For a yacht to have a production life of almost 25 years, in a business
where new designs can appear and disappear in the same season, it must
have qualities which place it outside the strictures of trends and fashions.
In 1966, when GRP was a relatively new and still mistrusted interloper,
A G Hurley (Marine) Ltd began production of an innovative 22ft cruising
yacht designed by lan Anderson. The qualities which lay behind the Hurley
22's enduring popularity were summed up two years later in a YM test: 'The
Hurley 22 is a well-proven and justly popular small glassfibre cruiser,
with a better than average performance and sea-going ability.'
Produced alongside a smaller sister, the Hurley 18, the 22 became an
instant hit. Quite aside from her pretty lines -she looked like a 'proper
yacht' - she was solidly built, drawing on Hurley's years of experience
building glassfibre cabin cruisers, and had good accommodation for her
size, with 5ft of headroom and full use made of a modest 7ft 5in beam.
The interior was open plan, with a roomy V-berth forward, a small amidships
galley with a cooker which slid out over a sink, a hanging locker opposite
that, and two quarterberths, one of which was home to a slide-out chart
table. A pump toilet was installed between the V-berths. Slight changes
were made to the layout over the years as the moulds changed hands;
the boat we inspected had been built by South Coast Marine in 1979 and
sported a clever saloon table, which doubled as the door to the hanging
locker, and could also be set up in the cockpit. A later version still
was given an enclosed heads compartment in a three-berth layout.
From the outset
the Hurley 22 was intended to be raced as well as cruised. After a 22 won
the Round The Island Race in 1967, South Hants Marine produced a full racing
version, the 22S, on which a skeg-hung rudder was substituted for the original
spade, and a loftier racing rig was added. These boats acquitted themselves
well on the JOG circuit.
But it has been the 22's cruising performance that has won the respect
of many yachtsmen over the years. The unlikely combination of a long keel
and a small spade rudder proved surprisingly effective, and former Hurley
owners speak fondly of the little boat's performance and seakindliness.
A ballast ratio approaching 60 per cent means she stands up well to her
250sq ft of sail.
The boats have proved themselves on long cruises; several 22s have
crossed the Atlantic, and at least one has cruised the Pacific. Closer
to home, they were especially popular in the West Country and in the shallow
waters of the East Coast; the full keel version draws 3ft 9in, and with
bilge keels she will float in well under 3ft of water.
Some boats were sold with inboard engines, usually Stuart Turners, but
the most popular option had an outboard in a well aft of the rudder. One
of the few criticisms of the boat is that the outboard-equipped, long keel
versions are difficult to steer astern under power.
Well over 1,200 of these little yachts were produced by various builders
until 1990. Given the affection the Hurley 22 seems to inspire in past
and present owners, it is not beyond the bounds of probability that she
might, one day, be resurrected. PN
Specifications: LOA: 6.70m (22ft) LWL: 5.18m (17ft) Beam: 2.22m (7ft 5in) Draught: 1.14m (3ft 9in) fin, 0.76m (2ft 6in) bilge Displacement: 1,769kg (3,900 Ib) Ballast: 1,043kg (2,300 Ib) Sail area: 23,22m2 (250sq ft) Launch price: £1,175 Current price guide (asking prices): £4,000-£6,500