Design and Construction
Anderson's 1966 design pairs a solid fibreglass hull and deck with a fin keel and spade rudder, and the boat sits at the robust end of the displacement spectrum: 4,000 pounds all up with 2,300 pounds of ballast, a figure that gives a ballast-to-displacement ratio of roughly 57.6 percent (sources differ slightly, with one citing 59%). That high ballast fraction, well beyond the usual 40 percent mark for a stiff boat, is the source of a powerful righting moment and excellent initial stability high ballast/displacement ratio of 57.6%. The displacement-length ratio of 363 places her firmly among ultraheavy cruisers, signifying a very robustly built boat for her size, and the capsize screening value near 1.9 suggests she is a sound candidate for ocean passage-making. With a comfort ratio around 23 she offers the sort of crew comfort associated with a coastal cruiser rather than a bare daysailer.
Rig and Handling
The Hurley 22 is a masthead sloop carrying 240 square feet of working sail, split between a 118-square-foot mainsail and a 122-square-foot working jib. Her sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 15.3 puts her in the under-powered category, meaning she will want a good stiff breeze to make reasonable progress under canvas needs a good breeze to achieve reasonable speeds. The theoretical hull speed is 5.52 knots. A length-to-beam ratio of 3.00 makes her slimmer than the majority of comparable designs, and the bilge-keel variant — a twin-keel arrangement sharing the same hull and deck mouldings above the waterline as the fin version — lets the boat dry out upright or be beached, a genuine asset in tidal cruising grounds.
Accommodations
Below, the layout is simple and functional: a V-berth forward, a quarter berth to starboard, and a galley to port, with teak joinery throughout and a headroom of about 4 feet 6 inches, which period reviewers noted as below average for the class. Early boats lacked a separate head compartment, though later iterations such as the Hurley 22R attempted to carve one out, and that version reportedly succeeded. No water tank was fitted as standard, though space was provided for jerry cans, and the boat typically relied on an outboard in a well rather than a fixed fuel tank.
Known Issues
The bilge-keel and fin-keel versions share identical above-waterline mouldings, so condition differences trace to internal finish, mast length, ballast material, and the head-compartment experiment rather than to hull integrity. The absence of standard tankage and the cramped headroom are the practical limitations a buyer faces.
Refits and Ownership
After Hurley Marine Ltd. ceased operations in 1974, the 22 was taken up by South Coast Marine and by Ravensail, the latter branding its boat the Hurley 22R with the separate heads compartment. Hurlwind built a few examples between 1988 and 1990, and some were produced under licence in Holland as the Hurley 700. Across these builds the essential differences were minor internal finish variations, mast lengths, and ballast material. For an owner, the outboard-in-a-well arrangement keeps propulsion simple, and the robust hull encourages long-term keeping.
The Verdict
The Hurley 22 is a heavily built, very stable coastal cruiser with a genuine offshore pedigree in the right hands. She is narrow, stiff, and reassuringly weighted, if slow in light air and tight below. For the sailor who values seaworthiness and simplicity over pace and volume, she remains a considered choice.
Pros
- Exceptionally high ballast ratio for a 22-footer, giving strong initial stability
- Ultraheavy displacement construction with proven ocean-crossing history
- Bilge-keel option dries out upright for tidal moorings
- Simple outboard-well propulsion eases ownership
Cons
- Under-powered sail plan needs a fresh breeze to perform
- Below-average headroom and early boats without a proper head
- No standard water or fuel tankage
