The Galion 22 Owners Association

(In actual fact much of the information provided here may well hold good for many sailing craft and owners. In fact this is probably the site with the most sailing information on the internet)

On this site I hope to encourage all Galion 22 owners to get together to share information and ideas and generally promote enthusiasm for this fine British made sailing boat.

This is what we've been waiting for in the

The used boat report for our Galion 22's by David Harding.

It Came out today 7/2/2008

I read it with imense pleasure.

So don't forget to get your copy and I know you too will be pleased.

Galion owners out there if you would like to join The Galion 22 Owners Association well here it is. There is no membership fee all you have to do is own one of these excellent sailing craft.

Do you get the feeling of being the ones with the best 22 foot sailing boat going and no one knowing anything about it. You have a Galion? what's that?. One of the best 22 footers on the water and by any analysis probably the best 22 footer especially for fast cruising. Ah that's because there's no "Owners Association".

OK we can't say fairer than that can we, so if you don't find it here then we will soon get the information for you.

You will find here many useful items of information and data and we hope that you will participate by contacting us. If you have any experiences, ideas, problems or questions, please contact us.

I have just been reading about the Galion with a sail No. 208 and I believe the above to be sail No. 233 so there are enough of us about. Why aren't we represented anywhere. Lesser boats are, so its reasonable to expect that we should be too.

The Galion 22 won the Round -The - Island - Race* back in 1968, a year after the Hurley 22 won it in1967. Galion has surprised many with her close winded ability and her short tacking agility, and here I'm quoting the PBO test report October 1975. (*The Isle of Wight)

I've been sailing for over 20 years and I am the owner of Galion sail number 43 called "INCISOR". I am based a short way up the Thames at Erith Yacht Club and sail down to Queenborough and the surrounding area. Of course the Thames river has quite a strong ebb tide so we have to time going down and when coming back up again so as to moor up on slack water.

The Designer Ian Hannay

Ian Hannay was once a member of The Royal Fourth Yacht Club and was known for sailing and racing Dragon Class yachts. In addition to the Galion class he also designed the G-Class yachts also known as the Kent Class. These were also very outstanding sailing craft within their own categories.

Being an airline pilot he did not have the time available to give the Galion 22 yacht the publicity it deserved, not like the better known yacht makers. Anyhow in spite of their popularity most of them have now ceased trading.

Well the Galion producer Deacons is still around today doing well and are based at Bursledon Bridge, Southampton, Hants. They are known for their production of the Trapper Yachts http://www.trapperyachts.org.uk/ and the Debb 33 and many others.

GALION 22
Let's have a look at the spec: Medium displacement fiberglass cruiser / racer designed by Ian Hannay.
LOA 22ft 0in
LWL18ft 0in
Beam 7ft 3in
Draught 3ft 3in
Sail area 207sq ft
Displacement 3400 lb Ballast 1550 lb (But on the plans shown the ballast iron keel is 1700lb)
Main Cabin Headroom 5' - 8" aft tapering to 5' - 0" at forward end.: .; .
Lastly it has a Byron Rating of 1151 which is fast for it's size. This means we can whip the pants off the opposition when required. Surely we can't be ignored, and that's because we are dangerous racing wise.
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Our rating, Check it out here: http://www.byronsoftware.org.uk/bycn/bycn.htm .
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You might also be interested in the JOG racing rules.
Click here to view them: http://www.jog.org.uk/gencond.htm

Look at the ballast ratio of 50% (They say in the brochure on the next page it's 45%). She's stable and stiff. Look at the large accommodation with good headroom in two cabins. Not many fast cruisers of 22ft with that comfort. Come to think of it I don't know of any even slow cruisers of 22ft with that sort of comfort. Look at her lines. Only the larger yachts have lines like that these days. Look at the generous freeboard, just the job for heavy seas. Safety and that's very important. Oh by the way she's only a 3ft 3in draught ideal for the swatch ways and inland creeks. No fear of running aground. Look at her strong construction much safer than the flimsy racers of today. Look at her traditional long keel design and hull shape.

With firm or tucked up bilges more rigid initial stability is promoted. At the same time the near traditional hull shape has been found to be the best shape to give a stable and easy motion at sea. This shape, proved over time, is ideal for a good sea boat to give comfort and stability in a seaway.

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A note on keel shapes: With regard to the long keel structure of the Galion 22, we have a much safer shape than the modern counterparts. It is integral with the hull and well faired for strength. The smooth entry into the water thus provided gives a non slamming feature for a smoother and safer ride, the sort of ride expected in a larger vessel. The tendency to be stopped by larger waves is also reduced.
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After a notable keel failure the accident report was as follows:
Keel warning 22 December 2003 Following the fatal capsize of a U.K. owned sail training yacht in Australia, the coroner has recommended that, for the safety of other owners of light displacement yachts, the details of the catastrophic failure of the hull/ keel join in this case should be noted.
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This yacht was The "Rising Farrster" with an unfaired fin keel.
"The keel snapped off."