The Bristol Caravel 22, sometimes called the Bristol 22 Caravel, Sailstar Caravel, or just the Caravel 22, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by

Halsey Chase Herreshoff Halsey Chase Herreshoff (born 1933) is a naval architect of production and custom yachts, sailor and former president of Herreshoff Marine Museum. At the museum he and Edward duMoulin founded the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1992. Halsey is son o ...

as a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

and first built in 1968. It is named for the class of sailing ship.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 153.

International Marine S&P Global Inc. (prior to April 2016 McGraw Hill Financial, Inc., and prior to 2013 The McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.) is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of business are financ ...

/ McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Production

The design was initially built by the Sailstar Boat Company in the United States and sold as the Caravel 22. When Bristol Yachts acquired Sailstar in 1971 the design was produced as the Bristol Caravel 22. A total of 325 boats were built from 1968 until 1978, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Bristol Caravel 22 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, an angled

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel or stub keel and

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

. The centerboard model has a short rudder that matches the stub keel depth. The cockpit is self-draining. It displaces and carries of lead ballast. The keel-equipped version of the boat has a draft of , while the centreboard-equipped version has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted, allowing ground transportation on a trailer. The boat is normally fitted with a small, well-mounted outboard motor for docking and maneuvering. The design has sleeping accommodation for four or five people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settees in the main cabin or an optional dinette that lowers into a double berth, plus a starboard aft quarter berth. The

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

is located on the starboard side just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...

ladder. The galley is equipped with a two-burner stove, a lift-top

ice chest A cooler, portable ice chest, ice box, cool box, chilly bin (in New Zealand), or esky (Australia) is an insulated box used to keep food or drink cool. Ice cubes are most commonly placed in it to help the contents inside stay cool. Ice pack ...

and a sink. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

is located just aft of the bow cabin on the port side and is enclosed with a curtain. Cabin headroom is . The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 288 and a hull speed of .

Operational history

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "the boat could be purchased either with a standard layout with settee berths port and starboard, or with the dinette arrangement ... which supposedly will sleep five (though we wouldn't want to try sleeping in the "double" formed by the table lowered flush with the dinette seats, which is barely three feet wide). Another choice for new buyers was either a center-boarder ... or a fin-keel boat with a draft of 3' 6". Best features: The outboard well in the cockpit makes life easier for the helmsman when maneuvering in tight quarters. Worst features: A peculiarity of the centerboarder is her shallow rudder, necessary to keep it out of harm's way when negotiating shoal waters with board up. It raises the question of whether the rudder has enough area to provide good steering control. If so, why is the area enlarged for the fin-keel version? Why not, instead, cut wetted surface on the fin-keel version's rudder to improve performance?"

References

{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide Keelboats 1960s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Trailer sailers Sailboat type designs by Halsey Herreshoff Sailboat types built by Bristol Yachts Sailboat types built by Sailstar Boat Company

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References