San Juan 21 Class Association

Good morning all. New to the forums here but I thought I'd get a dialog started on an issue I've been having. I'm the owner of a 1974 MKII (Bangarang). I have noticed that I'm losing too much speed through tacks which is causing my jib to over power the nose of the boat and cause severe over-steer which cannot be corrected until the hull is back up to speed.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this or has suggestions on combating the issue.

Regards,
Andrew

is it causing the boat to veer to weather (the wind) or to leeward (away from the wind)? How big is your jib? Is it a Genoa? Not sure i will have an answer anyway, but these facts might help.

I have a Clark jib and I have the same problem with the boat wanting to turn to leeward. For a beginner sailor like me it is really frightening when the boat ignores the rudder. After what seems like forever the bow will slowly turn to windward. Several times I have struck the jib and sailed only with main until I felt like the boat was headed in the direction I wanted. No one ever proposed a solution?

Some things I've learned through trial and (much) error:

1. Make sure the boat is moving. Don't try to tack without boat speed, particularly if there's a fair amount of wind.
2. Move the tiller smoothly so that the end of the tiller is about centered over the seating area on the lee side of the cockpit. Takes about 2 seconds.
3. Just as smoothly, start to center the tiller when the wind is directly over the bow.
4. Don't release the jib sheet from the cleat until the jib starts to get backwinded a little. This helps bring the bow around.
5. Trim the jib on the new tack.
6. Always pull most of the slack out of the unused jib sheet and cam cleat it. You won't have a lot of sheet flailing around the next time you tack.

Bear in mind: I don't race, and am not nearly as experienced as others on this forum. But this has been fairly easy and foolproof for me. Only been caught in irons once.

Roamer

Hard to tell from the two descriptions exactly what you're asking, but everything Roamer says is true. Are you only talking about this occurring right after a tack or do you have permanent leehelm? If you have leehelm, that isn't a technique issue, it is a boat balance issue that could be caused by a number of things. Here is a video of me and my son where we tack at around the :40 sec mark. It's a pretty textbook tack as a reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFla9fatTiU

you might also be describing being 'in irons' where you are moving backwards and the boat doesn't respond. if that is the case, Roamer is even more correct.

OK, now it is clear to me that the problem wasn't anything to do with the boat but with my marginal sailing skills. Now that I've had 2517 out a few more times and my control of the boat had become less chaotic the issue has gone away.

I find the reward of sailing is the constant learning and boundary pushing.

Hey Kuriti! Is it pretty much just you and I on this forum? I want to rewire my boat so I can add some extra stuff. Have any experience with that? I've put more wear and tear on my boat in the last two months than the POs did in the previous 30 years. Any suggestions on how to locate a parts boat?

Condre'

There are some lurkers about with lots of knowledge. I stay active because I got so much help here when I started and want to give back. Also cross post questions if you don't get answers to the fleet 1 forum as they are the most active. Here is an article I wrote on wiring, happy to supplement as needed:

http://www.sj21class.org/phpbb2/viewtop ... f=16&t=171

I don't know of a parts boat, but it's probably cheaper/safer just to buy new parts. Here is the company I use for hardware:

https://garhauermarine.com/

Best of luck

I'm interested in learning more about wiring... My boat was not built with the Clark electrical panel, and has no battery. The main thing that has me stumped is a conduit or raceway to place the wires in that protects the wire, yet is small and inconspicuous. What did the factory use? Other, better ideas?

Thx, roamer