PaulBurton
2008-05-17T18:54:49Z
My father inlaw is still looking to buy Seal 22.

He has a few questions.

Will they dry out flat ???

Does anyone have any pictures of the keel. ?

Is there anything he should be looking for..?

What size outboard is best ?

He has seen one on Boats and Ooutboards and boatshed, sail no.254

Thanks.

Paul Burton.

Parker 21 Papillon.


Paul Burton.

Wayfarer no.9362

Geoff Harwood
2008-05-18T22:30:52Z
It will dry out flat in soft mud like we have here in Stanpit Creek. Sea Haze (267) and Wight Seal (134) dry more or less upright here and my Sinbad used to dry out OK on a pontoon berth in Badnam Creek, Hamble.

On anything harder (eg sand) you need legs. Plans in the 22 Tech Manual. Hull has strong points already installed ready for drilling bolt-holes.

Only problem points I've seen in 22s are with the mast foot casting which can show corrosion and might be hard to replace (Proctor) and the keel winding mechanism which has been known to get stiff (bearing) .

I have a pic of the keel of my Sinbad (same as 22) but I'd have to find the neg and digi it to post it here.

I had a 7.5 hp engine in mine and it seemed to be about right

Geoff Harwood
2008-05-19T16:09:24Z
Further to yesterday's - I found a print of my 22 keel - attachedUserPostedImage

Also more on 22/254. Name Arrakis. Sailed out of Littlehampton till 1997 when we lost touch.

PaulBurton
2008-05-19T17:46:42Z
Thanks....

She is still in Littlehampton and is still called Arrakis.

I will forward this info to Ken (father in law).

Paul Burton.

Parker 21 Papillon.


Paul Burton.

Wayfarer no.9362

gregfaux
2008-05-20T14:03:51Z
Great boats, and although not especially fast/close winded by modern standards, they are quicker than most 'cruising caravans' and have plenty of space inside for weekends and more away.

As for drying moorings, our seal 22 (No. 249) 'Moonspinner' is on a drying mooring and last year was in a spot where it was 'a bit hard' comprising a little bit of mud over shingle/broken shell etc. In that position she heeled about to about 15 degrees when dryied out but it didnt cause any real problems, just a few tide-stains above the waterline and of course we had to remember to stow things well inside.

I took the view that heeling a little was perhaps better than leaving her with beaching legs which could easily get bumped, and/or dig in and then be subjected to shear loads she re-floated. I gather the same level of heeling may occurr with the Baker built 28's

Also, perhaps of interest, I carefully checked the 'keel-land' under the hull, where cast iron bears on GRP when the boat 'sits' on the keel, at the end of last season and found no more than scuffed paint/antifouling in this critical area - a good result after a year of bouncing around in the grunge...

I plan to simply rub-down this area and paint on a coat of thickenned epoxy 'every year or three' to prevent any possibility of the keel wearing the GRP 'bearing area'. Im probably being over fussy, but as this is recorded as happening once to a Seal 22 a few years ago, resulting in a scuppering, doing it will give me complete peace of mind so will be part of my maintenance schedule.

However the heavy build quality and lay-up of these boats, is such that wear in this area shouldnt be a major worry! You are far more likely to find stress/fatigue/flexing/crazing problems on one of the more lightly built modern speedsters than these tough 70's built boats....

This year, at our request, we have been alocated a different mooring a couple of hundred metres away with more depth of mud in which she dries out high and more or less upright (perhaps still on shell/shingle), and although I have about 250mm 'less water' relative to our old mooring, i think i'll still get about three hours sailing 'on the tide', which I think is worth the trade off for drying out level.

lastly, I see you now have a pic' of a lowered keel, but if you want photos of the keel (out of the boat), of the inside of the keel-box, or of the component parts of the lifting mechanism (although not that close up), let me know and i'll email them to you....

Greg...


Greg...

Seal 22 - Moonspinner

Geoff Harwood
2008-05-24T19:38:28Z
Greg - The scuppering you refer to was, as I recall, due to a pebble getting itself stuck between the keel and the bottom of the GRP of the housing and then being pounded on an exposed mooring on hard gravel off Whitstable in Kent. The pebble punched a hole and the boat sank. I think that a repeat of that scenario would be very unlikely. There was once a 22 that hit the Varvassi wreck off the needles (which is why our RIOW race now goes all the way out to Bridge!) The whole keel was bashed back through the back of the keelbox but they still managed to sail back to Yarmouth for repairs. It's a pretty tough structure! Geoff
PaulBurton
2008-05-25T07:58:18Z
Thanks for all your advise.

They are on the way to view today (sunday), they have borrowed buy Discovery and he has a pocket full of cash.

It will not be left on a drying mooring, but we do go into drying habours.

Thanks.

Paul Burton.

Parker 21 Papillon.


Paul Burton.

Wayfarer no.9362

gregfaux
2008-05-25T20:23:07Z
Go buy it, they are grat boats, and like a 'tardis' inside compared to most 22 footers. One bonus I didnt mention is that they have plenty of buoyancy up forward so dont dip their stem excesively when you go forward to retrieve an anchor etc.

BTW as for engines - we use a 5hp Tohatu 2 stroke which is up to the job on the Blackwater Edtuary and I have fitted saildrive, 6 inch pitch, propeller this year to give a little better thrust, its especially noticeable when enaging reverse which was not a strong point with the standard prop.

Geoff, youre referring to the same article as I was and youre dead right that the keel land(s) and the keelbox for that matter appear to be very thick and strong...

Our moorings are a bit gritty underneath the nud covering and the paint/antifoul on Moonspinner was barely scuffed after drying out twice a day last year... I have a softer spot this year and can even check how she is sitting 'online' as out pitch is right in the middle of one of our club webcams www.blackwatersailingclub.co.uk  (click on the weathervane, then on the webcam button)

Checking so thoroughly underneath every year is undoubtedly just me being excesively fussy.

Greg...


Greg...

Seal 22 - Moonspinner

PaulBurton
2008-06-08T08:36:51Z
Launch day today.......pics to follow...

Paul Burton.

Parker 21 Papillon.


Paul Burton.

Wayfarer no.9362

PaulBurton
2008-06-09T07:48:53Z
UserPostedImage

Paul Burton.

Parker 21 Papillon.


Paul Burton.

Wayfarer no.9362