Racing a Catalina 22: anyone have any experience?

[Doug Lord]

I may be able to race a Catalina 22(as skipper) and am wondering if anyone has any info on the boat, tuning "secrets" etc. It will be something like once or twice a month for awhile depending on my time,etc. Any information would be appreciated.

Catalina 22 Specifications

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-Mark II Models
Mark II (1995)

LOA (Length Overall) 21'6"
21'6"

LWL (Length Waterline) 19'4"
19'4"

Beam 7'8"
8'4"

Mast Length 25'0"
25'0"

Displacement 1943 lbs. - 2643 lbs.*
* Testing done at 1989 Nat'ls
2290 lbs.

Masthead To Waterline 29.1 ft.
Head Room, Pop-Top Up 5'7"
Head Room, Pop-Top Down 4'4"





Fin Keel
Swing Keel
Wing Keel

Draft, Keel Up n/a
2'0"
n/a

Draft, Keel Down 3'6"
5'0"
2'6"

Ballast 700 lbs.
550 lbs.
500 lbs. (Mark II)
650 lbs.


Pre-Mark II Models
Mark II (1995)

Sail Area (100%) 212 sq. ft.
205 sq. ft.

I (Foretriangle height) 25.83'
25'10"

J (Foretriangle base length) 8.00'
8'0"

P (Mainsail luff) 21.00'
21'10"

E (Mainsail foot) 9.66'
9'8"

[jehardiman]

If it has an outboard, move it off the transom and forward of the trunk.

Where are you sailing and are you going/is it rigged to use a 'chute?

[BriggsMonteith]

You might call Waters sails in Lexington South Carolina for a tuning guide....He's a class sailmaker who has also done extremely well in the class.

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by jehardiman

If it has an outboard, move it off the transom and forward of the trunk.

Where are you sailing and are you going/is it rigged to use a 'chute?

----
I assumed it has a spin but we didn't talk about it. And I didn't realize until I looked up the specs that there are three keel configurations!
Thanks for the suggestions.

Update: spin yes, swing keel or fixed keel raced together.

[SuperPiper]

Hey Doug. I'm not familiar with the Catalina 22, but I sailed a C-25 for a couple of years. I didn't race it.

My experience with small cruisers is that they may not be rigged for racing. They are designed for easy family sailing. For example, the vang may only have a 3:1 or 4:1 advantage. Add a simple cascade and double the power of the vang.

Watch for that dreaded forestay sag. A little extra shroud tension may give you the edge in upwind pointing. You probably don't have backstays.

I've found genoa cars that simply did not line up with jib sheets. There may not be enough travel forward. You may need to add a strop on the foot of the jib to raise it for the genoa cars.

These sound like obvious adjustments, but you may be surprised just how 'un-tuned' the boat may be when you get on it.

[SuperPiper]

Oh, and good luck, sailor. Go get 'em!

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by SuperPiper

Oh, and good luck, sailor. Go get 'em!

---
Thanks-I'll give it a shot if it all comes together. First boat I ever raced was a keelboat-19' gaff headed Fish Class---long time ago......

[bruceb]

Doug, several of the southern winning C-22s are based at my sailing club. The class rules are tight, but details do matter- a lot. Start with a very early boat (they are lighter), fair and shim the keel, and use a well faired, fixed rudder. The rig tuning details are available on the Cat 22 forums. There are some special "tricks", contact me private for more details. It is a slow but very active class, have fun. B

[jehardiman]

Originally Posted by Doug Lord

----
I assumed it has a spin but we didn't talk about it. And I didn't realize until I looked up the specs that there are three keel configurations!
Thanks for the suggestions.

Update: spin yes, swing keel or fixed keel raced together.

The 22's don't like to be sailed with the transom in the water and the older ones like to be be sailed rather flatish. I haven't sailed a new one, but the older boats in SF Bay conditions were just as fast with a light 170 or 190 and whisker pole as they were with a kite, and had a better PHRF rating. If you do use a kite, make sure it has twings, which really helped the older boats stay on thier feet. Check the compression strut in the cabin, often a problem in heavy wind conditions like SF Bay.

Edit. Noticed in the class rules that the OB must be on the mount...I raced PHRF in the 80's in one and it really helped to get it off the transom. Class rules specify a minimum weight on the transom so this may be a regional thing, in SF Bay it wasn't about minimum weight, but getting the weight in the proper place.

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by jehardiman

The 22's don't like to be sailed with the transom in the water and the older ones like to be be sailed rather flatish. I haven't sailed a new one, but the older boats in SF Bay conditions were just as fast with a light 170 or 190 and whisker pole as they were with a kite, and had a better PHRF rating. If you do use a kite, make sure it has twings, which really helped the older boats stay on thier feet. Check the compression strut in the cabin, often a problem in heavy wind conditions like SF Bay.

Edit. Noticed in the class rules that the OB must be on the mount...I raced PHRF in the 80's in one and it really helped to get it off the transom. Class rules specify a minimum weight on the transom so this may be a regional thing, in SF Bay it wasn't about minimum weight, but getting the weight in the proper place.

======
Thanks, Jehardiman. I started racing when I was about ten and raced the Fish class which was the Gulf Yachting Association's excuse for a "trainer". I'm actually glad I had the experience learning to race a gaff rig and understanding what the throat and peak were. I then raced Windmills and US1's for years. Raced as crew on a 28' E scow, an FD and a Thistle as well as(once) on the foredeck(upwind) of an ocean racer.
The point to all this is that with my very, very limited spinnaker experience I never heard the term " twings".
What are they?

PS- I've spent more time designing the spinnaker system for these models than sailing a "real" spinnaker. As far as I know, these models used the first production spinnaker system ever available on a model. Expensive but fun(like so many things...):

click on image:

[BriggsMonteith]

Twings are the control line that control the angle of the spinaker sheet fore and aft, and gives a more outward trim angle usually to help keep the pole down while reaching and from putting pressur on the shrouds, on a boat as small as a catalina 22 you could probably get away with some reaching hooks.

[jehardiman]

Originally Posted by Doug Lord

======
The point to all this is that with my very, very limited spinnaker experience I never heard the term " twings".
What are they?

As Briggs states, twings are lines lead from the clews down and in are are mostly found on small boats with small light poles without seperate sheets and guys. On the windward (guy) side they function similiar to a pole downhaul, on the leeward (sheet) side similiar to a barber hauler. Big uses are to control leech twist and to choke the chute down in windy choppy gybes. The masthead 'chute without twings can get away and up on you in chop which can lead to a wipe out.

[Doug Lord]

Thanks guys. I get it now.

[CutOnce]

Originally Posted by Doug Lord

Thanks guys. I get it now.

5o5s use a similar system for trapeze twings - they actually have two trapeze attachment "locations" on each side of the mast - one at the original "lower" position where all 5o5 original (pre-long luff) spinnakers had their trap wires attached, and a new "higher" attachment point used to control mast top bend (preventing mast inversion) with the much more powerful long luff kite.

When going upwind, the lower position is used, and when the kite up up, you use the higher position. The lower position works when the twing is tensioned and the trap wire now applies the load in the original position, and when the trap twing is released all the load goes to the top attachment point. You don't want to have the trap load high going upwind, as the Vang/mainsheet load is already bending the mast enough.

There are a bunch of schemes to semi-automate the 5o5 trap twing settings, depending on kite position. Spinnaker twings on the Catalina would be entirely manual.

I'm really happy you are going to get on the water in the Catalina 22.

--
CutOnce

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by CutOnce

I'm really happy you are going to get on the water in the Catalina 22.

--
CutOnce

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If it works out the C22 seems like it would be fun to race but there is only a 50-50 chance of it coming together. I spend a lot of time on the water as it is testing and sailing for the fun of it but I love to race-this could be a real blast.