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J/65 Sea Trials - Part I
September 14, 2005, San Diego, CA…After a two-week round-the-clock effort, J/65 Hull #1
recently launched in San Diego under the watchful eyes of David Lake,
J/65 Program Manager, and Jeff Brown of Sail California San Diego.
Designers Rod and Al Johnstone joined David and Jeff as well as
representatives from Hall Spars, Lewmar, and North Sails to put the J/65
through its initial paces. Following is a report from Rod:
“The new J/65 meets my highest expectations, from
its lively performance and beautiful exterior finish to its luxurious
interior. Initial sea trials for Hull #1 (“MAITRI”), were conducted in
San Diego last weekend (9-10-05). The feel of the boat under sail is the best yet
for a J/Boat. MAITRI has the “powered-up” feel of the J/145 and J/133,
and is a lot stiffer. MAITRI sits square on her lines at anticipated
displacement with tanks full, and balances perfectly under main and 135%
genoa upwind. We reached at 10 knots in 10 knots of true wind flying a
small cruising Asymmetric spinnaker. The feel on the helm was feather
light and the steering effortless, even in the quartering swells off of
San Diego.”
“The J/65 is incredibly maneuverable, and
accelerates to puffs like much smaller J Boats, but heels more slowly
and to a lesser degree. The nine foot draft seems plenty deep for all
around stability, and for good windward performance. It has the feel of
a boat with a much deeper keel accelerating out of tacks and in
down-speed maneuvers. To this end, we performed a full speed “fly-by”
and 180 degree turn under full sail in front of the San Diego Yacht Club
in a space between docks where smaller boats typically have difficulty
maneuvering under sail.“
“The hydraulic controls on MAITRI for the halyard,
jib sheet, and main sheet winches, and traveler make rapid sail trimming
possible. This puts the J/65 in the realm of easy single-handed,
push-button sailing. The mainsail drops neatly into the large carbon
fiber Hall “V” boom between lazy jacks. Under power MAITRI’s
maneuverability in and out of the slip is exceptional, even without use
of its bow thruster, which enables it to park quite precisely in the
tightest quarters.”
“Down below, MAITRI has the feel of being on a
small cruise ship. It is palatial and beautifully finished, and lacks
nothing in comfort for long-distance cruising and living aboard.
Everything about this boat puts a big smile on my face. I am proud to be
one of the many contributors who helped make this perhaps the best of
all J/Boats.”
MAITRI is available for dealer/client inspection in
Hawaii in mid November.
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