San Juan 21 Class Association

I am on my third SJ21 and this one seems to have excessive lee helm, my other two did not. It is a totally stock boat with original standing rigging and sails. I have raked the mast aft as far as the turnbuckles will allow. I have also tried placing the keel in various positions in an attempt to shift the weight further aft but this has had minimal affect. Anybody have or had similar symptoms? Ideas? Thanx.

Most likely:

1) You wrote, "I have raked the mast aft as far as the turnbuckles will allow." Chances are your stays are not original, so maybe the replacements were cut to an incorrect length or had shorter turnbuckles, allowing insufficient rake. This would be especially true of the forestay. Maybe add an extender or shackle or two to lengthen it and see what happens.


Other possibilities, if less likely:

2) Is your boat an older one? Factory tolerances were pretty loose at first, so maybe your mast step is too far forwards.

3) Maybe someone did a keel bolt repair once and ended up moving the hole, and therefore the keel itself, forwards of its original position. Check the fibreglass around the keel bolt. Does it seem original or repaired? If repaired, might the bolt be forwards? If you can't tell, then you can see the bolt where it passes through the keel on either side when lying under the boat on its trailer. Which means you can roughly measure its position relative to the front edge of the trunk, and then compare that measurement to that of another Sj21. Or easier but less accurate: again when under the boat, measure the gap between the head of the keel and the front of the trunk, then compare that measurement to that of another SJ21. (That's less accurate because one keel is likely to be higher (or lower) into the trunk than another, changing the distance between the head of the keel and front of the trunk.)

4) You've tried the keel in different positions. Still, might be worth checking its angle when down. Originally they were at 56 degrees (I think), but we now set them at 64. Having experimented, I can say that anymore than 64 is slower. Would also add lee-helm.


And even less likely:

5) You say you've got "original sails". Do you mean original Clarks or do you mean class standard sails? Any chance your foresail is cut with a deep draft too far forwards?

6) Being an experienced sailor you know to set sails. Still, maybe try pulling your main further to windward, with extra vang tension if you haven't a traveller, to ensure the leech isn't too loose and therefore spilling too much wind.


Steve Blumer
Calgary

Thanks Steve. All very good points but perhaps the most cogent one is "factory tolerances were pretty loose."!!

I'd still suggest you check your rake and if less than faster boats, try adding rake with an extender or shackles.