How to Get Your Catalina 22′ Ready for Sailing Season in One Afternoon

It’s that time of year again to dust off (or de-ice in some areas) the sailboat and do some Spring prep on the Catalina 22′. Even if you have a different type of monohull, these 4 steps should help you in How to get your Catalina 22′ ready for sailing season in one afternoon. Watch the video below to see a quick guide of what we did before we dropped it in the water. Keep reading to find the links to all the products we used and some other tips.

1. We had half a can on Red Bottom Paint from West Marine left over from last season. Since we didn’t have a lot to spare we carefully taped up the bottom of the boat and prepped it for paint as best as we could before we rolled it on with our small rollers we picked up at our local hardware store. After taping and before painting, we scraped off the excess paint that had started to flake off. Then we painted. This wasn’t a professional job, but it will last this next season and keep the bottom from getting barnacles in the lake and rusting.

2. We then took our can of Teak Oil and an old rag and gently varnished all of the wood trim on the deck. After a summer of being in the sun and a cold winter under the tarp, the wood was looking dry and pasty. There’s nothing better than seeing a newly varnished trim on your boat. Makes you feel like a million bucks, even if the boat itself is only worth a few hundred. 😉

3. We have been wanting a good Wind Indicator at the top of he mast for the last two sailing seasons, and finally this season we got one. We needed to mount it to the top of the mast and I bet you can guess why we wanted to do that now instead of after the raising of the mast.

4. The last thing we did was replaced the wire Halyards with Soft Line. What’s the difference between the two you might ask? The soft line is newer technology. The old wire halyards would often get splinters forming a potential tear in the sails or any material that came in contact with it. The splinter would also get caught and stuck and ended being more of a frustration than convenience, so we are starting anew and will report back on how they hold up this season.

Have you ever tried soft lines for halyards? How do you feel about a DIY paint and and repair job on the hull? Let us know in the comments below.

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