[Silmaril]

By it''s nature, a self tending jib is of a non-overlapping type. The C-27 uses an overlapping genny to generate a majority of it''s thrust. You would be losing a great deal of performance in anything less then an extreme high wind situation, and you won''t want to be out with novices in that anyway.

Put you money into an autopilot and a roller furler instead. I do that when shorthanded on my 37'' and it''s fine.

If you still see the "Self Tending" type of headsail to be in the cards, you can come up with a modified version just by using a non-overlapping jib. Very easy to handle and tack by yourself.

A true self tending or "Club Footed" jib is high footed and uses a boom. Just like your mainsail but mounted forward on the boat. You will need to attach the leading end of the "Club" to the stem, like the gooseneck on your main boom. The aft end of the club has a single sheet attached, you can use block and tackle or lead it back to a winch (preffered) and either a track on the foredeck or a block on a pad eye. Be careful if you decide to do the single block approach, as you will be mounting a blaock that will be taking a great deal of load in an area not designed for it. You may have to cut out the core under the area of the block, replace it with something solid, like marine ply, re-glass it back up and through bolt it with a hefty backing plate. A curved track will spread the load, but you still have to use a backing plate. This a lot of work, will add weight to the bow, is costly, and will degrade performance in light to moderate winds.

The young couple in the slip next to me bought a C-27 as thier first boat, they have young kids as well. They seem to be having a blast just sneaking out of the harbor and going for short sails. They use a hanked on headsail, and are learning the ropes as they go along.