Catalina 22 Keel Configurations

[John Marrone]

Looking for some clarification regarding Keel configuration. There are too many conflicting draft depth explanations and would like some simple help
I am looking at a 1994 Catalina 22 Wing Keel versus at 1987 Swing Keel. Are the draft depths 30" for the Wing and 24 or 18" for the Swing Keel?
I have passage to the Gulf West Coast of Florida with low tide tables and believe the swing keel is a better boat due to the frequency of low tide obstructing our route to the boat channel and out to sea.
Any thoughts......................

 

[sail sfbay]

Interesting research project. That question also came up on this thread (4) exact specifications for Catalina 22 Wing Keel | Sailboat Owners Forums This reference Catalina 22 - Wikipedia sites the keel variations:

Original Catalina 22 introduced in 1969 has a 5.0 ft draft with centerboard down and 1.67 ft retracted
Catalina 22 "New Design" produced 1986 - 1995 has an optional wing keel and reportedly 2.5 feet per (4) exact specifications for Catalina 22 Wing Keel | Sailboat Owners Forums
Catalina 22 Mark IIT produced 1995 -2004 has a 3.50 ft draft with standard keel, 2.50 ft with shoal draft wing keel and 5.00 ft with centerboard extended and 2.00 ft centerboard retracted,

 

[Gene Neill]

I have passage to the Gulf West Coast of Florida with low tide tables and believe the swing keel is a better boat due to the frequency of low tide obstructing our route to the boat channel and out to sea.

You are correct.

BTW, the rudder will usually strike bottom before the keel. So make sure any boat you look at has a kickup rudder, and familiarize yourself with how to use it. And never venture into thin water on a falling tide.

 

[LakeShark]

If your sailing for fun and dont have the boat stripped down for weight then a swing is closer to 2 foot retracted with the wing being 2.6 feet. @Gene Neill is correct the rudder will strike first on the bottom. If the rudder is removed and the wing settles on sand it can suction down a bit and be a bear to get doing again.

Stability for cruising and lack of maintenance are wins for the wing for sure. Pointing and ease of shallow water launching are wins for the swing.

The real question is will you really be trying to sail / traverse a channel where 6 inches or so would make the difference? my wing anchored safely for the night in very shallow water is only waist deep. with waves and current changes not sure i would go much shallower.

 

[Gene Neill]

On the gulf coast of Florida, six inches can make a HUGE difference. It gets stupid thin here.

 

[LakeShark]

On the gulf coast of Florida, six inches can make a HUGE difference. It gets stupid thin here.

I have only sailed in Pensacola bay in Florida so my knowledge is limited at best for gulf waters. Still up north here we have these dredge things. You gulf boys might want to look into it for a channel or two . Or I suppose you can just let the next tropical storm shift the sand.... Yeah our lakes may be frozen 6 months out of the year but it does have its benefits.

Still undersail with a falling tide sailing with less than 6 inches of water underneath the keel would be a hugh pucker factor for me.

 

[Gene Neill]

I have only sailed in Pensacola bay in Florida so my knowledge is limited at best for gulf waters. Still up north here we have these dredge things. You gulf boys might want to look into it for a channel or two . Or I suppose you can just let the next tropical storm shift the sand.... Yeah our lakes may be frozen 6 months out of the year but it does have its benefits.

Still undersail with a falling tide sailing with less than 6 inches of water underneath the keel would be a huge pucker factor for me.

Holy crikey, I would never sail through water that thin, let alone on a falling tide! And marked channels aren't the problem, they're USUALLY at least two feet deep ... although not always! We found that out the hard way last Christmas.

But there are vast areas of beautiful, secluded rivers, coastlines, and anchorages that can only be accessed by squeaking over some thin stuff. These are the magical places we love the most, and if you can get there, you usually have them all to yourself. You might easily find a beautiful 9' anchorage with a 2' entrance ... and the next anchorage might be many miles away. Other times, many hours/miles can be saved by short-cutting across some thin areas. And some launches are very dicey/unusable even with a 2' draft.

So yeah ... inches do matter! A lot!