Newport Sailboat Show- J/111 Introduction

(Newport, RI)- Be sure to mark your calendars to view the J/111 at the Newport Sailboat show, open from September 16th to 19th.  Also featured will be the J/95 (the cool, shoal-draft centerboard cruiser); the J/100 with sprit option; the J/22 and J/80 at the Waterlines booth; the J/80 and J/105 on the Discover Sailing docks on the waterfront next to the J/Boats in-water docks; and the gorgeous J/65 BRAND NEW DAY (more info below) in the brokerage section.  For more Newport Sailboat Show info.
  

SAIL- J/111 Boat Test

The Latest From J/Boats Is All About Performance

(Boston, MA)- Adam Cort recently did a test sail of the J/111 and interviewed designer Alan Johnstone: "According to designer Al, the brief for the new 36ft 6in J/111 one-design was for a boat that he and the rest of the J/Boats crew would want to sail—-- and it shows.  During a recent daysail off Newport, Rhode Island, hull #1 reveled in picture perfect sailing conditions, with winds out of the east in the mid to high teens. Sailing to windward, the boat was balanced and easy to drive through the moderate swells. Off the wind, the boat lit up under a massive, but easy to handle A-sail."  Read more about Adam's interview here.    SAIL's J/111 video.
  

J/111 Sailing Fast!

(Bristol, RI)- This past weekend, the J/111 was launched in Barrington, RI in northern Narragansett Bay.  Sailing on the 111's maiden voyage was Joe Pimenta of builder CCF Composites, Ben Hall and Corey Butlin of Hall Spars,  Didier LeMoal of JB Composites (J builder in France), designer Alan Johnstone, and other J family members including Rod, Stu, Jeff and Matthew.

The weather forecast was partly cloudy with spotty ESE breezes from 0-12 knots, which is exactly what we saw for the 111's first shake-down sail. It was a good test of the boat's balance and acceleration capabilities in the low wind ranges. As designer Al Johnstone commented, "even with a #3 jib flying, we could tell right away that the J/111 has all the elements we were hoping for in terms of speed, acceleration and a feather light touch on the helm both upwind and downwind.”

On day 2, the full Doyle inventory (including #1 jib) was flown and a five person crew took the J/111 upwind in a steadier 12-16 knot southerly to test the balance, responsiveness and stability. Grins all around as the J/111 sliced effortlessly upwind with minimal wake and very easy steering/ trimming with helmsman able to drive and play the mainsheet (fine-tune) like a J/80.  Two people could handle the tacking duties, and the jib trimmer was in heaven being able to freely adjust the fore/aft/inboard jib leads with the cockpit led controls.

Jeff Johnstone added “we then hoisted the large A-Sail (130m2) and took right off. The boat balanced great and we felt we had equal opportunity to either go deep and rotate the kite out, or heat up to double digit speeds.  We threw in several jibes, including a double-handed one in 15-17 knots with Rod on helm and mainsheet and Al on both kite sheets.”

This week the commissioning continues with sailing electronics install, engine trials and final commissioning at Bristol Marine with sailing starting again this weekend in Newport.

With the schedule beginning to fill up in August/ September for the Newport demo sails, please be sure to contact your J Dealer soon to get a taste of J/111's sweet sailing experience.  For photos of the first sail, please go to the J/111 photo gallery.