J/Boats

J/Boats
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryBoat building
Founded1977
FoundersRod & Bob Johnstone
Headquarters
Newport, Rhode Island
,
United States
Key people
Jeff Johnstone (president)
ProductsSailboats
Websitewww.jboats.com

J/Boats is an American boat builder based in Newport, Rhode Island and founded by Rod Johnstone in 1977. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.[1][2][3]

The company's model names all start with "J/" and then the design's length overall (LOA), in feet (such as the J/24), or beginning in 1994 in decimeters (J/130), or starting 2021 in meters (J/9). All J/Boat designs are monohull, sloop-rigged keelboats constructed of cored sandwich fiberglass.[3] The current product line consists of eight models, ranging from the J/70 to the J/45, ranging in length from 22.75 to 45.6 ft (6.9 to 13.9 m).[4] A new 9 meter model has been announced for 2021.[5] Past models have ranged from 22.5 to 64.5 ft (6.9 to 19.7 m), from the J/22 to the J/65.[1]

The company's initial design, the J/24, is their most successful, with over 5,500 built.[6] The J/24 is sailed 27 countries and is the world's most popular one design keelboat.[7][8][9]

As Sailboatdata described, "the J/Boats company, a family affair started with brother Bob Johnstone, is arguably the most successful producer of performance-oriented boats in the world with nearly 10,000 boats built to Johnstone designs."[2]

  1. ^ a b Browning, Randy (2018). "J Boats". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b McArthur, Bruce (2019). "Rod Johnstone". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b 'J/Boats: Sailing to Success' by Anthony Dalton, Voyageur Press; ISBN 0760321701, ISBN 978-0760321706
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Prod was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "J/Boats- Better Sailboats for People Who Love Sailing". jboats.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  6. ^ Knauth, Steve. "Classics: J/24". Soundings Online. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  7. ^ "J/24 class association". Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  8. ^ "J24 | The Royal Motor Yacht Club". 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  9. ^ "J24: The Worlds Most Popular One Design Keelboat". 24 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2020.