Market disrupter?
J/Boats is one of the world’s most successful brands, turning out a string of IRC winners. The new J/99 looks set to follow suit. In the shorthanded arena this one could be a killer… in the best possible way, of course!
The new J/99, built by J Composites in France, is J Boats’ answer to extensive customer demand for a smaller ‘adventure racer.’ True to this globally successful brand’s fundamental philosophy, it has an all- round performance hull, rather than a boxy, hard-chined body with squat, Open-style stern sections like so many boats on the racecourse today. The 32.6' J/99 is equipped with a powerful, easily controlled keel- stepped rig, which optimises the boat’s reaching and downwind sail configurations. As a result, the J/99 is designed to plane in 17+ knots of breeze, but won’t drag extra wetted surface in light airs. It is designed to be IRC/ORC rating friendly, not too far from the successful J/97 but longer on the waterline with less overhang. The trial certificate for boat number one, which we sailed at the turn of the year on the Solent in seven to 10 knots of chilly breeze, comes in at 1.015, comparing favourably in between the JPK 1010 (about 1.006) and the Jeanneau SunFast 3600 (around 1.040). The popularity of short-handed and solo racing is growing by the year. Witness the strength and size
68 SEAHORSE
of the 53-strong Class 40 fleet in last year’s Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, the de facto pinnacle solo ocean race. The Figaro class in France and race promoters OC-Pen Duick are looking to tap into the apparently growing pool of amateur solo racers who want to do La Solitaire-style stage races mirroring Grand Tour cycling L’Etape events. For those who can afford the time away from work, early retirees and those who just make it work, the French Transquadra race – for sailors aged over 40 – has gained notable niche popularity. RORC series races are seeing a steady rise in numbers competing two-up: nearly 60 duos raced in the IRC Two- Handed Class in the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race. And inshore round-the- cans racing, too, is seeing a sharp spike in those choosing to go double- handed. With three months to go until Easter’s Spi Ouest-France Regatta, there are 65 pairs already entered, compared with 50 or so signed up for fully crewed classes. Already the signs for the J/99 are promising. From the renderings alone, some 15 boats were pre- ordered and another 15+ added to
Above: a new J/99 planing at 17+ knots, but good
design means that it doesn’t drag around extra wetted surface area in lighter winds. It’s a true cruiser racer, ideal for short-
handed ocean passage racing yet easy enough to sail as a family cruiser with good headroom and a suitable level of
comfort and fit-out below
the pipeline since the Paris Boat Show. To date, it appears that at least 50 per cent of those orders are for owners already committed to short-handed sailing or moving in that direction from bigger boats. In IRC/ORC fully crewed mode, the typical complement will be six, compared with seven for the J/109 and most other comparable boats. The J/99 hull shape represents incremental changes to the J Sport genre. It has a slightly wider beam carried further aft and is a bit flatter in the stern sections – similar in subtle ways to the recently launched J/121, which was developed concurrently. It offers a little more form stability than its predecessors when heeled and yet does not incur much more wetted surface area. Full headroom and the required saloon volume means slightly more hull rocker than the flatter-spined, full-planing, fast-reaching shapes of the J/70, J/88 and the wonderful, long-legged J/105, whose legacy the J/99 would be proud to rekindle. The J/99 is designed to be a powerful compromise between the upwind-downwind boats that rate well under IRC and ORC and the fast-
J-UK/GILLIAN PEARSON
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