Design and Construction
The Cal 22 hull is made of fibreglass, with a fin keel and a transom-hung rudder, and the documented draft runs about 1.07 to 1.17 meters (3.51 to 3.81 feet) depending on load, which lets the boat enter even shallow marinas. The length-beam ratio is 2.84, a proportion the published comparison ranks as more spacious than 50% of all other designs, while the displacement-length ratio of 127 places it among so-called light racers, with 79% of similar sailboat designs categorized as heavier. The ballast ratio is 37%, itself higher than 46% of similar designs, and the capsize screening value is 2.42 — a number that indicates this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races. The Motion Comfort Ratio is 10.4, more comfortable than 21% of similar sailboat designs, which frames the Cal 22 as a stiff, low-formula coastal hull rather than a sea-going companion.
Rig and Handling
The Cal 22 is built with a fractional rig, and the reference sail plan of mainsail plus jib covers 20.8 m² (223.4 ft²). The sail-area-displacement ratio is 21.8 with the ISO 8666 reference sail and 25.3 with a 135% genoa; the analysis notes the Cal 22 has more rig than 99% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged, and that the SA/D ratio makes it faster than 79% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind. The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 5.9 knots. Standing and running rigging dimensions are fully documented: the mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker halyards are each 21.0 m (68.7 feet) at 8 mm (5/16 inch), the jib and genoa sheets are 6.7 m (22.0 feet) at 10 mm (3/8 inch), the mainsheet is 16.8 m (55.0 feet) at 10 mm, the spinnaker sheet is 14.8 m (48.4 feet) at 10 mm, and the cunningham, kickingstrap, and clew-outhaul are 2.8 m, 5.7 m, and 5.7 m respectively at 8 mm. The wet bottom surface area is about 15 m² (161 ft²), and the immersion rate is about 93 kg/cm or 525 lbs/inch.
Accommodations
The available record supplies no interior arrangement, cabin volume, berth count, or head configuration for the Cal 22. Given the 22-foot length, 7.75-foot beam, and light-racer categorization, the boat is best understood as a daysailer-scale platform; any liveaboard or weekending inference would be unsupported by the sources.
Known Issues
No documented structural defects, flooding paths, deck-joint failures, or systemic corrosion items appear in the available record for the Cal 22. The only performance-limiting flag is the capsize screening value of 2.42, which by the published standard excludes the design from ocean-race acceptance, and the Motion Comfort Ratio placing it above only 21% of similar designs for comfort.
Refits and Ownership
The available documentation does not describe typical refit scope, owner-modification patterns, or fleet-level upkeep burdens for the Cal 22. The detailed rigging table gives an owner precise replacement lengths and diameters for halyards, sheets, and controls, which is the one concrete ownership resource the record provides.
The Verdict
The Cal 22 is a narrowly specified, Hunt-designed coastal racer of the mid-eighties, built by Bangor Punta Marine in fiberglass with a fin keel and fractional rig. Its numbers describe a light, overrigged, shallow-draft daysailer that is quick in light air but outside the envelope for offshore racing by capsize-screening standards.
Pros
- Shallow, load-dependent draft of 3.51–3.81 feet eases marina access
- Significantly overrigged for its size, with SA/D indicating top-quartile light-air speed among similar designs
- High ballast ratio (37%) relative to peers, contributing to stiffness
Cons
- Capsize screening value of 2.42 bars it from ocean-race acceptance
- Motion Comfort Ratio above only 21% of similar designs
- No documented accommodation or ownership-history detail in the record
