Check out this video from my summer sail aboard the new J/95 centerboard daysailer. For the full review, see August 2010 issue of Practical Sailor.
This footage has been sitting on my desktop for a while. Sorry about the delay, and the shaky camera. This clip is a good example of why people scatter when I break out home movies from our South Pacific days. It’s also a good example of why print journalists weren’t allowed to touch video cameras for the last three decades. It’s a brave new world, though, and my next onboard shoot should be markedly improved over this.
As for the J/95. I’ve always been a big fan of shoalwater sailboats. Ralph Munroe’s Egret remains one of my favorite little daysailors, and this one, although radically different in so many ways, offers the same type of thrill. Being a J/Boat, the price is stratospheric in terms of dollars per square foot, and if this boat takes off, I imagine we might see some more moderately priced imitations coming down the pike.
A lot of manufacturers are fighting a losing battle trying to keep their older customers in sailboats. Many of these sailors are moving south, where the bays and estuaries limit keel depth, and boating often involves a trip to a beach, sandbar, or a popular watering hole with less than four feet of water at the dock. Rather than lose customers, several sailboat builders offer a line of jet-powered picnic boats. To the serious sailor, this move smacks of defeat, but given the dire state of the boatbuilding industry, it’s hard to criticize anything that results in a sale.
The J/95 represents a fairly effective example of another approach: offer a smaller boat that’s easy and fun to sail, even in ligher winds. Ideally, it should be something new, or something that hasn’t been done in a long, long time. In other words, give older sailors a reason to keep sailing, and at the same time draw in new customers with the “next best thing.” The J/95’s shoalwater design brings beaching excursions with the grandkids possible, and the Mini-Transat-inspired design makes it hard to resist when the afternoon wind kicks in.
There are a few things on the boat that need to be fixed, and I found J/Boat’s nostalgic references to Carleton Mithchell’s Finisterre in its marketing literature to be a weird stretch (more so since Mitchell’s name was misspelled in the brochure), but again, you can’t blame any builder for trying these days.
Is J/Boats just hopelessly hopeful? Naive? Or are they on to something?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s definitely a two-edged sword trying to deal with the reality of things but at the same time make sailors happy.
I think the J95 is a great alternative for old and new sailors. I would like to give one a try some day soon!
All my best,
Mark
Mark´s last blog ..Boat Planking Methods- The Advantages & Disadvantages Of Each
I have saved 5 different photos of the J95 as my desktop background. (Wonder about the stern anchor in that beach shot–isn’t that a powercable warning sign in the background?) The boat is perfect. If I can swing it financially, I will own one some day. 6 more years to retire.