Freedom 21 Blade Jib

iansan5653
Posts: 101
Joined: Sun May 09, 2021 4:39 pm

Re: Freedom 21 Blade Jib

Post by iansan5653 »

Hi, sorry to revive an ancient thread but I didn't want to take the video thread too far off topic.

I'm thinking about having a very similar setup made for my F21, except maybe with a full-length batten instead of a spar - I'm not sure. It sure would be convenient. This is a really cool setup!

A couple of questions, if you don't mind:

Do you feel like a sail that small gives enough of a boost that it's definitely worth having one (instead of no staysail at all)?

Do you have any issues with forestay tension? I was running into that problem with my much larger jib but maybe one this small wouldn't be powerful enough to flex the mast like a larger one does.

I see it's tacked behind the spinnaker chute; are there any concerns about bending that bar? Is it reinforced at all? Do you keep it centered on the bar, or do you allow it to slide side to side?

Finally, what would it take to get the dimensions of your specific sail? :)

Thanks so much for these pictures and info - this is extremely helpful!
Ian Sanders
1983 Freedom 21 - Shoal Draft
St Petersburg (Tampa Bay), FL

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newt2u
Posts: 236
Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:24 am
Location: UK

Re: Freedom 21 Blade Jib

Post by newt2u »

Hi Ian,

I will try to answer your questions.

Firstly the pulpit seems quite strong enough to support the jib, it has to be rigid to support the spinnaker which puts much more load on it. My jib clew is shackled to a small eyebolt, which goes through the rear crossmember of the pulpit, the halliard goes through two soft shackled blocks and back to the cockpit to provide raising and lowering the jib, which currently clips onto the tail of the line used to raise the jib, so that when tight (and I use the port side winch) you have a "forestay" from the halliard. I have no problems with mast bend but you do need to keep the stay tight as you have quite a bit of force from the turning moment produced by pulling vertically down on the sheet. It is for this reason your batten idea will not work, the spar needs to be rigid to get lateral movement from your vertical sheet and you will not self tack without that. My tack just brushes the mast as it goes across and the sheet goes vertically down to a block (two in my setup so I can adjust the sheet either side of the cockpit).

I plan to add a permanent forestay just to keep the jib tidier but tension will still be applied via the halliard and winch, you need this tension to keep the fore end of the spar relatively static, it does push forward a bit when tight on the wind.

As to performance, I use the jib in all conditions and have seen at least a 1 kit speed hike in reasonable winds (10-15knts), it also allows me to point that bit higher.

Hope this helps, I am not at the boat right now but can get measurements sometime next week if you want, when I will be sailing again. However luff length and LP measurements are in an earlier post.
Last edited by newt2u on Sat Aug 20, 2022 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Rockin - F21 twin drop keels - located Whitehaven, Cumbria, UK

iansan5653
Posts: 101
Joined: Sun May 09, 2021 4:39 pm

Re: Freedom 21 Blade Jib

Post by iansan5653 »

Thanks, I appreciate the info! Lots to think about here - I might need to talk to my sailmaker soon.
Ian Sanders
1983 Freedom 21 - Shoal Draft
St Petersburg (Tampa Bay), FL

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