Different keels for 22'

[Steve Cooper]

The specifications for C 22 lists keel displacements of 550,650 and 700 lbs.Which keels go with each weight? I know there is a swing keel, wing keel and isthere a fin keel? I am just starting to look for info on this boat and need to learn a lot! Interior layout: Is there a dinette layout and also a settee layout? Do all 22's have pop tops? Thanks for your input!Steve Cooperemail: sloop46@yahoo.com

 

[Brad]

Swing Keeled '22s

Steve,My 1972 C-22 swing keel is listed at 550#. The interior of my boat would be the dinette version (I think) since it has a table and benches fore and aft of the table. The dinette is on the port side. I'm thinking a settee version didn't show up until much later in the production...like into the 90's versions.Also, being an earlier version, I do not have a pop-top...can't remember when Catalina introduced that feature either.I hope this helps. I have enjoyed the '22 greatly. It is a fun little boat with a lot of good qualities.Good Sailing!Brad.s/v Worthless Crew1972 C-22 SK

 

[Ed P. C-22 S/N 13106]

Keel Types

Steve,The swing keel is 550, the fin keel 650, and the wing keel 700. The wing keel is probably the stiffest of the C-22's although most folks say it doesn't point as well as the swing or fin keel. Personally, I think the wing keel is the best compromise. It's realitively easy to launch and recover, almost as easy as the swing keel, and has a shallower draft than either the swing or fin keels.If I had to do it over, I'd opt for the wing if for no other reason, just to save on the headaches of maintaining the swing keel.Hope that helps.

 

[tomD]

why there are three

I think there are 3 keel types because of the waters in which they sail and the boatlaunch requirements (or not). Think about where you are sailing. for instance, coastal ocean would favor fin or wing but lakes/reservoirs really favor swing keels

 

[Brad]

Not all have poptops

And the poptop is really nice to have if you spend any time in the boat at all.Get the poptop enclosure (a new one costs about $200, so shop for a boat that comes with one if you can).I've sailed wing keels for years....wouldn't leave home without one.Brad

 

[Aldo]

Swing Keel's Good Points

If you read this forum long enough, you will be horrified about all the things that you read about the swing keel's on the C-22. I know I have been from time to time, and I have had mine for 22 years. There are some great advangages to the swing keel, but no one ever writes about them. You can get into very shallow water with one. Also, if you do run aground, one of your crew simply goes into the cabin, backs off the locking bolt, winds up the keel a few turns, and you are back on your way. We sail our boat on the Chesapeake, which has plenty of shallow areas. Earlier this summer, we sailed out of a town called St. Michaels, and headed north toward a creek where we had never been before, leaving at sunset. The question was asked by others in our fleet, which keel we had? Our answer was a swing keel. They replied that we would be fine, and that we would bump a few times, but that we would find our way into the creek and be fine. They were right. We did bump several times, wound the keel up and then back down a few times, but anchored in the creek and were fine for the night. If we had a fin keel, or a winged keel, we never could have even attempted this. So, don't just rule out a swing keel because the people with the winged keels love them. Also, I should mention that with the swing keel down, the keel goes down 5 feet. If you look at a swing keel, you will see that it it much wider at the bottom than at the top. This is a great thing and gives good righting, yet the keel is still the lightest of the three. I also am rather sure that it pitches less than the winged keel because of the depth of it's weight. The only problem we have with our swing keel is that it doesn't hold the bottom paint year after year. The new ablative bottom paint lasts several years on our hull, but in tests I have done, I have not been able to get ours to stick to the keel for more than one year. If I coat the keel with some type of epoxy, I will solve this problem, but I have not yet undertaken this job. So Steve, consider carefully where you will be sailing, to decide which keel will be best for you. Aldo