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New Boat: J/95

2009 June 1

Thin-water sailors are familiar with making sacrifices to be able to sail where the want to. The J/95 could make all those sacrifices go away.

The 31-footer offers seaworthiness, performance and comfort all in a shoal-draft package.

The 95, which has the option of becoming a sprit boat-it comes with a bowsprit tube and the optional asymmetric spinnaker package including a carbon bowsprit can be added-features a 2,250-pound fixed lead keel with a 3-foot draft, but adds on a retractable bronze centerboard for a board-down draft of 5 feet, 6 inches.
An optional removable transom locker and helm seat can provide the security of a closed cockpit, or be removed for easy access off the transom and more cockpit space. The cockpit seats are 5 feet, 6 inches long and a dodger can be added to keep the gang dry on daysails.

Down below is sparse, as the boat is really meant to be docked outside your home, and taken out for daysails. A V-berth is optional, and the two nearly 8-foot-long settees serve as bunks. An enclosed marine head is standard.


The boat has twin rudders and a 44-inch steering wheel, which is similar to a steering system designer Rod Johnstone developed for his Mini-Transat 6.5-Meter.
While the boat is really set up for daysailing or racing, it is also capable of handling open water. A wider beam-10 feet-and low center of gravity made possible through the heavy fixed keel, offer a great deal of stability despite its shallow draft.

And on top of all that, the boat is expected to be significantly faster than many of the other boats in the daysailing category.
It's not hard to imagine looking at this one out the living room window.