Entering your sailing superyacht in a regatta is one thing. Entering a sailing superyacht that the builder and naval architect are convinced will leave the competition in your wake is quite another. If you commission J9, one of the last J-Class yachts never built, you could collect some fine trophies. You could also take delivery in time for the J-Class regatta during the America’s Cup in 2017.
So say Hoek Design, which has extensively analyzed J9’s design plans, and Holland Jachtbouw, which has exclusive rights to build her. The two companies know of what they speak. They brought Rainbow, another J-Class yacht, to fruition in 2012. They have further collaborated on J8, nearing completion, plus dozens of other sailing yachts.
J9 has a fascinating history. She’s a Frank Paine design dating to 1936. J9 was commissioned by Gerhard Lambert, the owner of Yankee, but never brought to fruition. The reason: The New York Yacht Club decided that Ranger (a.k.a. J5) would be better for the 1937 America’s Cup. J9 had one of the lowest wetted surface areas of the Js. Her original waterline length was 88 feet (26.8 meters), a foot longer than allowed. Paine proceeded anyway, “convinced that the extra foot in length would more than make up for the penalty on sail area she would have incurred,” explains Andre Hoek, head of Hoek Design. He adds that J9 had a different foreship shape, which he believes will make her competitive upwind and downwind in light and heavy air.
Due to extensive analysis and tests, plus personal experience aboard some of the Js during regattas, Hoek Design has re-imagined J9 in a few ways. First, note that the 139’8” (42.6-meter) LOA preserves the original waterline length. Draft is 15’1” (4.6 meters). You can have her equipped with a traditional diesel engine or hybrid propulsion, the latter akin to Rainbow. J9 can additionally have two deckhouses vs. the single one shown. There will also be short communication lines between the main trimmers, the helmsperson, the runners, and the tactician. This should eliminate the need for the helmsperson to wear a headset. Of course, when it comes to the interior, you’ll have full say.
Holland Jachtbouw can start construction on the all-aluminum J9 shortly after contract signing. It’s due to J9 already having engineering completed. Both Hoek Design and Holland Jachtbouw believe J9 can be delivered in time to race against other Js in Bermuda during the upcoming America’s Cup, if construction starts soon. As Hoek argues, “The Js offer the only genuinely competitive racing for superyachts, with only one or two minutes separating the leaders after a two-hour race.”
For more information on acquiring J9, to be sent directly from Holland Jachtbouw and Hoek Design, please fill out our contact form.
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