# Some New J-Boats



## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

Looks like J is introducing a couple of new decimeter-series (i.e. sprit) boats for 2009: the J-95 and J-97.

The 95 is a daysailer/racer, with what I think is an unusual feature for a J-Boat: A centerboard! It can sail in as little as 3 feet of water. It appears to be targeted at the market trend for classy/retro daysailers.

The 97 is a family cruiser/club racer. It reminds me of the now discontinued J-32, except it has a sprit.

Both are about 31.5 feet long, but note that the 97 has less waterline, an additional foot of beam, and standing headroom.

New J-Boats


----------



## RickQuann (May 27, 2005)

The 97 looks interesting. I've always been a fan of the J 32, and thought it would make a nice coastal cruiser


----------



## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Neat looking boats... Jboat's prices can take their boats off many peoples' lists - I wonder what price will be set for these.


----------



## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

I like the J97, but the draft of over 6 feet doesn't make sense for a boat being sold as a cruiser/racer. Perhaps a shoal keel will be offered.


----------



## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

RickQuann said:


> The 97 looks interesting. I've always been a fan of the J 32, and thought it would make a nice coastal cruiser


Same here. But I've always wished it had a sprit, too. Also, very few of the 32s were built with the aft cabin/quarterberth, so they're hard to find on the used market with that configuration.



Faster said:


> Neat looking boats... Jboat's prices can take their boats off many peoples' lists - I wonder what price will be set for these.


No idea on price - but I agree it will probably be dear. I like to study their offerings when they're new, with the thought that down the road they may become affordable on the used market.



JimsCAL said:


> I like the J97, but the draft of over 6 feet doesn't make sense for a boat being sold as a cruiser/racer. Perhaps a shoal keel will be offered.


Yeah, I had similar thoughts. I'd like to see that boat with a +/- 5 ft draft. They usually do offer shoal options, maybe one will be forthcoming...


----------



## mikehoyt (Nov 27, 2000)

Excuse me while I drool.......

I looked at the J site yesterday to see the J97 and then saw the J95.

I like performance boats. People have asked me what would me my favourite boat (I call them "Post Lottery" boats) and I am always at odds. Most I like have drafts of 6-7 feet in the 30+ range. Then there is the marina where we sail. At moon low tide there is approx 2.3 feet of water in our channel and at a typical low between 3 and 4 feet. A boat with a 7 foot draft can enter and leave our marina 2 hours either side of high tide and boats with 4 foot draft one hour either side of low.

And then came the J95. Looks to have more interior room than the J92, an enclosed head and a fast design. All this in a boat that does not worry about the tides in our channel!

I think I will in an ideal world sail on a J95 and sleep on a J97 (or a house). I like the lines of both but would absolutely liove to have the 95....

A quick enquiry to local dealer came back witha 145,000 base boat price (Cdn$). That would be without sails and instruments, etc... so expect closer to $200K for a 31 foot boat - but what a boat!

Finally - a performance boat for those of us in shallow bays. And even with the board down only draws 5.5 feet! My current boat draws 4.9 feet so even 5.5 is not bad.

Still drooling .... now have to win the lottery ...

Mike
J27 #150


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

I saw the pics etc at the local boat show last week. The 97 per the local dealer thought tween 175-200. They refered to it as a updated J30 vs most of you calling it a J32. 

As far as the draft goes, weeeeelllllllll, being as I am in 400-600+' of water most of the time, don't think draft is an issue! the MORE the merrier!

The 97 looks to be like a boat spouse and I would like for cruising, and racing. Mostly racing, but some cruising involved. An interior such that she will feel comfortible in it, yet sporty enough to race, get to places reasonably quick etc. 

PHRF per local dealer, 90's, I think low 100's personally, but could be wrong on that one! Locally 105's and 109's are in the upper 80's to 90's. I do not think the 97 will be as quick. 

Marty


----------



## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

blt2ski said:


> ...PHRF per local dealer, 90's, I think low 100's personally, but could be wrong on that one! Locally 105's and 109's are in the upper 80's to 90's. I do not think the 97 will be as quick.
> 
> Marty


Marty,

I think your rating hunch is probably correct. Low 100s might even be generous. Our old Melges 24 originally rated 114 (much lower now), so it's hard to imagine the J97 below 108-111 or so. Still, that wouldn't bother me.

But at this point we're only looking at drawings... and the price is too rich for my pocketbook anyway. Maybe when a used one comes up in 5-10 years...


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

John,

I think if it ment going the used route, I would look for a 109 in a few yrs personally. A few feet longer, faster etc. Then what do I know! Just stating an opinion.

I also think personally that the 105's and 109's are rated a bit slow, should be about 5-8 secs faster into the upper 70's and low 80's. Or the C&C 115 was on last spring needs to go slower by the 5-8 secs. Upwind we did fine, down wind..........left behind big time! way more so than we gained upwind.

Anyway, we may if we can afford it look a bit more closely at the 97. We would like something a bit less etc than a 109. Just wish they were NOT building the 97 in France, the Euro/US$ exchange rate is going to make the cost a bit higher than necessary if one asks me too. not that my opin counts for anything here either! A bendy toy 36.7 new at 160K is looking pretty good! used in the 110-120 range............

Marty


----------



## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

As a two time J24 buyer (one new one used) i like the boats BUT for the money they still have problems that you would expect to be resolved in boats of this price range 

On a J24 if your not really on top of pulling hardware and beding it your deck will be a core fubar 


A local J44 had a compleat bulkhead tabing failure on the way home from the bermuda race this year and some local 105/109 boats are needing keel sump reinforcements 


If you look through yachtworld listings most of the used boat that have had a hard life have a pretty big it has been fixed list


----------



## NOLAsailing (Sep 10, 2006)

Hmm a 30 ft(ish) J Boat designed to have a cruising interior? Sounds a little familiar. Hats off to you if you have the bucks to buy it. If not, there's always the J/30, designed with the same goals more than 25 years ago. Costs less than $30,000 for a race ready boat:


----------



## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

tommays said:


> ...
> A local J44 had a compleat bulkhead tabing failure on the way home from the bermuda race this year and some local 105/109 boats are needing keel sump reinforcements


I have never viewed these J-Boats as good choices for serious off-shore work. Yes, they can and have been beefed up to sail successfully off-shore. But there are just too many accounts of serious structural problems and forced abandonments at sea from stock boats that I wouldn't put them on my short list for extended ocean voyaging.

That said, they seem to be a great boat for coastal sailors looking for a more performance oriented approach along with the basic cruising comforts. It doesn't hurt that they are easy on the eyes, either.

But the price is definitely on the high end of the spectrum for what you get. NOLASailing points out that you can get an older model pretty reasonably, but some folks just want a new boat, and I'm glad of that -- otherwise there wouldn't be any affordable older models for the rest of us.


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*J97 - why a tiller?*

I owned a J32 for a few years and had a great time sailing on it with my wife, 2 kids (very young) and friends on Lake Michigan. It was a great boat and perfect for our use. I grew up racing but didn't have the time to invest so it was 100% cruising but was still fast and responsive enough to satiate me.

My wife thinks I sold it last Spring as a way to move up but truthfully there were a few other things at play. One of which was an uncertainty as to how many times I was going to have to pull my then 2 year old back on board by the tether - he's a total monkey. Plus some back issues, which I'm finally getting in front of.

Regardless, I still dream of the day when we own another J and have had my eyes on the 109. Although, I have to say, 32 feet was enough for the type of sailing we were doing. The J97 therefore seems like the perfect answer but I question J-Boats decision to equip it with a tiller instead of wheel. Keeping the kids off the wheel was difficult enough but having a tiller protrude into the cockpit within easy reach of kids will keep me from getting this boat for years to come. I wonder what the driver was behind this decision?


----------



## JomsViking (Apr 28, 2007)

*Tillers are great for "smaller" yacht*

Not to start another tiller vs. wheel discussion again, but a tiller makes great sense in a boat like that, especially if it also intends to be somewhat of a racer. A tiller gives a better feel for the boat, although modern wheel systems have become way better in that respect. Remember that the late Hal Roth sailed American Flag, a 50 foot light displacement racer, with a tiller  
(He's one of my heroes!)


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Tiller vs. Wheel*

I get the better feel thing but if that's the case, why put a wheel on the J-95 which is more apt to be a racer and a wheel on the J-97 which is more apt to be a combo cruiser/racer with the additional headroom below? It seems like you would do tiller for both if "feel" is what they were going for otherwise you would do the opposite.

Regardless, what's done is done. I did put a call into my J-Boat rep to let him know that he may be losing out on a sale. He was going to check into whether or not a wheel option was in the plans.


----------



## JomsViking (Apr 28, 2007)

I do not pretend to understand the logic of J-Boats, but I can see your point.  Hope they make a wheel version, so that you can get the boat you like! 



matchmaker said:


> I get the better feel thing but if that's the case, why put a wheel on the J-95 which is more apt to be a racer and a wheel on the J-97 which is more apt to be a combo cruiser/racer with the additional headroom below? It seems like you would do tiller for both if "feel" is what they were going for otherwise you would do the opposite.
> 
> Regardless, what's done is done. I did put a call into my J-Boat rep to let him know that he may be losing out on a sale. He was going to check into whether or not a wheel option was in the plans.


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Kids and Tillers*



matchmaker said:


> The J97 therefore seems like the perfect answer but I question J-Boats decision to equip it with a tiller instead of wheel. Keeping the kids off the wheel was difficult enough but having a tiller protrude into the cockpit within easy reach of kids will keep me from getting this boat for years to come. I wonder what the driver was behind this decision?


Don't write off because it has a tiller. Kids grow really fast. We have a J30 with a tiller and two kids. When we first started with it, they were 2 and 5. It was a bit stressful--mostly due to the fear of them diving overboard. Now they are 5 and 8. Last week, we went out and the 5 year old took the helm and loved it!! He declared for the first time that he wants to learn to sail. We also had the 8 year old trimming the jib a bit. It was great. My complaint with the J97 is the lack of a door to the V-berth. Family boats need privacy!


----------



## jfdubu (Jul 18, 2002)

As the ower of a J28 and looking to move up the J-97 looks very promising but I agree, no wheel? A wheel on the more racy j-95 but not the more cruise j-97. I can get past the open v berth as the quarter berth is enclosed. But besides the price, I really like a wheel for steering. For my money I'll go to a used 109, or 35c, 34c (if you find them) or the 32 with the quarter berth


----------



## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

jfdubu said:


> ... or the 32 with the quarter berth


That's another one that's tough to find!! My understanding is only a very small number were built with the optional q-berth (the number that is sticking in my head is "2", maybe "3").


----------



## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

Back when we were talking about these new J-Boats last spring, they were only on paper. They've launched a few now, so we have photos. I really like both these models -- that twin-rudder center-boarder is just gorgeous:

J-95 Brochure

J-97 Brochure

And, not too muddy the waters, but of course J-Boats has some new offerings (on paper still):

J-111 Speedster

I could have some fun on any of these.


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

I still like the 97 or 109 for my needs with as MUCH DRAFT as I can get. The 95 looks like a small 105, the 97 a small 109 still. Have not really looked at info for the 111. That might sill be doable too.

Marty


----------



## JohnRPollard (Mar 26, 2007)

blt2ski said:


> I still like the 97 or 109 for my needs with as MUCH DRAFT as I can get. The 95 looks like a small 105, the 97 a small 109 still. Have not really looked at info for the 111. That might sill be doable too.
> 
> Marty


Yeah. And I'm still a bit puzzled (as others mentioned previously) about the tiller/wheel decision. It does seem like they got it backwards.


----------



## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

JohnRPollard said:


> I really like both these models -- that twin-rudder center-boarder is just gorgeous:


But..but.. no canting keel?!?

Seriously though, love the cockpits, could live with either tiller/wheel though we also prefer the wheel for cruising, mostly for the versatility of seating positions for longer legs.

We sail on a tiller-equipped B36.7 in the Caribbean and since we generally sail the same tack island hopping for two weeks I do end up with a bit of a crick in my neck that lasts for weeks afterwards.

Here at home a few hours on the same tack is about tops... different story.


----------



## bb74 (Feb 11, 2009)

I visited the J-Boats stand at the Paris Boat show a couple of weeks ago - the first thoughts on the J-97 is that it is a pretty bare bones racer / cruiser. The cockpit is decent, open and roomy with good seating / visibility. Winch access and trimming is well though out - I don't really like the mainsail rail and where it's positioned because the foresail trimmer is always at risk or getting nailed, but it's similar to most others out there and at least the access to main sheet trimming and driving at the same time is feasible. The deck is maneuver friendly but the mast rigging makes it a little tricky to get to the foredeck. Winches, etc are top notch and the boat feels pretty well built - but doesn't feel bulletproof like some other J's I've been on. Chandeliers are well built and feel strong; Deckgear like tacks, anchor bay, and protection are an afterthought - I never understood why they didn't do a production stainless protector for the rope 'rub' while on the docks, etc - unacceptable at this price. The undersides are fairly roomy but there is very little storage space and the V berth is for kids - not nearly long enough. Nav station is on small (but bigger that most other 30 foot cruisers), rear cabin is OK. 

The dealer was a complete jerk and didn't spend more than a few minutes going over the details but he said it pointed and performed like a 109 - I have no idea if this is true but by the look and feel of it I'd have to say a decent cruiser / racer that doesn't do anything more for me than a X34 or any other boat in the range - for that type of dough I'd say, based on first impressions, that it isn't something that will get you there faster or safer than a SF 3200 or many other boats 50K less expensive. At one time the sprit / quality gave them an edge, but these days I don't see it (and I'm a fan of the J's) being worth the premium.


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

The SF3200 is another boat on my short list if funds were availble for a bigger boat, as is the X34, dehler 34 now 35 with hanse taking over. And Hanse's new 37 looks nice too.

As far as tiller vs wheel. both are nice, both have advantages, both have disadvantages. In the end, prefer the tiller, but I have probably the equal of ALL my sailing hrs less 1-2 on a tiller vs wheel. I do wonder if a wheel might be nicer under many circumstances. ie easier to lock into place if you need to let go of steering while SH/dh and need 4 hands instead of one or three! or a foot steadying the tiller etc. BUT, now you are into personal preferences, with no real correct answer IMHO.

Hoping the local dealer has a 97 sooner than later, they have mentioned around $150 to get on into puget sound, with 6 months free moorage etc at there dock for use as demo etc........

Marty


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Just saw on sailing worlds site, the J97 is clube racer of the year, with a PHRF of about 108, IRC .98. The 95 won the SW and CW boat of the year. Lots like that one anyhow.

marty


----------

