Continuing a long line of boats
At 72, Guy is on his 17th boat. After starting out in Vaurien and other 470s, he notably owned a Muscadet or a Shamrock 9.5 . While owning a Dragon, Guy is considering changing boats and is looking for a successor, with a clear agenda: "I wanted to keep the fun in sailing and the finesse of helming, but with a slightly more comfortable dayboat, to have the possibility of doing a little extra weekend sailing from time to time. I'm based in Saint-Malo and enjoy going to Chausey for the weekend."
The J100, adapted to its program
Guy quickly decides which model he likes. After looking at the Aphrodite 101 for a while, he is interested in the J100 from J Boats and found one for sale in Lymington, UK. He bought the boat, named Nora, and brought it back to Saint-Malo, seduced by its suitability for the program. "I had spoken to the boat's designer, Rod Johnstone. He had designed the boat for him, to be able to sail it single-handed around the Isle of Wight. You can sail 30 nautical miles a day. We're just as good with six people in a regatta as we are alone on a cruising trip. The boat is in category A."
A dayboat with the facilities for the weekend
Launched in 2005 by the J Composites shipyard, the J100 has a few dozen units sailing in France. 9.96 m long and 2.80 m wide, the boat has a ballast of 1.3 tons for a displacement of 3 tons, which gives it a nice stiffness to the canvas, with a contained width. Its rigging without bowsprit and with a genoa without overlap, facilitates the management in solo.
It has a beautiful mainsail of 44 m2. A Yanmar engine of 14 horsepower Inboard comes in supplement in case of total absence of wind, with 40 liters of fuel in the tank. Guy specifies: "We're going six knots under motor and six knots under sail upwind!"
With a draft of 1.75 meters, it provides access to a good amount of mooring space even in the waters of Northern Brittany.
The large cockpit accommodates the crew comfortably while sailing," says Guy. "We're out on the boat most of the time, so the large cockpit is essential. You can lie down in it. Being not very wide, it's also a good place to sail."
The interior layout includes the essentials, with a saloon with a teak table, a toilet at the bow with a sink, a small gas stove, a waxing cupboard, an icebox and 4 berths.
The J100 will trade in 2023 at around 78,000 euros.
The pleasure of sailing
Guy's boat has all the options to favor performance under sail, with a carbon mast, a rod rig and a hydraulic backstay... And her sailing behavior is the strong point that Guy was looking for: "The steering finesse is close to that of the Dragon, thanks to a long rudder. The boat is stiff in light airs. You can really enjoy sailing. The asymmetrical spinnaker on the bow is handy, even if gybing is a tiny bit more complicated."
Guy also finds benefits in his efficient interior: "The roof gives a nice volume, even in the front over the sink. It has everything you need."
The other side of the performance coin
Who says simple, elegant and low on the water, also says some disadvantages, which agrees Guy. "The headroom is 1.45 meters which is low, but it allows to keep a nice silhouette. The freeboard is low, so obviously, in 25 knots and chop ,the boat gets a little wet, and that makes sense!"
After 10 years of sailing, Guy is thinking about parting with it, but is already looking at other J Boats models.
