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First time SJ21 owner

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:38 pm
by tchilds
Hello!

I just purchased an old SJ21 from Martinsville, IN. I live in Indianapolis and plan on sailing Eagle Creek and Lake Monroe, on overnight weekender trips w/my wife. She is new to sailboats, swimming, and water in general but is very excited about the boat. I grew up club racing and cruising on a S2 7.9 for 22 years, then taught small boat sailing at Ransburg scout camp in Bloomington, IN on Lake Monroe for 5 years. We did have a SJ21 donated to the camp so I am somewhat familiar with this boat already! I traded my hobie 16 for a more appropriate starter family boat and look forward to the relative comfort and space of my new (old) sj21.

My first concerns are, 1.) transom has been repaired. gelcoat around entire perimeter of transom obviously resprayed, holes remain in rear of transom uncertain what they are intended for, otherwise solid repair. 2.) rebedding all deck hardware, solid condition, 3.) fixing wiring (uhg) and 4.) new (old) sails as the ones I have were destroyed by mice apparently and I think I'm missing a fidle block for the boom.

I'll post all my questions and what not in the correct forums but these are the few things I plan on repairing this year. The boat overall is in great condition and has been maintained very well. Whoever owned this boat took time and stayed on top of the maintenance because what is here seems top notch condition, much better than the old racing boats and hobie hardware I'm used to tinkering with. There are no soft spots or core rot ANYWHERE, which I found amazing. The crazing is also pretty minimal and expected for a boat this age.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know my boat a little. She doesn't have a name yet, still working on that. I plan on keeping the expenses down and running a pretty stock setup + a kite setup down the road would be nice. Feel free to drop me any lines on used sails in good shape, looking for a working jib and main set only at this time. I'm just a part time employee at UPS and full time M.E. student at IUPUI dtown Indy.

P.S. I've been lurking a bit for about a week or so and am familiar w/all the rigging options and modifications but this boat will be primarily used for cruising trips my wife and my two dogs =)

Re: First time SJ21 owner

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:46 pm
by cklamp
Hey there Tchilds!

Welcome to the Class, and the Forums... Definitely as you post questions, if you're able too some pics would help. The only holes I know of that would be in the transom stock would be for the Motor Mount, or the Gudgeons for the Rudder, but those should be obvious to someone with some experience. The other thing I could think of is possibly for a split backstay? maybe some handles or a swim step to get back up into the boat?

I have a jib that isn't in phenomenal shape, but it's definitely serviceable. It's old and a bit worn, but It's yours if you want it. I'll have to package it up, and figure out how much shipping would be. cklamp at hotmail dawt com is my address if you're interested.

I can totally understand doing things on a budget, i've slowly built up my boat since I bought it in 08 and a lot of the parts are hand me downs from guys in Fleet 1, used purchases from same, ebay bought, or general backyard engineering. You should also post on here in the Sale section as to what you're in need of. I'm sure there are tons of us in the community with good old spare parts just sitting around that we'd be glad to ship off. I know I have lots of older cleats and blocks too that are serviceable that I just can't bring msyelf to get rid of "just in case someone needs it", so if you can figure out what you're in need of let us all know!

later
C

Re: First time SJ21 owner

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 4:50 pm
by tchilds
Thank you for the welcome. I sent you a message!

I'm pulling off all the teak and cabin top hardware today. I power washed the boat and it cleaned up real nice with barkeeper's friend. Can't wait to get it compounded down to shiney new after I get everything sorted!

I soaked the main in the bath tub with a couple capfuls of bleach, oxalic acid, and then rinsed after 30 minutes and treated another 24 hours in just oxy. rinsed over night, treating in Woolite now for 24 hour soak then a good spray n scrub down w/barkeepers on the tough stains. I officially have a polyester main lol, not that there was much dacron magic left in these sails. A real shame all the mouse n mildew ruined them, they were in really solid condition otherwise.

I will dice up the jib and use the more desirable patches for the main sail. I shall call her patchy. I figure I can cut and hem the jib up and still end up with a patched main and a questionable storm jib that would be fun to experiment with. I'll probably sail under main or electric motor power more often than anything else. I don't want to scare my wife off the boat with too much complexity. She likes to lay out on deck as soon as I install a couple life lines =)

I found some double pulley rated to 300lb at harbor freight that would work temporarily in place of the fiddle block. Is 300lb safe? Seems like a bad gybe coule break that?

Re: First time SJ21 owner

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 5:40 pm
by cklamp
I wouldn't do the HF pulley:) I'll go check your message now.

For pulley's i'd look over ebay... I'm sure there is something on there that would be more appropriate or cheap. I'm not sure I have any fiddle's but I'll take a look through my tackle box and see if there's anything that could help ya out.

Later
C

Re: First time SJ21 owner

Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:34 pm
by Diarmuid
I have the original fiddle w/shackle from the boom-end sheeting arrangement. White acetal sheaves, no becket. Yours if you want it -- we've changed to mid-boom sheeting. Also, we have an old (as in 1973) Clark mainsail which we could ship you. It's kinda blown out on the leech and our reefing patch contact cement turned a distressing yellow color, but it may be more functional than what you have. Would get you sailing, anyhow. PM me if you are interested

ETA: Our transom also had mismatched gelcoat or paint, wrapping a uniform 1" onto the sides. Dunno if it was factory or an earlier fix. Almost suspect factory. Anyhoo, I wish they taken the opportunity to isolate the balsa at the time of the repair, cuz like most SJ21s, our transom core is wet. :x