Jager has been designed as a 35 ft cruiser/racer. The objective was to design a yacht, which was easy to sail under self-steering with a high average speed but under 35ft length. The main requirements for this are a straight bow with a long water line and a deep keel. The top rigging with a removable cutter stay makes the boat easy to handle with a small crew. HULL and DECK RIGGING STEERING
At sea, the forward cabin with foldaway berths and a large hatch is storage space for sails. In harbour it can be converted to a large cabin. In the cabin two couches with two 350 litre fresh water tanks underneath which function as ballast tanks are placed as far from the centre as possible. These couches can be converted to bunks.
The engine is installed in the centre of the boat under the galley unit. This is the best place for weight distribution and easy accessible.
The head is small but gives enough support at sea. It contains a toilet and a locker for wet clothing.
In the aft cabin is a double and single berth. Both berths can be converted to bunks.
During the OSTAR, the total weight of Jager will be 6800 kg.
The hull is made of vinylester with a massive 30 mm bottom laminate till 1 metre from the centre line. The sides have a 20 mm pvc core.
All interior is laminated to the hull.
The deck is made of 8 mm plywood on laminated
KEEL and RUDDER
I have chosen an aluminium semi bulb keel of which only the lower part is filled with lead. This creates a low centre of gravity. The rudder is made of plywood and covered with glass epoxy. The space between the shell and the rudder is minimal. The rudder shaft is slightly tilted. As a result, the distance between the rudder and the surface will be almost nil even with an angle of 8 degrees.
The mast is 16.2 meter above deck with a masthead rig. This is relatively high. The advantage is that the boat needs less wind to sail. However, the disadvantage is that the spinnaker is harder to handle with increased wind. Because of this I sail with a smaller genaker only.
The innerstay can be removed, so it is not in the way of the high aspect when tacking in light wind. With increased wind speed the mast is more stable and when changing sails I can still sail with the staysail. From 20 knots I use the staysail. Forces on the sheet are lower and the balance of the sails is better. Also the loads on the mast are smaller.
I sail with two spinnaker poles. This makes it easier to gybe because of the cutter stay.
The boat is fitted with a tiller. I find this way of steering more sensitive. With a tiller the windpilot also works slightly better. In light wind, I use an autopilot. It can be connected to the windpilot and is connected with the wind transducer. In strong winds, it is necessary to reef in.
