Since I got my F21, I’ve been frustrated at my inability to point to windward. However I didn’t realize how bad it really was until I tried racing her for the first time today. Compared to the rest of the fleet (even other cat rigged boats) I was pointing 10-15 degrees lower than anyone else. I actually went and recorded a GPS track and measured it and I wasn’t able to point closer than 60 degrees from the wind. Is this as good as it gets?
I usually sail with the traveler car at the edge of the companionway unless I feel overpowered (then I drop the traveler some). I trim the main so it just about goes right over the traveler car. I use a small amount of vang, but not much more than enough to take the slack out. I don’t really worry about the outhaul since it’s not a loose-footed main. For cunningham, I apply just enough to take any horizontal wrinkles out.
I do normally sail with the full-sized staysail which seems to help with speed but not much with pointing.
My sail is pretty old (probably 15 years). Would a new one make a huge difference?
Here’s a photo of a recent sail. Is there anything obvious that could be better? Is there anything I should check? (Do ignore the telltales in that shot; I was singlehanding and it’s hard to steer and take a photo at the same time. I normally sail so they are flowing straight back.)
We owned a 21 from 1984-1997 and sailed it on Lake Erie; we now have a Mull 28. In a nutshell, the 21 does not point well, although you should be able to get it to ~50 degrees apparent. If you’re using the staysail, you can bring the traveler in to open the slot and that might help in light air. Without the staysail, you’re right to keep it at the edge of the companionway, as Garry mentioned in the sailing instructions. A new main always helps everything except the wallet! We did very few round the can races due to the poor pointing ability, but loved point to point races , especially when if not much tacking was involved. It’s a great boat for everything except for pointing. However, being able to carry the spinnaker on a close beam reach can make up for it!
I agree that, with the jib, you can keep you boom in tighter. However, as it is a fractional rig, you will need some twist in the sail so the top is not so hard on the wind. Also your main does seem a bit blown out, especially at the head, where the max draft seems to be quite far aft, that will not be helping. One thing you might want to try, which would not be as expensive as a new main, is to fit tapered battens. My rig came with them and I had to replace one, when it slipped overboard last year when rigging the boat for the season. They are cruciform in section (mine are 20mmx10mm) and you can adjust the profile by tapering away the smaller dimension at the leading edge finishing up as a 20mm flat profile at the mast. I hope that makes sense.
I attach pictures of my sail for comparison as well as the offcut from my replacement (you buy it by the meter).
This was the only supplier I could find in the UK. I think Bluestreak, the manufacturer, is from Australia. Maybe there is an importer in the US. Try searching by product detail in the link.
