Trailer for a Fin Keel?

[RichardSprince]

Hi,

Looking at purchasing a Catalina Capri 22 with a fin keel. It's already in the water, and does not come with a trailer.

Three questions:
Can I find a trailer for this used? I priced a new one, and they are over $5,000, with a 19 week wait.

It sounds like it's hard to get it on a trailer, if you have one. I am getting an equipment guy to take it out of the water and bring it to me on his trailer. But I am a newbie. Am I going to be able to manage this myself?

The only marina I found who would lift it out charges $420. Am I going to have to pay this every time I need the bottom painted? And how often do I need to do that?

Thanks in advance!

R.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

I'm afraid so . The swing keel version of the Catalina 22 was made specifically to overcome this concern. A used trailer is going to be at least $2k . If you are in Florida the saltwater has likely corroded the inside of most trailer frames . Local knowlegde of the undergrowth will dictate how often your boat needs to be hauled for a bottom job .Too many variables for most folks to say for sure .
If it were my money ,I'd look for a sailboat already on a trailer ."Most " ramps in Florida are very shallow . This means you may well need a crane to launch or a trailer extension .
If you decide to go with a shoal draft or a swing keel you have a whole lot more options .There is a lot of skinny water in your state .

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

The Catalina 22 and Catalina Capri 22 are two different hulls. The swing keel Catalina 22 can be launched using the Catalina Sport 22 trailer at shallow ramps in Florida but not so with a Catalina Capri 22 with a fin keel. I would suggest looking at other boats.
I am a retired sailboat dealer who use to display both the Hunter and Catalina trailerable sailboats simultaneously at the Annapolis Boat Shows.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

While I agree that in this case it's probably better to look for a different boat, here's how it works with bottom paint. You haul out, marina power washes the marine growth and barnacles off the bottom, you finish what the power washer couldn't get off, sand down if necessary, put on a few layers of bottom paint, relaunch and clean every X weeks. The more layers of bottom paint you apply the longer you can go between haul outs. Most bottom paint is ablative which means its made to wear away over time. Trailer sailors aren't in the water long enough to build much growth. Most of us ditch the trailer for a slip after the first year or two. It's simply too much work and time unless you've really streamlined things. Consider how many times you can haul out for the cost of a trailer before making a decision

 

[Apex]

check this site, $3500 trailer in great cnodition in MO. $14k lb gvwr may be overkill though. Also fb marketplace. Saw a trailer around $1k. for pearson 26 just this morning.

 

[RichardSprince]

While I agree that in this case it's probably better to look for a different boat, here's how it works with bottom paint. You haul out, marina power washes the marine growth and barnacles off the bottom, you finish what the power washer couldn't get off, sand down if necessary, put on a few layers of bottom paint, relaunch and clean every X weeks. The more layers of bottom paint you apply the longer you can go between haul outs. Most bottom paint is ablative which means its made to wear away over time. Trailer sailors aren't in the water long enough to build much growth. Most of us ditch the trailer for a slip after the first year or two. It's simply too much work and time unless you've really streamlined things. Consider how many times you can haul out for the cost of a trailer before making a decision

This is complicated. So, the boat I found is a 2001, and is really clean. It looks new. And, its a fin keel. I have had discussions with people, it seems the consensus is the fin keel performs better. I have a dock space available where I live. As far as hauling it out, none of the marinas near me said they could do it. Either they only do power boats on their fork lift, or else there was one marina with a travel lift that they said was too big for a 22 ft. sailboat.

I did find a marina that can do it, but it is 17 miles away on the Miami River. So, sailing there sounds like a big challenge.

I think what you said about more layers of bottom paint to go longer without painting sounds interesting. Also, there are small islands near me where I could get very close shore, and clean it periodically. At least, this is what some people have said they do.

 

[Leeward Rail]

Further to what @Project_Mayhem said..

We have a 1987 Catalina 22
We started using a slip, but the trailer was great for the ability to do maintenance at home and launch any time without booking crane time when they were busy.

As to paint life. There are cheaper bottom paints that are single season. we used one for our C22 that we kept in a slip. They can't be exposed to air for anything but a short time. Which in practice means that anytime you haul and trailer the boat, it would need to be painted.

If you don't keep the boat in a slip, you need to use multi season paint.

Paint life overall depends how many coats you use, the local marine growth conditions, and fresh vs saltwater.

@Gene Neill lives in FLA, and actively trailers his Catalina 22, so he would be likely able to enlighten you on boat ramps and bottom paint conditions in the area.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

Some paints need to be splashed after drying but it's generally not an issue. Just read the datasheet/instructions for each one. I have a large 25' sailboat and the marina had no issues moving it with their forklift. You can also take the mast down so it's essentially a power boat. Should be pretty easy on a 22'

 

[Epic1969]

I have a trailer with a Santana 21 on it. The Santana filled with water 2 winters ago (I was working on the West Coast all winter) when I came back to check on it I found drain plug clogged and a foot of water/ice in to. Hull cracked about 5’ due to weight on bunk. The trailer can hold the 3.5’ keeled boat easily. I am in NE Ohio.