The latest J Boat, reviewed

by Charles Ulmer, UK-Halsey Sailmakers/Sailworld on 2 Oct 2010 Recently www.ukhalsey.com!UK-Halsey_Sailmaker's Charles 'Butch' Ulmer set out to test sail the latest J Boat, the 36ft J-111. Here's his experience:

From an appearance point of view, two things jumped out at me;

1. The foretriangle is considerably wider (larger 'J' dimension) and the main boom is considerably shorter than the J-109/ J-122 vintage boats. The sprit extends 8'-0' which will make the chutes a little easier to gybe.

2. The stern area of the boat looks wider and flatter than these earlier J-Boats.

The deck plan is simple and very conventional. The smaller main trims easily without the need for winches and the helmsman can adjust the fine tune without having a separate trimmer.

We sailed off the other day, upwind in 15-18 knots of true wind going into a pretty big sea (southwest wind with a strong ebb current) . The boat seemed remarkably stiff given the fact that there was little crew weight on the rail. We didn't adjust the lead pullers or the in-haulers but it looked like they had enough mechanical advantage to do the job

Steering was a piece of cake! The boat responded immediately to even the smallest helm alterations. Despite the seas you could steer with one hand easily.

We set a heavy chute for the run back into the harbor. The combination of light displacement, good control and plenty of sail area made it very easy to catch waves and surf.

We achieved speeds well in excess of ten knots and left an almost perfectly flat wake while doing it. When you looked aft, it was sometimes hard to tell that a boat had been going through that same water 10 seconds before.

The boat's interior was very simple and would be fine as is for day racing. For distance racing you'd want to make some changes/additions.

The head was in the forepeak that had a door for privacy. Across from the head was a nice big wet locker.

The nav station seemed adequate and functional.

All in all, the J-111 looks like a fine sailboat.






J/111 SPECIFICATIONS:
LOA 36.5'
LWL 32.7'
Beam 10.80'
Draft 7.20'
Displ 9,300 lbs.
100% SA 663 sqft
A-Sail 130 sq.m.
Engine 21 hp

More about the J-111:

Versatility = One-Design Success.
The goal of the creators of the J/111 is to be the best performing, easiest-to-sail boat of its size on the market, while offering the creature comforts needed (6' headroom) to satisfy the occasional overnight cruise.

Hot off the drawing board, the J/111 is a sleek, speedy, one-design 36 footer that is the ultimate day sailing, racing and weekend cruising sailboat. J/111 is an easy-to-handle, comfortable sailboat that accelerates quickly, slices to windward at 7+ knots and hits double-digit speeds downwind.

It's all about versatility and the joy of sailing - how to have the most fun out of the time and resources invested. This is the J Boats formula for success in building local one-design fleets and it’s a pretty simple formula.

Performance.
J/111 accelerates up to speed in the slightest of puffs, thanks to a generous, high-aspect rig combined with a low wetted surface hull. Sailing efficiency is gained by maximizing the sail luff lengths and reducing foot lengths to create a balanced, non-overlapping sail plan.

When the wind and waves are up, J/111 pops up on a plane and delivers the dinghy-like, exhilarating rides that many modern designs struggle to do because of over-tweaking. Turning the corner to go sailing upwind, J/111's efficient hull form and low vertical center of gravity kick in to provide the sweet weatherly handling J's are reknown for.

Technology Where it Counts.
The J/111 features an optimized E-glass/vinylester vacuum infused laminated hull and deck, a two metal, low-VCG bulb keel, a retractable carbon sprit, rail mounted shroud terminals (J/122 style), and a low-profile jib furler. Particular care is paid to centralizing and lowering weight both above and below decks, all critical to make the J/111 your ultimate sailing boat.

Less Crew = More Sailing.
Sailboats that are easier to sail are sailed more often. It's that simple. The J/111 is the latest 'sport boat' one-design from the company who introduced modern-day sprit sailing to the keelboat world (J/105 in 1991).

A crew of two can fully manage the setting, jibing and dropping of the asymmetrical spinnaker where normally 5-6 are required to manage a conventional spinnaker.

With a mainsail on slides, a furling jib and large wheel that gives you fingertip control, the J/111 can be off the dock and sailing in minutes. This is a boat you can sail with friends and only need two to know what they are doing.

J Boats are available in Australia at http://www.yachtspot.com.au!Yacht_Spot.

To learn more about UK-Halsey Sailmakers, click www.ukhalsey.com!here.