American brand and French shipyard
A JBoat exudes a feeling of timeless elegance. They also have a somewhat elitist reputation, both financially and in sporting terms.
Although they are not at the cutting edge of technology, these yachts are modern. Easily recognizable, with their aesthetic tradition of hull and layout, they are renowned for their close upwind and downwind performance, as explained by Frédéric Bouvier, Commercial Manager of J Composites: "In the face of the competition, we can see that upwind sailing works well for us, but that there are gaps in reaching downwind."
The American brand has forged an excellent worldwide reputation through its racing boats, and in particular its one-design boats.
For Europe, it is the Vendée shipyard J Composites, which manufactures the plans for the Johnson family's boats, under American licence. French also ensures the marketing and promotion of the brand, which includes two ranges:
- Elegant Yacht for comfort and style
- Sport sailboats for fleet racing.
Adapt to the double-handed race market
Traditional crewed regattas are gradually being replaced by double-handed races. Practitioners are moving towards regattas that take place further offshore and with fewer crew members on board. That's why JBoats - known for the performance of its sailboats in crewed regattas - offers the all-new J/99, for the double-handed race.
His particularité?? Not to be a monotype. It will therefore be suitable for handicap gauge regattas, such as IRC or OSIRIS.
"Regatta practice is changing, it's obvious. So we started, with the Johnson family, a reflection on offshore regattas with a reduced crew. This translates today into small evolutions compared to a classic J" said Fréderic Bouvier.
The J/99 completes the sports range, with 5 sailboats from 6.93 m to 12.19 m. This model finds its place between the J/88 (dayboats one design of 9 m, but without comfort) and the J/111 (sailboat of 11 m for monotype races).
This 9.94-metre sailboat, known as a "race-cruise", is particularly suitable for races with a reduced crew, but does not forget to offer sufficient facilities for a weekend. It could be considered as a cruise JBoats, very simplified, a little boosted and optimized for manoeuvres with a reduced crew.
Read the full presentation of the J/99
The competition
Competition is fierce in this category, and only the results of the regatta will determine the commercial life of a racing yacht. The 30-foot racer is a promising market that renews itself with the seasons. Among the competitors, we can therefore mention the newcomers for the IRC podium race:
- it Sun Fast 3300
- it JPK 1030
- l' Ofcet 32
- it MMW33
- it Big Sun 34
- the future 30-foot First designed by Sam Manuard.
