Marshall 22 Cat Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The hull is hand-laid fiberglass using mat and roving bonded with polyester resin to a schedule set by the designer, with seven basic plies and extra layers in the forepeak, garboard, and centerboard trunk; the mast step alone is 25 plies laminated in its own mold. Marshall Marine has the hull and deck molded by Pine Grove Plastics in Freetown, Mass., and the deck joint relies on no mechanical fasteners — four successively wider fiberglass bonding strips build a thick, fastener-free union. Cabin and cockpit coamings are solid glass, while the cabintop and foredeck are foam-cored except where hardware lands. There is no interior liner, which keeps maintenance straightforward. A notable structural shift came in 1983 when the original glassed-plywood cockpit sole and stanchion-supported seats gave way to a molded fiberglass cockpit with three lazarettes and a portside icebox; in 2009 closed-cell foam replaced plywood in the transom and rudder cores, the main cabin bulkhead, and the floor frames. The plywood-cored centerboard pivots on a bronze pin buried in the hull laminate, and the vertical transom carries the familiar barn-door rudder.

Rig and Handling

The cat rig places a 29-foot tapered aluminum mast right in the bow, its lower six feet foam-filled for stiffness, with only a traditional forestay as standing rigging. A stainless steel, vinyl-lined gaff saddle replaces jaws, and peak, throat, and topping lift belay on the cabintop; later hulls added fairleads to lead the lines aft, though no halyard winches are fitted or missed by most owners. The 388-square-foot main is sheeted through a double block on a bronze traveler abaft the cockpit coaming and another on the boom. These are stiff sailors that drive at a modest heel, tacking through 50 to 60 degrees as wind and sea allow. A 12-knot breeze yields roughly 5.5 knots, a steep chop costing a knot; in 15 to 18 knots she shows 6.5 plus, a single reef due at a steady 15 and double-reefed survival through 25- to 35-knot gusts. With the board up she draws a mere 2 feet, opening shoal anchorages a deeper-keeled boat cannot reach.

Accommodations

A big centerboard trunk with a hinged table divides the cabin, and the earliest boats carried an open layout: a pull-out double berth to starboard, a port galley counter with sink and alcohol stove. Around the late 1960s the head moved to starboard behind a partial bulkhead and curtain. The interior suits two adults, though the deliberately low topsides that cut windage leave only seated headroom — about enough for someone five-foot-eleven. The cockpit is larger, clearer, and more comfortable than those of many bigger boats, and the sidedecks carry molded toerails wide enough to walk forward to the mast. Most owners add the optional dodger, onto which a cockpit awning zips; many boats also have an opening forward port, optional louvered cabin doors, and teak trim around the coaming and trunk.

Known Issues

Hull blisters have seldom, if ever, been a problem on these solid-glass hulls. The more relevant service note is the cockpit drainage path: earlier boats simply drain the centerboard trunk through holes at its aft end, while the 1983 molded cockpit routes two bronze scuppers through seacocks beneath the companionway steps — a system worth understanding on any given hull. Prior to roughly the mid-1970s the boats used an external stuffing box; later ones moved to an internal box. The forward hatch on most 22s is not hinged and needs a makeshift prop to stay open, though newer boats got a modern-style hatch.

Refits and Ownership

Engine access is excellent through a large cockpit-sole hatch. Yanmar's 3GM20 took over as the standard engine in 1980, and the raw-water-cooled 2GM20 followed in 1985; when that model was dropped around 2005 the freshwater-cooled 3YM20 took over, all fed by a 12-gallon aluminum tank forward in the cockpit under the starboard seat. A 13 x 13 three-blade prop is standard. The bronze wheel drives a rack linkage, with a traditional hole in the rudder for emergency line-steering, and most boats wear bronze rudder and transom steps. About 40 sloop-rigged versions were built with the mast moved to the cabin, compromising the interior somewhat; those carry a clubfoot jib with the sprit supporting a forestay.

The Verdict

The Marshall 22 Cat is a thoughtfully evolved catboat whose hand-laid hull, fastener-free deck joint, and uncluttered cockpit make it a practical family daysailer and weekender with genuine passage-making pedigree. It trades standing headroom and a modern hatch for enormous deck room, shoal draft, and a rig any single sailor can manage.

Pros