J22 ???

WalkerBay · #1 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

I bought a little Walker Bay 10 foot dingy with the inflatable tubes on the sides and a high performance sailing package about 2 summers ago on a complete impulse buy. I had rented sunfish out of Lakeside, OH a couple of times and really enjoyed that. My Sister in-law and her family were coming to spend a weekend at the beach in Port Clinton, OH, and we had nothing to do in the water but swim. So I went up early and was on a mission. I went into a couple of Marina's and then found the Walker Bay, it not only can sail but I could hook a little outboard to her and cruise around. It seemed perfect for the weekend and for my location, and it has been a pretty cool little boat. However, "I have the need, the need for speed". A few friends of mine race on J22's and just recently had the NA championships in at CYC in Cleveland, I watched the race from the shore and have been obcessed with this boat. Unfortunately I have not been able to sail on one. I have kids, they have kids, work, etc, etc. So here I am trying to get any information on this boat that I can. I guess my main question is - should I try and sail on someone else's boat for a season and then buy one, or should I just buy one and work it out? If I buy one - I really have no clue what to look for, or how to tell if one is good or not. Racing is probobly the top priority for me, but I have never raced. Any thoughts for an impatient, impulse buying want-to-be sailor.

JohnRPollard · #2 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

The J22 is a nice little one-design race boat, and you could even take your family daysailing in it as a bonus. But I think you answered your own question: "If I buy one - I really have no clue what to look for, or how to tell if one is good or not." Don't buy one yet.

Get your name on the crew lists at the local sailing club. Offer to help work on somebody's boat (cleaning, rigging, prepping, decomissioning, etc). Show up at the big regattas even if you haven't been offered a spot on someone's boat -- there will be last minute no-shows and a need to fill their slots, especially if it's a windy day.

In short, get some experience in the boat at somebody else's expense. Once you feel confident that you understand the boat and what to look for, then start your own hunt. There are loads of them around and a good one will always be around the corner, so don't buy impulsive.

tenuki · #3 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

racing as crew is almost better than owning. it's free, if something breaks it's not your problem, and you can soak up all the knowledge in a fun, fast paced environment.

Crew for a few years at least before you buy, trust me on this.

WalkerBay · #4 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

You are probobly right, I guess it is just hard waiting for someone else to invite you sailing, or maybe getting on a boat at a race. Neither of my friends owns there own boat so it is kind of hard for them to get me on one. I guess I'll have to put my name on some lists and be patient.

JohnRPollard · #5 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

It's not as hard as you might think to get aboard as crew. Owning a boat and having it race ready requires quite a bit of effort. The crew that volunteer and show up to help with the work are the ones that get invited along. It's almost time to winterize out your way. Find someone with a boat and offer to help with decomissioning for the season. Ask if there are any winter projects you can help with during lay-up. Then show up in the spring to re-comission. I can almost guarantee you'll have a spot on the boat next season, and it will only "cost" you three Saturday mornings of your time.

WalkerBay · #6 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

There are a couple of Marina's in Cleveland that have J22 fleets, I will start there I guess. Hopefully there are a few more sailing days this season and I may actually get on one.

Sailormann · #7 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

Quote:

buy one and work it out? If I buy one - I really have no clue what to look for, or how to tell if one is good or not. Racing is probobly the top priority for me, but I have never raced. Any thoughts for an impatient, impulse buying want-to-be sailor.

I'm usually the first to counsel a cautious approach, but as you have been sailing on a small bat, and have some idea of how to make the boat go, it's probably a good idea to go ahead and buy yourself a bigger boat.

As far as the racing thing goes.... here it would be good to get some experience crewing on other boats that are racing. And be aware, that racing J-Boats competitively is an extremely expensive pursuit. If you want to stand a chance of winning, your boat, rigging and sails are going to need to be top-notch, and constantly upgraded. This is going to run you about $10,000.00 every couple of years.

As far as what to look for in a boat, and what makes it competitive, there is a forum on the following website where you should be able to get a lot of your questions answered.

It would be a very good idea to spend some time there before deciding to go ahead with your plan, and you may also be able to arrange to crew on someone else's boat as well before you take the plunge. The J's are very competitive classes - "big time" - so you might want to consider an intermediary boat, but then again, as long as you are not taking your kids out and subjecting them to danger while you learn, I think you should go for it.

http://www.usaj22.com/constitution.html

WalkerBay · #8 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

Finally a voice of reason, someone who understands my needs. Ha Ha I did not realize the cost of racing was so high. If what you say is correct, you basically have to buy a new boat every 2 years as the average used boat is about 10,000.00. I guess I was under the impression that with the boat being a One Design the costs were kept down.

Sailormann · #9 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

It's not the boat - it's the sails, lines, broken blocks, lost winch handles, etc., etc. Most racers today are using laminate sails, and you can only expect them to last a couple of years before they are too stretched to give you that final 1/2 second edge. Replacing them is a lot of money - you're looking upwards of $5,000 for a set of 2. As far as the hull itself goes, it just takes a lot of time to keep it clean, and smooth. Hours and hours of polishing and buffing. A bit of expense there too though.

The hardware on a one-design boat is usually a little undersized to save as much weight as possible, so it's not unusual for it to break - usually at the most inopportune time. Blocks run anywhere from $50.00 to about $200.00 for a boat that size.

Often you'll fly a lightweight spinnaker in heavier air, so sooner or later that will probably blow out (another $2,000), and then there will be the time that you're training new crew and they lose the winch handle overboard ($75.00), or the bowsprit jams( $$$), or whatever, it goes on and on...

There are a lot of other classes of boats that you can race for less money. If it's the art of trimming sails and developing tactics that you find attractive, you might want to consider starting on Lasers, which are smaller, less expensive to keep up, yet just as exciting to sail.

Alternatively, try PHRF racing with a boat that you like - pick up a used sportboat and learn to race that. Because you are sailing against other classes of boats, there is less need to make sure that your boat is totally gold-plated in order to do well.

The "J" classes are really near the pinnacle of the racing world, so starting there would be jumping in with both feet and fistfull of cash.

tenuki · #10 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007

not to mention the cost of t-boning another boat because you don't have any experience out racing and you have never done a start with 40 boats jostling for the line and you don't have the rules of the road on auto recall..