by Ray Schull, January 2002
Ray and Christy setting the chute, taken from a vantage point that most of us don't get to see very often.
Photo courtesy Bruce McDonald.
Hollis Metcalf, the owner of the factory, wanted a light weight daysailer, approximately 21 feet in length, that would be used primarily on inland lakes and near-shore coastal areas. The first design submittal by Alberg was for a full-keeled open cockpit daysailer much like the Ensign. Hollis sent the design drawings back to Carl Alberg with the direction that the boat was to have a fin keel and self draining cockpit. Mr. Alberg at first refused to make the changes, since this was against the traditional thinking at the time, but finally agreed to the requested modifications.
The fin keel, fractional rig, upper diamond stays, and wide flat stern sections of the hull of the South Coast 21 were very different from the typical boats of this era. However many of these aspects are found on many of the designs developed more recently.
The boat was available in either fully rigged or kit form. The boat was shown at various boat shows around the south and was fairly well received as an early model fiberglass construction day sailer. The boat was popular as a club racer and a set of Class rules were written to encourage the one-design nature of the boat. These rules have been changed little since their original format and are still used today.
Two noticeable changes were subsequently made in the design. The first several boats were found to experience more weather helm than desired in higher winds. The boats would sometimes round up when heeled over in a gust and would auto-tack if the mainsheet was not released quickly. Thus the keel was moved a few inches back in boats with hull numbers greater than 90. This modification did not have the completely desired effect and complaints of the boat auto-tacking were still received at the factory.
This situation resulted in the factory personnel looking at adding a larger rudder to the boat. It was felt that a bigger rudder would allow the boat to have better control in these situations. The factory personnel determined that a rudder similar to the one used on the then Olympic Class boat, the Tempest, would be used. This rudder was unusual in that it was reversed tapered. That is, the top of the rudder is smaller than the bottom. This rudder change occurred somewhere around hull number 110. This larger rudder also dictated that the rudder shaft be revised from tubular stainless steel to a solid stainless steel shaft.
This change improved the handling characteristics of the boat in these conditions. Boat owners also found that replacing the standard traveler with a low-friction, easily releasable system also made a marked improvement in the ability of the boats to be manageable in high winds.
Large fleets of these boats developed near the factory in Shreveport at Cross Lake and in Austin, Texas at Lake Travis. Subsequently, in the early seventies, a rivalry developed between the fleets and a Class Championship Regatta was held annually. The location alternated between these two fleets.
In the mid nineties, the participation in the Shreveport area diminished and the annual alternating regatta was moved to Lake Travis permanently. The Lake Travis fleet has continued to grow over the years and now numbers approximately 35 members. The popularity of the boat and the opportunity to enjoy competitive one-design racing at a very reasonable cost have allowed this fleet to become one of the most active fleets at the Austin Yacht Club. Club races typically attract over a dozen of the South Coast 21's at Lake Travis.
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Ray L. Shull. P.E.