Self Tending Jib on 28 Oday?

Jul 15, 2014
8
Oday 23 Hyannis MA
On one of the best sails of my 2016 season on my new '84 Oday 28, the convergence of a huge gust of wind with a fast running cross rip combined to explode my 150 Jenny. I am thinking about a self tending jib as a replacement which would certainly make single handing easier for an old guy and add a few years to my pleasure. Any thoughts?
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Self tending jib is a nice enhancement for single handed sailing. You can chose to run it with a boom or not. Take a look at the Harken website. They have some rigging diagrams . If you need a custom track you can probably get one from Garhauer Marine.
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Its not a bad idea at all.

Only down-side would be a huge loss of sail area and power. The 28 is really a genoa-driven boat; the main is tiny. Your 150 provided most of the power. With a 90% self-tacking jib you're likely to have a SA/D ratio of below 14.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Jack's right, of course. However, you may want to consider this:

A very illuminating and interesting discussion on co.com for those of you who might be in the market for a new jib.

http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=155362

Please read all three pages. Enjoy.

It may not be all that bad in the long run.

On our way up the coast from SF to Vancouver Island, I met a skipper in Charleston, OR, with a nice Ranger 33 who had rigged a self tending jib with ONLY lines, no deck hardware, no track. We were busy telling each other sailing stories, so I didn't get any pictures. He said it's a fairly common thing. Try some internet sleuthing on "self tending jibs, line only" and other combinations. He said it works great.
 
Aug 17, 2010
311
Oday 35 Barrington
I have had a self-tacking jib on one of the Hunters that I used to teach on. It was the worst aspect of that particular boat. You could not get decent sail shape from it. I always ran regular jib sheets to the jib and disconnected the self-tacking setup whenever I taught on that boat.