General - considering buying a Catalina 22

[Larry]

I am considering purchasing a small sailboat, perhaps one of the Catalina 22 models. I am alone now and need to talk with a few people hopefully in the Phoenix area about handling a Catalina all alone (launching, stepping the mast, etc.). Please send a message with either an email address or phone number.Thank you

[dtsails]

Larry,You need to contact the C22 fleet at the Arizona Yacht Club. The captain is Steve Brown. They are a great, helpful, friendly fleet!http://www.arizonayachtclub.org/Racing/Catalina-22/index.shtmlAlso check out:www.c22region10.orgGood Sailing,Daviddumbo.torrisi.org

[Dick of Sylvan]

Larry: You might stop by Pleasant Harbor Marina at Lake Pleasant this Saturday at about 9:30a where a bunch of AYC C22's will be rigging getting ready for their 12:30 start of this weekend's regatta. You can see brute force, gin pole, and other mast raising tactics as well as launching with extended tongue trailers. Or on this Sunday early afternoon, folks will be taking masts down, etc. Most of the 22's rig near the sailboat shop and launch at the south ramp. Entry fee into the Marina is $6.  Rigging with two is easier than one, but one is possible with a gin pole or tripod. Sailing with one is fairly easy, except for setting and taking down whisker pole for wing on wing. A tiller tamer is very helpful for one. RK

[Captain 9330]

Sailing single handed is not difficult if you think it out and plan ahead. Same thing with trailering, stepping the mast and setting up the boat and the reverse process too.I built a mast crutch out of square tube aluminum and fashioned flat aluminum strap to mount a roller on top. I cut the straps long enough to fashion guides for the mast to center on the roller. With purchased pintles for mounting the crutch in the gudgeons and a pin with a bail to hold the crutch in a lowered position or a raised position, the crutch holds the mast at an angle high enough to be able to run the mast back and pin the foot into the tabernacle. I use a couple of dock lines to stiffen the crutch tying them at the roller and tying them off to the winches.Before stepping the mast be sure to check for overhead obstructions like trees and wires between where you can set up and the ramp. The mast is infinitely more difficult to set up afloat and alone I will not do it. Also a good time to extend the hitch and/or unplug the trailer lights.With the mast in place leaning back at a steep angle, I get the forstay and attach the upper sheet block of the main sheets to the thimble using the hardware that comes with the main sheet block. Then I attach the other main sheet block where the running line exits to the bow chain plate. I look around and make sure the standing rigging will not snag anything and set up the shrouds so they will not bind as the mast raises and the shrouds tighten. Forgetting this can add a bend in the mast and make raising difficult. Then I go and stand in the cockpit on the seats with the mast on my shoulder, the main sheet in my hand and start pulling the sheet with one hand and lifting the mast with my shoulder and other hand. With the lower block at deck level, releasing the sheet locks the line in the jamb cleat giving a moment to reset yourself. I added some hefty handles onto my companionway boards that I step on as I lift the mast and continue taking in the main sheet. Once you get on the coach roof the mast is about vertical and it will stand up nicely even if the main sheets go slack. Attach the forward lower shrouds and then take the main sheet block off the forestay. A quick release lever on the forestay is ideal at this point to connect the forestay and tension the rig. I also have smaller quick release levers on my forward shrouds.Lowering the mast only requires reversing the procedure. The only trick is to mount the main sheet with the lower block on the forestay so you can release the line from the jamb cleat to lower it. Sailing gloves and a good grip on the rope is the best way to control the mast as you lower it on your shoulder back into the mast crutch. Gravity is in control here so be careful and do not rush anything.I have stepped and unstepped my mast countless times this way and it has never been difficult or frustrating. Again, think it out and work out your procedure well in advance of actually doing it. Also remember to attach anything that is above arm reach (like a Windex) before running the mast back on the crutch roller because once it is up, you probably won't want to go through the procedure again until it is necessary.Launching the boat is similar. Plan out which side of the boat will be to the dock and set up your lines and fenders first before moving to the ramp. At the ramp do everything slowly, just like sailing- there are no prizes for speed and the compliments I get for my solo low speed maneuver are many (and those in a hurry I let go before me or I ignore them if they arrive after I begin). Have a 4x4 block of wood ready to block the front tire of your vehicle after you set the parking break and put the transmission in park. I have perfected a method where I open my drivers door and put the block on the ramp at a pre-determined point where the vehicle will be when the boat is ready to float free. The front tire finds it, the vehicle rises a little, I set the parking break and shift into park, then get out of the vehicle with the engine running.The first thing I do on the dock is connect the stern line to the last cleat on the dock- that usually leaves enough slack so I can undo the bow eye, pull back on the bow line and tie off the bow line as the stern line goes snug effectively taming the boat to the dock. Before pulling back, though, remember to crank up the keel from its rest on the trailer. At 550 lbs, the keel will remain firmly resting on the trailer and you will not move the boat without raising it. I have mounted a step on the winch tower so I can winch the boat and unclip the web strap from the bow eye with dry feet- albeit I am still quite nimble on my feet. Once the boat is secure, it is time to move the vehicle and trailer to the parking spot remembering to pick up the wood block as you pass over it- a screw eye in the end of the block with an attached line makes this easy too.Recovery back onto the trailer is just as easy, again reversing the process. To aid in centering the boat on the trailer, I have mounted two "spare" tires on the trailer frame so they guide the keel into the keel rest. There is enough room for two tires under the hull on the trailer and the best part is you have an extra spare if you need it.I'm interested to hear of any one else's single handing experience with what I have described. Would be nice to compare notes with anyone who has.