222 windward ability
The only thing I can tell you about the 222 windward sailing ability is; Years ago we anchored in an area outside of Menemsha at Martha's Vineyard, and sat out a storm for the night. It was pitch dark and I had my wife and youngest son with me on the trip. I didn't want to chance going into the narrow entrance of Menemsha Pond. I had raised my centerboard for the night as I always do when I anchor and we spent a bumpy night on the hook. In the morning, the wind was still blowing and the sea was still running, and I had to claw my way out of there. As I was beating out, I couldn't understand why I wasn't gaining any ground, until I noticed that I forgot to lower my centerboard, which I did promptly. I can attest to the fact that the centerboard really made a difference that morning, and we pulled right out of there in good fashion. Anyway, yes--- the 222 O'Day has a better windward sailing ability and is faster than the O'Day 22, only because it has a different shape hull and a centerboard, but that doesn't mean that you can't have fun and enjoy your 22. Let's face it,-- the "J" boats are faster than my 222 and they probably point higher, but there is a trade off for that luxury, and I'd rather stick with what I have. What it all boils down to is, maybe your boat fails on windward sailing ability compared to another boat of it's size, but it gains better accommodations in the cabin and cockpit. I've raced my 222 against an O'Day 25 and 26 keel-centerboard cruisers, and beat them both in that race, but when I see the cabin accomodations in these boats I get a little envious. O'Day built a lot of 22s so they must have been a popular boat at that time.