The Catalina 22 MarkII was introduced in 1995 as a major redesign of the venerable Catalina 22 sailboat, the defacto standard of the mid-size trailer sailor class manufactured by Catalina Yachts since 1969. Built thru 2010, the MkII design makes for a larger, more comfortable cockpit and cabin which also features a lifting pop-top and sliding companionway hatch. Eight inches added to the beam takes it to 8'4" just 2" below the maximum legal limit for towing, and with the one man mast raising system and swing or wing keel configuration, this makes it the quintessential trailerable cruising sailboat.

This beautiful 2007 22' Catalina MKII, #15618, was purchased Feb. 18, 2010 from the original owner who only had it in the fresh water Columbia River 3 times... so it was absolutely like new. Many options were included and many custom tweaks added. The boat has a wing keel, making it extremely stable on the water and easy to tow on a trailer behind our Lincoln Aviator SUV and our magnificent new Gulf Stream Motor Coach. The Anne Marie came fitted with a Yamaha 8 HP 4-stroke outboard motor, more than enough power to motor along at hull speed of about 7 kts in and out of the harbor or when the wind drops off.

During our first couple summers, we sailed Fernridge Lake in Oregon, the Columbia River out of Portland, OR, and one of our favorite spots, Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho, pictured at the right. We keep her stored indoors in a climate controlled warehouse for the winter months. Plans for spring/summer 2012 with our two sailing westies, Gracie and Corey, include Canyon Lake in Central Texas, the month of May at Oregon's beautiful Fern Ridge Reservoir in Oregon, Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho, Lake Okanagan in B.C., Flathead Lake in Montana, and Bear Lake on the Idaho/Utah border.

This great trailerable cruiser came with a long list of options. Those options include a Wing Keel, CDI Roller Furling 150% Genoa Jib, RayMarine ST-60 Tridata Speed/Depth Gauge, Stainless Steel Lifelines, Lewmar self tailing chrome Winches, Yamaha T8DPLH 8 HP high thrust 4-stroke outboard motor (pictured at right) with electric start and power tilt, a galvanized Trail-Rite trailer and a lot more. On the options page, we have included some additional photos showing some of these options that our boat came equipped with. With all these options, we priced the boat new from Catalina Yachts and then bought it through an ad on Craigslist for half price.

After some consideration, I opted to purchase a new tandem axle Trail-Rite trailer right from Trail-Rite in Santa Ana, California to replace the single axle trailer it came with. Then I sold the single axle trailer on Craigslist. For long distance hauling, there is no substitute for a tandem axle trailer. One major disadvantage to the boat was the stern mounted main sheet traveler. Just one rigorous sailing session with that and I decided that had to go. So I relocated the traveler to just in front of the companionway entry, a huge improvement. Another important tweak was tuning the shrouds. This is a tricky procedure, best accomplished with a Loos Gauge. I have carefully documented the process of Loos Gauge use here.

The cabin of the Catalina 22 MkII is comfortable and spacious while still leaving a generous 6' 6" long cockpit area with lots of storage aft underneath the benches. With the extra wide 8' 4" beam of the Catalina 22 MkII, the area below decks is roomy enough for a full v-berth area forward along with a porta potty, as well as a central cabin area with dual facing convertible settees, small dining table and a slideout galley with cookstove and sink. Add full floor carpeting, cushions, privacy curtains, and padded overhead, and it makes a fairly sumptous interior for a 22' boat. Mouseover the photo at the right for an enlarged photo of the cabin or click here for a dual photo.

The Catalina 22 enjoys the longest production run of any modern sailboat, now in its 44th year! Click on the image at the right to see the color brochure from Catalina Yachts for the Catalina 22 MkII. The brochure contains multiple pages of information and background on the beautiful Catalina 22 MkII including full specs, options list and diagrams. You can read more about the long history of the wildly popular Catalina 22 in this 61 page brochure in PDF format, the "40 Year History of the Builder, the Class and the People who Love this Boat" prepared by Rich Fox of the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association.

As a windsurfer for 25 years and a sailor for most of my life, I have long held the sentiment that the wind is the "breath of God", and for me, there is no more spiritually satisfying place to be than at one with the wind. In support of this, it is well documented that the ancient languages, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, all used the same word for wind, for breath, and for soul. My wife shares this sentiment and as we begin what is sure to be a lifelong love affair with this fine vessel, we find it an exceptionally fitting choice to cruise the open waters as we tow it behind our Motor Coach around this great country in our golden years.

At the right is our first photo of the Anne Marie under sail... her maiden voyage on the Columbia River out of Richland, Washington on Feb 17, 2010, the day we picked up our new girl. Ain't she a purty thing! It was a gorgeous late winter day with a light breeze, perfect for testing out the new boat. It was only the second time the sails were ever hoisted on this boat! That's me at the tiller, of course, waving to the photographer on shore. Click to see an enlarged photo. For some action sailing photos of the Catalina 22, » click here « And here's a nice action video of regatta sailing in Texas where we also do a lot of sailing at Canyon Lake near our Texas home.