J/24

J/24

Class symbol
Development
Designer Rod Johnstone
Year 1977
Design One-Design
Boat
Crew 3 – 5
Draft 1.22 m (4 ft 0 in)
Hull
Type Monohull
Construction GRP
Hull weight 1,406 kg (3,100 lb)
LOA 7.32 m (24.0 ft)
LWL 6.10 m (20.0 ft)
Beam 2.71 m (8 ft 11 in)
Hull Appendages
Keel/Board Type Fixed
Rig
Rig Type Fractional rig
Sails
Mainsail area 12.68 m2 (136.5 sq ft)
Jib / Genoa area 11.58 m2 (124.6 sq ft)
Spinnaker area 41.7 m2 (449 sq ft)
J/24 Europameisterschaft race, 2007

The J/24 is an international One-Design keelboat class as defined by the International Sailing Federation.[1] The J/24 was created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, one design racing, day sailing, and handicap racing.[2]

The J/24 class has more than 50,000 people sailing 5,300 boats worldwide; is established in nearly 40 countries with well over 150 active fleets; and is still considered the "gold standard" for modern one-design keelboats around the world. It is the world's most popular One-Design keelboat as measured by hulls produced.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

History

In the summer of 1975 Rodney Johnstone designed and built hull number 1 in his garage in Stonington, Connecticut. "Ragtime" would serve as the master mould for the subsequent hulls. This design allowed him to start the very successful J-Boat company with his brother Bob Johnstone. By 1978 the class was popular enough to hold a one-design regatta in Key West with twenty boats on the line.

Early boats (hull numbers up to 3000) need a lot of work to rebuild their keel shape (move material forward) to make them point and sail fast in light wind. These older boats can be modified if one wants a competitive J/24. New boat manufacturing is done by multiple companies around the world in France, USA, Italy and Argentina.[9] In the US, J/24's are built by US Watercraft.

As of January 2009, approximately 5,475[10] J/24s have been produced. Approximately 20 new boats were produced in 2008. The average price of a complete, new boat without sails was approximately £20,000. (31,370 USD)[10]

Authority, rules and regulations

The international authority for the class is the ISAF, which shall cooperate with the International J/24 Class Association on all matters regarding these rules. Interpretations of these rules shall be made by the ISAF, which in coming to its decision may consult the International J/24 Class Association and the copyright holder.[2]

The International J24 Class Association (IJCA) has the sole authority worldwide for the conduct and management of the International J/24 Class. The IJCA Constitution, the By-laws and other regulations are binding on all members, and all registered J/24s shall conform to Class Rules and any limitations imposed by the IJCA and ISAF.[11] IJCA is a "not-for-profit" organization.

Current rules (as well as the history of changes) for the International J/24 Class is available from the International Sailing Federation web site[12]

Crew requirements

J/24s are usually raced with a crew of five, but class rules require only that there be at least three crew, with a total combined weight under 882 lbs (400 kg).

Reasons for the J/24's popularity

The J/24 is no longer considered the most modern sailboat in its class, but it is still a very popular sailboat among keel boat racers. While some of the world's best J/24 sailors have the latest version J/24, a well-prepared 1977 model, built to the same shape and weight with rigid end-grained balsa core construction can still win sailing the class world championship even after 30,000+ miles of trailering.[3] This is one of the many advantages of One-Design sailing that the J/24 is benefitting from.

Another reason for its popularity is that it is fairly easy and inexpensive to acquire a used boat and gear due to the large number of boats produced. There are 136 active fleets in the US alone,[13] which offer a lot of race competition. This makes the J/24 a popular boat for beginners and experienced sailors.

J24 sailing downwind in San Francisco bay

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Classes and Equipment: J/24". International Sailing Federation.
  2. 1 2 "J24 Class Rules effective March 1, 2009" (PDF). J24 Class Association.
  3. 1 2 "J24 History". J24 Class Association.
  4. ↑ "Royal Motor Yacht Club / J24". Royal Motor Yacht Club UK.
  5. ↑ "Comhem Sweden". Comhem Sweden.
  6. ↑ "J24 Worlds – World-class Sailing on World-class Banderas Bay". Puerto Vallarta news.
  7. ↑ "UK J 24 Class Association". Sailing Networks.
  8. ↑ "J24". JBoats Southwest.
  9. ↑ "J/Builders". J/Boat web site - J/Builders.
  10. 1 2 "2009 CLASS REPORT, International J/24 Class Association" (PDF). International Sailing Federation.
  11. ↑ "IJCA Constitution, Revised August, 2006". International J24 Class Association.
  12. ↑ "Class Rules J/24". International Sailing Federation.
  13. ↑ "US Fleets". J/24 USA Class Association.
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