J boats are a series of sailboats designed and manufactured by J/boat company. Because all J/boat company’s sailboats models start with J, people call their boats J boats.
What are J boats?
J boats are a series of sailboats designed and manufactured by J/boat company. Rod Johnstone-a salesman of a sailing magazine and his brother Bob Johnstone are co-founders of J/boats company.
J/boats company is a privately held US company. its head office is in Rhode Island, New port, U.S.
In his garage, Rod Johnstone designed and built his first sailboat named ” RAGTIME” in 1975. This is the prototype of a very popular J boat model J/24.
Why are J boats called J boats?
All sailboat models manufactured by J/boats company start with J, which is why any J sailboats are called J boats.
Are J boats good quality?
The majority of people think J boats are good quality sailboats. in addition, J boats have above the average resale value of any sailboats out there.
J boat has pretty high customer retention, and most J boat owners have owned multiple Js. this is proof of their excellent quality.
Based on jboat.com that in 2019 their J/99 model won the SAIL Magazine Best boat award, British Yachting Awards, Sailing World Boat of the year, etc. Besides J/99, their other popular model J/121 also won lots of awards.
In addition to their awards at the different sailing magazines, and yacht clubs, you probably notice J/125 model sailboat showed up on the movie TOP GUN: Maverick (based on jboats.com)
How many J boats are there?
There are roughly 5500 J/24 owners, and 9500 other models of J boats, so the total amount is approximately 15,000 J boats there on the water.
Current popular models and price range
below models are in production.
| Purpose of use | Model | Characteristics | Average Price for new | Average Price for used |
| Daysailer | J/9 | 28′ sailboat with the most comfortable cockpit | $105,900 | $85,000 |
| Family Cruise | J/112E | 36′ with a two-cabin interior layout, a roomy cockpit | $320,000 | $250,000 |
| Offshore sail | J/99 | 32.6′ double-handling sport boat | $220,000 | $19,5000 |
| Offshore Speed | J/121 | 40′ racing sailboat with a small crew | $450,000 | $400,000 |
| For fun | J/70 | 22′ sailboat easy to tow, store. can sail by two people | $50,000 | $33,000 |
Classic old model and price range
The below models are no longer in production. You can purchase second hand of these models
| Purpose of use | Model | Average Price of used |
| Classic Sail | J/22, J/24, J/27, J/29, J/30, J/105, J35, J/109 | $6,500~$120,000 |
| Offshore cruising | J/28, J/32, J/34c, J/35c, J/37c, J/40, J/42,J/46, J/160, J/65 | $59,000~$600,000 |
| Offshore cruiser&racers | J/108,J110,J/36,J/120,J/130,J/133,J/44,J/145, | $10,000~$300,000 |
| Day/weekend sailor | J/92,J/92S,J/95,J/97E,J/100,J/33,J/124 | $30,000~$195,000 |
| Racing sailboat | J/90,J/34,J/39,J/125,J/41 | $32,000~$210,000 |
Are J Boats blue water?
There are many models of J boats. Different models of J boats have different purposes. Yes, several popular J models are blue water sailboats.
The first blue water J boat was J/40. J/40 was introduced to the market in 1984. J/40 is 40.30 feet long and 12.10 wide blue water offshore cruising boat. J/40 won multiple prizes in 1984, but the J/boat company stop manufacturing this mode in 1994. The average price of a second-hand J/40 is $55000 ~ $12,000.
Besides J/40, J/122, and J/133 are all blue water sailboats. J/133 is another popular blue water J boat.
J/133 is 43′ long and 12.78 ft wide equipped with 2 cabins. J/133 has plenty of room for a team of crew members or family. The average price for a second-hand J/133 is about $210,000.
What is the largest J Boat?
The largest J boat is J160. J160 is an over fifty feet yacht. J160 is 52.70 ft long and 14.50 ft wide. The first J160 model was introduced to the market in 1995. J/boat company stop the production of this model in 2004.
The average price for J/160 in the year 2000 is around $300,000
What is the smallest J boat?
J/70 is the smallest J boat that currently is in production. J/70 is 22.75 ft long and 7.38 ft wide. J/70’s key feature is it is easy to tow, easy to rig, and can launch at a ramp. You can store this boat at home because of its convenient size.
The new J/70’s price is around $50,000. The used J/70 in the year 2014 is around $38,500.
What is the fastest J boat?
According to Jboat company, their J/35 is the fastest J boat. J/35 beat Beneteau 42, Swan 44, and C&C 41 on the speed.
J/35 is 35.5 ft in length and 11.80 ft in width. PHRF rates the J/35 an average of 72. Normally the lower the PHRF number is the fast is the boat. The lower PHRF rating of J/35 is also proof that this model is pretty fast.
What is PHRF?
PHRF stands for the performance handicap rating factor
Most boat are in 50~250 range
Your PHRF rating is the number of seconds per mile your boat is supposedly slower than a theoretical boat which rate zero
cite from: http://cs.brown.edu
The first J/35 was produced in the year of 1983, and this model was stopped by the J/boat company in the year of 1992.
The 1984 J/35 sold at a price of around $ 22,000~$40,000.
below is a good video of J/35 on 16,9 knots top speed
The lifespan of J boat?
The average lifespan of a sailboat is between 15 ~ and 25 years.
J boats are made of fiberglass. Many boat owners say that fiberglass can last forever but the system on the boat needs update and replacement.
It is hard to say the lifespan of the J boat. It depends on how often you use it, where you use it, and how well you maintain it. Some J boats are over 40 years old and still cruise on the water. Such as model J/24, which was first produced in the year 1978, till today there are still many of them on the water.
Where to buy J boat Parts?
J boat company website: https//www.jboats.com is a good resource for everything about J boat. Whether you want to purchase a new J boat or a used J boat you can find them on this website (under the “brokerage” tab).
There are many models of J boats that are no longer in production, you can also find parts under the tab “Resources” and then tab “parts and equipment”.
The other great feature I like about this website is their Jboat owner resource. They provide you with all information about sailing schools and racing events worldwide.
Resources
