J24 Tips for speed by North Sails J 24 class experts
North Sails has been at the forefront of sail design for the J/24 class since the class first started in 1977. Throughout these years North Sails have designed and developed J24 sails which have won countless national and world titles with sailors choosing to use North sails.
North Sails have gone through a restructuring exercise recently. They are wanting to put more focus on One Design racing and will provide more tips on a regular basis – of course they would also like to sell you some sails as well !
Below are some key points from their class experts on how to maximise your J 24’s performance!
What a weekend?…5 boats from VIC making the huge effort to come to Gosford. 4 boats from Pacific Sailing School with instructors skippering and students, some very new to the sport on board! Terry Wise skippering Bandit!! Some of the old die hard fleet returning for more hot racing!
Saturday giving us blue skies and a light breeze oscilating up to 50 degrees at times….difficult for most!! Sunday was another story…torrential rain for the first race, coupled with a breeze most reckon was up to 35knots at times…tough conditions that saw just 8 of the original 15 boats race the final race of the day as one by one we saw J’s heading back towards the club!!
Gosford Sailing Club gave us the intended 4 races each day – an achievement in itself given the appaling conditions Sunday brought!..’Pure adrenalin’, ‘survival mode’…and ‘the reason we go racing’ were phrases that were bandied around back at the club….I think one member of Kaotic might have also mentioned ‘wet’ ..and that wasn’t the rain!
The results below say it all….a very competitive fleet…5 of the race wins going to current VIC Champion David Suda on Pacemaker, Sean Kirkjian, current National champion took out the other 3 firsts! They were strongly contended by many of the other boats though and competition couldn’t have been closer at times!
I am proud to be part of this fleet…and mostly…very proud to get through a State Championships and see not one red flag…and not one prang!! Well done everyone and thanks! Also, a big thank you to Gosford Sailing Club for hosting a great regatta yet again, and also to our sponsor, UVEX for providing great prizes once more.
The J24 ranking page is now online. To find it look under ‘About J24’ on the top nav bar.
Lisa Simonov, the better half of ‘Make My Jay’ at Sandy and head programmer at Smart Marketing has done a fantastic job of turning an algorithm provided by Sean Wallis into a full on ranking system, complete with all the data entry and database systems required behind the scenes.
Currently the system is ranking on the state regattas and the Nationals last season, in the near future we will add the previous season as well. The ranking is designed to be based over the previous two sailing seasons and rewards regattas sailed and finish placing with different regattas having different weighting.
We plan to put even more bells and whistles into it in the future, but for now ……. how do you rank in the national list ?
The summer sailing season is almost upon us and along with all the other things you are doing to your boat to get it ready – don’t forget one very important thing – you must have a current measurement certificate !
The onus for this is on the boat owner – no other person or body. This means that if you don’t have a current IJCA certificate organised through our National Measurer Peter Stevens in the last couple of years, then you are not a legal J24 and will not be able to race. The pic above is the top of the correct certificate, if yours doesn’t look like this you have the wrong one.
If you don’t have your correctors in, your V-berth or your shelves are not fitted or you have made any other changes and not remeasured then you will not comply.
Now is the time to act, either contact your state measurer or Peter direct if you have any questions or doubts about your compliance.
The class is getting more competitive and we need to make sure all boats are racing on an even basis.
We have had formal direction from the IJCA and I have had a number of members contact me informally concerned about this matter. The National committee will be right onto this via our national measurement register this year and I gauge the mood from various members is also a “get tough” attitude. A non compliant boat is a protest just the same as a port and starboard, so don’t forget this important item in your boat preparation.
Alyn Stevenson has written an excellent piece here for us that you should all read as well concerning this matter.
J24 Measurement compliance and playing fair
As a past president of the class and someone who is not on any committees but is passionate about the class I thought it prudent to write an article on compliance of boats and measurement certificates.
Firstly members should be aware that measurers are there to protect the Class rules and ensure compliance, and in turn take their directive from the J24 International Technical Committee.
Owners are responsible for their boat measurement!
The J24 Measurement certificate is the same as an IRC certificate without it you can’t race!
If you change anything on your boat it must be done in consultation with a class measurer.
Your Measurement certificate is the most important document in your racing kit – value and respect it.
It has come to my attention that over the last 18 months there are incidences of boats removing correctors and this certainly is clear breach of RRS never mind J24 class rules.
The stalwarts of the class that have won most Nationals over time with boats that are optimized to the n’th degree but they will measure and comply.
They know the value of optimizing a boat but also don’t want to lose a Regatta because the boat doesn’t measure. They know the difference between optimization and an invalid boat that doesn’t measure. (They respect the rules)
The Australian Fleet
Boats that have missing correctors, made alterations etc. and have not had a new measurement certificate need to contact their State measurer and fix this immediately. (There can be no exceptions to these infringements of the rules)
The second categories of boats are older boats that have some basic missing items that invalidate them. The peers in class need to assist these owners to get their boats up to standard so they comply.
Having said that – Owners need to accept their responsibility and comply with directives from class measurers.
Two main areas are missing V berths and missing shelves. All of these can be replaced cheaply with lightweight replacements that comply with the class rules. A lot of us that have been in the class for a while can assist with information on how to achieve this.
At the end of the day it is ATTITUDE and RESPECT of J24 Class rule that counts, and anyone wanting to have their J24 comply will receive enormous assistance from within the class. That is the strength of the class, helping new owners come in and progress through the fleet.
COME ON – let’s play FAIR and accept our own obligation of an owner and competitor.
Peter Stevens is our National Measurer and our representative on the ITC (International Technical Committee), this is a maintenance bulletin from him for us all to take careful note of.
There aren’t many maintenance areas that are more important, or more often overlooked than keel bolts. This is true for every boat, but particularly so for J/22s, J/24s and J/80s, all of which routinely hoist the boats in and out of the water using the bolts.
Failure of any keel bolt is bad, but most bolts are part of a massively redundant system, where the failure of any one bolt is rarely immediately catastrophic. For boats that are hoisted, the failure of a bolt holding the lifting gear can be catastrophic and has the potential to lead to the loss of the boat, or much, much worse.
While this article is being distributed to USWatercraft and J/Boats customers, it applies to virtually all production boats, regardless of builder or brand. If they use Stainless Steel keelboats and most of them do, it applies. Feel free to pass it along to your friends and fellow boat owners. It’s pretty important.
Since they live in the bilge, keel bolts can fall into the category of “out of sight, out of mind”. It is because they live in the bilge that they need routine care and attention.
J/22 keels are made using 316 Stainless Steel threaded rod, which is cast into the lead. The nuts, washers and lifting bar are made using 304 Stainless and are then electro polished. This has been the industry standard for many years, and has provided many years of service life.
Stainless Steel is corrosion resistant, not corrosion proof
The basic resistance of stainless steel occurs because of its ability to form a protective coating on the metal surface. This coating is a “passive” film, which resists further “oxidation” or rusting. The formation of this film is instantaneous in an oxidizing atmosphere such as air, water, or other fluids that contain oxygen. Once the layer has formed, we say that the metal has become “passivated” and the oxidation or “rusting” rate will slow down to less than 0.002″ per year (0,05 mm. per year).
Unlike aluminum or silver this passive film is invisible in stainless steel. It’s created when oxygen combines with the chrome in the stainless to form chrome oxide, which is more commonly called “ceramic”. This protective oxide or ceramic coating is common to most corrosion resistant materials. Unfortunately Halogen salts, especially chlorides easily penetrate this passive film and will allow corrosive attack to occur.
CONCENTRATED CELL OR CREVICE CORROSION
This corrosion is common between nut and bolt surfaces. Salt water applications are a severe problem because of the salt water’s low PH and its high chloride content. Here is the mechanism:
Chlorides pit the passivated stainless steel surface.
The low PH salt water attacks the active layer that is exposed.
The absence of oxygen inhibits the re-forming of the passive layer.
These three factors work together in a vicious cycle, repeatedly attacking the same small area. If the metal is under tensile stress- like from an over torqued keel bolt nut, the pit formed can transform itself into a crack. When a crack forms the process repeats and accelerates as the surface area of the ‘active’ layer is now much larger.
Prevention is the best cure
The best way to prevent corrosion is to keep salt away from your bolts. The best way to do that is to keep your bilge clean and dry. We’ve designed our interiors to be easily washed down. Take advantage of this. At the end of the day, when you hose off your deck hardware, stick the hose down the companionway and blast out the bilge and bolts. Pump and sponge dry and leave the floorboard off when you leave. Not only will this protect your keel bolts from corrosion, it will prevent mildew and keep your interior looking and smelling fresh.
Important note! Avoid using any cleaning products containing chlorine. Chlorides are just what we are avoiding. Read the label. Clorox, Comet, and Fantastic are all products that while good for most stuff are bad for this application. Check the label.
Annual Maintenance
Checking your keel bolts should be part of your annual maintenance plan. Working one bolt at a time, remove the nut and washer and clean the threads with a small nylon or brass brush or scotch brite. Do not use a steel wire brush, as this can lead to other corrosion issues not covered here! Check for signs of rust. If everything looks good, use a generous coating of anti-galling compound and re-torque the nut. Most J/22 keel bolts are 5/8
Keel Bolt Torque Table
Bolt Diameter
Torque Nm
Torque Ft/Lb
1/2″
26.0
19.2
5/8″
66.0
48.7
3/4″
130.0
95.9
7/8″
190.0
140.1
This Table is derived from information in Table A7 from ISO/DIS 12215-9.2. These values are for well greased threads. Friction in the screw and under the bolt head makes up approximately 90% of the tightening torque and approximately 10% contributes to prestressing of the bolt. The user is cautioned to use good judgment in applying these values.
Tip- If you can pull in your mainsheet, you probably don’t need a big breaker bar to torque your nuts. Over-torqueing is extremely bad. Particularly on the bolts holding your lifting rig, under-torqueing is equally bad. If the nut is loose enough to allow movement in the bar, the bolt can be loaded unequally, leading to tension stress on one side of the bolt.
While you are there
Since you are spending some time with your bilge anyway, this is a good time to give the rest of your lifting gear a good look over. Check your sling for any signs of wear; fraying, cuts, abrasions and the like. Your sling should look essentially new.
If you use a shackle in your system, check it too. If it is bent, rusted or shows signs of wear, just replace it. A new sling costs around 50 bucks and a shackle around 9 bucks. It is the cheapest peace of mind available.
If you think you find a problem
If you find or suspect you have problems beyond a good cleanup you should contact a marine surveyor who can inspect and report findings. Your surveyor will have the specialized knowledge and tools to give you an informed recommendation.
Those who have been sailing the J24 class in Australia over 20 years (yes unfortunately there are some), have seen three cycles of growth in the J24 class in Australia. These spikes in our numbers coincided each time with a pending World Championship.
Excluding the worlds in 1982, the first cycle was 1988, the second 1996 and third in 2006. The first two regattas saw our numbers increase by a minimum of 20 boats nationally, in 2006 we saw only a modest increase of about ten.
These World Cup Regatta’s whilst great for our class, created artificial growth, with class jumpers getting in to do a worlds then dumping their boats, often below market value and moving on.
This year we have seen a natural increase in J 24 sailing which I have never seen before.
The class in Victoria has grown by approximately six boats this season, with other boats also swapping owners as well. This growth is a result of a strong class with a dedicated team of owners and committee members, who have created a class structure that appeals to sailors, many who are interested in getting back into meaningful sailing. The competition is hot, high level, one design sailing at its best.
There are more potential owners out there, and space at SYC is an issue, however we also will run out of boats. We no longer have a builder, however I suggest the class start looking to the possibility of encouraging new and existing owners who may want to up-grade to look off shore. Our Dollar is super strong and in a weak international economy, I suggest some bargains may be had for those wishing to take the plunge. There are class associations overseas who would assist with information, and one only need look to the U.S. or Italy for a good yacht.
Alternatively, there are still some good J’s sitting around unused interstate, we should identify them and speak to our local boat builders about a information package to upgrade them to a competitive yacht that would appeal. We should know approximate costs so potential owners know how much to budget.
Our recent Victorian title, saw a influx of sailors from other classes. We had the current Victorian Laser champion sailing along with S80 Champions, SYC dinghy sailors and many others.
This new crop of sailors really liked what they saw and will come back again.
The point to all this back slapping is that the class needs to look forward to the next stage by appealing to the next generation and supplying them with competitive boats that are up to date and fast.
New owners look to the class for advise when making a purchase, and the class needs to be geared up to provide that information. Well done to those who have worked so hard to get this up to speed, lets help them keep it going.
Hugo.
