Russ,
All Catalina-22's have 1/8" standing rigging. There were some of the early boats that had lighter forward and rear lower stays, but I'm sure those have, or should've been replaced many years ago. No Catalina-22 came with SS spreaders. The early boats had cast aluminum spreader sockets attached to the mast, but again, those probably were replaced by the stainless steel spreader sockets, all the spreaders have been aluminum tubing. The old aluminum spreader sockets were prone to cracking, and Catalina Direct has the upgraded ones, so don't base your decision on that, it's an easy fix. The original lighter masts that the racers like are more of an egg or tear drop shape. The newer masts were oval with flat sides, both the front and the rear of the mast are the same diameter. The older lighter masts allow the racers to bend the mast to flatten the main. Nobody stresses the C-22's like the racing crowd, and the lighter masts hold up well, and are in big demand. On a boat of that vintage your big concern would be wet, or rotten coring. Unlike many boats in the C-22 size, the deck is made up of an interior liner and the outside deck. Plywood coring was sandwiched between in high load areas. Boats that have been neglected, and, or not properly maintained, can develop leaks where the plywood coring becomes wet, which leads to rotting. Again, not the end of the world, but it all depends on how handy you are, and what the boat sells for. But one thing for sure, remember, it's always cheaper in the long run to buy a well maintained boat, than a neglected boat. Walk around on the deck, a grown man will not flex the decks when walking on them. Take a small hammer and tap the decks. Bad areas will sound hollow or dull. But that's just a WAG method, but a fairly good indication. The C-22 leak points are the mast step, chain plates, and bow fitting. Also look for water staining on the wood bulkheads in the cabin. In my opinion, If you look in the bilge and see mold accumulation, or a waterline, chances are the hull was filled with water for a period of time, leave and find another boat.
Good luck, they're GREAT boats, just like anything, you gotta take care of them. I enjoy two of them, and I've had 5 C-22's over the years.
Don
. at any rate, I'd like to know what the boat has when I look at it tomorrow. this one is a higher priced boat than I've been looking at up til now, so I will expect it to be in much better condition also, but we'll see. thanks for the tips.