San Juan 21

The San Juan 21 is a popular one-design sailboat featuring a swing keel, normally sailed with a crew of 2 or 3. The San Juan's were made to compete with the Jay Boats as a racer/cruiser but the jay boats were better eventually driving The Clark Boat Company out of business which produced the San Juans

The San Juan 21 blends a combination of performance and ease of sailing. They are very easy to set up and can be put in the water in as little as 25 minutes. With the swing keel, they ride low on the trailer and can be launched and retrieved from any ramp. However a handfull of fixed keel variants were produced, including a small number of shoal keel san juan 21s. it is believed that fewer than 300 fixed keel boats were produced, and even less of the shoal keel boats (believed to be less than 20). Clark experimented with the fixed keel design predominantly in the production plant located near Seattle, Wa.

They handle much like big dinghies, yet with the 400 lb. keel, they are self righting. This is not of much concern as capsizing a San Juan 21 is not easy. Initially tender, the San Juan 21 heels to 15 degrees rather easily but firms up there and once past 40 degrees, the helmsman has to make a rather big mistake to get it to go more. Once past 50 degrees or so, the sturdy little boat will round up and head into the wind.

The San Juan 21 is a pleasure to sail for both novices and experienced racers. Due to its light weight (1500lb or so), it accelerates briskly in puffs and will literally sail rings around most bigger boats in light to moderate winds. There are several one design class fleets located at various lakes across the country with active racing schedules all summer. While designed more with performance in mind, the boat is comfortable for weekend cruising for two adults with two small children. It has space for a camping toilet and ample storage for other essentials.

They are also easy to single-hand with the fractional rig’s small jib and large main.

The other factor that surprises a lot of people is the low cost of ownership.

Many people think their boat must have cost them $20,000 to purchase and thousands of dollars each year to maintain.

Good condition boats can be had for $2,000 to $3,500 and yearly maintenance can be as little as $350.00 a year which includes saving up for new sails every 5 years.

The Sail Inventory consists of a large mainsail, a small 110% working jib, a 135% Genoa, and a spinnaker. Being a one design class, rules limit the sails to be made from Dacron and the spinnaker from nylon. This keeps costs down.

The San Juan 21 was produced from 1969 to about 1984 with over 2,600 produced. There are three models, the Mark I, Mark II and Mark III

The San Juans Specifacations shown below

Capsize Ratio 2.45Hull Speed 5.5Sail Area/Displacement 23.2Displacement To LWL 136Length Water Line/Beam 2.429Motion Comfort 9.55Length overall: 20 ft 6 inLength on waterline 17 ft 0 inBeam 7 ftFractional (7/8) rig Sail area (main and 200%) 190 sq ft (Class genoa is a 130%; in PHRF or cruising most people also have a 155%)Spinnaker: 284 sq ft (estimate from dimensions)Mast height: 25 ft 8 inDraft (keel down) 4 ft 0 inDraft (keel up) 1 ft 0 inDispl (class minimum): 1400 lbKeel weight: 420 lbPHRF Rating: 252 sec/mile (w/spinnaker) 264 sec/mile (working sails)Number built approximately 2,700 I 22.5P 23.00J 8.00E 8.75San Juan 21 Class Association http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=San+Juan+21&spell=1