Chrysler Sailors Forum

Hello all. I will take possession of a C-22 on Labor Day weekend. I've enjoyed this forum and website quite a bit as I was researching the boat and deciding what I wanted to do. This seems like a much loved model of boat. Thanks for all your help. There's a wealth of experience and knowledge here.

The boat was built in 1977. It's in pretty good shape, though there's a few things to do in the off season. It's currently moored in Lake Tahoe for the rest of the season--a mere 4-6 weeks, I suppose. My wife and I hope to take a shakedown sail for a couple of days on the long weekend. I can hardly wait to get on it.

After we haul it out, we'll be trailering it back to Tahoe in the Spring season, but also to the Bay Area for sailing on SF Bay and Monterey Bay, maybe this fall if we have the opportunity. And maybe we'll trailer to points further on. It's an adventure.

I'm glad to be a part of this community.

Welcome aboard Chris...keep us informed on your "new" boat.

Welcome Chris!

Thanks for the welcome.

That's an interesting sling system you have for you boat, mcrandall. I was just thinking today about how to remove boat from trailer.

My neighbors absolutely loved it! Okay...not so much.

Do you live in the Bay area? I retired from the USAF in Sunnyvale/Mt View. Blue Cube, if you're familiar.

Mark

Scratch that. Just noticed Quincy as your location....

I grew up in Santa Cruz and have family and friends in various parts of the Bay Area. So, I am familiar with the bay and peninsula but I do live in the sierra nevada now. I have to say, though, that I haven't been in Sunnyvale for years, so Blue Cube isn't sounding familiar.

Welcome aboard, Chris. We can all use some more rail meat. Just kidding, of course. The 22 rarely needs counter balance, but maybe in SF Bay...

I took license with your signature. Hope you dont mind.
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There is nothing - absolutely nothing half so worthy as greasing your bearings... ( apologies to the author )

Thanks! I like the Great White look you got goin' there. It doesn't need much counterbalance? In what kind of conditions? I read somewhere that while initially tender, it firms up at around 25 degrees of heel. True? On Monterey Bay, 10-15 knots is probably the norm, though getting up to 20 is not unusual, especially if you're further out. How does the C-22 handle swells and chop?

I sail my 22 in inland lakes in Ohio. Not much natural chop, but a lot of unlimited horsepower boats running on a reservoir can get choppy. Mine has a swing keel. The only thing that I notice is that the keel thumps a lot, but she sails flat through chop. I have read on this forum in the past about nylon wedges at the bottom of the keel boot to stop that. I would find out all you can about the condition of the pin and cable on the keel. Other than that, I think it would do fine. THe 22 does have high freeboards and huge deck drains. Thats what got me interested in Chryslers after seeing a Hunter nealy sink at the dock after a week of heavy rain and a leaf stuck in it's tiny scupper.

For the keel thump, a quite bit of help is to crank the keel cable just tight enough to lift the keel a little bit. This will dramatically reduce the hobby horse thump. It will not help the side to side thump much though!

Scott

ChrisC wrote:Thanks! I like the Great White look you got goin' there. It doesn't need much counterbalance? In what kind of conditions? I read somewhere that while initially tender, it firms up at around 25 degrees of heel. True? On Monterey Bay, 10-15 knots is probably the norm, though getting up to 20 is not unusual, especially if you're further out. How does the C-22 handle swells and chop?

The PhotoShop paintjob is a whimsy. If I were to deface my C-20 in such a manner, I would certainly add a bikini clad maid or some other suitable "victim."

I only had my C-22 out in rough water once in the brief but busy time I had it. Summer, but very windy conditions with constant 3 foot breaking waves that sent lots of spray over the weather quarter. I was reefed but before I did that, I could not get the boat to heel past 15 degrees. The high ratio main just isn't wide enough up top to force her over before spilling the wind out- especially when running your working jib. The 22 stiffens right about 12 degrees and is pretty stubborn beyond that. I only reefed because it is more comfortable to sail on your feet - and more effective, too. Running your genoa will get you another 5-7degrees and you will definitely dip the toe rail. But why stress your old keel/pin assembly?

Part of the reason for the stiffness is the low center of gravity, coupled with the wide beam carried in the middle sections of the hull. This is no accident. The best open cruising boats are similar: built not for great speed, but stability and a smooth ride. Usually, you give up a little in quick manuevering because they have full keels, but the 22 turns on a dime because of the thin blade. The relative low percentage of ballast/displacement ratio is nullified by the design of the wide deep hull. You don't need a ratio of 35-40% in the 22 and 26.

Along with great stability for a 22 footer, the boat is solid and heavy so it does not plunge much going to windward. I think it behaves more like a 24 or even some 26 footers. On a run, any small sailboat will hobby-horse.

My C-20 has the same hull design, but has a 37% ballast ratio - extremely high for a 20 foot sailboat, but it was designed to not scare the wife and kids back in the '70's. I can tell you, it is a battleship like its bigger sisters. I've been out in 25 knot winds before and dipped the rails on other small boats, but I can't get the gunnels wet on the Chrysler 20.

Herreshoff desigened many fine boats, some of them masterpieces. I would not say the Chryslers are Fine or Masterpieces, but they are certainly better than most in their class, both in general construction and seakindliness.

Keel Thump:
The best way to aviod eventual possible damage to the fiberglass structure of the keel pocket is to epoxy a thick rubber pad onto the front face of the slot and allow the thumping to continue. Tensioning the cable may cause early wear and will not stop the keel from pivoting in heavy waves. It will just slam forward against the cable tension.

Thanks for the information on the chop. She sounds like a trooper, a great pocket cruiser. The seller told me the keel pin was in good shape, but I will check it carefully before stressing it with rougher water.

Thanks OutnBacker for that detailed reply. I hadn't thought much about its beaminess (or design), but I realize that in general it does provide more stability. It seems that the boat was designed for some good sailing in a wide variety of conditions while still being inexpensive, etc. Calculating the Displacement/Length ratio just now, which is 195, it should feel somewhat lively. And with a theoretical hull speed of 5.8 kts, that's not bad. I'm not good at the design stuff, but I get the concepts.

Keel thump.... I'll work on it.

Thanks again.

One more detail on the dryness factor: The Chrysler 20, 22 and 26 are deeper than other boats in two ways. 1) the low house, which allows 2) the deep hull with high freeboard.

You have to really force the Chryslers to dip, which is why I advise against it. At some point, the keel is taking a huge side load because the boat is trying to slip sideways at the same time it is up against its designed hull speed. It might be fun occassionally, but these boats are all very old now, and unless you have gone thru the keel/pin assembly I'd just enjoy the stable smooth ride at about 10-12 degrees.

For the record, I've sailed my C-20 recently up to 7.7 mph, which I think is beyond theoretical hull speed, and still didn't dip or take anything over the weather side but alot of spray. Tilt-O-Meter said 15-18 degrees. Shortly after that is when I reefed. She came up to 12-15 degrees and sailed steady at 6.8 mph. Blue sky, a cobalt sea, and frothy coamers. Doesn't get any better than that.

Good points. I'll keep them in mind.