It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a plumb transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed stub keel with a cast itron centreboard.
[1][3] The boat is normally fitted with a small 3 to 6 hp (2 to 4 kW) outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.
[3] In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: Built for entry-level sailors at a price low enough to attract them, the Hughes 22 has little else to recommend it.
Worst features: Of the three comp[etitor]s listed together here [the Seaward 22 and Columbia 22], the Hughes 22 is to our taste the least salty looking, with her mismatched portlights and featureless, slab-sided hull.
She lacks a forward hatch, carries a cast iron keel rather than a molded lead one, and her accommodations plan shows a portside berth only 18 inches wide (versus the accepted industry absolute minimum of 21 inches), In addition, her offset cabin sole is inappropriate for a boat this small.