There's no short answer to this question. It depends on a bunch of factors on the day that your out sailing. I guess the 5 most significant factors I use for deciding when or if a reef is required are, wind speed (current and forecast), how the helm feels, number of people on board, what size headsail is up and how big the swell/ wind generated waves are. Another less tangible indicator is how my crew are feeling about the way the boat is handling the conditions, is it a novice crew or a experienced crew on board or how am I feeling about the way the boat is handling. The Catalina 22 is a relatively light weight boat and so sailing solo or with 1 or 2 friends does effect how much they heel as the wind stiffens. This also relates to your sail combinations. If you are using a genoa you will probably find that you start reefing the main earlier than if you are flying a 100% working jib. I usually select my headsail for the maximum forecast wind speed and then a little bit more. If the windspeed is going to be max 15 knots I'll use the genoa, it's over 15 to about 25 it's going to be the working jib and if its over 25 the storm jib. That being said I'll probably stay ay anchor if its over 25. The reason I start with the headsail selection first is that changing the headsail while sailing, in poor weather and rising winds is a wet and occasional time consuming experience. I've done it many times solo but try to avoid it. Obviously if you have a larger or smaller headsail this will affect how much main sail can be flown at the present wind speed. Also worth mentioning is the consistency of the wind. A 14 knot steady breeze is perfect for the genoa and full main. A 12-16 knot gusty day I would probably opt for the working jib and a full main. Next is helm feel. is the helm feeling heavy or neutral, how much is the boat heeling. Catalina's are pretty quick to tell you whats going on. If the boat is healing allot, say 20 degree and the helm is heavy, tiring your arm, its well time to put a reef in. That's not to say you cant sail Catalina's with that much heel, you just need to balance the drive of the sails. Keep the headsail sheeted in and sheet out the main. If the main is sheeted so far out that it is flogging its probably time to reduce both the headsail and main. All that being said I would probably start reefing the main above 15 knots. The best thing I can suggest is to get out on the water a experiment. Try it in an area where the wind can be strong but the water smooth as possible. A feature of the hull form of the Catalina 22 is that if you lay the boat far enough over, fully sheeted in and too much sail the rudder will lose its effectiveness and you will quickly find yourself head to wind with the sails flapping. I was never able to get any where near a knockdown. Waves change the equation a significantly. If the swell is 1meter or more (3.5feet approx) I will definitely reduce sail earlier to help keep the boat under control. Hope the above explanation is of some help
A pleasure to watch someone sail who knows what they are doing. Amazing how many videos show people without life jackets. Looks like the boat can handle plenty of weather with the right skipper. Thanks for the video.
Good call on the reef skipper. Nice to see people exercise common sense. I've passed people in a race with a reefed main, smiling as they couldn't believe I was faster then them with their full main heeling all the way over.
the vid is really cool mate they are a great sailing boat and carnt wait to take mine a Jaguar22 to the waves soon like the name too " Hot Chocolate !!!!
I also noticed your sail # is not far from mine, which is #8727. Very cool. I single-handed mine for the first time last week in our Sunday club races. I had to cheat on the jib though and ran a downhaul to make dropping it easier :-)
Thank you very very much for the detailed answer! I sailed the other day with a friend. We had one reef in the main, and a working jib on. the windspeed was around 14 to 16 knots with some harder gusts. And the waves were around 1m. Sailed 14 nautical miles in 2 hours and 20 min on a straight course and had an average speed of 6 to 6,5 knots so i guess i am not doing it all wrong. I sailed some as a kid, but just got my boat recently, and honestly im still very green, so your answer really helps me to get an idea about the rights an wrongs.! I will make a youtube channel myself soon, and let you know. Maybe you can drop a comment then and maybe give some corrections. Again thanks for the answer, and good winds to you. 😊
Just bought an 1988 catalina marina great shape pop top one big 19.8hp outboard, i usually have to throttle her back and need another transom possible wanted to set up duals inside is excelllent condition byond excelling riggin mass excellent the only thing is no batteries and lights and the breaker panel has to be competly redown and suggestions please??? >>Danny Cees boston MA constitution marina
raymarine st2000. it was good, but with such a small, light weight boat balancing the sails was key. as well as fixing the rudder to have a consistent foil section which helped prevent cavitation. and yes, i am sailing solo in most of the videos.
There's no short answer to this question. It depends on a bunch of factors on the day that your out sailing. I guess the 5 most significant factors I use for deciding when or if a reef is required are, wind speed (current and forecast), how the helm feels, number of people on board, what size headsail is up and how big the swell/ wind generated waves are.
Another less tangible indicator is how my crew are feeling about the way the boat is handling the conditions, is it a novice crew or a experienced crew on board or how am I feeling about the way the boat is handling.
The Catalina 22 is a relatively light weight boat and so sailing solo or with 1 or 2 friends does effect how much they heel as the wind stiffens. This also relates to your sail combinations. If you are using a genoa you will probably find that you start reefing the main earlier than if you are flying a 100% working jib. I usually select my headsail for the maximum forecast wind speed and then a little bit more. If the windspeed is going to be max 15 knots I'll use the genoa, it's over 15 to about 25 it's going to be the working jib and if its over 25 the storm jib. That being said I'll probably stay ay anchor if its over 25. The reason I start with the headsail selection first is that changing the headsail while sailing, in poor weather and rising winds is a wet and occasional time consuming experience. I've done it many times solo but try to avoid it. Obviously if you have a larger or smaller headsail this will affect how much main sail can be flown at the present wind speed. Also worth mentioning is the consistency of the wind. A 14 knot steady breeze is perfect for the genoa and full main. A 12-16 knot gusty day I would probably opt for the working jib and a full main.
Next is helm feel. is the helm feeling heavy or neutral, how much is the boat heeling. Catalina's are pretty quick to tell you whats going on. If the boat is healing allot, say 20 degree and the helm is heavy, tiring your arm, its well time to put a reef in. That's not to say you cant sail Catalina's with that much heel, you just need to balance the drive of the sails. Keep the headsail sheeted in and sheet out the main. If the main is sheeted so far out that it is flogging its probably time to reduce both the headsail and main.
All that being said I would probably start reefing the main above 15 knots. The best thing I can suggest is to get out on the water a experiment. Try it in an area where the wind can be strong but the water smooth as possible. A feature of the hull form of the Catalina 22 is that if you lay the boat far enough over, fully sheeted in and too much sail the rudder will lose its effectiveness and you will quickly find yourself head to wind with the sails flapping. I was never able to get any where near a knockdown.
Waves change the equation a significantly. If the swell is 1meter or more (3.5feet approx) I will definitely reduce sail earlier to help keep the boat under control.
Hope the above explanation is of some help
Woaooh ! C'est un véritable cours de voile, tant cette réponse détaillée que le vidéo. Bravo .... du Canada !
A pleasure to watch someone sail who knows what they are doing. Amazing how many videos show people without life jackets. Looks like the boat can handle plenty of weather with the right skipper. Thanks for the video.
Great video. I own a Coronado 25 & enjoy seeing how other small boat sailors handle their boats under sail. Keep posting those vids, please! :)
Great job with the reefing. You encourage me to single-hand my Catalina 22 more often. I love the color scheme on your boat too... very classy.
Like an older version mini Island Packet.
Oh what a totally fantastic video!! Man that did me good watching it and thank you so much.
Amazing video. I felt like I was there. I am looking to buy a Catalina 22 very soon.
Nice trip, thanks for your time.
Best Wishes and regards From Bahía Inglesa, Chile.
That's sailing !! great day !
I built a roller furler for my C22 and it makes solo sailing loads easier. Great job in this vid
This makes me miss the days sailing our C 22 in San Diego. She handled so much better in a blow when reefed, including greatly reduced weather helm.
That's great Paul, gotta love single handed sailing. Great way to find the limits of the boat...or yourself!
thats funny about the sail numbers
Great video, good sailing
Hi bud, Love the video. I want to get a 22 or 23 ft sailboat and really enjoyed watching you handle the winds there. Looks like a lot of fun.
Good call on the reef skipper. Nice to see people exercise common sense. I've passed people in a race with a reefed main, smiling as they couldn't believe I was faster then them with their full main heeling all the way over.
Happy man...
the vid is really cool mate they are a great sailing boat and carnt wait to take mine a Jaguar22 to the waves soon
like the name too " Hot Chocolate !!!!
Nice video man.
I also noticed your sail # is not far from mine, which is #8727. Very cool. I single-handed mine for the first time last week in our Sunday club races. I had to cheat on the jib though and ran a downhaul to make dropping it easier :-)
great boat and great video - your making it look too easy
Hi Paul, thanks for the comments. The boat is called Hot Chocolate......can't imagine why!!
Thanks guys. This one was a great day to be out sailing.
I use a Raymarine st2000. best thing I bought for the boat
Thank you very very much for the detailed answer! I sailed the other day with a friend. We had one reef in the main, and a working jib on. the windspeed was around 14 to 16 knots with some harder gusts. And the waves were around 1m. Sailed 14 nautical miles in 2 hours and 20 min on a straight course and had an average speed of 6 to 6,5 knots so i guess i am not doing it all wrong. I sailed some as a kid, but just got my boat recently, and honestly im still very green, so your answer really helps me to get an idea about the rights an wrongs.! I will make a youtube channel myself soon, and let you know. Maybe you can drop a comment then and maybe give some corrections. Again thanks for the answer, and good winds to you. 😊
At what windspeed do you reef the main? Just bought a 22ft myself, so i am curios!
how fast are you going looks like that wind is pushing you pretty decent,:
What is your self steering system?
Just bought an 1988 catalina marina great shape pop top one big 19.8hp outboard, i usually have to throttle her back and need another transom possible wanted to set up duals inside is excelllent condition byond excelling riggin mass excellent the only thing is no batteries and lights and the breaker panel has to be competly redown and suggestions please??? >>Danny Cees boston MA constitution marina
Your self steering is not too much energy consuming for such a 22 sailboat ? How do you recharge your battery ?
What sort of auto tiller arrangement are you using? It seemed very effective in a big blow - assuming you’re on your own?
raymarine st2000. it was good, but with such a small, light weight boat balancing the sails was key. as well as fixing the rudder to have a consistent foil section which helped prevent cavitation.
and yes, i am sailing solo in most of the videos.
Wrong...not near St. Maartans. It is in Australia
Would be good to tell us where Port Philip bay is.
I think it is near St. Maartans in Virginia Is.
Melbourne, Australia.
Great video. I own a Coronado 25 & enjoy seeing how other small boat sailors handle their boats under sail. Keep posting those vids, please! :)