san juan 21 sailboat review

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Small Craft Advisor

Owner Boat Reviews

Thoughts on the sanderling, pocketship, caledonia yawl, phoenix iii, and san juan 21.

We assumed, when surveying Small Craft Advisor readers about boats they own and enjoy sailing, that the responses would be dominated by maybe three dozen small-boat designs, so it was a shock when 346 readers shared their thoughts about more than 200 different designs!

As a result, with so many boats to consider, we’ve turned what might have been one summary article into a series of Owner Review features.

This time we feature six designs—four that can be home-built of wood, along with two older fiberglass production-boat designs…one that’s been available longer than almost any camp-cruising sailboat. —Eds

MARSHALL SANDERLING

A traditional-looking large-volume boat admired by SCA readers is the Marshall Sanderling, an 18-foot catboat—one of the oldest continuously produced fiberglass boats on the market, with more than 850 hulls finished by Marshall Marine since the start of production in 1962.

Like most catboat designs, the Sanderling offers a huge cockpit and roomy cabin when compared to most other daysailers and camp cruisers in the 18-foot range.

With an overall length of 18'-2,"beam of 8'-6" and draft of 19” with the centerboard up and 4'-4" with the board down, the spacious Sanderling can daysail five or six comfortably, overnight or cruise a couple, and deal with almost all kinds of conditions.

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SAN JUAN 21 Detailed Review

If you are a boat enthusiast looking to get more information on specs, built, make, etc. of different boats, then here is a complete review of SAN JUAN 21. Built by Clark Boat Company and designed by undefined, the boat was first built in 1970. It has a hull type of Swing Keel and LOA is 6.25. Its sail area/displacement ratio 26.25. Its auxiliary power tank, manufactured by undefined, runs on undefined.

SAN JUAN 21 has retained its value as a result of superior building, a solid reputation, and a devoted owner base. Read on to find out more about SAN JUAN 21 and decide if it is a fit for your boating needs.

Boat Information

Boat specifications, sail boat calculation, rig and sail specs, contributions, who builds san juan 21.

SAN JUAN 21 is built by Clark Boat Company.

When was SAN JUAN 21 first built?

SAN JUAN 21 was first built in 1970.

How long is SAN JUAN 21?

SAN JUAN 21 is 5.18 m in length.

What is mast height on SAN JUAN 21?

SAN JUAN 21 has a mast height of 7.01 m.

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• Sailboat Guide

San Juan 21-2

San Juan 21-2 is a 20 ′ 6 ″ / 6.3 m monohull sailboat designed by Don Clark and built by Clark Boat Company starting in 1974.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

The SAN JUAN MARK II was introduced in 1974 after nearly 1000 of the earlier versions had been built. The MARK II, is a raised deck version of the MARK I with the companionway moved aft to allow for more interior space. The Mark I and Mark II were produced concurrently, until the last Mark I was produced in 1977.

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SJ24, more than just a racer?

• Thread starter Bigjer40
• Start date Apr 20, 2014
• Brand-Specific Forums
• San Juan Sailboats

There are a couple of SJ24's for sale in my area. My son really wants to race but the wife and I like gunkholing. Is this boat capable of decent short term cruising (2-5 nights). I have also read reviews suggesting these boats may be a little unstable. This would be my second boat (first was a Hunter 27).  

The SJ24 is a decent boat, if lightly built. It's is quick for its size, and gets its reputation for tippiness from its propensity to roll when going downwind under spinnaker. This trait is very common in IOR boats of the period. Upwind it's fine. The interior is small for its size dues to its racing designs, and is one big open space. You would be very cozy for a weeks trip. BWY, that is not a 'short cruise', it's probably longer than 90% of longest durations most have been way from the dock!  

I'm also looking at a couple Catalina 22's. Maybe that would fit better and racing will be more beer can than serious anyway.  

Bigjer40 said: I'm also looking at a couple Catalina 22's. Maybe that would fit better and racing will be more beer can than serious anyway. Click to expand

Bigjer40 said: There are a couple of SJ24's for sale in my area. My son really wants to race but the wife and I like gunkholing. Is this boat capable of decent short term cruising (2-5 nights). I have also read reviews suggesting these boats may be a little unstable. This would be my second boat (first was a Hunter 27). Click to expand

I currently own a 1982 San Juan 23. I've sailed on the SJ24 and really prefer the SJ23. I owned a C22 for 4 years and sailed it hard and long. We camped up to a week in it with the pop-up canvas. I found it a royal pain to set that up each night. The C22 is a real thrill to sail if you know what you are doing. My SJ23 has been modified and has an enclosed marine head. It has all the late model improvements and is a much better boat for gunk-holing than the C22 or SJ24. The SJ23 is quite fast on all points of sail and carries a std or asy spinnaker nicely if you pay attention to what you are doing. I have also owned a H26 which surpassed all other trailer sailed boats for cabin layout and creature comfort but is a water ballasted boat. Nothing wrong with that if you are not planning to do much racing. For just the wife and I gunk holing and laid back sailing I'd go for a H26 in top condition. More money, but a better answer for quiet weekends. Ray  

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Question about swing keel on a San Juan 21

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Hi so I just purchased my a San Juan 21 and I'm trying to get everything together to get it in the water. I plan on throwing and outboard on the back just to take it out for the first time and see if it floats :laugh . It looks pretty solid but I'm a complete newbie to anything bigger then a kayak. There is a bolt and two holes for the swing keel but it doesn't actually go through the keel, both holes are above the keel . The boat is on a trailer and it looks like the keel is slightly dropped out but I can't really tell. I messed around with the winch and it doesn't seem to move either way. There's also little rivets or nails popping out around the opening for the keel like there was once some kind of runners along it? I'll have to take some pics so I can explain it better but to make a long question short, would it be okay to take out on the water with just an outboard and leaving the keel retracted? Thanks in advance!  

It should still be fine for motoring with the keel up. Hopefully there will be no leaks. I would get the boat in the water but I would keep it still hooked to the trailer. Get inside and make sure the water is not getting in anywhere. As to the winch, make sure you figure it out. There is a locking mechanism that needs to be disengaged before the wire rope is paid out and keel lowered down. Good luck!  

I got the locking mechanism figured out but it doesn't seem to drop the keel when I let it go. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that it's on the trailer though :grin . I'm just confused as to what the bolt does as it only goes through holes that are above the keel. I guess to stop it from being pulled up too far? But even with the bolt removed and me turning the winch the keel won't raise any higher. Anyways thanks for the advice! I got two boat ramps around the corner from my house so if it's looking quiet tomorrow I may winch it off the trailer and see if she sinks or floats.  

woodlandbeacher said: Hi so I just purchased my a San Juan 21 and I'm trying to get everything together to get it in the water. I plan on throwing and outboard on the back just to take it out for the first time and see if it floats :laugh . It looks pretty solid but I'm a complete newbie to anything bigger then a kayak. There is a bolt and two holes for the swing keel but it doesn't actually go through the keel, both holes are above the keel . The boat is on a trailer and it looks like the keel is slightly dropped out but I can't really tell. I messed around with the winch and it doesn't seem to move either way. There's also little rivets or nails popping out around the opening for the keel like there was once some kind of runners along it? I'll have to take some pics so I can explain it better but to make a long question short, would it be okay to take out on the water with just an outboard and leaving the keel retracted? Thanks in advance! Click to expand...

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