Looking at buying a Cat 22, but these cracks?

[dbtfree15]

Hi there, brand new owner-to-be, and looking at some cat 22’s here in northern Idaho. I am looking one, 1984 Catalina 22, pop top, swing keel. Not a lot of upgrades. Gel coat looks to be in pretty good condition in most places and the top deck is solid, no flex or softness and sounds good. Very clean, wood needs refinished, needs some upgrades, but otherwise good. The hull seem sound, the o my thing is in the cockpit near the transom there are some cracks. They look mostly to be superficial gelcoat cracks. Pictures below. The gent selling it says he doesn’t honk they are a problem. He’s selling it for under $2500, with brand new motor, slip paid till October, new trailer.

These cracks look like they could be ground down, gel coat patch appli d, sanded and polished and be good to go. As long as transom is solid, good deal?

 

[w4swk]

25 years ago I moved to Texas from Southern California...bringing my Windrose 18. A couple years later I noticed little cracks like that. I found that a very very light wet sanding with 1200 paper would make them disappear without damaging the finish. I reasoned that they were just surface cracks. My speculation is that the boat was just getting older and had not been subjected to the cold weather we can get here (this is just a guess and is purely unscientific).

Ken

 

[rpludwig]

New motor and new trailer are worth that price sans boat! Get your checkbook out!

Your spider cracks are pretty typical for a boat that age IMO, my '84 has some here and there. Worst case your cockpit floor has some rot, you can cut the floor out down the road and replace as many here have done. Best case ignore 'em and go sailing (my method). You can also grind those out and fill, refinish if you have the inclination and patience.

Crawl underneath and take a look port and stbd under cockpit floor, look for signs of rot. Also suggest you post more pics interior, exterior, deck, maststep, keel, scupper plumbing, etc. Folks here will help and talk you thru most anything. Chk condition of sails too.

Budget 1-2k for upgrades and fixes first year or two (shouldn't be an issue given that you are already "dbtfree"!) Suggest you read a few years of threads here, you'll be up to speed in a hurry...helped me a bunch.

Welcome, good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Apex]

looks like typical gelcoat spider cracks. Not much to worry about IMHO. Overall the boat looks clean, G/L

 

[rpludwig]

...in the slip? or nearby, write the check subject to a sea trial with owner!

 

[dbtfree15]

New motor and new trailer are worth that price sans boat! Get your checkbook out!

Your spider cracks are pretty typical for a boat that age IMO, my '84 has some here and there. Worst case your cockpit floor has some rot, you can cut the floor out down the road and replace as many here have done. Best case ignore 'em and go sailing (my method). You can also grind those out and fill, refinish if you have the inclination and patience.

Crawl underneath and take a look port and stbd under cockpit floor, look for signs of rot. Also suggest you post more pics interior, exterior, deck, maststep, keel, scupper plumbing, etc. Folks here will help and talk you thru most anything. Chk condition of sails too.

Budget 1-2k for upgrades and fixes first year or two (shouldn't be an issue given that you are already "dbtfree"!) Suggest you read a few years of threads here, you'll be up to speed in a hurry...helped me a bunch.

Welcome, good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks, I hadn’t thought about crawling underneath like that. Will go back and see if I can. The cockpit floor and benches seemed really solid from the top, but I will go have a closer look. I will get some more pics.

 

[dbtfree15]

...in the slip? or nearby, write the check subject to a sea trial with owner!

Right now t is on the trailer an hour from the slip. I was thinking the same thing, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t wasting his time too.

 

[rpludwig]

Right now t is on the trailer an hour from the slip. I was thinking the same thing, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t wasting his time too.

lotsa benefit to doing so, if he's willing...I had our PO step the mast and connect all standing rigging as a condition of purchase (but on the hard), helped me a lot, as I had no familiarity with a C22...(launching and retrieving also a good learning experience)

 

[SVMOONDANCE]

Buy it! Spider cracks are an easy fix. $2500 is a good price for that considering a new motor and trailer.

 

[JRT]

Honestly just take it at $2500 that is a steal. You could sail this season and order new sails over winter and still sell for what you have in it.

 

[uralite]

If it’s the c22 at McDonald’s....write a check. If you don’t I will. Transom, deck, hull at cb trunk feel solid with tapping, so signs of delamination, gonna climb under and check board. Solid, metal, no signs of rust. Blue mast and blue cover right? Trailer a little surface rust and maybe some wheel bearing service and grease. Is spot at Bitter end or Mcdonalds? Either is a deal. The slip fees are probably 1/2 the asking price. Unless I’m looking at the wrong boat.. just re read original post which says 1 hour from slip. Oops. Looks the same as your pictures and has same gel coat crazing cracks.

 

[dbtfree15]

No it isn’t in the slip right now I don’t think. And doesn’t have a blue mast. Is there another one there? The slip is at bitter end, I think it is seasonal, through October.

 

[uralite]

There is a similar one, no for sale sign though. I made a dumb assumption.

 

[Displacesailor]

I see a bubble in the gel coat from manufacturing, no problem only appearance, normal stress point cracks from age, no problem, and some crack in bottom of cockpit that require a closer inspection. The cockpit cracks could be from people jumping into the cockpit and causing a stress crack or the sign of rot in the plywood under the cockpit. Those cracks need to be examined to determine if they are just surface cracks from something like dropping equipment in the cockpit or structural problem.
I WOULD BUY the boat, lightly sand the crack and fill them, paint the area and enjoy the boat. I doubt the cracks are a sign of a significant problem and if you keep water out of the cracks it is likely that they will not reappear.
CHECK THE KEEL PIVOT BOLT.

 

[Milton.Audas]

Agree with all above posts. Looks a great deal. You should however, take a thorough walk around of the boat, checking for imperfections, soft spots, or signs of hull and deck repairs. The star cracks in the gelcoat are cosmetic, likely just normal wear and can be easily fixed but not urgent (ie. get it in the water and sail). The cosmetic stuff can wait until winter haul-out (I take it that it gets a tad cool in the Winter months ??). Good idea to have the current owner get it rigged and preferably, take it out for a sail to get a feel for it, identify any quirky issues. look for evidence of water intrusion underway (leaks in keel trunk & lock and other below waterline fittings. Check out sail condition as well. Also gives impression you are an old hand at this stuff (maybe you are so added bonus is a free sail). I did that with my PO. End of day, he bought lunch and a beer and we worked out a deal. Boat has been a great addition to the toy box. Ideal boat for inland waters. Good luck mate !