j97 sailboat specs

Sailboat specifications

• Last update: 13rd March 2020

J/97e's main features

J/97e's main dimensions, j/97e's rig and sails, j/97e's performances, j/97e's auxiliary engine, j/97e's accommodations and layout.

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• Sailboat Guide

J/97 is a 31 ′ 6 ″ / 9.6 m monohull sailboat designed by Rod Johnstone and built by J Boats starting in 2008.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Originally built in France. Asym area: 90m2/969 sq.ft. Now called J/97E

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• Boat Reviews

The J/97, in some form, has actually been on the market since the first hull was finished in 2008. It was built to prioritize ease and versatility while maximizing performance under the IRC racing rule. It did so beautifully, with many early wins, and a great deal of positive response from cruising and racing sailors alike, as well as critics (it won Sailing World’s Boat of the Year for Best Club Racer in 2010). Since that time, the boat has gotten a primarily-cosmetic design update and is now called the J/97E, but the broad appeal remains. New boats have been selling in the Pacific Northwest, including the one that belongs to Scott McConnell, who is a terrific guy and who took some of the 48° North crew sailing recently on a stunning September day.

Sailing with new boat owners has become a real joy for me; it is so fun to get to know why someone makes the big decision to buy a new boat. In Scott’s case, he’s started in a San Juan 24 before moving into larger cruising boats. Now he’s excited to downsize, and says that having a boat he really wanted to go sailing on – something fast, fun, and easy – was his biggest motivator to choose J/97E. Unlike his other boats, he’s keeping the boat nearer to his home instead of closer to the islands, and he’s LOVING it, sailing more often than he even hoped.

I had a chance to explore the J/97E at the Seattle Boat Show and was truly eager to see her in action. Honestly, of all the boats I’ve tested, the J/97E might be the boat that best suits my personal sailing desires, with its simplicity, speed, and ability to race or cruise, all in a midsize package. I’ll try to keep any personal bias in check.

The J/97E is a very sharp design, and approaching the boat from the dock, she really looks quick. I didn’t notice it from the dock view, but once I stepped on deck, I felt the beam. An 11’ beam is not enormous, but it’s quite a lot for a 31’ boat, regardless of its intended use. It’s also somewhat   reminiscent of certain J/Boats of old (11’ is the beam measurement of the J/29, and the J/30 is 11.18’). The last sail test I did on a J/Boat was on the J/88, a boat with a clearly different design purpose and a beam of 9.5’. Nonetheless, I found the J/97E notably beamier that the J/88 on deck, in the cabin, and under sail.

The beam on the J/97E is likely a result of the desire to maximize both   interior space and rating under the IRC rule. The interior has an efficient and comfortable layout for cruising, which I’ll discuss a bit more later. In addition to the beam, the IRC maximization also can be found in the way the knuckle at the plumb bow sits out of the water, shortening the waterline measurement, but leaving it functionally long when you’re underway. In addition to the beam and the bow design, the boat is also fairly heavy for its length, another design element likely aimed at IRC.

I toured the whole deck layout, and it is really beautiful in it simplicity. Moving around the boat was easy from stem to stern with ample side-deck and room to get under the outboard-set shrouds. I am a huge fan of the J/97E’s cockpit layout, with bench seating forward of the traveler and the more wide-open design aft with dual foot pushes. Since this is a tiller driven boat, the cockpit felt particularly spacious without a wheel pedestal. Different than the original J/97, the J/97E has the traveler on the cockpit floor, which makes movement fore and aft seamless. And with the beam, that bar is LONG! I asked Scott whether they ever use its full length, and he said they tend to keep the car in the middle 75% of the bar, but it’s nice to have options. I agree!

I noted the cleverly rigged in-haulers for the jib. Since the boat has a one-design sail plan with a non-overlapping 105% jib, those in-haulers will be an important device for getting the most out of the boat in lighter breeze. The in-haulers are permanently rigged, and Scott mentioned using them a lot, even while cruising and day sailing. A lot of production boats have moved to non-overlapping sails in a way that leaves many of them wanting power with the stock sail plan, the J/97E will not suffer in the same way.

We headed out sailing with a 12-14 knot northerly… we really couldn’t have asked for better. The size of the boat makes the sail setting easy – nothing is too loaded. In the conditions we had, we were quickly into de-powering mode, putting something extra on the halyards, moving cars aft, and pulling on backstay to reduce headstay sag. I found myself wondering about rig tension for the fractional, swept-two-spreader mast – should we have had more, and is this a boat on which owners will want to adjust their shroud tension as the conditions change?

As we set off upwind, I was immediately aware that I could feel when the boat was lit-up and moving, and when it was choked or needed to be powered back up. I love that kind of feel. That said, I found it a somewhat challenging balance, because pushing the boat to feel powered up and fast led us to sail with more heel than was probably efficient. It’s the kind of thing that owners of these boats probably dial in quickly, but it wasn’t super intuitive for me.

I loved playing with the jib set-up. It is so adjustable, and the controls allow for beautiful shape. We didn’t need much in-hauler in the breeze we had, but I’d estimate that you could get at least six inches of play inboard/outboard, which is a lot.

Sailing upwind, I felt the beam again. Compared to the narrower J/Boats designs that I have more experience with (J/105, J/80), I felt like the groove going to weather, at least in our conditions that day, was a bit narrow. It can be attributed most to sailing too heeled, but we actually overpowered the rudder several times going upwind. In spite of those moments, the boat felt maneuverable, and the tiller was never unwieldy. Even if the groove was a little narrow for our set-up, when you were dialed, it was fingertip-control on the tiller.

One of the great things about the hull shape is how good it felt going through the waves. It’s motion was smooth, likely a product of her 8,600 pound displacement. And its way through the water seemed particularly buoyant – the bow stayed high and the deck stayed dry. This is a boat that already has an impressive offshore resume, and this sense of buoyancy would be confidence inspiring in swell.

The J/97E is definitely fast. The boat’s instruments were yet to be calibrated, but our handheld GPS showed us beating well above six knots.

After an hour or so of exciting, blissful upwind sailing, we rigged the monstrous asymmetrical that sets off of the six-foot telescoping bow sprit made of carbon fiber. We set methodically, trying not to light the boat up until we were ready. Once the kite was up and sorted, then… “everybody ready?” We turned up a few degrees and we were off. The boat felt incredible under spinnaker. On this point of sail, I was in love with the beam. It felt fast and stable. The GPS climbed above seven knots, above eight – easy, under control, and fun! We trimmed by hand except when we really heated up to a reach. Scott and his wife sail the spinnaker double handed, and I can see how that would be no problem.

I was impressed by the minimal stern wave we were creating – our way through the water was smooth. This is important, because the J/97E is not a boat likely to plane. Surf? Sure. But, if a boat is going to displace 8,600 lbs of water, to do so efficiently is a true success. While you’re not likely to spend time on a plane, the boat is certainly still performant. And remember, this is a cruising boat too!

Speaking of cruising, that interior is perfect for a couple or a family. The beam is a big benefit to the cabin, and it’s really an elegant use of the space. There is 6’ headroom and accommodations for a comfortable cruise. It sleeps six, but that would be cozy. There’s a private double berth aft, and a spacious v-berth that is open to the main salon. The galley is small, but has all the basics: stove, oven, refrigerator, storage. There’s a nice, double-sided seating area in the salon. It has an enclosed head with shower to starboard, opposite the aft cabin.

Scott had just completed a week cruising the islands – they hosted friends overnight, and had a group of six for dinner. He loved it. While it’s not a huge interior by any stretch, it suited them perfectly. When they were cruising, they sailed a lot, taking advantage of the boat’s performance capabilities. In his own words, “We had so much fun!”

In my own words, the J97E boat is pretty awesome. It’s a very attractive boat that is genuinely versatile. It feels powerful, is really fun to sail, and its accommodations are really impressive for a boat of this size and performance pedigree. I couldn’t help thinking that with all of its fun and functionality to go along with the simple sail plan, a crew of four, five, or even six could do something like Van Isle 360 unsupported on this boat and absolutely have the time of their lives.   In short…I want one.

Joe Cline is the Editor of 48° North.

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The J97 is a 31.53ft fractional sloop designed by Johnstone and built in fiberglass by J Boats since 2008.

The J97 is a moderate weight sailboat which is a good performer. It is reasonably stable / stiff and has a low righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a day-boat. The fuel capacity is originally very small. There is a very short water supply range.

J97 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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Quick Look: J/97

• By Steve Callahan
• Updated: December 23, 2009

A cruiser-racer from J/Boats Inc. can easily be another company’s racer/cruiser. With a string of regatta victories in Europe already, the J/97 is bound to be raced as much as cruised by most folks on this side of the Atlantic. Designed as an updated version of the successful J/30, the J/97 maintains superb acceleration, speed, and balance on the helm-traits that all of J/Boats’ offerings have become known for.

The interior plots a new course, with galley and head flanking the companionway to ease access for the on watch. A double stateroom aft balances the open cabin forward with good settee-sea berths surrounding the table and V-berth forward. The workable layout complements but doesn’t displace the focus on performance, though. Outboard chainplates allow for a lighter mast. Highly responsive tiller steering, a mainsheet with coarse- and fine-tuning lines, a blade jib, and a typical J/Boat bowsprit supporting an asymmetric spinnaker ensure that this boat is both quick and easy to sail.

LOA 31′ 6″ LWL 26′ 7″ Beam 11′ 0″ Draft 6′ 4″ Sail Area 484 sq. ft. Displacement 8,600 lb. Water 26 gal. Fuel 13 gal. Engine 18-hp. Volvo Designer Alan Johnstone Price $190,000 J/Boats Inc. (401) 846-8410 www.jboats.com

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