In Australia, the boat became known as the Boomaroo 22 and in Europe was marketed as the Alacrity 22 or Jaguar 22. By September 1980, production of Catalina 22s had reached 10,000 and the hulls were being cranked out at the company’s East and West Coast plants, in England, Australia and Canada. The swing keel was most popular among trailersailors who purchased the Mk I at such a pace it was difficult for the company to keep up with the demand. The original Mk I sloop had a cast-iron swing keel, making it ideal for trailering, but Butler soon offered a fin-keel option for those planning to keep their boats in the water throughout the season. By February 1975, Butler’s projected construction of 100 Catalina 22s had been exceeded, with an astonishing 5,000 hulls in the water. Met with runaway success, Catalina Yachts launched the Catalina 27 and shortly thereafter the Catalina 30. If things went well, he hoped to build 100. This petite, family-friendly cruising sloop was his fledgling company’s inaugural boat. In July 1969, he designed and built the first Catalina 22 in North Hollywood, California. It smooths them out and prevents microscopic cracks in the edge from getting bigger.Frank Butler had a dream. Last but not least, you'll want to 'burnish' all the edges with a blowtorch. So basically, the acrylic boards are formed exactly like the wooden ones were. The bottom edge of the bottom board is cut at an angle to match the wood trim it sits on. Then I cut the two boards into their proper shapes. Just determine in advance where and how you plan to store the boards, and the decision will make itself.īefore I cut the two boards into their respective shapes, I took the acrylic sheet to a local cabinetmaker and had him cut it in half with a 'rabbet' (like a stair step) in the middle to keep water out. On a C22 I might stick with three pieces. I made them two piece rather than three, but the Vega's companionway is narrower than the C22's so the boards are smaller. The material was easy to work with, and I was very happy with the results. There are ups and downs to acrylic (Plexiglas) vs polycarbonate (Lexan), but I'll leave that alone. Part of the reason was aesthetics, but also the Admiral wanted to be able to see me in the cockpit at all times if she was down below in foul weather, and vice versa. I made crib boards for our Albin Vega out of 1/2' dark smoked acrylic.

1981 catalina 22 crib board type