Selden self tacking jib system

[MaryEllaRose]

Has anyone had experience with the Selden system 20 self tacking jib system? Old age and a torn rotator cuff has made handling jib sheets treacherous. I know they’re pricey and will require a new jib (probably custom made) but if it keeps me sailing it’s money well spent. It will be used on a Catalina 25 with a jib furler.
We are fair weather day sailors, not racers and I understand that there will be some loss of performance from the smaller jib.
Is the Selden worth the higher price? I’ve reviewed Stingy Sailor’s all line self tacker but have concerns about lines fouling, etc. Has anyone tried it?

Thanx,
Tom G

 

[jssailem]

Tom...
At the $1400 asked by Catalina I would take a look at options.

StingySailor likely put his own together, buying track or just rigging the lines. Likely you are seeking to stay in the cockpit so not sure if there is much worry about lines on the deck.

Harken also makes a good hardware system. Available at this link, and others:

Harken Crossbow Self-Tacking Jib System - The Rigging Company

The Harken Crossbowâ„¢ is a self-tacking jib system designed for high-performance dinghies, skiffs, and catamarans under six meters (20 feet). The system features a curved track that hinges to align both car and track with the sheet loads for less friction, more load-bearing capacity, and for an...

theriggingco.com

I would reach out to SBO Shop. They acquired a lot of Catalina's hardware recently. They may have what you are looking for in the warehouse.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Self-tacking jibs perform relatively better in the sail plan of fractional rigs with large mainsails, as with many of the Hunter and Bavaria models, etc. On a model where the headsail is the chief driving sail, not so good. I once chartered a Pearson 34 masthead sloop with the self-tacking jib. Very sorry up-wind “performance”. I doubt you’d like it much. We also had one on a chartered Hanse 495 which was Selden. Did not like it there either much, but on big boats like that they’re very practical if single handing. So, they have some merits.

 

[jon hansen]

been using a selftacking jib system on my masthead rigged yawl for the last 50 years. love it. the jib is small, so the main does most of the work. you'll want a main in good condition. here in the great lakes we have plenty of wind. we do't need big overlapping sails as some might want in the low wind areas of the country. a selftacking jib will be sweet on lake erie.

i have big jibs too. love them too. i sail with a crew. so switching sails to match the weather is how i sail.

when sailing to weather all day there is nothing better.

your going to love it.

 

[jssailem]

i have big jibs too. love them too. i sail with a crew. so switching sails to match the weather is how i sail.

Having a whole suit of sails to suit the sailing conditions is so definitely “Old School”.
I love it.

 

[MaryEllaRose]

Thanx for all the input...

I think a little more research is in order as to the length of the track. My boat is in storage at the moment, nicely covered, so I’ll have to get over there and take a measurement across the cabin roof where the track will mount. The Harken system is only about 37 inches and I’m not sure if that is sufficient. The Selden system is longer, but I’ll need to figure out just how long it needs to be.

Tom G

 

[John Montgomery]

DIY my own selftacker. Not to hard to do. FYI my boat came with a Solent stay so I can still hank on my old jibs about 6" behind my roller furler.

 

[MaryEllaRose]

Mauripro got back to me in regard to delivery time...three months from England. I’m awaiting pricing but no doubt that’s gone up too. The more I look at this, I think I can come up with a system of my own. I’ll keep you posted...

 

[matts997]

Someone here mentioned the Stingy Sailor article describing a DIY self-tacking jib on a Catalina 22...here’s the link:

How to Rig a Self-Tacking Jib for Free!

You may not have seen or even heard of a self-tacking jib before. They’re usually only found on luxury sailboats. But that’s exactly what one is, a headsail that sheets itself when you …

stingysailor.com

I experimented w/ this last summer and was pleasantly surprised by how well it performed on my H280, at least in light to moderate winds. Ideal for laid-back solo sailing and in my case, sailing only w/ my wife or guests who know little or nothing about sailing. It cost me ~ $50 for a couple soft shackles and a single block. Very easy to set up and take down, so I use it occasionally, depending on whom I’m with and weather conditions. However, I suspect this wouldn’t work as well on a boat larger than 28'-30’.

Matt

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Get your rotator cuff fixed. I had mine done and I'm good as new.

 

[PaulK]

The self-tacker on a bridle is a good idea, but doesn't provide the same adjustments as one with a track. We rigged a home-made self-tacking jib on our 27' Soling, and had good success racing with it, so it worked pretty well. To do it we used two .5" bolts, one at each end of a 1.5" curved stainless steel pipe that we mounted in front of the mast about 2" off the deck. (The pipe served as the traveler. Yours could be as long as you needed it to be. It doesn't actually have to be curved, either.) A stainless steel ring slid back and forth on the pipe, with a pennant tied to it so we could adjust how far out on the pipe it went. The pennant went from the ring to a padeye mounted midships just forward of the pipe, and then back to a cleat in the cockpit. A block for the jib sheet was shackled to the ring, so the jib sheet went from the clew of the sail, through the block on the ring, and then forward to another block near the base of the forestay, and then back to the cockpit. To account for moving the jib lead forward or aft the clew of the jib had a plate with several holes. The top holes were for moving the lead forward and the bottom holes were for moving the lead aft. Simple, cheap, and effective.

 

[MaryEllaRose]

Sounds interesting. I was thinking about using a piece of jib car track mounted in a similar manner with a ball bearing car. My concern was that the track needed to be curved. If your set up worked ok with a straight track it might well be worth trying.
Tom G

 

[PaulK]

Our setup was curved, but it doesn't have to be. The curve serves to keep jib sheet tension constant through a tack. It also allows you to adjust the traveler without having to re-trim the sheet. If you don't care that the sheet goes slack while you're tacking, and don't mind re-trimming the jib (if you think its needed) after adjusting the traveler, it doesn't matter. Lots of the Grand Banks schooners look like they had travelers made out of pipe. They simplified it by bending the ends of the pipe down 90º, threading them, and securing them to the deck beams with nuts & washers. If you go with a track - straight or curved - you will probably want to angle it so the load is up, in relation to the track, rather than tangential.