The label covers a multitude of design sins and generates controversy wherever cruising sailors congregate. A generation ago, most mariners were content to cruise in docile vessels that may have been comfortable in port, but were veritable cows upwind. Today, a growing number of serious cruisers want a large yacht that holds its own on the club race course and carries them quickly and safely across open water. The new J 40 is aimed at such a clientele - people who want speed, ease of handling and discreet comfort below. At first sight, the J 40 looks long, sleek and definitely competitive.
Closer inspection reveals a performance wolf in very carefully thought out cruising clothing.
J Boats has an international reputation for its racing yachts. The pedigree of its new cruising 40 footer belongs among such racing thoroughbreds as the J 35 and SORC-winning J 41. Shallow draft yachts need speed to allow for their spare underbodies, an essential in congested harbors and anchorages. The J 40 comes with various keel options, among them an elliptical design and the shallow draft version, which allows the cruiser to carry its five foot draft into shallow anchorages. It is built of end-grain balsa core, about the strongest material for its weight that can be used for boat hulls.