the kicker starts its probably time to use it. Dick
BL: Sailing in Rocky Mountain lakes sometimes requires small sails. Usually I get by with a single reef and the 110. A little stronger winds with gusts, I use the single reef with a "mule", ca 70. Sailing with no headsail also works, but control is lessened. I have only used my 30 once, the time a shroud failed and I was able to reach with it and no main, going a little downwind to docking. I suspect a double reef (which I don't have) plus the 30 would be good if you get into situations where you can't take cover and still need to hold off the rocks, though if the kicker starts its probably time to use it. Dick
Doc "L" at Main Marina
40 days, everyone will be there! Any question you may have, any problem you may have can be explained, fixed, and demonstrated at Glendale's Main Marina dock "L".
40 days, everyone will be there! Any question you may have, any problem you may have can be explained, fixed, and demonstrated at Glendale's Main Marina dock "L".
Double Reef
Go for a Double Reef main sail. If you do not have it, you cannot use it. I just received my new Air Force main. The first time out, I put a double reef in with my 110, and Extreme handled great. Wild wind conditions require each Master/Skipper to choose the right combination of sails to get his/her boat to handle well. It may take a little trial and error (practice) to determine what sail combination works best for the conditions. Dry land sailors in West Texas sail in winds of 20 to 25 mph with gust in the 30 & 40s. Gusty winds make it tough to choose the best sail combo. If pleasure sailing, be conservative. If racing, be a little agressive with the jib, and conservative with the main. The main tends to knock a C-22 over. Well, have fun. I went out solo, Sunday, with my new main (full), and a 150, in crazy gusty winds, blowing like Stink. I took a beating, and was slow getting up the lake...too much power. David
Go for a Double Reef main sail. If you do not have it, you cannot use it. I just received my new Air Force main. The first time out, I put a double reef in with my 110, and Extreme handled great. Wild wind conditions require each Master/Skipper to choose the right combination of sails to get his/her boat to handle well. It may take a little trial and error (practice) to determine what sail combination works best for the conditions. Dry land sailors in West Texas sail in winds of 20 to 25 mph with gust in the 30 & 40s. Gusty winds make it tough to choose the best sail combo. If pleasure sailing, be conservative. If racing, be a little agressive with the jib, and conservative with the main. The main tends to knock a C-22 over. Well, have fun. I went out solo, Sunday, with my new main (full), and a 150, in crazy gusty winds, blowing like Stink. I took a beating, and was slow getting up the lake...too much power. David
Storm Jib
BL2: We do have a little storm jib that we use with our C-22. I will measure it for you if needed. I think that it is around 30 square feet. When we use it with a (single) reefed main, it really helps balance the boat, and reduces the amount of force required on the tiller, as you thought it would. I think that your sail loft is right, and I have thought that if I could do it again, I would like a little larger storm jib. I do think that a storm jib is a good idea, because our boat does not point well at all without a jib. Aldo
BL2: We do have a little storm jib that we use with our C-22. I will measure it for you if needed. I think that it is around 30 square feet. When we use it with a (single) reefed main, it really helps balance the boat, and reduces the amount of force required on the tiller, as you thought it would. I think that your sail loft is right, and I have thought that if I could do it again, I would like a little larger storm jib. I do think that a storm jib is a good idea, because our boat does not point well at all without a jib. Aldo
Please Measure The Storm Jib
Aldo, Please measure your storm jib. I want to purchase a storm jib, but I am do not want one too small. Currently, I am using a jib off a McGregor for a storm jib. It doesn't shape well, but works fairly well for a storm jib on my Catalina 22. I measured the McGregor jib, and it looks like it is about a 70% for my boat. I know National Sails has a storm jib for $150.00, but it doesn't have the measurements or percent listed on the Internet.
Aldo, Please measure your storm jib. I want to purchase a storm jib, but I am do not want one too small. Currently, I am using a jib off a McGregor for a storm jib. It doesn't shape well, but works fairly well for a storm jib on my Catalina 22. I measured the McGregor jib, and it looks like it is about a 70% for my boat. I know National Sails has a storm jib for $150.00, but it doesn't have the measurements or percent listed on the Internet.
Pennant
David: I'll measure it for you this weekend. I just got back from China on Saturday, and my internal clock isn't right yet. Anyhow, what I do with my storm jib is have a pennant, that is, a very high tensile piece of line with eyes on it, that gets the jib off the deck, so that the air from it goes onto the main. I know that one could say that by having it higher above the deck it would make the boat heel more, but it is just better up a few feet, because it stays drier, doesn't block the view, and as I said, puts air onto the main, to give a little more lift. Aldo
David: I'll measure it for you this weekend. I just got back from China on Saturday, and my internal clock isn't right yet. Anyhow, what I do with my storm jib is have a pennant, that is, a very high tensile piece of line with eyes on it, that gets the jib off the deck, so that the air from it goes onto the main. I know that one could say that by having it higher above the deck it would make the boat heel more, but it is just better up a few feet, because it stays drier, doesn't block the view, and as I said, puts air onto the main, to give a little more lift. Aldo
Storm JIb?
I have been using a McGregor 25 jib for a storm jib. My best estimate is it is about 82.5 square feet. Luff: 23.5, Leech: 19.1, LP 8.66 It works pretty good. I have sailed with it when the winds were gusting in the upper 30 to lower 40s (mph). I want to get a bit smaller sail, but I am not sure that I want a 30 square foot. I've hit several sail loft web sites, and it looks like they all recommend a 30 square foot sail for a C-22.
I have been using a McGregor 25 jib for a storm jib. My best estimate is it is about 82.5 square feet. Luff: 23.5, Leech: 19.1, LP 8.66 It works pretty good. I have sailed with it when the winds were gusting in the upper 30 to lower 40s (mph). I want to get a bit smaller sail, but I am not sure that I want a 30 square foot. I've hit several sail loft web sites, and it looks like they all recommend a 30 square foot sail for a C-22.
It measures ...
David: I measured my storm jib for you yesterday. The three sides measure 15 feet, 13 feet 3 inches, and 5 feet 8 inches. The area is 37.3 square feet. (I used a CAD program to determine the area). I reviewed this issue with my son, when we were measuring the jib. I told him that if I had to do it again, I would go bigger, but he asked if it balances the boat, and it pretty much does, but I still think that it could be bigger. I know that I thought about the sail's area a great deal before I had it fabricated. There must be a calculation that compares the size of the reefed main to a storm jib, and would give an equalivent balance of the tiller pressure. But, I do know that there are many variables involved in this calculation. I worked on this issue for a model radio controlled sailboat one time. The location of the jib relative to the mast is even a variable. I would think that a sailmaker could help you determine the best size storm jib to go with a reefed main. Otherwise, you would need a whole series of jibs to know which one would actually be the best one to go with a reefed main. Who could ever afford to do this trial and error? And, it would probably change depending on other variables, like wind speed, heading, fear, ect. The pennant (rope) on the bottom of our jib is 3 feet 10 inches long, but it is still adjustable, so the verdict isn't in on this length yet. I hope that you get additional replies. I would like to know the area of the storm jibs that other C-22 owners have. When I ordered mine storm jib, I was influenced by a friend who had a 28 foot boat, but used it offshore. That probably wasn't a good comparison, because we certainly don't use our C-22 offshore. If it gets too windy, we anchor to ride out the storm. I may be asking a similar question to yours in the near future, except at the other extreme. I blew-out our drifter last fall, and I may need to order a new one, and I will want to know the biggest drifter that I can put onto my boat. Aldo
David: I measured my storm jib for you yesterday. The three sides measure 15 feet, 13 feet 3 inches, and 5 feet 8 inches. The area is 37.3 square feet. (I used a CAD program to determine the area). I reviewed this issue with my son, when we were measuring the jib. I told him that if I had to do it again, I would go bigger, but he asked if it balances the boat, and it pretty much does, but I still think that it could be bigger. I know that I thought about the sail's area a great deal before I had it fabricated. There must be a calculation that compares the size of the reefed main to a storm jib, and would give an equalivent balance of the tiller pressure. But, I do know that there are many variables involved in this calculation. I worked on this issue for a model radio controlled sailboat one time. The location of the jib relative to the mast is even a variable. I would think that a sailmaker could help you determine the best size storm jib to go with a reefed main. Otherwise, you would need a whole series of jibs to know which one would actually be the best one to go with a reefed main. Who could ever afford to do this trial and error? And, it would probably change depending on other variables, like wind speed, heading, fear, ect. The pennant (rope) on the bottom of our jib is 3 feet 10 inches long, but it is still adjustable, so the verdict isn't in on this length yet. I hope that you get additional replies. I would like to know the area of the storm jibs that other C-22 owners have. When I ordered mine storm jib, I was influenced by a friend who had a 28 foot boat, but used it offshore. That probably wasn't a good comparison, because we certainly don't use our C-22 offshore. If it gets too windy, we anchor to ride out the storm. I may be asking a similar question to yours in the near future, except at the other extreme. I blew-out our drifter last fall, and I may need to order a new one, and I will want to know the biggest drifter that I can put onto my boat. Aldo
Sails And Reefing
IMHO We sailed our Catalina 22 and Now own a Catalina 25 Tall Rig. We have sailed BOTH with a storm jib and Double reefed Main. Remember it is ALWAYS Better to reef early prefereably at the dock. Sail this way in lighter winds before it gets crazy and you will have expierence with it. My Wife prefers 25 MPH winds to 5 MPH. We have also bought a sail from Sail warehouse and we were happy with it. Fair winds Alan & Eileen Catalina 25 "Leprechaun" TRSK
IMHO We sailed our Catalina 22 and Now own a Catalina 25 Tall Rig. We have sailed BOTH with a storm jib and Double reefed Main. Remember it is ALWAYS Better to reef early prefereably at the dock. Sail this way in lighter winds before it gets crazy and you will have expierence with it. My Wife prefers 25 MPH winds to 5 MPH. We have also bought a sail from Sail warehouse and we were happy with it. Fair winds Alan & Eileen Catalina 25 "Leprechaun" TRSK
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