Garage, Galley & Hangar
Catalina 22
Pre-purchase inspection kit

Catalina 22

Every documented weak point for this model, in the order to check them, plus the general inspection, the sea trial, the haulout and what each finding costs to put right.

$19One-off · instant access
  • 93 checks, 10 specific to this model
  • 17 repair-cost reference lines
  • Printable, or works on a phone with no signal
  • $19 credited if you buy the full volume later

Already bought it

The Catalina 22 is a cheap, mass-produced trailer-sailer, so on this boat you are usually your own surveyor. Settle the keel question first, then work the boat and its trailer top to bottom with these model-specific checks.

What you get

Part 1
Before you go
7 checks
Part 2
The first ten minutes
5 checks
Part 3
Catalina 22: the documented weak points
10 checks
Part 4
System by system
39 checks
Part 5
The sea trial
6 checks
Part 6
On the hard
6 checks
Part 7
What findings cost
17 cost lines
Part 8
Questions for the seller, and the documents to ask for
6 checks
Part 9
Nine reasons to walk away
9 checks
Part 10
Making the offer
5 checks

Three of the 10 model-specific checks

These are free, and always will be. The kit has all 10 for this model, plus 83 general checks covering the fast screen, every system, the sea trial and the haulout, 17 repair-cost reference lines, and the walk-away list.

Confirm the keel type first: swing, fixed fin, or wing

About 90 percent of C22s have the cast-iron swing keel, and it carries nearly all the boat's real risk, so a fin or wing boat skips most of the dangerous list.

Crawl under and count the swing-keel hanger boltsSafety

These bolts are the last link holding the keel on, and owners have found sheared 5/16-inch bolts and even empty bolt holes, so confirm all four are present, tight, and unrusted.

Rock the swing keel side to side to check the pivot pin and hole

The cast-iron pivot hole corrodes and wallows out (elongates) on boats that sit, and side play means a worn 1-inch bronze pin or an egged-out hole.

Read all ten free checks

Straight answers

Is this a substitute for a surveyor?
No, and it does not try to be. A professional survey is what your insurer and your lender will require, and you should buy one. This kit is for the trip before that: deciding which boat is worth paying a surveyor to look at, and walking aboard able to see what is actually in front of you. It also makes you a far better client, because you will know what to ask the surveyor to focus on.
What form does it come in?
A web page built for the job: checkboxes, note lines, and a print layout that comes out clean on paper if you would rather carry it. It works on a phone in a bilge with no signal once the page has loaded. No app, no account.
Are the cost figures reliable?
They are broad US ranges at yard labour rates, and the kit says so on the page. They exist to tell you whether a finding is a $500 problem or a $30,000 problem, which is the decision you are actually making on the dock. Get a local quote for anything you intend to negotiate on.
What if I buy the kit and then buy the book?
The $19 comes off. The kit price is credited automatically against the digital edition of Catalina 22 at checkout, so nobody pays twice for the same research.
What if I do not end up buying this model?
Then it did its job. Most of the value in a kit like this is the boats it talks you out of, and the general sections, the sea trial, the haulout and the walk-away list apply to any boat of this era.

Take it aboard this weekend

Instant access. If it does not tell you something useful about the boat you are looking at, reply to the receipt and we will refund it.

$19
One-off · instant access

The full Catalina 22 volume  ·  What to bring  ·  Free tools