SAILING SHARPIE, 22' X 7'', 2200 POUNDS EMPTY

Viola22 is a cabin sharpie: a handy cruiser suitable for a solo sailor out maybe a week, or for duet out for a couple of days (I almost said a weekend but mid-week boating is usually a lot more satisfying). Compare Viola22 to a Catalina 22 which is something like the standard in trailer-cruisers. They can be bought for about $3000 which about what the Viola would cost to build if you watched your costs. Many older Catalinas aren't really worn out at except for sun chalk. They are much harder to rig than the Viola and draw a lot more water, even with their keels swung up. They will sail better in rough conditions, but they could never be dry-shoe beached as the Viola could. I'd say for solo boating from a trailer the Viola would be a much beter choice. Compare to a San Juan 21, which might sell used for $2000 on the trailer. The San Juan will beach and trailer and launch similar to the Viola but won't have the living quarters..

The living quarters of Viola are very good for her size. The main sleep room is 6-1/2' long and almost 6' wide, plenty for two. There's a hatch in its front for ventilation and setting the main in security. Aft of the sleep room is a 3' long by 6' wide utility room. Use it as a bathroom and kitchen and you can see that the sleep room needn't get too cluttered with those necessities. Another advantage to this set up is that the bedding shouldn't get wet every time the main hatch is opened or when someone strips off some wet clothing. Aft of the cabin is a large flat cockpit with great storage underneath which is accessible from both the cockpit and from the cabin. One trip on a Micro will show you what a wonderful setup this is. Best of all, this type of deck is very quick and easy to build. Aft of the cockpit is a slop well meant to store the motor gear. There's another slop well in the bow which is great for muddy anchors.

Construction is of straight forward nail-and-glue jigless plywood needing no lofting or jigs. The plywood bill looks like twelve sheets of 3/8", ten sheets of 1/2" (mostly for the double planked bottom) and one sheet of 3/4" for the leeboard. Ballast is 600 pounds of steel bars bolted to the bulkheads inside.