Conference unifix::sailing

    Yacht Racing Cruising had an article by Hale Wolcoff about the setup
    on HJ.  This was about two years ago.  More recently (last summer
    I think) John Kostecki also wrote an article for the same magazine
    describing the setup on his boat for the worlds.  The latter has
    a table of tuning settings for various conditions.  Although I don't
    own a J, I adapted his settings my E22 and developed much improved
    boatspeed.  I'll try to look up the issue numbers when I get home.
    It may be worth calling North Sails in Marblehead to see if they
    have reprints.  The authors are employees there.
    
    - gene ho

    I have a reprint of a 1982 article by Dave Curtis and Hale Walcoff
    regarding deck layout, mast stepping and rig tuning, as well as
    standard techniques THEY use when racing.  My J/24 has the Curtis
    layout and I find it works well.  Their rig tuning recommendations
    should not be followed blindly, as they apply to their sailing
    conditions, the cut of their sails, and how THEY sail THEIR boat.
    The theory is explained well, which provides a good starting point.
    If you want a copy of this article, please send me an EM with your
    mailstop and I'll be happy to forward it.
    
    I would also be interested in reading what John Kostecki has to
    say.  Much has changed in the world of J/24 racing since the
    Curtis/Walcoff article.
    
    cheers,
    Rob Charuk
    KC2728
    Toronto, Canada
    

    The International J/24 Magazine you get with class membership is
    an excellent source of information.  There are usually one or two
    articles in each issue on how to make the boat fast.  Ask other
    racing J/24 owners for back issues.  I'd lend you mine but I'm in
    Vermont.
    
    Bill

    I am currently considering purchasing a used J-24,& would welcome any
    advice,particularly with regard to the following points.
    
    How easy are they to handle for a relative novice ?
    
    Are they an absolute "balls out" racer,or can they be set up to cruise?
    
    Are they robust/stable enough for occasional "offshore" use (with the 
    correct safety equipment of course..). 
    
    There are quite a few available here,ranging from Aus$10k to $30k,what
    sort of problems could I be buying with an older/cheaper boat,- should
    I invest in a newer one to avoid this...?
    
    Bear in mind that I'm primarily interested in participating - not
    winning!!
    
    	Rgds,
    		Kev.
    

    >How easy are they to handle for a relative novice ?
    
    	Not terrible hard to just sail but requires a fair bit of skill on
    the part of the skipper and crew to sail well.  To race takes a skillful
    crew and skipper to sail near the front of the fleet.   It also
    requires good sails, proper rig tune, optimized keel and rudder.
    
    
    >Are they an absolute "balls out" racer,or can they be set up to cruise?
    
    	There is a hand wave towards a living space but that is it.  If you
    like really roughing it you could cruise it.  But it will be dark and
    with little air flow.
    
    >Are they robust/stable enough for occasional "offshore" use (with the 
    >correct safety equipment of course..). 
    
    
    	I would not consider them offshore boats.  They were designed to be
    around the cans racers that you could overnight on if need to, or were
    forced to.
    
    >There are quite a few available here,ranging from Aus$10k to $30k,what
    >sort of problems could I be buying with an older/cheaper boat,- should
    >I invest in a newer one to avoid this...?
    
    	All the usual sorts of problems with older boats.  Get a surveyor,
    to go over the boat looking for problems.  Check for:
    
    	- A soft deck, the core may have gotten wet
    	- All the running and standing rigging 
    	- The keel & keel bolts, also try to find out if the keel & rudder
    	  has been faired.  A good job is a boon, but a butcher job will slow
    	  you down and possibly make it harder to get it done right.
    	- Find out if the boat has had an accident and how serious
    	- Make sure the boat is class legal.  In the early days a bunch of
    	  really light hulls were made.  The class later put a minimum
    	  weight rule in place.  An under weight one cannot be raced in
    	  class sanctioned events.
    
    >Bear in mind that I'm primarily interested in participating - not
    >winning!!
    
     	Enjoy good luck in your search.
    
    
    Forrest

    If my memory serves me correctly, somewhere in this conference 
    I believe there is a string (perhaps 2-3 years ago) where there was a 
    discussion on the merits of J-24's and I believe there was also a 
    checklist for things to look for.
    
    Sorry I cannot be more specific.

    
    	I could not find that string but foud a couple older note(s) that
    may help a little.  The numbers are specific notes but I would read a
    couple before and after each note.
    
    	1357.3
    	1664.4 & 1667.27
    
    
    Forrest

    Kev,   Regarding your question on the J24:
    
    Q) Are they an absolute "balls out" racer, or can they be set up to
       cruise?
    
    A) For basic "cruise" a boat would be 32' LOA and displace about
       10,000 Lbs.    The J24 displacement is under 3,000 lbs.
    
    HOW TO SET UP A J24 FOR CRUISING IN 3 EASY STEPS
    =======================================================================
    1) Cut Hull in half at mid-ships, add 10' to LOA & 5,000 lbs to keel.
    
    2) Install strong mast, new sails and heavy rigging.
    
    3) Install 24 Hp Diesel engine with 3 bladed prop.
    
    Kev, it's that simple!!!    
        
    
    
    
     
    

    Thanks for the help,those pointers were a boon.
    
    Re - .8
    
    What about the Chesterfield & Bar ??	:-)
    
    I don't really want/need a cruising boat for general use,but In about a 
    years time or so,may get some time (1-2 months?) to sail around a bit
    (Queensland,Tasmania,N.Z. ??),before leaving these parts.
    I wouldn't want to buy & then sell a boat just for this duration,& the
    cost of chartering would be prohibitive.
    I am beginning to understand the design limitations of the J, but if I
    can get by with it,(comfort notwithstanding..) then things could work
    out.
    A friend of mine is the skipper of Nuclear Electric,& he says you can
    do it in anything,as long as you prepare it (see mods in .8 :-) ),& 
    have all the safety gear.
    A few short trials offshore in a J may yet cause me to reconsider...
    
    Kev.
    

    to the title of .9: not me!
    
    I bought a racer.  33ft long, 6000lb and retired it after burning out
    from five years of finding eight crew, rush, rush, push, push.....
    
    so I "singlehand" cruise (sometimes a lady comes along) tending to
    runners, checkstays, fractional rigged foil headsails, and a tiller.
    
    get's busy? A little sometimes (no autohelm).  BUT....9+knots is no
    stranger (even with the #3).  And the damn thing is balanced upwind. You
    can lash the tiller and it will follow the wind! Offwind is kinda
    tiring on long treks (guess I'll have to get that autohelm afterall). 
    The good news is that upwind is slower and easier, offwind is fast and 
    fun. 
    
    There is no bad news....
    

	I have to dispute the 32 foot requiement for cruising. To me cruising is 
just sailing for fun and not in a a race. I've been doing that with my 22'er for 
5 seasons and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am getting tired of finding conditions 
that are more than what is deemed comfortable, but I've been out in more when 
I was forced to. I am also getting tired of the very cramped space. But if I 
don't get a new boat this winter I'll be back in my S2 and doing it for year 
number 6 next summer. 
	Admittedly my cruises have been short, no more than 20 miles and not
often more than one night. I have in some cases spent more time in a race than
some of my cruises. But that's on a different boat. I don't know what the 
prevailing conditions are where you plan to use the boat and what's comfortable 
for you is your decision. 
	As for direct comments on J-24s I can't say much having only spent 
one afternoon of 4 races on one. It seemed to be a nice sailing boat and I 
really liked the contieuos sheeting genoa set-up on that particular boat. 

	I am getting tired of my small boat and am looking to move up. I have 
taken an interest in  multihulls and expect to move into something that 
won't have a lot more space than a j-24, but will be twice as fast. But I 
must say, you don't need 32'LOA to cruise. But if you plan to sell in one 
year, a known class that is popular may move faster at selling time.That could
be a very impoortant consideration.

Geoff

    For the cruising indicated, I would expect you to need a slightly more
    robust vessel than a J-24.  Anything can be done with enough time and
    money though.  Figure how much you would need to make the boat passage
    worthy (discounting any risk you are willing to take) and see what you
    can find in that range.  
    
    Brian