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The
J/120 Sailboat
 Passage-making
downwind under spinnaker - with only 2 people on a 40 footer - is
now so easy, you'll have fun doing it every time you go sailing.
J/120's numbers upwind are amazing too. Exceptional performance and
construction earned J/120 the distinction of being CRUISING WORLD
magazine's OVERALL BOAT OF THE YEAR and the BEST VALUE in a
full-sized cruising boat.
Downwind, it's a Whole New World.
With an asymmetric spinnaker she'll do 7.2 knots at 150 degrees true
wind angle in 10 knots of wind with a VMG of 6.3. Other cruisers
might keep up if they used an engine. Flying one of an asymmetrical
is a one person job. Snuffer controls can lead back to the cockpit.
No one goes on deck when deploying, jibing, or dousing the
spinnaker. To jibe, simply let off one sheet and pull in the other.
It's safer. One comer of the spinnaker (the "tack") is always secure
to the bowsprit, eliminating wild oscillations. The center-of-effort
is located further forward and lower. Meaning balanced, "finger-tip"
control rather than "white knuckled" round-up broaches. The
asymmetric's greater power drives the apparent wind 30-50 degrees
forward of the true wind angle. In light air and lumpy seas, the
sail's greater area acts as a stabilizer. Deep sailing angles (165
degrees True Wind Angle) can be achieved by easing the sheet to
project the luff to windward - as if it were pulled back by a
spinnaker pole.
Comfort is Sailing on the J/120.....
Comfort is a sense of well-being. More a mind-set than a settee.
More spiritual than material. Faith in yourself, designer, builder
and boat to come through no matter what the weather. A boat and rig
that will hold together. It's ease of operation and the absence of
overwhelming forces. It is freedom from anxieties!
Comfort is a predictable, stable motion in seas that builds a
healthy outdoor appetite. Not the pitch and roll that discourages
it. What good is a beautifully appointed galley if no one wants to
go below and cook, let alone eat?
Comfort is getting off the mooring in 3 minutes with people who've
never sailed before - and showing them how easy it is. It's sailing
with mainsail alone with plenty of visibility and control in crowded
harbors.
Comfort is protection under a well-designed dodger with side
curtains. Cockpit seat-backs angled outward for sailing comfort to
windward as well as lounging in harbor. It is flared topsides that
slap waves down instead of bouncing them up onto the deck. A dry
boat that creates sunny dispositions even on gray days.
Comfort is straight as an arrow tracing of the long, narrow hull
when running before seas. A balanced, not wedged, hull shape with
enough reserve buoyancy forward to lift the bow easily over waves
when surfing off the wind.
Comfort is a responsive, large diameter, leather-covered wheel for
one-hand steering from either side deck or from behind the wheel.
Sail controls within easy reach for trimming mainsail and genoa (or
asymmetric spinnaker) on long coastal passages - without leaving the
wheel or relocating a safety harness.
Comfort is not having to turn on the engine so often. It's two
people being able to fly the asymmetrical to steady the boat and
sail fast enough to make port in time for a walk ashore.....
At J/World, we use the J/120 for our
Bareboat Cruising courses, as well as
corporate teambuilding exercises,
private instruction, and
skippered or bareboat charters.
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