# Self-tacking jib - does this really work?



## patrscoe (May 9, 2011)

I saw a sailboat with a self-tacking jib and it appears to work really well, from a distance. Never done this and in fact I enjoy sail trimming but on those days where my two children and dog are "enjoyably" in the way and throughout the cockpit and we are in no hurry, I wonder about it. I looked at a track self-tacking design but it seems that there are really no trimming to it, it is set out there and it is what it is. Release by a line to let out the sail to go from a close haul to reach. It seems that you would loose much power because of this.

Any thoughts?


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## NewportNewbie (Jul 30, 2011)

I did a lesson in a Harbor 20 and it has a self tacking jib...wasnt bad...I was moderately impressed.


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Must be a different set up than what I'm used to. I sailed a Fun 23 and didn't notice any big downside.


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## nickmerc (Nov 2, 2008)

I've used these on modern racing beach cats and on some schooners I have sailed. It is nice when you have a full cockpit to not have to worry about trimming the sails on every tack when beating.


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## patrscoe (May 9, 2011)

Does anyone have a proven successful design of self-tacking jib? 
If I go in this direction, I would want the opportunity to disconnect and go back to jib sheets.
I kind of feel like this is cheating....


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## NewportNewbie (Jul 30, 2011)

zz4gta said:


> Must be a different set up than what I'm used to. I sailed a Fun 23 and didn't notice any big downside.


What was cool was I didn't have to do much at all to tack...BUT the system was so tight to prevent it from doing things accidentally that in light winds you still had to work the sheets because it would get stuck in the middle...This again was on a smaller 20 foot boat...


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

There is a huge difference between a boat that was designed for a self tacking jib, and retrofitting a boat that was not designed that way. Self tacking jibs are tiny percentage headsails, (perhaps 85-95% tops) and so when a boat is designed for a a self-tacking headsail, it ideally has a comparatively large SA/D around 23-26 with a 100% jib. 

When you talk about retrofitting a self tacking jib on a masthead rig designed for 155% genoas, and an SA/D down below 16, such as your Pearson 35, I think you will give up a whole lot of sailing days when the wind is below 18 knots, and even then you will potentially have a whole lot of weather helm unless you reef. 

The reality is that once a jib gets down around 105%, where it does not overlap the shrouds, it is so easy to tack, even on a pretty big boat that self-tacking jibs aren't worth the trouble. To me self-tacking jibs on a boat the size of the Harbor 20 is an marketing gimmick aimed at the infirm or gullible. 

Jeff


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## dylanwinter1 (Jan 15, 2010)

*Bolger Spartina - film*

Bolgers best boat fitted with one

Scuttlebutt 41 Bolger's best boat - Spartina « Keep Turning Left

Dylan


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

I frequently sail a Harbor 20 with this system and it works very well. The performance from the working jib is much better than a jib track setup, because the sail does not twist as it is eased out... the sail has the same even luff shape on a reach as when closehauled. The system also has under deck tweaker lines that allow you to wing the jib downwind, and keeps it winged. If your sail choice is going to be limited to a small jib..this is actually a pretty cool design.

I would think best used on a boat where it is incorporated into the original design of the sail plan, i.e. with a big main.


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## FarCry (Apr 21, 2007)

I've spent a fair amount of time on a 45' Hunter that had the self-tacking jib put on as an option before delivery when new. Not sure if it was a factory option or something the dealer installed at commissioning. In higher winds, 20+kts when one would be reefing a genoa anyway, it works great. One is able to get very tight sheeting angles and make it point pretty high. In lighter winds one would have to ease the sheet to help the car tack across the track and then re-trim a bit. The boat was very underpowered and really couldn't sail much under 15kts. Beyond the sheeting angle when going to windward, one suffers going downwind with that tiny jib. Not only is the surface area tiny but the jib track makes it nearly impossible to actually get the jib to fly out and trim it. On the Hunter there was a block on the clew that added a lot of weight in a bad spot for downwind sailing too. I would rather spend money on electric winches than a self-tacking jib set up.


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## pdqaltair (Nov 14, 2008)

*I'm with Farcry on this.*

The PDQ 32s have this standard, and I use this sailing in the winter, when the wind is up, it's cold, and I'm most often sailing alone (or with crew hiding in the cabin). Under those conditions it works reasonably well, though the off-the-wind sail shape is terrible. It also saves off-season wear on the genoa.

Is it worth it? If you single hand a lot in breezy conditions, yes, perhaps. It is nice to simply lay the wheel over to tack when it's cold and you're feeling lazy (you may need to ease the jib sheet and main traveler a bit for best performance). It is slow and it is not shaped to be used in strong winds; partial furling is generally a disaster in terms of shape self tacking. Don't think of it as a storm sail.


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## patrscoe (May 9, 2011)

Jeff H, 
That is pretty much what I came up with this weekend. Self-tacking sounds nice every once and awhile but will not work properly on my sailboat.


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## GerryAlbin (Jan 8, 2022)

patrscoe said:


> Jeff H,
> That is pretty much what I came up with this weekend. Self-tacking sounds nice every once and awhile but will not work properly on my sailboat.


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## GerryAlbin (Jan 8, 2022)

Hi All, I am 72 and sail a 30 foot Albin Ballad out of Antigua 90% of the time alone. We have winter winds of 20 plus daily and I usually come back from a days sailing feeling like I got hit by a truck. Today I jury rigged a 110% jib with self tacking I saw on a site called $stingysailor. I will never go back to two sheets and all that work unless I am racing. 4 hours of pure pleasure! Used the winch twice on the jib. I am definitely hooked!👍😎


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## nolatom (Jun 29, 2005)

I'm teaching part-time at our nice new Community Sailing Center, and the Freedom 21s there have a self-tacking club-footed jib with an adjustable rope traveler.. So beating upwind is pretty simple. 

I kind of wish it weren't that simple. for teaching, I'd prefer the students had "real" jibsheets to cast off and trim in, with no jib traveler. But when we get to sail with wounded warriors and depending on how much or little they can move around and haul sheets while tacking, it makes more sense. Can't have everything.. 

Singlehanded, yeah I can see it. We have to sail in and out of a marina with many "streets" and three 90-degree course changes, so you are likely going to be beating for at least part of that, and quickly too, the lanes aren't all that wide.

And sure we could just motor it, they have the torqueedo prop. But sailing in and out of the marina is a better teaching tool I think. You're in close quarters so you see and feel feel the relative motion, and all our course changes are for very demonstrable reasons. And you get all, or almost all, of the points of sail, before you even get out onto the lake.


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