YACHTING MONTHLY, 1968

design
section

THE Hurley 22 is a well-proven and justly popular small glass fibre cruiser, with a better than average performance and sea-going ability. South Hants Marine have developed this latent performance potential to produce a very effective-JOG racer. The result has all the charms of a tuned-up mini. The hotting up costs money but after you have spent the £300 or so that South Hants ask for a 22 in full JOG race trim one might have to look far afield to find an equal performer at equal cost. Hull alterations have been minimal.


Note the new rudder design, which is one of three variants seen on Hurley 22s - OV

The skeg and rudder have been tidied up but the underwater body is otherwise unchanged. Below decks is still standard Hurley, with two quarter berths and two forward berths with a loo between them in the fore cabin. The chart table pulls out over the quarter berth to port. The galley is amidships to port, with the sink moulding to the fore and the two-burner stove mounted on gimbals above and behind the sink. There are lockers under the sink unit and fitted plate racks under the companion-way. To starboard are more lockers and a folding table. In the fore cabin there are port and starboard lockers at the foot of the bunks and shelves running the full length of tile cabin. Right forward there is a large locker for chain and sails. The designer has not attempted to go all out for headroom at the expense of looks and the coach-roof is modest by many small cruiser standards. This has not resulted in a cramped interior. There is comfortable sitting headroom and 5ft headroom in the main cabin. The ceiling is lined and there is an abundance of wood trim including a teak ply sole to set off the glass fibre.

On deck one begins to see the work of South Hants. Coachroof and deck remain unaltered. Because of the modest size of the coachroof there is a large uncluttered foredeck for working on. The fore hatch, main hatch and outboard hatch and cockpit lockers all have coloured wood grain moulded in. A stemhead roller is standard.
Deck fittings and above decks is all South Hants Marine. Two Lewmar 844 winches replace the standard ones: a fully adjustable centre mainsheet with ballrace slider and track replaces the normal rear of cockpit arrangement and there are pulpit, rear pulpit and guard-rails to JOG requirements. The main changes are to the rig. South Hants fit a Proctor racing mast with internal wire halyards and another Lewmar 844. The boom is also by Proctors. This mast is slightly taller than the standard spar. A mitre cut main is fitted with a tie-in reef and a shorter foot. The result is a taller narrower sail with slightly less area which is balanced by a 180ft stetchy luff genoa and a 380ft spinnaker; the largest possible under RORC rules. Under this rig the boat not only performs considerably better but her rating is reduced to 143. The day YM tested the boat in the Solent there was only a moderate breeze. In these conditions she handled beautifully; her sophisticated gear, working well within its capacity, made her a joy to sail. Though the test day did not provide ideal conditions for an offshore boat she seemed stiff and very well balanced. Since a '22' won the 1967 Round the Island race the South Hants Works Boat Shakeshe has been campaigned very successfully by lan Walker in nearly all the JOG races. South Hants stress that they will tailor boats to customer requirements and will provide the boal in whatever state of 'tune' is required to suit the purchaser's purse. Full modifications add about £300 to the standard price. A worthwhile example of gilding the lily.