The Publisher
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Sep 22, 2010, 12:35 PM
Post #2 of 3
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Re: [The Publisher] J/111
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By Don Finkle, RCR Yachts (Part 2 of 2):
I came away from our afternoon sail wanting to do it again, the J/111 is so much fun that you beg for more. I loved the acceleration, the feel of the helm, the way it moved through the water. The sail controls were in the right place and easy to use. One impression I returned home with was just how little fuss was required to attain the speed we were going. This is a boat that should not demand a lot of effort.
The headsail is only very slightly overlapping but it is not small, being long on the luff. I did not feel at all underpowered when we started out in the light air. Once we got the spinnaker up after awhile the real power of the boat became apparent. I tried all different angles downwind, even deliberately sailing too tight with the large runner to see how it would handle on a tight reach. The rudder had plenty of bite and bearing off was no problem, and when heating up the boatspeed climbed very quickly. Clearly acceleration is one of the hallmarks of this design.
The J/111 was created as a sort of modern day version of the extremely successful J/35. Clearly there is little design similarity between the two, given the many years of evolution between the 35 and the 111, but the goal is the same. Make a fast, fun to sail boat that is very quick for its length yet has a usable interior and is not extreme. Extreme designs don't ever gain long-term popularity, nor do those that are too all-out racy. The 111 has 6 foot headroom, 6 large comfortable berths, a usable head, galley and nav station. While clearly this is a performance boat first and foremost, it is also useful for other purposes when desired. The cockpit seating is comfortable and the view forward is excellent.
What would the shortcomings be, after all no boat is perfect, right? While clearly there is so much more to rave about than find fault with, if pressed we would point out that this type of performance, equipment and technology does not come cheap. Obviously there will be less expensive alternatives out there, but I am struggling to find the name of one that would do exactly what the 111 does. High performance in anything, car or airplane or boat, comes at a price. But for those who can enjoy or expect that thoroughbred feel and get up and go, they will find the cost worth it. There are certainly more expensive boats too.
The storage below is limited. The guys at J/boats are looking into some ways to provide for more light weight interior storage options for those who feel they need it. There is an anchor well forward, and a nice locker in the aft end of the cockpit behind the wheel. The two cockpit seat lockers open into the quarterberths, and there is some thought of having a shallow liner in one or both for storage of small items.
The finish on the interior was certainly satisfactory to me, especially considering this boat was hull #1, in effect the prototype. In keeping with the goal of light weight there is no headliner, nor any hull liners fore and aft. This is just fine with me, the white rolled on finish is nice and you have ready access to any deck fitting, and the source of any leak will be immediately apparent. The joinery is fine as well, I've seen better on cruising boats where the woodwork is one of the main selling features, but the interior of this boat compares favorably to most race boats our there.
Finally, like all narrow boats I have sailed, at least those without canting keels, the J/111 will heel. This seems natural to me, monohulls heel, and the key is whether or not they steer and balance when they are at 20-25 degrees of heel angle. The J/111, without a wide stern, continues to track when she heels, and the helm stays light and balanced. The wake off the back of the boat is clean and quiet, no heavy gurgling that you get with most modern boats as the helm increases, when you dial in more rudder to compensate and keep the bow pointed straight ahead. The very clean run on the 111 stayed clean on each point of sail, whether heeled upwind or flat when we were downwind. It is just a very good sailboat! And that of course was the goal of the exercise.
Yes, I am high on the J/111 because I had so much fun sailing it. It won't appeal to everyone, because not everyone will value the performance of this boat enough to buy one. But the number of J/boat sailors out there numbers in the thousands, and for them what the 111 does is what they have come to expect and are looking for in their next boat. I predict it will be looked at someday as one of J/boats' best designs. -- http://psndealer.com/dealersite/images/rcryachts/racersnews090810.pdf
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