S21 - Sails

Posted By: Robert Denton
Date: 3/28/08 11:39a.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Santana 21 - I'm new to sailing (501Spartan)

Welcome. I hope you enjoy the boat. I am currently rebuilding a S21 that suffered hurricane dammage. I don't recomend jumping on something like this unless you have had some experiance. I knew I was in deep from the start. The good points are: 1. The S21 is a fairly simple boat. The interior is scaled back (on mine at least) which saves weight, and makes cleaning etc. simple and less expensive. 2. There is a huge amount of cockpit space. 3. They are solidly built compaired to a lot of boats I've been around. 4. I haven't put mine in the water yet, but they are supose to be fast and stable. I still wonder how much of each. Bad points: 1. The keel cable should be inspected. This means possibly having to take the keel off of the boat. Possibly the biggest task you will undertake. 2. Check the wiring. It most likely needs replacing. Not a huge deal because of the simplicity of the overall design. 3. Rigging, both standing and running. You should check both very carefully, or better yet get someone who has been around sailboats to check the rigging for you. This is not S21 specific, but boats in general. THe last thing you want is to have to replace the mast. Yes you can loose a mast due to poor tuning, or bad rigging. This could get more expensive than sails. Now to the sails. I have quotes ranging from 450 to 850 for a new dacron main. Sails are not cheap, and good sails are expensive. Here's the deal. Like previously mentioned, if you do not plan to race, you can get by with less expensive sails. However you will be giving up performance. Even for the casual cruser, performance is important. If you plan to motor around the lake taking in the sights, then obviously sails are not that important. There are plenty sailboats in my area that spend 90 percent of the time under motor. I prefer to sail into and out of my slip if at all possible. A big part of learning to sail is learning sail trim. You will be amazed at how much difference a little here and there will make at the helm. It is hard to learn trim with bad sails. I'm not at all suggesting spending 1200 on laminated carbon sails, but do get decent Dacron. Well made sails can last years for a casual cruser. In case you are wondering, I'm looking at the 650-750 range. If you can go racing as a crew on a local club race. You can learn more about trim and sailing in a few hours as a crew on a good boat than in a whole summer dinking about by yourself. Don't get me wrong, dinking about is great fun and stress relief. Its just easier when someone who is concerned about performance is there to teach you. Invest well in things that matter (sails and rigging) and above all else, have fun!