J-class (sailing)

Velsheda , J-class yacht in the Solent 2007

J-class describes a boat class for large keel yachts according to international rules. With these sailing yachts , regattas for the America's Cup were held between 1930 and 1937.

History of the formula

British yachts sailed according to international rules that required a Bermuda rig for boats longer than 48 feet . The Americans wanted to take part with larger yachts. The international formula regulations on yacht size were differentiated into letter classes. The yardstick here was the waterline length. The letter J stood for 75 to 87 feet in length. The rule was based on ideas from the yacht designer Nathanael Herreshoff / USA. The waterline length should be limited and the sail area freely selectable. The water displacement of the sailing yachts should increase and the draft limited to 15 feet.

Class formula

Hull dimensions

J-class sail plan

• Length of water line (LWL): 26.51 m
• Overall length (Lüa): 41.54 m
• Width overall: 6.36 m
• Draft: 4.57 m
• Sail area: 701 m²
• Displacement: 160 tons maximum

Yachts

A number of existing British yachts have been adapted to the new J-formula in order to be able to sail regattas with the newbuildings:

• 1928 Astra, K2, owner: Sir Mortimer Singer, GB
• 1928 Cambria, K4, owner: Sir William Berry, GB
• 1929 Candida, K8, owner: Herman Andrae, GB
• White Heather II, K7, owner: Lord Waring, GB
• 1931 Britannia , K1, owner: King George V (United Kingdom) , GB

Only ten pure J-class yachts were built, four of them in the UK and six in the US:

Name of sail number	Construction year	Owner yacht club	constructor	Shipyard land	America's Cup result
Shamrock V J-K3	1930	Sir Thomas Lipton Royal Ulster Yacht Club Ireland	Charles E. Nicholson	Camper & Nicholsons GB	Challenger in the 14th AC defeated 0: 4
Weetamoe J 1	1930	Morgan Syndicate	Clinton Crane	Herreshoff USA	Selection for defense at 14th AC
Yankee J 2 or later J-US2	1930	John Lawrence	Frank Paine	Lawley & Son’s USA	Selection for defense at 14th AC
Whirlwind J 3	1930	Landon K. Thorne	L. Francis Herreshoff	Lawley & Son’s USA	Selection for defense at 14th AC
Enterprise J-US	1930	Harold S. Vanderbilt New York Yacht Club USA	Starling Burgess	Herreshoff USA	Defender in the 14th AC Victorious with 4: 0
Velsheda J-K7	1933	WL Stephenson	Charles E. Nicholson	Camper & Nicholsons GB	-
Endeavor J-K4	1934	Sir Thomas Sopwith Royal Yacht Squadron England	Charles E. Nicholson	Camper & Nicholsons GB	Challenger in the 15th AC defeated with 2: 4
Rainbow J 4 also J-US4	1934	Harold S. Vanderbilt New York Yacht Club USA	Starling Burgess	Herreshoff USA	Defender in the 15th AC Victorious with 4-2
Endeavor II J-K6	1937	Sir Thomas Sopwith Royal Yacht Squadron England	Charles E. Nicholson	Camper & Nicholsons GB	Challenger in the 16th AC defeated 0: 4
Ranger J 5 also J-US5	1937	Harold S. Vanderbilt New York Yacht Club USA	Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens	Bath Iron Works USA	Defender in 16. AC Victorious with 4: 0

In addition, the construction of the J-S1 Svea according to plans by Tore Holm began in Sweden in 1937. Due to the Second World War, however, the construction was never completed.

The class today

Rainbow (foreground) and Velsheda

The J Class Association has set itself the goal of maintaining the class and enabling regattas for historic and newly built J-Class yachts. Only yachts that were built according to original designs from the 1930s should take part. In addition, a handicap system was defined that regulates the time allowance between boats of different speeds. Three originally preserved J-class yachts are still in service, the Shamrock V , the Endeavor and the Velsheda , three J-class yachts have been recreated: The first was named Ranger after its original model and came in 2004 on the move again. The Endeavor II was rebuilt at the Royal Huisman Shipyard under the name Hanuman and was completed in April 2009. In addition, the Lionheart was built by Hoek Design in the Netherlands according to one of the abandoned original plans of the rangers with the designation 77F . The Lionheart was completed in June 2010 and was given the sail number J-H1.

The construction of the Svea was planned from 2010. The ship was completed in spring 2017. In June 2017, Spiegel Online published a photo of Svea.

Topaz was completed in 2015. Topaz is based on a yacht drawn by Frank Paine in 1935, but it was never completed.

Sail number	Surname	Construction year	Original plans	constructor	Shipyard land
J 5	ranger	2004	ranger	Fred Elliot	Danish Yachts DK
J K6	Hanuman	2009	Endeavor II	Gerard Dijkstra & Partners	Royal Huisman NL
J H1	Lionheart	2010	Ranger - 77F	Hoek design	Bloemsma Aluminumbouw, Claasen Jachtbouw NL
J S1	Svea	2017	Svea	Hoek design	Bloemsma Aluminumbouw, Claasen Jachtbouw NL
J H2	Rainbow	2012	Rainbow	Gerard Dijkstra & Partners	Bloemsma Aluminumbouw, Holland Jachtbouw NL
J H3	Yankee	2012 (planning canceled?)	Yankee	Gerard Dijkstra & Partners	Bloemsma Aluminumbouw NL
J 8	Topaz	2015	Unnamed	Frank Paine / Hoek Design	Bloemsma Aluminumbouw, Holland Jachtbouw  Netherlands

literature

• Detlef Jens: The J-Class. In: ders .: The classic yachts. Volume 3: Racing Ships through the Ages . Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-7822-0958-8 , pp. 120-139.

Web links

Commons : Category: J-class  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Photo: White Heather II
• Official homepage of the J-Class Association

Individual evidence

1. ↑ America's Cup: J-Class Era Yachts , accessed January 20, 2009.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Ermann Braschos: The resurrected . Yacht, year 2007, issue 20
3. ↑ The J-Class Yacht “Svea” ( Memento of the original from October 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ J CLASS HISTORY - 2000 - 2008: REBIRTH OF THE CLASS (English).
5. ↑ David Glenn: Lionheart, the new Super J . ( Memento of the original from June 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Yachting World (English) January 13, 2008 
6. ^ Explosion of interest in J Class Yachts. SuperYachtTimes.com, March 25, 2008 (English)
7. ^ Current Projects - Hanuman. ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Royal Huisman  
8. ↑ JK6: Hanuman (Endeavor II) (English)
9. ↑ Alessandro Vitelli: J Class Renaissance . (PDF; 1.1 MB) Boat International USA (English)
10. ↑ H1: Lionheart (English)
11. ↑ Lionheart  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
12. ↑ S1: Svea (English)
13. ↑ Svea  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  
14. ↑ ^{a b} Homepage of the shipyard. Retrieved May 23, 2018 . 
15. ↑ spiegel.de
16. ↑ ^{a b c} Topaz :: Yachts :: J Class Association. Retrieved March 28, 2019 . 
17. ↑ ^{a b} JH2 Rainbow transported to Holland Jachtbouw. Dykstra & Partners
18. ↑ Hull JH2 Rainbow turned. Dykstra & Partners