FairKeel → Buyer's guides → Catalina 22
1969–1995 · designed by Frank Butler · built by Catalina Yachts
Frank Butler-designed trailer-sailer — the highest-production sailboat in the 20-30 ft range ever built. Designed as an affordable, trailerable, family-friendly weekender. Swing-keel variant is the dominant version (allowing draft of ~20" trailer mode / ~5' sailing mode); fixed fin-keel and wing-keel versions were offered for buyers who didn't need trailering. (The Capri 22 is a different boat.) Three production variants: Mark I (1969-1985), New Design (1986-1995), Mark II (1995-2010), and later Sport variant.
Check this first — two different boats and three production marks, none of which the name carries. The dominant version is a swing keel, drawing roughly 20in in trailering mode and about 5ft sailing, which is the whole point of the boat for most owners, and which brings a pivot pin, winch, cable and keel cavity to inspect that the other version does not have. Fixed fin-keel and wing-keel versions were offered for buyers who did not need to trailer. The Capri 22 is not one of them: it is a different Catalina Yachts boat (1984 onward, fractional rig, later sold as the Catalina Capri 22) and nothing here applies to it. On top of that, Mark I, II and III differ. Establish variant AND mark before applying anything below.
This is a general read on the Catalina 22 class — informed background, not a verdict on any individual boat. Condition, refit history, and how a particular hull was sailed and stored matter far more than class reputation. Use it to know what to look for; for a read on a specific listing, run a free FairKeel report on that boat.
The defining system on swing-keel Catalina 22s. Pivot pin corrosion can immobilise the keel or cause failure during sailing; winch-cable failure can drop the keel uncontrollably. Inspect: pin condition, cable condition + cable-end fittings, winch operation, keel cavity for corrosion / debris. Hauled inspection is the only way to assess.
For a trailer-sailer the trailer is integral to the use case + represents real $$. Bearings (typically Bearing Buddies — check grease + heat after a road test), lights (often LED retrofitted), tyres (check sidewall dates — 7+ year tyres should be replaced), frame for corrosion (especially on saltwater-launched trailers), winch + bow stop.
Catalina 22s are outboard-powered (no inboard option). The outboard is usually owner-supplied and condition varies enormously. A 6-9.9 hp 4-stroke (Tohatsu / Yamaha / Mercury / Honda) is the typical fit. Confirm engine hours, recent service, and that it runs in a barrel before purchase. Outboard alone can be of value.
Mast is deck-stepped + designed for trailer-stepping (mast goes up + down on every launch in trailer-sailer use). Check shrouds (often 1/8" or smaller wire), turnbuckles, mast tabernacle / step at deck, mast base for compression at the deck-step area. Rigging cost is much lower than a 30-ft sloop but inspection still matters.
This guide is the class. A report is that hull. Paste the listing you're looking at and FairKeel grades every claim in it against what's known about the Catalina 22 — where the evidence is thin, the red flags worth a second look, the costs likely to land in your first season, and whether the boat suits the plans you describe in a few short questions.
It won't read the photos or put a number on the boat — that's the $249 Deep-Dive, and for the real answer, a surveyor. It will tell you when a Deep-Dive isn't worth buying. Free, no account, usually a minute or two.
Run a free report on your listing →See something that doesn't look right? We'd love to know — email us about the Catalina 22 →