Marshall Marine positions the 22 as the marque's family cruiser. Its broad proportions—5,660 pounds of displacement, a 21-foot-4-inch waterline, and a 10-foot-2-inch beam—put the deck width at just under half the loaded waterline, giving the hull its characteristic stability and room.
Design and Construction
The hull is hand-laid fiberglass, built with mat and roving bonded in polyester resin to a schedule set by the designer. It has seven basic plies, with extra layers in the forepeak, garboard, and centerboard trunk. The mast step alone consists of 25 plies laminated in its own mold.
Marshall Marine has the hull and deck molded by Pine Grove Plastics in Freetown, Mass. The deck joint uses no mechanical fasteners. Instead, four successively wider fiberglass bonding strips form a thick, fastener-free union. The cabin and cockpit coamings are solid fiberglass, while the cabintop and foredeck are foam-cored except where hardware is mounted. There’s no interior liner, which helps keep maintenance straightforward.
The original cockpit had a glassed-plywood sole and seats supported by stanchions. In 1983, Marshall replaced it with a molded fiberglass cockpit incorporating three lazarettes and a portside icebox. Another structural change followed in 2009, when closed-cell foam replaced plywood in the transom and rudder cores, main cabin bulkhead, and floor frames.
The plywood-cored centerboard pivots on a bronze pin buried in the hull laminate. At the stern, the vertical transom carries the familiar barn-door rudder.
Rig and Sailing Performance
The cat rig sets its 29-foot tapered aluminum mast well forward, right in the bow. The lower six feet are foam-filled for stiffness, and a traditional forestay is the only standing rigging. A stainless-steel, vinyl-lined gaff saddle replaces conventional jaws. The peak and throat halyards and the topping lift belay on the cabintop; later hulls gained fairleads to lead these lines aft. There are no halyard winches, and most owners don’t miss them.
The 388-square-foot mainsail is sheeted through a double block on a bronze traveler abaft the cockpit coaming and another block on the boom. The Marshall 22 is a stiff sailor that drives at a modest heel. Depending on wind and sea conditions, it tacks through 50 to 60 degrees.
In a 12-knot breeze, the boat makes roughly 5.5 knots, although steep chop can cost a knot. In 15 to 18 knots, it shows 6.5 knots or more. A single reef is due in a steady 15 knots, while the boat can survive 25- to 35-knot gusts when double-reefed. With the centerboard raised, draft is just 2 feet, allowing access to shoal anchorages that deeper-keeled boats can’t reach.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The cockpit is larger, clearer, and more comfortable than those of many bigger boats. Wide sidedecks with molded toerails provide a practical route forward to the mast. Most owners add the optional dodger, which accepts a zip-on cockpit awning. Many boats also have an opening forward port, optional louvered cabin doors, and teak trim around the coaming and centerboard trunk.
Below, the large centerboard trunk divides the cabin and supports a hinged table. The earliest boats had an open layout, with a pull-out double berth to starboard and a galley counter to port with a sink and alcohol stove. Around the late 1960s, the head moved to starboard behind a partial bulkhead and curtain.
The interior works best for two adults. The deliberately low topsides reduce windage but limit the cabin to seated headroom—about enough for someone five-foot-eleven.
Engine and Steering
Engine access is excellent through a large hatch in the cockpit sole. Yanmar's 3GM20 took over as the standard engine in 1980, followed by the raw-water-cooled 2GM20 in 1985. When that model was dropped around 2005, the freshwater-cooled 3YM20 took over. All are supplied by a 12-gallon aluminum tank located forward in the cockpit beneath the starboard seat. A 13 x 13 three-blade propeller is standard.
The bronze wheel operates a rack linkage. A traditional hole in the rudder permits emergency steering by line, and most boats have bronze rudder and transom steps.
Sloop-Rigged Versions
About 40 sloop-rigged Marshall 22s were built. Their mast was moved aft to the cabin, compromising the interior somewhat. These boats carry a clubfoot jib, with the sprit supporting a forestay.
Known Issues
Hull blisters have seldom, if ever, been a problem on the solid-glass hulls. The cockpit drainage arrangement is a more relevant service point. Earlier boats simply drain the centerboard trunk through holes at its aft end. The molded cockpit introduced in 1983 instead uses two bronze scuppers routed through seacocks beneath the companionway steps—a system worth understanding on any particular hull.
Prior to roughly the mid-1970s the boats used an external stuffing box; later boats moved to an internal box.
On most Marshall 22s, the forward hatch isn’t hinged and requires a makeshift prop to remain open. Newer boats received a modern-style hatch.
The Verdict
The Marshall 22 Cat is a thoughtfully evolved catboat. Its hand-laid hull, fastener-free deck joint, and uncluttered cockpit make it a practical family daysailer and weekender with genuine passage-making pedigree. It gives up standing headroom and, on most boats, a modern forward hatch in exchange for enormous deck room, shoal draft, and a rig that a single sailor can manage.
Pros
- Stiff sailing at modest angles of heel, with speeds above 6.5 knots in 15–18 knots
- Two-foot draft with the centerboard raised for shoal-water access
- Excellent cockpit and engine access
- No interior liner to trap moisture
- Durable solid-glass hull with little or no history of blistering
Cons
- Only seated headroom beneath the deliberately low topsides
- Most forward hatches are unhinged and depend on makeshift supports
- Early centerboard-trunk drainage arrangement
- External stuffing boxes on boats built before roughly the mid-1970s
