What’s the DNA of the NEW J/45 Offshore Cruising Yacht?

(Gulf Coast)- Hitting the sweet spot for an ultimate offshore cruiser-racer is not easily achieved. To design and build the optimum combination of performance and comfort requires the highest level of experience and technical ability. The J/45 is part of the Elegance range built by J/Composites, France, and is the result of three years of collaboration with J/Boats Inc. in Rhode Island USA.

The J/45 is designed for high-performance sailing at any wind angle. However, where it differs from most of the J/Boat range, is the interior is designed and built for living aboard in comfort. J/Composites’ Fred Bouvier explains more about the new J/45, just as Hull #1 came out of the mold at their facility in Les Sables-d’Olonne, France.
“The first J/45 owner will be from France and the plan is to launch in June this year. We will have some sea trials in the Atlantic,” commented Mr. Bouvier. “The J/45 is the perfect size to combine the interior volume required of an ocean-going cruising yacht, with the advanced composite construction and hull shape of a performance race boat.”

For all J/Boats there is a desire to keep the DNA of the brand in every model: sleek lines and a practical purpose for sailing. There is a wish to design J/Boats with moderate freeboard and not too much height in the coach roof. All of this needs to be combined with an interior that has good headroom, so every centimeter counts.
One example of J-Composites collaboration with J/Boats for the J/45 design and engineering was to provide a shower in the second head of the aft cabin. Together, the design/ engineering team made as many as 15 tiny changes to the design of the coach roof to allow this feature to be possible.

“Working in partnership with J/Boats, we embraced both the DNA of J/Boats and famous French designer- Isabelle Racoupeaux- to create an interior that is really exceptional. The accommodation is like no other J/Boat before it, both in terms of the facilities and the beautiful finishing. It is a cruiser-racer, but the J/45 is not a compromise, it’s a combination,” commented Mr. Bouvier.