I wish to advise the following class rule change recently approved by the ITC.
Harken has recently made changes to their winch product line. They have discontinued the 32B that has been one of the mainstays of the winches used as primaries, and replaced it in their product line with the Radial 35.2 PTA . Also the model 16 that has been a common secondary winch for the class has been replaced by the model 20. Both the 32B and 16 are no longer in production and there is very limited to no availability of either winch.
We have processed an emergency rule change through ISAF to allow
1. The Harken Radial 35.2 PTA winch which has a drum diameter of 79.4 mm. The existing class rule accommodates the 32.2 winch 75 mm drum diameter but not the 35.2.
2. The Harken model 20 winch which has a drum diameter of 73.4 mm. The existing class rule accommodates the 16 winch 70 mm drum diameter but not the 73.4 mm of the model 20.
Following is the text of the rule change issued by ISAF:
The following amendments to the Class Rules have been approved to be effective 16th July 2010 by the Class Rules Sub Committee.
Class Rule 3.8.3 (Fixed fittings and equipment to be carried when racing) Amendment:
Change the following sentence to read as follows:
Two primary sheet winches positioned on deck between the mainsheet traveller and the aft face of the forward end of the cockpit well with a drum diameter not exceeding 80 mm.
Class Rule 6.1.2 (Optional Equipment) Amendment:
Change the following sentence to read as follows
Two secondary winches with a drum diameter not exceeding 74 mm. These may be used to sheet the tails of all running rigging.
Peter Stevens – National Measurer/ITC Delegate 0417 802 640
Two J24s, Kaizen and Fun2, were caught in a “freak” water spout during the Queen of the Gulf Regatta.
Kaizen, unfortunately, almost sunk completely straightaway, with only the tip of the mast visible. Later, the wind increased to 50 knots and with 3m seas, Kaizen was pushed toward shore. Her keel was lost, and she was destroyed in the surf at Taperoo Beach.
Fun2 was towed (very slowly!) back to the Club, and with the help of many members, was refloated, pumped out and hauled onto a trailer. Fun2 sustained approximately $18,000 in damaged/lost items. Her sealed bulkhead helped to save her from total annihilation. Due to this, many J24 skippers are considering sealed bulkheads.
With thanks to Alyn Stevenson for article details – published in Groundswell December 2007
The One Design Division was a whitewash, with Hi scoring 5 points, and the second place Kaizen 2 scoring 18 points, with third-placed Cookie Monster following closely on 19 points.
The PHS Division was hard-fought – Hi scored 9 points, Cookie Monster snapping at their heels with 14 points, and Kaizen 2 on 16 points, making it a slight rearrangement of the OD placements.
Showing the value of training and competing in as many races as possible, Hi took out both divisions. Cookie Monster demonstrated their practice pays off, and have two placings to show for it!
(San Diego, CA- July 18-19)- So what happens when you combine the best aspects of bicycle racing into a format for yacht racing? The SoCal J/105 fleet experienced the sensation last One Design Weekend when the SDYC Race Committee decided to shake things up in honor of the start for Le Tour de France.
Twelve boats came together on an ultra short course, taking a mere four minutes to complete a leg. Combined with the fact that two laps constituted a race and only two minutes between races and there you have the makings for close racing and some very tired crew. As in bike racing, there were not only prizes for winning the race, but intermediate prizes termed “primes” for random accomplishments such as the first to the mark, the fastest timed leg of a race, the fastest start and the ever coveted box of doughnuts to the last finisher of race three (delivered hot and fresh courtesy of the SDYC race committee boat).
In all, eight races were run on the day with the highlight being the last which was run in a “win and out” format. In this race the winner of each leg claimed a prime and retired from the race. The winner of leg one was first, the winner of leg two second and so on until the final sprint for fourth. Rails were scraping, Dacron was stretching and halyards were flying to be the boat to capture the title for the first edition of the Cardiac Cup.
Overall, Doug Werners’ JAVELIN won the day followed closely by the Driscoll/ Hurlburt combination on TRIPLE PLAY and third went to the ever quick Dennis Case owned WINGS. Overall the regatta gave a chance for the fleet to learn about the boat and about themselves, ultimately leading to better crew work and faster racing on the course. Photo Credits: Mark Johnson
Hi everyone, we have a new page on the site “Mr Fix It”. It will be a page giving tips on how to repair and maintain a J24. If you wish me to discuss any topics please ask and I will post the answers for the benefit of the whole group.
During my last trip overseas, I made time to visit the Japanese fleet and the Singapore fleets.
One of the Japanese fleets is located at Waseda Yacht Club where the President of the Japanese J24 association, Tommy Hatakeyama, sails from with Team Gekko.
I caught a train from Tokyo at 7am down to Misakiguchi to arrive at around 9am. Tommy was there with his team and picked me up at the train station. After a 15 minute drive we arrived at Waseda Yacht Club. I thought we were going to just have a meeting and look at the boats. Tommy asked, Mr. Peter, are you coming sailing with us today? I of course responded yes of course.
Of course I didn’t have any gear with me.I was whisked away to a modern3 storey glass apartment building just 5 mins walking distance from the yacht club to Gekko House owned by team boss and CommodoreShigeru Namiki, where we had a discussion about the Australian scene, the worlds and the Asian Pacific regatta.
When we went to look at the boats, Mr. Namiki came over and said lets go to the club. It’s 10 am, and he says let drink beer, it is absolutely rudeness to refuse Japanese hospitality so I accept. We drink a long neck of Japanese beer, he says another one?? Ok, comes back with some fried fish dish and we sink another long neck. Lets go he says and we go down to the travel lift which must be a 20 tonner, the Japanese use little transporters which are electric similar to what the airlines use. Boats are backed into the slip, two slings up and in the water in 2 mins with military precision – what would you expect from a professional Japanese yard team?
One of the crew runs down with Team Gekko’s boss’s spare set of Musto gear, and we are off.
We motor out into the bay, set the sails and go sailing. In the meantime the fleet is starting to grow and we hover around a rib in the bay.2 boats arrive, then 3,4,5,6. I ask are we racing? The answer is NO, not today, just sail training. What are we doing today I ask, Just practice starting today. It’s around 11am and the pin is set and a weather mark around 150-200 metres. Bang goes the hooter and we are in a 4 min countdown, forget 5 mins these guys can’t afford to lose time.
I’m working pit on Gekko, one of the teams boats for today. We time the start right and blow the fleet away. We sail around 50 metres and Tommy yells out something in Japanese and the fleet peels off and back to the line. He yells out something to Mr. Nobuo Nakazawa, who is the rib driver and runs Gekko House.
Hooter goes, 4 mins is the call and into the start sequence again , we jostle for position and the start is very close. We hike out and lee bow the windward boat, we are in front.
We sail for 100 metres this time, and Tommy recalls the fleet. He is the boss on the water for training.
I am really enjoying this:- I now know the drill – this time 1 lap.
Back to the line again and bang, we are off again. We position the boat well after a few close bumps from leeward and bumping the weather boat. I am loving this, we get a reasonable start and work hard hiking and pull out in front. 1 lap great, I call to Tommy we going kite? He says no, course too short. I say lets go kite and he nods. Pole goes up and we burn down the run, nobody else go kite. WOW these Italian specials are quick. We round the pin and finish. Wait for the fleet. He says ONE more – we have done about 5 starts now and this will be the 6th.
Bang, gun goes again. Tommy yells out to the fleet 2 laps, We all look for the best position off the line and we smoke it again. We are out in front by 3 or 4 boat lengths. Tommy says to me penalty turn practice, I go ready, we swing the boat around hard, dump the mast man in the piss as he didn’t hear the call, complete the turn.He managed to hang on the rail, pull him in and we are still ahead.
Pole goes up, all the fleet have their poles up and six boats run down neck and neck pumping and surfing down the waves. We finish and raft up the rib. Lunch time around 12.30. We have lunch, change bowman with the other Gekko boat and get back into for another hour and a half.
We pick up the buoys and head home. What a fantastic day! Had a couple of whiskies with the boss, took photo’s and said goodbyes.
Anyone who has the time, certainly go sailing in Japan. Japan has 50 J’s scattered all over the place but they all get together to provide a large fleet for their Nationals.
This is the photo of my battery installation in AUS174. It s a jumpstart battery pack bought on special for $39.00
We modified it for use on the boat by removing the jump start leads, installing a ON/OFF switch shown on the right.
The unit has a cigarette lighter socket on the right for your external power out connection.
The unit is mounted under the sink and tied to the forward bulkhead using 3 stainless steel saddles . The main advantage over a stand alone battery is that the enclosure houses a battery metre, a low voltage indicator, and a 240VAC charging pack.
During my last trip overseas, I made time to visit the Japanese fleet and the Singapore fleets.
