J/111 in Hamble© Paul WyethJ/111
J/111 NEWEST ADDITION TO NS CLASS SAIL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The J-111 is the newest addition to North’s Class Sail Development program. With over 50 boats sold in the first year and 8 of the first ten going to North Sails clients, our teams of skilled sail designers and consultants have jumped into an accelerated research and sail testing program to ensure that our clients get the fastest proven sails right from the start of the 2011 sailing season. With boats delivered in late summer 2010, in the Great Lakes, San Diego and Nova Scotia, and December in the UK we have been able to test the performance of a range of upwind and downwind designs and get a nice handle on this great new J-Boat.
Perry Lewis (North's Midwest expert) jumped right in with Hull #2 and our first generation of sails. The class rules were not finalized at this time which gave us the ability and flexibility to give our feedback to the Jeff and Stu Johnstone to further optimize the rule and make changes to the next series for Hull 3.
During the first week in November, we conducted a three-day session with our Farr 40 expert, Dave Scott, North’s veteran spinnaker designer David Hirsch, and John Gladstone from the San Diego loft to work on rig tuning and matching designs to fit a range of conditions from 5-12 kts.
Simultaneously, in the other corner of the USA, Andreas Josenhans (Swan 45 and 42 CSD PRG advisor), along with Sandy MacMillan from North’s Atlantic site in Halifax, put the J/111 through the heavier air drills with Perry’s sails to help come up with rig and tune settings that would complement the work being done in San Diego.
James Knight and Jeremy Robinson from North Sails UK trialed Hull #5 in the UK in early December, using development from the US designed sails.
© James KnightJames Knight is the J/111 Class captain for North Sails. James has been sailing the J/111 since it arrived in the UK. Please contact James for all of your J/111 sailing / tuning questions.