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Hello fellow enthusiast. My name is Alan and welcome to my new, updated website.

Those of you who have visited this site before will have observed that nothing much has changed for a number of years and even I have started to feel a bit guilty about my digital inertia. I make no apologies as I assume that you will appreciate that when faced with the option of spending a day in the workshop or spending the day in front of a computer screen, the workshop wins every time. The guilt has now got the better of me and hence this new site.

As a hobby I initially set out to develop and create a kit of parts for the Canterbury J and similar Nottingham J which will enable both the novice model builder, and the experienced builder alike, to create an attractive model with good sailing manners which is also competitive and fun to race. This package, and especially the Nottingham version, has proved popular both for racing and also social sailing but since then I have developed the Nottingham 48 model further and also added the Nottingham 60 to the model range.

I've also made some changes to the kit to reflect how I now make the models for myself. I can't call these "improvements" as the behaviour of the model on the water is unchanged but I think they improve the aesthetic look of the model. They also involve a bit more "modelling" which maybe be something you are looking for...or maybe not! The model can still be built in the original way for those looking for a simpler and quicker completion of their model.

The king plank and outer plank have deeper etching allowing the model builder to use a contrasting stain along the outer plank and king plank. I now also cut the shorter channel for the jib attachment point into the deck for a flush finish and use a different mast ram but the longer channel is likely to offer the racing skipper more tuning possibilities.

The loose sheeting to both the jib and the mainsail is below the deck and the mainsail sheet uses a post between the hatches. The hatches include a bit more detail and I also offer a "lifty" to aid launch and retrieval at the lake. This fits on the deck but is secured to the ballast to avoid stressing the deck when used.

Also on this site is the new International Dragon, a logical extension to the model range and a development of the 60-inch hull. This model contains a number of innovations to model yachting and is designed from outset to carry a Genoa rig.

I've also included on the site (it's becoming more of a "blog" than a web site!) some of the J Class projects I'm working on or will be working on in the future.

The side bar to the left will navigate you to the various sections of the site and clicking on the arrows will open new pages with more detail. There is information on all the models and the various rigs together with the build manuals, racing rules (Canterbury) and a host of additional information designed primarily to help you arrive at the conclusion that your life is incomplete without a model J Class yacht…!!

Feel free to contact me on [email protected] if you have any questions. You can also phone on 07969 538626 but I'm often out of the country and calling can be expensive.

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J-Class Lionheart 1/16 scale laser-cut frame set, total length 106″ – kit number MW101!

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This design was inspired by the famous Ranger J lines

This is a one design class 1 meter

The construction consist of epoxy cloth laminate making the hull and deck strong rigid and light.

Mast bulkheads are installed when the hull is in its mold assuring that each hull produced will be identical.

Mast and booms are Carbon fiber tubes. All mast parts are 3D printed making for easy assembly of the mast.

You have the option of making your own sails based on the class drawing. The sails are none paneled and any sail material is allowed.

Ballast consists of # 9 lead shot that can be placed by the customer or by H2o RC Design. Some consideration if you order the lead it can affect the cost of shipping.

Complete boat is less than 10 pounds, 4.5 kg

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j class yacht enterprise

Originally built for Harold van der Bilt and designed by Starling Burges, Enterprise was the first J to win the America's Cup in 1930. She can be built in aluminium with an almost flush deck without deckhouses. Carbon hi-tech spars, a tall sail plan and an extensively optimised handicap will give this yacht an edge in certain conditions. All naval architecture work and interior design will be by our office. Contact us for more information. 

LOA     38.7 m LWL     24.4 m Beam     6.7 m Draft     4.4 m Yard     t.b.d. Year     t.b.d.

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J Class: the enduring appeal of the world’s most majestic yachts

• October 9, 2023

Only ten J Class yachts were built before the Second World War stopped the movement in its tracks, but in the last 20 years these magnificent sloops have made an incredible comeback. Why has the J Class remained irresistable? David Glenn explains.

One of the most awe-inspiring sights in modern yachting is the Spirit of Tradition fleet blasting off the start line at the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. It happens every year at the end of April. Chances are it will include at least two J Class yachts, hitting the line on the gun at full tilt, exploding through the cobalt blue Caribbean rollers at anything up to 12 knots as they charge upwind.

Watching Velsheda , Ranger , Shamrock V and Endeavour will bring a lump to your throat, such is the emotion generated by these beautifully proportioned 130ft racing machines with their carbon rigs driving 170 tonnes of steel, aluminium and teak towards the weather mark. It’s heady stuff.

Watching them is one thing; racing quite another matter. In 1999 I was aboard the rebuilt Velsheda , taking part in the Antigua Classic Regatta. I had a single task as part of a four-man team – to tend the forward starboard runner. Nothing else. “Let that go once we’ve tacked and the whole rig comes down,” warned skipper Simon Bolt, as another wall of water thundered down the leeward deck and tried to rip me from the winch.

Dressed in authentic off-white, one-piece cotton boiler-suits, which had to be worn with a stout belt “so there’s something to grab if you go overboard”, they were tough, adrenaline-filled days out. God knows what it was like up forward as massive spinnakers were peeled and headsails weighing a quarter of a tonne were wrestled to the  needle-sharp foredeck as the bow buried itself into the back of yet another wave. Sometimes you daren’t look.

But with the race won or lost, back on the dock the feeling of elation, fuelled by being part of the 36-strong crew aboard one of these extraordinary yachts, triggered a high like no other. You knew you were playing a role, no matter how small, in a legendary story that began in 1930, was halted by World War II and then defied the pundits by opening another chapter 20 years ago. Today with five Js in commission, all in racing trim, and at least two more new examples about to be launched, the J Class phenomenon is back.

Why is the J Class so popular?

Why does a yacht with an arguably unexciting performance – they go upwind at 12 knots and downwind at 12 knots – costing £20 million to build and demanding eye-watering running costs, seem to be burgeoning during the worst recession since the class was born?

There is no single answer, but you only have to look back to the 1930s and the characters that owned and raced the Js on both sides of the Atlantic, sometimes for the America’s Cup , to understand why the class occupies a special place in yachting history. Underlying everything is the look of the J Class. It seems to transcend any change in yachting vogue, displaying a timeless line with outrageous overhangs and a proportion of hull to rig that is hard to better.

They possess true elegance. There is no doubt that captains of industry who want to flex their sporting muscle have been drawn to a class which only the very rich can afford and there are distinct parallels between J owners in the 1930s and those of the past 20 years. The difference is that in the 1930s owners liked to shout about their achievements and hogged the pages of national newspapers. Today, they are as quiet as mice.

Origins of the J Class

The J Class emerged in 1930 and marked a quantum leap in yachting technology, but comprised a hotchpotch of design altered over many years.

The J Class – so named because it was the letter allocated to its particular size by the Universal Rule to which the yachts were built (K and M Class yachts were, for example, shorter on the waterline) – emerged in 1930 and marked a quantum leap in yachting technology.

The so-called Big Class, which flourished in the UK in the 1920s, was impressive, but comprised a hotchpotch of design altered over many years. Yachts like King George V’s Britannia , built in 1893 as a gaff-rigged cutter but converted in the 1920s to Bermudan rig to rate as a J, Candida , Cambria , White Heather and schooners like Westward were even larger and more expensive to run. But as the greater efficiency of the Marconi or Bermudan rig became apparent their days were numbered.

One catalyst for the J Class itself was legendary grocer Sir Thomas Lipton’s final crack at challenging for the America’s Cup in 1931. He did so under the Universal Rule with the composite, wooden-planked, Charles E. Nicholson-design Shamrock V .

It was the 14th challenge since 1851 and the Americans, despite the withering effects of the Great Depression, reacted in dramatic fashion, organising their defence with four syndicates, each bulging with millionaires, putting forward separate Js: Enterprise , Whirlwind , Weetamoe and Yankee , which apart from Enterprise had already been launched.

Key to the American effort was the remarkable Harold Vanderbilt of the New York Yacht Club, who had inherited fabulous wealth from the family’s railroad companies, making him one of the country’s richest men.

Brought up on the family’s Idle Hour estate on Long Island Sound, he was a keen and accomplished sailor, and he used American technology and teamwork to build a far superior J in Enterprise. The defence completely overwhelmed Lipton’s effort. The British press castigated Lipton’s lack of preparedness and old-fashioned attitude. Vanderbilt, who among other things is credited with inventing contract bridge, left no stone unturned. “Mr. Harold Vanderbilt does not exactly go boat-sailing because summer is the closed season for fox-hunting,” stated an acerbic critic in the British yachting press.

Later when Shamrock was owned by aircraft builder Sir Richard Fairey and was being used to train crew for another Cup challenge, Beecher Moore, a skilful dinghy sailor who was draughted aboard the J to try to sort her out, reported in Yachts and Yachting many years later: “We found that when we got on board it was very much like a well-run country house, in that the gentleman does not go into the kitchen and on a well-run J Class the owner does not go forward of the mast.”

J Class tactics: Britain vs USA

A look at the huge gap between the British and American J Class tactics and designs in the early years of the America’s Cup.

In the early days there was a yawning gap between the way the Americans and British approached the Cup and, for that matter, how they ran a yacht. Revolutionary metal masts, Park Avenue booms to improve sail shape (the British copied this American design with their ‘North Circular’ version), bronze hulls that needed no painting, superior sails, and campaigns that cost £100,000 even in those days, blew away the Brits. Lipton had spent just £30,000 to build and equip Shamrock .

In the second Cup challenge in Js, in 1934, Sir T. O. M. Sopwith’s first Endeavour , also designed by Nicholson and equipped with wind instruments designed by her aircraft industrialist owner, nearly won the Cup, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory after leading the series 0-2. Sopwith was also up against Vanderbilt, who this time sailed Rainbow , which many considered to be the slower boat. But the British campaign was hobbled by a pay dispute – Endeavour ’s crew got £5 a week but they wanted a raise for ‘going foreign’ – and the campaign approach was again brought into question when the first thing to be stripped off the yacht when they won a dispute over reducing weight was the bath!

Back in Britain, the 1935 season proved to be the zenith of J Class and Big Class racing, although by the end of it the Js were under the cosh for their tendency to lose masts. Five went over the side that year and Endeavour II , launched with en eye on the next Cup challenge, lost hers twice.

There was added spice in the competition off the shores of the UK with the arrival of the American J Yankee , now owned by millionaire and Listerine businessman Gerard Lambert, who enjoyed sparring with the Brits. But even Yankee lost her mast and the press rounded on the class for being dangerous and wasteful! That wasn’t enough to stop Sopwith, whose tail had been extracted from between his legs following the last defeat in Newport: Endeavour II was towed across the Atlantic in a veritable armada that included  the first Endeavour. The British yachts found themselves up against the most advanced sailing machine the world had ever seen – Ranger , dubbed ‘the Super J’.

Vanderbilt was the man to beat again. Not only had he bankrolled the entire defence as American business remained beset by a struggling economy, but he used highly scientific means to perfect design. The brilliant naval architect Starling Burgess, who had designed for Vanderbilt throughout the 1930s, was now aided by the equally brilliant but considerably more youthful Olin Stephens. Between them they finally selected ‘model 77-C’ from six tank tested.

The yacht was considered ugly by some and not a natural to look at, but Vanderbilt’s team trusted the science (still the difference between the Americans and the Brits) and Ranger with her bluff or barrel bow and ‘low slung’ counter was the result. She proved to be dynamite on the race course and Endeavour II didn’t stand a chance. She was beaten in five straight races by large margins. The Americans and Vanderbilt had done it again. War then brought an end to an extraordinary era in yachting.

Only ten J Class yachts were built to the Universal rule and not a single American yacht survived. Most were scrapped for the war effort. In any case, the American way was to discard the machine once it has served its purpose. In Britain they faired a little better, and some Js were mud-berthed on the East and South Coasts. Two survived in the UK: Velsheda , originally built by the businessman who ran Woolworths in the UK (W. L. Stevenson named her after his daughters Velma, Sheila and Daphne), but which never challenged for the America’s Cup; and Endeavour , saved by becoming a houseboat on the Hamble. Shamrock ended up in Italy and survived the war hidden in a hay barn.

J Class resurgence

Seemingly resigned to the history books, the J Class made a triumphant return in the 1980s.

In his seminal book about the J Class, Enterprise to Endeavour, yachting historian Ian Dear predicted in the first edition in 1977 that the likes of the Js would never be seen again. By the time the fourth edition was published in 1999 he was quite happily eating his words!

The American Elizabeth Meyer was, without doubt, instrumental in bringing the class back to life when in the 1980s she extracted what was left of Endeavour from a  amble mud-berth, began rebuilding her in Calshot, and then moved her to Royal Huisman in Holland, who completed the restoration superbly. With the transom of the original Ranger mounted on a bulkhead in her saloon, Endeavour is still regarded as one of the best-looking and potentially fastest Js.

She was owned briefly by Dennis Kozlowski, the disgraced tycoon who ran Tyco, who famously said: “No one really owns Endeavour, she’s part of yachting history. I’m delighted to be the current caretaker.” Unfortunately he ended up in prison and the State of New York became Endeavour’s ‘caretaker’ before they sold her to her current owner, who has kept the yacht in the Pacific. She’s currently being refitted in New Zealand.

Ronald de Waal is a Dutchman who until recently was chairman of the Saks Group in the USA and has made a fortune in clothing. He has dedicated a lot of time to improving Velsheda over the years since he had her rebuilt by Southampton Yacht Services to a reconfigured design by Dutch naval architect Gerry Dykstra. Ronald de Waal steers the yacht himself to great effect and has had some legendary tussles with Ranger, the new Super J built in Denmark for American realestate magnate John Williams.

The rivalry between the two is fierce and even led to a collision between the yachts in Antigua last year. But Velsheda would have been lost had it not been for British scrap-metal merchant Terry Brabant who saved her from a muddy grave on  the Hamble and famously sold his Rolls-Royce to cast a new lead keel for the yacht. With very little modern equipment he sailed her hard in the Solent, chartering her and crossing the Atlantic for a Caribbean season, all without an engine! Without Brabant’s initiative Ronald de Waal wouldn’t have what he has today.

Shamrock V is owned by a Brazilian telecommunications businessman Marcos de Moraes who had the yacht rebuilt at Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth in 2001. He tends to keep away from the race course but with a number of events being planned in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics he might be tempted back. The latest new J to launch, Hanuman, a modern interpretation of Endeavour II, has recently entered the racing fray. She was commissioned by serial yacht owner Jim Clark (Hyperion and Athena), the American who brought us Netscape and Silicon Graphics, and who remains a colossus in Silicon Valley.

Hanuman, named after a Hindu deity, built by Royal Huisman and designed by Gerry Dykstra, has had no expense spared when it comes to rig and sail wardrobe. Last year she beat Ranger in the Newport Bucket but in March this year she lost out 2-1 to the same boat at the St Barths Bucket. They were due to meet again with Velsheda at the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta in April. Another Dutchman, property developer Chris Gongriep, who has owned a number of yachts including Sapphire and Windrose of Amsterdam, has given the go-ahead for a new  version of Rainbow, which is well advanced in Holland at Freddie Bloesma’s aluminium hull fabrication yard. The yacht, reconfigured by Gerry Dykstra, will be in the water in 2011 with a full-on race programme.

About to be launched is Lionheart, the biggest J so far, redesigned by Andre Hoek and built in Holland by Claasen Jachtbouw, after an extensive research programme.  Unfortunately, her owner’s business commitments mean that he won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of this project – she’s for sale with Yachting Partners International and Hoek Brokerage. What an opportunity to join a class with such a remarkable history and one which looks destined to run and run!

First published on SuperYachtWorld.com on Aug 4, 2010

Story of the J-Class Yachts:

The J-Class was adopted for America's Cup competition in 1928, looking forward to the next regatta in 1930.  The Class itself, though, dated back to the turn of the century when the Universal Rule was adopted though no J-Class yachts had yet been built.

The Rule used a yacht's various dimensions to calculate an equivalent rating in feet.  Boats of equal rated lengths could then race against each other directly without making other allowances for time or distance sailed.  Even though one yacht might have a longer length or another yacht a larger sail area, their overall configurations had to produce a rated length that met the Universal Rule for that class. Boats in Class J, more commonly today termed J-Class yachts, were the largest constructed under the Universal Rule.  The Rule actually includes provisions for an even larger type of boat, the I Class, though none were ever built.  Inquiries made in the 1930s for a Defense in the smaller K Class were rejected.

The J-Class were the first yachts in an America's Cup match to be governed by a formal design rule.  Previous defenders and challengers were only restricted by minimum and maximum lengths set forth in the Deed of Gift.  Sir Thomas Lipton, challenging in 1930 for the fifth time, had held earlier discussions with the New York Yacht Club in hopes of adopting the Universal Rule for the previous America's Cup match, intended for 1914 but delayed until 1920.  Though an agreement to use the rule was not reached for that match, the 1914 US boats, Vanitie and Resolute, still roughly followed J-Class parameters.

Building Program:

There were only 10 J-class yachts designed and built.  Additionally, several yachts of closely related dimensions, mostly 23-Meter International Rule boats, were converted after their construction to meet the rating rules of the J-Class. 

Only the purpose-built Cup yachts, though, could compete in the America's Cup.  The "converted" J-Class yachts, while acceptable for Class racing events, were not admissible for America's Cup competition.  Responding to issues that surfaced in earlier defenses, the America's Cup rules required that all boats had to be sailed to the event on their own bottom.  Some critics pointed out the possibility that the challenger might, as a result, be disadvantaged by  being of heavier construction than the defender.  In order to avoid a situation that could be perceived as an undue advantage, the NYYC eventually agreed that all America's Cup J-Class yachts would be built to Lloyds A1 standards, ensuring that defender and challenger met the same minimum construction specifications (the nautical term is "scantlings").  Most existing yachts were not built to such standards, so the Cup-eligible boats thus ended up heavier than the ineligible J's.

(The issue of challengers having to build heavier boats due to the ocean crossing was a popular, if uncertain, explanation in the British press for the long string of American victories.  In practice, a number of challengers added internal bracing for the crossing, which was then removed before racing.  And on a few occasions defenders subsequently made the crossing in reverse in search of competition following their successful defense.  The rule requiring that the challenger sail to the event on her own bottom was actually instituted in response to a super-lightweight challenger towed to the match through canals and rivers from Canada.

The J-Class Yachts

Disposition:

Conceived at the height of the affluent 1920's, the J-boats arrived during the Great Depression.  They required enormous crews, and, despite expert attention to their technical details, still broke an astonishing number of masts.  While they were in most regards the most advanced sailing yachts yet built, and they were  indeed powerful sailing thoroughbreds formed in sleek lines that can race the pulse of almost every viewer, the glorious J's proved too extravagant for their own good.  Most had very limited sailing careers outside of America's Cup.  Ranger , whose 1937 cost was upwards of $500,000, was laid-up at the end of her debut season and never sailed again.  All of the American J's were scrapped between 1935 and 1941. Most of the British J's were either abandoned or scrapped.

When NYYC sought to revive the America's Cup in the 1950s, there was a faction that favored returning to the J-Class.  Mike Vanderbilt even stated that not only would he like to see the Cup contested in the large boats, but that if so he would consider rebuilding a new Range r to the design of the original.  Still, another faction hoped for smaller dual-use yachts that could be used in offshore racing when the Cup year was ended.  With cost estimates for a 1958-era J starting around three million dollars, the impulse for a J-Class defense faded away in the face of economic pressures and a compromise was reached to sail the America's Cup in International Rule 12-Meters.

The J-Class Resurgent

J-Class rigs today are no longer built of wood or dur-alumin, but with modern lightweight composites.  Their sail technology is long past being canvas duck, and many other subtle changes have been made to make the ongoing maintenance and operation of these yachts a realistic proposition.  Still, the J-Class owners have gone to great lengths to insure the integrity of the boats.  The J-Class is self-administered, rather than governed by an outside organization as is the case with almost all other classes.  This allows the members to more easily adapt the rules in order to serve the needs of these uniquely historic yachts.

Most of the surviving J's are available for charter.  Cambria was reportedly for sale in 2000.  Endeavour changed hands in 2006 for a reported $13.1 million USD, though as her former owner Dennis Kozlowski said, "No one truly owns Endeavour .  She's a part of yachting history.''

Recreations, Replicas, and a Tender:

For decades, most yachting fans thought that we would never again see the likes of these boats again, the few survivors would sooner or later fade away, and the whole history would be reserved for books and fading photographs, but following the restoration of the surviving hulls rumors grew throughout the late 1990's and early 2000's about building "new" J's.  In 2001, all of this dock talk began to become reality:

Ranger Wooden Boat magazine, March/April 2001, described a "Dutchman" who had commissioned a new Ranger built to the original's plan.  This incredible rumor came true, and a piece of lost sailing history was brought back to life.  The new version of this "Superboat", as Mike Vanderbilt once called her, was officially launched in October, 2003. 

Designed by Studio Scanu and Reichel-Pugh, and built by Danish Yachts, Skagen, Denmark, she is not an exact replica of the original. Some would term her a re-interpretation, as a number of changes were made including greater freeboard, and Ranger 's original designers did not participate in the project.  The new Ranger first competed head-to-head against other J's in Antigua, Spring, 2004.  It took some additional adjustment after launch by her owners and designers to seek the proper trim that would make her float on her lines, an essential step in the process of being officially rated a J-Class yacht.  Visit the Ranger Website for more info.  J-Class Management is also at work on a restoration of Bystander, tender to the original Ranger .

Endeavour II An Endeavour II replica is being built at Royal Huisman Shipyard, with a planned 2008 launch date.  Gerard Dykstra and Partners is leading the project, which features a lightweight Alustar (aluminum alloy) hull and carbon-fiber mast.  See additional photo at Yachtspotter

Lionheart Based on an unbuilt alternate design by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens II that was considered for 1937's America's Cup defender Ranger , this new boat is being built at yards in the Netherlands for an expected 2008 launch.  Lionheart will be the longest J-Class yacht when completed. See more including photos of the completed hull at the Lionheart Website and the story of sailing onboard including photos and videos Cruising J-Class Style Aboard Lionheart at Yachting World Designer:  Hoek Design Builders: Bloemsma Aluminiumbouw and Claasen Jachtbouw BV

Svea Tore Holm's unbuilt 1937 design, said by some to be faster in the test tank than any of the original boats, is being pursued by Hoek Design

Name To Be Announced In late March 2008, reports of another replica about to begin construction appeared on the Classic Boat website .  Whether this is one of the known projects, such as Svea , above, or yet another replica about to become reality, such as Rainbow , below, should become known shortly.

Rainbow In late May, 2008, Dykstra and Partners announced that a new build of the 1934 America's Cup Defender Rainbow was underway, with an expected launch date of 2010.  Read the Press Release

Other projects: Hoek Design is also studying replicas of 1930's Enterprise and another boat from Yankee designer Frank Paine.  Yankee herself has also been rumored as a new project, as well.  Earlier reports of a Ranger alternate-design carrying the name of Seawolf may have been referring to the project that has become Lionheart , see above.  Whirlwind and Weetamoe are the only two designs of the original ten J's that aren't known to be sailing, building, or under serious consideration as of 2008.  The J-Class website points out that there are 10 unbuilt J designs from the 1930's, so the possibilities for more J-Class yachts are intriguing.

Yachting World reported in May, 2003 , that construction was underway on a yacht replicating the famous G.L Watson design Britannia .  Photos showed a nearly completed hull at Solombala Shipyard, in Arkhangel, Russia, and included interviews with the yacht's owner Sigurd Coates of Norway.  The design was adapted by Cesil Stephansen from published plans.  The original designer's modern descendent company, G.L.Watson & Co., Ltd., has no involvement with the Arkhangel boat.  Little was been heard of this ambitious project for years, until the yacht was finally launched only to become subject of a financial dispute, trapping her in Russia until 2009, when she "escaped" to Norway. 

In the Spirit

A similar project to return elegant yachts to competitive racing, the W-class, was set in motion by Donald Tofias, an American enthusiast.  He commissioned naval architect Joel White to design a new class with lines evocative of famous racing yachts like the New York 50's and the J-Class.  The first two boats, Wild Horses and White Wings , were built in Maine of modern cold-molded wood construction and launched in 1998.  It is Tofias' aim that there will eventually be a whole fleet of the beautiful W-class to regularly compete against each other.  The one-design W-76 is actually similar to the New York 50's.  Tofias' long-range plans involve a range of classes including 46, 62, 76, 105, and 130.  The 130's would be nearly identical in basic dimensions to the J-class. See the W-Class Websit e .  

Additional Links: Chris Cameron onboard Ranger at Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, 2010: Photo Gallery

Web Sites of Particular Interest: The J-Class Association J-Class Management, Inc.  

Further Notes:

K-Class: The Royal London Yacht Club made and withdrew its inquiry for a K-Class challenge in 1935.  The intent had been to reduce costs, not the least of which was hoped to be a lower velocity of mast replacement, but the K-Class line of thought was rejected for several reasons.  For one, the K-Class wasn't so much smaller than the J-Class as to have clearly led to significant savings.  Additionally, no K-Class yachts existed on either side of the Atlantic while several J's of various pedigree were available for testing, training, and racing in 1935.  Also a factor was that the NYYC was already actively considering another challenge at the time the RLYC began their communication  about the K-Class and it was the NYYC's policy to consider only one challenge at a time, in keeping with the Deed of Gift.

Sailing to the Event on Own Bottom: This provision of the Deed of Gift was at times strictly interpreted to the the degree of making sure that the challenging yacht actually was under her own sail while traveling to the match, not towed by another boat.  Challengers returning across the Atlantic after Cup matches concluded were sometimes towed for convenience. Eventually the NYYC agreed at various times to permit towing the yachts to the match, particularly when conditions were light, and in 1956, for the coming of the 12-meter yachts in 1958, the Deed of Gift was amended to eliminate the requirement.

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America's Cup: the fabulous J Class epic, between excess and innovation

From 1930 to 1937, the America's Cup was contested on J-Classes, monstrous regatta yachts of almost 40 meters in length. Only ten J-Class yachts were ever built, but they left an indelible mark on the history of the Cup

The first regattas of the Cup in real time

For the 1930 edition, the unions decided to adopt the "Class J", whose rating was to be fixed. For the first time in the history of the Cup, the competitors no longer ran in compensated time, but in real time. The first to cross the line is declared the winner! The Class J are defined according to the Universal Gauge , a rule published by the American architect Nathanael Herreshoff in 1903. The heavy gaff rigging was abandoned in favour of a Bermuda rig.

1930 : The little English thumb in front of a horde of Americans

For this 14th edition, the English challenger is building Shamrock V, a yacht of nearly 36 metres. With its wooden hull on a steel frame, its displacement exceeds 170 tons.

The Americans will present four Class J to face the representatives of the crown: Whirlwind, Resolute, Vanitie and Enterprise. The latter is the first racing yacht to be equipped with a duralumin mast, which gives her an undeniable advantage in close-to-wind conditions.

Enterprise is also the first J Class to be fitted with modern deck fittings, with nearly 23 winches on its deck plan. Victory is clear, as Enterprise won the Cup by 4-0 against Shamrock V. But this resounding victory did not allow it to escape deconstruction in 1935, just five years after its launch.

1934: a social movement upsets the prognosis

Financed by the industrial aviator Thomas Sopwith, the British members of the Yacht Club of Squadron decided to redouble their efforts and had Endeavour built, 39 m long and with a displacement of 143 tonnes.

The sailboat is well born. The duel with Rainbow's Americans is shaping up to be a fierce one. The American defender has a heavier and slower Class J for the start phases. Its lively works have the particularity of being bronze sheets riveted on steel frames. Endeavour won the first two races. But financial problems put a strain on the confidence of the English crew , and some of them left the boat from the third regatta onwards. The deserters will be replaced by passionate, but nevertheless amateur sailors. Faced with a disparate and untrained English crew , the American won the next four regattas and won this 15th edition.

Because of the particular design of the live works, Rainbow turned out to be a mass of electrolysis and had to be scrapped in 1940.

1937: the last edition on Class J

For this 16th edition, the English challenger is exploiting the gauge in its last trenches. The British architect Charles Nicholson designed Endeavour II, with a maximum authorised length of 41.40 m.

In the American camp, Harold S. Vanderbilt financed an expensive campaign of tank testing. Supervised by architect Oli Stephens, the construction of the Defender Ranger will take place at the Bath Iron Works in Maine. Harold S. Vanderbilt won his third Cup in a row, joining Charlie Barr as a three-time Cup winner.

Many innovations still present today

The many innovations tested on the J Class are still relevant today and some of them can be found on our contemporary yachts:

• guying in profiled rod
• boom and mast groove replacing wooden rings
• the multiplication of spreader stages to ensure better mast support
• electronic instrumentation, in particular the wind vane anemometer
• wide boom "Park Avenue"
• aluminium mast and standardization of genoa on tall ships

What happened to the Class Js?

The Second World War put an end to the J-Class on the America's Cup . Only three of them survived the conflict. The others were stripped of their lead to join the war effort. After the war, the J-Class boats were considered too expensive and were replaced by the J-Class boats at the 12m JI on the Cup .

But a handful of wealthy skippers decided to bring these giants back to life and launched costly restoration projects in the 2000s. Because they had to cross the Atlantic to get to the regatta site, the British J Classes were better built than their American counterparts, and suffered less from the ravages of time.

Shamrock V and Endeavour were thus saved from the mudflats in which they were rotting. The missing Class Js were replicated with the original measurements. To this day, nine J Classes continue to compete on a world circuit.

They have lost none of their excess and continue to turn heads. Eric Tabarly admitted that "when it comes to boats, I've never seen anything so beautiful. No one has ever contradicted him.

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In 1929 Sir Thomas Lipton issued a challenge to the Americans for the America's Cup. It was his fifth challenge and signified a whole new era in design evolution and racing. The late 1920s and 1930s also heralded the beginning of an age when yachts from both sides of the Atlantic were being raced under the same rule — the American Universal Rule. Previously, British yachts had raced under the International Rule, a rule that gave an advantage to bermudan rigged yachts, but which was restrictive for boats bigger than 48ft (141—2m). The Americans wanted to race bigger boats and so introduced the Universal Rule. It was based on ideas proposed by Nat Herreshoff and meant waterline length could be increased without sail area being restricted, as it had been under the International Rule. This was compensated by a larger displacement and draught was limited to 15ft (4.6m). The J-Class were the foremost designs under this rule. 

Under the International Rule, yachts were very similar in specification, but under the Universal Rule they differed considerably. Several existing yachts, Astra, Candida, White Heather II and Britannia , were converted to comply with the rule and raced alongside the Js. They cannot, however, be classed as true Js. Of the true J-Class, only ten were ever built and these raced together for just eight seasons from 1930 to 1937. The rules for the J-Class stipulated that length overall had to exceed 120ft; LWL had to be between 79 and 87ft (36.6 x 24-26.5m) and they could displace up to 160 tons. 

In answer to Lipton's challenge of 1929 the Americans designed four J-Class yachts as possible defenders. Enterprise, Whirlwind, Yankee and Weetamoe were launched within a month of each other; Weetamoe and Enterprise from the Herreshoff yard and Yankee and Whirlwind from Lawley & Son's yard in Bristol. 

Enterprise was the first launched on 14 April 1930 and was later chosen as the Cup defender. At 80ft (24.4m) LWL she was shortest of the four US Js and conventional in all aspects. Designed by W Starling Burgess, she had lightweight rigging and was the fastest of the four to windward in moderate airs.

Whirlwind , the second J launched 16 days later, was the most revolutionary of the four. Francis L Herreshoff had moved away from conventional yachts and designed a boat which took the new rule to its extremes. Whirlwind combined many new ideas and Herreshoff experimented with hull shape and rig. She was the longest of the early Js at 86ft (26m) on the waterline and remained so until Ranger and Endeavour II were built in 1937. She was built of semi-composite construction (the other three American Js were built out of the highly expensive tobin bronze), was double-ended and had a permanent backstay. Uffa Fox described her profile as: "Very pleasing to the eye, the stem sweeping down to the keel in a very sweet line, and to a man who, like myself, believes that a pointed stern is a logical ending for all vessels, her stern is a joy to behold." He predicted "If the Yacht Racing Rules govern well and wisely, we shall see Whirlwind racing 50 years hence. If they do not she will probably be cruising then." But Whirlwind met an early demise. Her building was delayed as she didn't meet Lloyd's A1 scantling rules and she wasn't chosen to be the 1930s defender. She was often out-performed when close hauled, her steering gear making her difficult to steer. She was eventually scrapped along with Enterprise in 1935. However, her unusual double headsail rig was later adopted by the rest of the Js.

The third American J, Yankee , was the best all-rounder. At 84ft on the waterline and 125ft (25.6 x 38m) length overall, she was solidly made of tobin bronze and was extremely well balanced. Designed by Frank Paine, Yankee had an almost straight sheerline and easy lines. She was a powerful contender for defender, but not fine tuned enough to succeed. She did, however, take part in the 1934 America's Cup trials and with alterations to her rig, to carry more sail, and bow, which was lengthened and made more of a V-shape, she then proved more successful, especially in light winds.

Of the American Js, Yankee was the only one to sail in British waters when she was bought by Gerald Lambert and crossed the Atlantic in 1935. She was scrapped in 1941.

The fourth of the American Js was Weetamoe , which was designed by Clinton Crane and was the narrowest of the early four. Despite claims that Yankee was the best all-rounder, Weetamoe is said to have been the closest rival to Enterprise to be the Cup defender. Charles Nedwick, in Ian Dear's book Enterprise to Endeavour, describes Weetamoe as having a profile "that is practically a triangle, with a straight line from the after end of the waterline to the bottom of the keel and thence a line which is slightly convex, and then slightly concave to the forward end of the waterline." In an attempt to better performance and make her less tender, her profile below the water was radically altered in 1934 with a new contour and bulb keel. The alterations failed and not long afterwards were reversed. In common with the other Js, she had about 43ft (13m) of overhang and her hull, Nicholson opined, "was the best of all the US Js". 

1930  In August Enterprise qualified for the America’s Cup racing off Mattapoisett Massachusetts by defeating rival yachts Yankee , Whirlwind and Weetamoe . 

The Americans had a distinct advantage over Britain in the 1930 America's Cup. They had the money to build four Js over Britain's one, yet Shamrock V was a hot contender. She was designed by Nicholson and built at the family yard in 1930, and before she crossed the Atlantic to attend the Cup she had notched up more than 700 sea miles (1,296km), won 15 out of the 22 races she had entered and had been tweaked and tested to a high degree. When Shamrock V and Enterprise eventually met off Newport, Rhode Island, later that year, the two Js were well matched in hull profile, but differed significantly in rig. Enterprise's rigging was lighter, she had the Park Avenue boom, which was so advantageous to windward, and had lots of winches on board. Shamrock V meanwhile, was under-winched and hard work to sail. She has since, however, proved her success in that she is still sailing today.

Enterprise , winner of the 14th America’s Cup, in 1930, crushing Shamrock 4-0.  

Just after the America's Cup races, Enterprise was dry-docked. It would never sail again. 

1935 Broken up for scrap.

Source:www.classicboat.co.uk 7/2/2007 

Cup(s) Sailed: 1930 (won)

Crew: 31 

Owners: Winthrop W. Aldrich, Harold S. Vanderbilt, and Vincent Astor

Year Built: 1930

Launched: April 14, 1930 

Type: Keel Sloop, fitted with two centerboards

Designer: William Starling Burgess

Builder: Herreshoff Manufacturing Company

Construction

Frames: Steel

Planking Top: Steel — Supplied by Lukens

Planking Bottom: Tobin Bronze

Mast: Aluminum

Spinnaker Pole: Wood 

Keel Ballast: Lead

Length Overall: 119.7 ft. / 36.49 m

Length Waterline: 80.0 ft. / 24.38 m 

Beam: 22.1 ft. / 6.73 m

Draft: 14.5 ft. / 4.42 m

Draft with Keel Lowered: N/A 

Displacement: 127.6 tons

Tonnage: N⁄A

Sail Area: 2,311.5 sq. ft. / 704.48 sq. m 

Mast: 150.8 ft. / 45.97 m

Boom: 78.8 ft. / 24.01 m

Bowsprit: N/A 

Top Mast: N/A

Source:www.americascup.com 7/2/2007

Before the J Class yachts came into existence, yachts were designed to be bigger and bigger. The towering rigs of the Big Boat Class such as ‘ Lulworth ’ and ‘ Britannia ’ dwarfed all other yachts. The late 1920s heralded discussion and agreement of the Universal Rule. This new formula controlled the size and displacement of the new yachts, enabling them to be raced as evenly as possible. Almost immediately, designs were being commissioned for the new, massive ‘Bermudan rigs, with no bowsprits’.

The rule was based on ideas proposed by Nat Herreshoff allowing waterline length to be increased without sail area being restricted, as it had been under the International Rule. This was compensated by a larger displacement and so draught was limited to 15ft.

In 1929 Sir Thomas Lipton, owner of Lipton’s famous for his import of Lipton Tea from India, issued his fifth challenge to the Americans for the America’s Cup. He commissioned the build of the first J Class Yacht which signified the start of a new era in design evolution and racing. On each occasion he challenged for the America’s Cup as a member of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club in Northern Ireland.  RUYC  are still involved with The Cup – presenting the Royal Ulster Cup to the Club of the winning challenger.

The Universal Rule came into effect in 1930. The size of a yacht was determined (by waterline length) and this was shown as an alphabetical list. “J” signified yachts with a waterline length of between 75 to 87 feet. The addition of the new design Bermuda mast allowed the yachts to carry a huge sail plan. Nothing so large and ‘awesome’ had been built previously. The Americans had a distinct advantage over Britain in the 1930 America’s Cup. They had the money to build four J’s over Britain’s one, yet the British yacht, Shamrock V  was a hot contender. She was designed by Nicholson and built at the family yard in 1930, and before she crossed the Atlantic to attend the Cup she had notched up more than 700 sea miles (1,296km), won 15 out of the 22 races she had entered and had been tweaked and tested to a high degree.

In answer to Lipton’s challenge of 1929 the Americans designed four J-Class yachts as possible defenders. Enterprise, Whirlwind, Yankee and Weetamoe were launched within a month of each other; Weetamoe and Enterprise from the Herreshoff yard and Yankee and Whirlwind from Lawley & Son’s yard in Bristol.

Whirlwind, the second J, was the most revolutionary of the four. Francis L Herreshoff had moved away from conventional yachts and designed a boat, which took the new rule to its extreme. Whirlwind combined many new ideas and Herreshoff experimented with hull shape and rig. She was the longest of the early J’s at 86ft on the waterline and remained so until Ranger and Endeavour II were built in 1937.

She was built of semi-composite construction (the other three American Js were built out of the highly expensive Tobin bronze), was double-ended and had a permanent backstay. Uffa Fox described her profile as: “Very pleasing to the eye, the stem sweeping down to the keel in a very sweet line, and to a man who, like myself, believes that a pointed stern is a logical ending for all vessels, her stern is a joy to behold.” He predicted, “If the Yacht Racing Rules govern well and wisely, we shall see Whirlwind racing 50 years hence. If they do not she will probably be cruising then.” But Whirlwind met an early demise. Her building was delayed as she didn’t meet Lloyd’s A1 scantling rules and she wasn’t chosen to be the 1930s defender. She was often out-performed when close hauled, her steering gear making her difficult to steer. She was eventually scrapped along with Enterprise in 1935. However, her unusual double-headsail rig was later adopted by the rest of the Js.

The third American J, Yankee, was the best all-rounder. At 84ft on the waterline and 125ft length overall, she was solidly made of Tobin bronze and was extremely well balanced. Designed by Frank Paine , Yankee had an almost straight sheerline and easy lines. She was a powerful contender for defender, but not fine-tuned enough to succeed. She did, however, take part in the 1934 America’s Cup trials and with alterations to her rig, to carry more sail, and bow, which was lengthened and made more of a V-shape, she then proved more successful, especially in light winds.

The fourth of the American J’s was Weetamoe, which was designed by Clinton Crane and was the narrowest of the early four. Despite claims that Yankee was the best all-rounder, Weetamoe is said to have been the closest rival to Enterprise to be the Cup defender. Charles Nedwick, in Ian Dear’s book Enterprise to Endeavour, describes Weetamoe as having a profile “that is practically a triangle, with a straight line from the after end of the waterline to the bottom of the keel and thence a line which is slightly convex, and then slightly concave to the forward end of the waterline.” In an attempt to better performance and make her less tender, her profile below the water was radically altered in 1934 with a new contour and bulb keel. The alterations failed and not long afterwards were reversed. In common with the other J’s, she had about 43ft of overhang and her hull, Nicholson opined, “was the best of all the US Js”.

When Shamrock V and Enterprise eventually met off Newport, Rhode Island, later that year, the two J’s were well matched in hull profile, but differed significantly in rig. Enterprise’s rigging was lighter, she had the Park Avenue boom, which was so advantageous to windward, and had lots of winches on board. Shamrock V meanwhile, was under-winched and hard work to sail. She has since, however, proved her success in that she is still sailing today.

The sixth J-Class yacht to be built, and the second built on British soil was Velsheda . She was the only J not built as a contender for the America’s Cup. Her owner, WL Stephenson, who previously owned White Heather II, the 23-Metre converted to rate as a J-Class in 1930, had Velsheda built in steel in 1933 at the Camper & Nicholson yard. Velsheda was a great success. In 1935 she was significantly altered, her bow was snubbed around the waterline and her stern improved. The following season she won the King’s Cup at Cowes Week.

In 1934, Sopwith challenged for the America’s Cup. His challenger was Endeavour . She was Charles Nicholson’s third J-Class design and he said of her “She will have quite a normal hull… because I have thought it right to suppress possible experimental form, which would be most interesting to try out, but which I have to leave to American designers.” He did, however, produce the most beautiful J-Class and her rig was innovative.

Sopwith experimented with new running backstay strain gauges, which controlled the trim of the mast and used electronic windspeed and direction indicators. It has since been suggested that part of the reason for her failure in the Cup was due to all the gadgets on board. She was matched 83ft 3in on the waterline against Rainbow ’s 82ft. However, despite being thought to be the best challenger Britain has ever built, she did not win the Cup. Rainbow, which was considered the inferior boat, beat her by four races to two.

Rainbow was designed by W Starling Burgess and launched in 1934 from the Herreshoff yard where she was built in just 100 days. The J stepped a pear-shaped duralumin mast, designed to take the strain of the double-headed jib – first used on Whirlwind – and she was originally rigged with a Park Avenue boom. This was later removed because it was considered too heavy.

The UK Class was depressed with the death of King George V and scuttling of his yacht “Britannia” off the South of the Isle of Wight, in accordance with his will.

Of the American Js, Yankee was the only one to sail in British waters when she was bought by Gerald Lambert and crossed the Atlantic in 1935. She was scrapped in 1941. Enterprise and Whirlwind were both scrapped in America.

1937 saw the building of the last two J’s on both sides of the Atlantic. Both Ranger and Endeavour II took the waterline length to its extreme, measuring 87ft  LWL . Ranger, the American boat, was built at Bath Ironworks in Maine and designed jointly by W Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens . It was a design combination, which produced the greatest J of the fleet – the ‘super J’ as she was later known. She was built, for the cost of the materials only, of flush riveted steel plating and soon after launching had an accident. The upper parts of her rod rigging which stayed her duralumin mast shook loose and her mast snapped “with a report like a cannon”.

Ranger’s success on the water was widespread. Of 37 starts she won 35. Owner-skipper Harold Vanderbilt described her as being “slower to turn and to pick up speed, but (she) held her way longer, and was perfectly balanced on the wind.” The challenger, Endeavour II, was designed by Nicholson again and built at the C&N yard. She too was steel, but flush-plated above and below the waterline. Sopwith towed her and Endeavour, plus an entourage of 100, to America where he worked on tuning her rig. Sadly, Ranger saw off the competition, easily winning four races, and dashing British hopes.

Although they became recognised the most beautiful yacht design in the world, only 10 J Class yachts were ever built – 6 in the  USA  and 4 in the UK. Most of these competed in trials for the America’s Cup, or competed in the Cup itself. Several existing large British yachts, ‘ Astra ’, ‘ Candida ’, ‘White Heather II’ and ‘Britannia’, the King’s yacht, were all converted to comply with the rule and raced alongside the J’s.

After the victory of Ranger over Endeavour II, Vanderbilt wondered whether the boat was so much faster than the competition that it might kill the class. History would show this was not the case as analysis of the Holm design shows that it would likely have been faster than Ranger.

1937 marked the end of an era – it was the last America’s Cup contest for 21 years and marked the end of Big Yacht racing. Shamrock V was sold to Mario Crespi, the Italian Senator and publisher, who converted her to a ketch rig and renamed her ‘Quadrifoglio’, with a literal translation giving her authentic name of ‘4 leaves’ in Italian. This was in accordance with an Italian law, which forbade foreign names.

Weetamoe was scrapped in this year, while at the end of the season Ranger was laid up, prior to being scrapped in 1941.

HANDLING   THE  J  CLASS   YACHTS  IN  THE  1930’s

The Skippers had to be experienced in racing and their skill on the race circuit became a matter of pride. These mighty craft had no engines and they had to be handled with great precision to get into and out of ports. Often their experience came from sailing all types of small craft, including fishing boats, during the winter months, when the J Class yachts were laid up. The permanent racing crew in the early days was probably around 16 men thou this may have been augmented to around 30 for racing. When not required for sail changes, spare crew were often moved to below decks.

With the incredible loads on the rigging and systems it was a constant concern that J Class masts could collapse in winds above a Force 3.

Sailing small boats in often inhospitable waters gave them the skills to manage their J Class yachts. The same is true today. Skippers have to deliver their yachts across Oceans, and compete around the race course, using their skills and all the technical advantages that are available today.

It is now clear that there was another J Class Yacht under development in 1937. Several years ago, drawings for a J-Class boat by Swedish naval architect Tore Holm were discovered by Fred Meyer, (Société Nautique de Genève – the Defender of the 32nd America’s Cup).

Now known as the Holm Project, this was to be a Swedish yacht with an innovative design. Many of the hull plates were made – and exist to this day. The project was put on hold prior to the outbreak of War in 1939 and was forgotten for more than 60 years. Endeavour and Endeavour II (K6) were laid up at Camper & Nicholson’s yard in Gosport, England.

Rainbow was scrapped.
By the end of 1941, all the US yachts, which had been laid up were scrapped for their metal, with the last two being Yankee and Ranger. None survived. Yankee’s owner Gerard Lambert allegedly donated her scrap money from the yacht to Queen Mary to be used at her discretion in the London Hospital, in memory of the courtesies shown to Yankee by King George and the Queen herself.

Endeavour II was sold for scrap to Charles Kerridge Limited but her hulk remained until the late 1960s. Endeavour and Velsheda became houseboats in a mud berth on the River Hamble. This is where they stayed for more than 30 years, protected by the mud, which they had sunk into. Only Shamrock V was still sailing.

Endeavour II was broken up and scrapped in Southampton. Quadrifoglio (Shamrock V) had been hidden in Italy in a barn throughout the war years and following Crespi’s death in 1962 was sold to Piero Scanu, who saved her just two weeks before she was due to be broken up in Genoa.

During the 1970s Endeavour’s hulk was sold for £10 and restoration was started.

Quadrifoglio (Shamrock V) arrived from Italy and was refitted at Camper & Nicholson’s yard where she had been built, supervised by Paolo Scanu the naval architect, and son of the owner.

The large holes in Endeavour’s hull were plugged and she was towed to the old seaplane base at Calshot Spit on the Solent to start restoration.

Terry Brabant rescued Velsheda from her Hamble mud berth and gave her enough of a refit to get her chartering and, occasionally, racing again in events like the annual Round the Island Race, hosted by the Island Sailing Club in Cowes. Despite being in rather poor condition she still acquitted herself well and looked magnificent from a distance. Swiss plans to restore her came to nought and the old racing yacht was eventually laid up afloat in Gosport. Elizabeth Meyer took on the challenge to continue with the rebuild of Endeavour at Calshot.

Quadrifoglio (Shamrock V) was purchased in 1986 by the Thomas Lipton Company, and given back her original name of Shamrock V, when she became the property of the Newport Museum of Yachting. Endeavour was towed from Calshot, to Cowes on the Isle of Wight to have her fittings and rigging fitted. She was then taken on a barge to the Royal Huisman Shipyard in Holland to continue and complete the rebuild.

Endeavour was relaunched in Holland. Endeavour and Shamrock V match raced each other over the Old America’s Cup course in Newport, Rhode Island in August.

Velsheda was purchased from a bankrupt C&N boatyard and brought to Southampton Yacht Services to start her rebuild. She was relaunched in 1998 and started her programme of racing and cruising around the World.

Velsheda, Shamrock V and Endeavour raced against each other in Antigua Classic Week.

The Owners met in England and formed the J Class Association to protect the interests of the Class, present and future. Class Rules were established for the construction of Replica Rebuilds from original plans. Shamrock V came out of a major refit at Pendennis in Falmouth under the supervision of the Dykstra office.

The first J Class Regatta is held in Christchurch Bay on England’s south coast over three days, followed by the Jubilee Regatta in Cowes.

Ranger replica was commissioned and construction started at Danish Yacht Shipyard.

Ranger was launched and started her racing programme.

Replicas of Endeavour II (Hanuman) and Ranger (Lionheart) are commissioned.

Replicas of Rainbow and Paine design (JH7) are commissioned.

Hanuman, replica of Endeavor II launched.

Lionheart launched.

Rainbow launched. Cheveyo commissioned from Sparkman & Stephens / Spirit Yachts.

Information courtesy of the J Class Association

Svea, Velsheda and Topaz at the St Barths Bucket, 2018.

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Shamrock V, JK3

Design: Charles E Nicholson

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In 1929 Sir Thomas Lipton, who had reached worldwide fame through his tea business issued his fifth challenge for the America’s Cup and commissioned Charles E. Nicholson, to design the first J-Class Yacht, Shamrock V, to the Universal Rule, signifying the birth of the J Class and the start of a new era in design evolution and racing.

‍ Shamrock V was built out of mahogany planking over steel frames and launched at the Camper & Nicholsons Gosport yard on 14th April 1930. She showed early promise on the British Regatta circuit winning 15 of 22 races and placing second in an additional four. She also underwent continuous upgrading with changes to her hull shape, rudder and modifications to the rig to create a more effective racing sail plan.

‍ Temporarily re-rigged as a ketch, Shamrock V crossed the Atlantic to America on her own bottom fully fitted out with internal accommodation. On arrival, she met Harold Vanderbilt’s Enterprise - race-ready, stripped out and equipped with several pioneering features such as a Park Avenue Boom, hidden lightweight winches and the world’s first Duralumin mast. The America’s Cup arms race was on, and Enterprise took the 15th America's Cup with a clean sweep. Sir Thomas Lipton, after endearing himself to the American public over 31 years and five attempts, would die the following year having never fulfilled his ambition to win the cup. The British aviation industrialist Sir Thomas Sopwith bought her in 1931 as a trial horse to gain J-Class racing experience before his challenge for the 16th America's Cup.  Shamrock was then sold to Sopwith's aviation friend, and fellow yachtsman, Sir Richard Fairey of Fairey Aviation who continued to optimise Shamrock with aerodynamic and hydrodynamic modifications.

‍ In 1937, Shamrock was bought by the Italian senator and industrialist Mario Crespi. This change in ownership prompted Shamrock's only name change. Italian Fascist law had banned the use of foreign names in society. Accordingly, Shamrock V was renamed Quadrifoglio (cloverleaf). Crespi was also the first owner who modified Shamrock for comfort by installing a luxurious interior for longer passages. The next owner, Piero Scanu, instigated a comprehensive three-year overhaul at the Camper & Nicholsons yard commencing. Whilst this refit saved Shamrock, it also took her further away from her thoroughbred origins with the installation of high bulwarks and a large deckhouse. In 1986, Shamrock V returned to the ownership of the Lipton Tea Company who donated her to the Museum of Yachting at Newport, Rhode Island. Another extensive and famed restoration was carried out by Elizabeth Meyer in 1989, which alongside her restoration of Endeavour, returned these two J Class to racing form and allowed the first J Class racing since 1937. This stimulated interest in restoring and building replica J Class yachts.

‍ Following changes of ownership in the 1990s but still under Elizabeth Meyer’s management, Shamrock underwent renovation at Pendennis in 2000 where comprehensive works were planned to improve the yacht’s ballast ratio and with the addition of a new rig and sails, and performance was dramatically enhanced without compromising historical authenticity. Leading naval architect Gerard Dykstra of Dykstra Naval Architects was a major influence on the successful completion of the project, which included the returning of her deck structures and rig to their original 1930s configuration and improvements to the interior layout. Shamrock participated in a reunion in August 2001 with Endeavour, the only other remaining America’s Cup challenger, and Velsheda, for the America's Cup Jubilee off Cowes. Since then, Shamrock has enjoyed success racing on the classic and superyacht circuit, as well as being a popular charter yacht for cruising and racing.

‍ Racing in St Barth’s in 2017, Shamrock sustained significant structural damage and in 2022 was acquired by her current owner who has commissioned a comprehensive strip down and restoration ‘to prepare her for her next 100 years’. Work is well underway, with a planned relaunch early in 2024, Shamrock plans to return to the Mediterranean to take part in the J Class World Championship during the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona.

‍ Shamrock is the only original J-class never to have fallen into dereliction.

Length at waterline

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upwind sail area

spinnaker sail area

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Enterprise to Endeavour: The J-Class Yachts Hardcover – November 1, 1999

• Print length 160 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Sheridan House
• Publication date November 1, 1999
• Dimensions 8.73 x 0.72 x 11.87 inches
• ISBN-10 1574090917
• ISBN-13 978-1574090918
• See all details

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About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sheridan House; 4th edition (November 1, 1999)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1574090917
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1574090918
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.1 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.73 x 0.72 x 11.87 inches
• #1,715 in Ship History (Books)
• #1,793 in Sailing (Books)
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Reflections of a professional gambler, and a gamer in the decline of America.

The History of the Enterprise J-Class Yacht

I’m considering model sailboats as a new hobby. I never knew how cool these model ships and boats were. They’re perfect little replicas of the actual ships on which they are based; they’ve even got the freaking Park Avenue booms! Of course, if you don’t know what a Park Avenue boom is, you’re got a thing or two to learn about sailboat racing history. But, before I launch into my lengthy dissertation on the America’s Cup Sailboat Enterprise, you’re going to need to imagine yourself very wealthy. After all, as JP Morgan said about Enterprise model yachts, “If you have to ask the price, you can not afford it.”

Early History of the America’s Cup Racing Yachts

You can’t really discuss sailboat racing history without discussing the America’s Cup. It’d be like talking about car racing without mentioning Formula 1. Actually, it’d be worse. Racing cars may be expensive, but racing sailboats are REALLY, REALLY expensive. So expensive in fact that there’s only one real international competiton for wooden sailboat racing: The America’s Cup.

The America’s Cup is a competition between the Americans and the British. Both sides field a single yacht, which is, itself selected by winning qualifying races against similar models. Once each nation has selected the fastest model and crew to compete on behalf of a given nation for that year. Of course, wooden sailboat racing is not only a contest for the crews of the model sailing yachts, but also a contest of the wooden sailboat’s designers. Just as with car racing, technology and innovation come to the forefront of wooden sailboat engineering. As such, the rules continued to evolve about exactly how a particular yacht model could be constructed as, for instance, both of the 1903 America’s Cup racing yachts (The Reliance and The Shamrock III) were so lopsided as to barely be seaworthy on stormy days. The yachts fielded by the Americans were particularly lopsided because they, unlike their British breathern, did not have to be seaworthy enough to actually sail to the racing site under their own power. The Americans, for reasons only wealthy yacht owners understand, could produce a yacht just seaworthy enough to not sink sailing about in closed harbor regatta races.

A new set of rules came down in 1914 called “The Universal Rule” which established classes of racing yachts by the ratio of their length, displacement and the total area of their sails. Previously, length was the only criteria which matter and designers had abused this by putting excessive amounts of sail on those model yachts. Now these factors were accounted for, and different classes of yachts were established by different ratios of these three variables. Of special interest is the J class yacht, because that was the class used for America’s Cup criteria between 1930 and 1937.

The Enterprise J Class Yacht

The J class yachts are some of the beloved of the America’s Cup Wooden Sailboats because they represent an excellent compromise between seaworthiness and speed. As previously mentioned, the rules of The America’s Cup favor the Americans because, during this era, the British yacht had to sail to the racing site under it’s own power. Not so for the Americans. While it may win races, most people would like a sailboat that they can actually sail out of the harbor. Enter the Enterprise Model Yacht.

Enterprise Model yacht

(aka the America’s Cup Sailboat Enterprise or just Enterprise Sailboat) was one of the best known American J Class yachts ever to sail. She was designed by the esteemed Starling Burgess and built in 1930 by Harold Vanderbilt- yes, THOSE Vanderbilts. This is, after all, a sport for the very wealthy. She was built to defend against the British challenger yacht, The Shamrock V, which she did successfully. One of the snazzy new design features which the

had was the Park Avenue boom.

“What’s a Park Avenue boom,” you ask? I’m afraid you’ll never be able to hand with the Vanderbilts asking naive questions like that! Let’s get you educated. Take a look at this picture of the America’s Cup Sailboat Enterprise.

You see that doohickey under the main sail? That’s what we call the Park Avenue boom. It catches the main sail as it’s lowered and makes it easier to manage. How does it do that? Well, the boom has wings which extend outward to catch the mainsail as it is lowered. From there a piece of equipment called a lazy jack ensures that the mainsail is captured within the confines of the recessed area of the boom deck where it hides the bulk of the sail when moored.

What does all that mean? Hell I don’t know. I do understand that it makes the sail easier to manage. Less labor on managing the sail, means a more efficient race, which means the difference between sucking on some hot chicks in the winner’s circle versus sucking some British wake as you watch them sail to victory.

The actual Sailboat Enterprise was sold for scrap in 1935. Alas, she sails no more. In fact, the entire J class

Enterprise sailboat

line has gone the way of the dodo. Along came World War II, and the war effort. These model sailing yachts were seen as too extravagant a use of resources. Even after the way, the J class yachts were seen as too extravagant for post war economies. It seemed no one could afford the J class anymore, and they were replaced with smaller yachts.

So you see the special place that J class yachts have in the history of the America’s Cup. That’s why I love the little model replicas of these things. Now you can own your own little piece of rich, snobby sailing history by buying the

Enterprise Model Yacht

. Owning a little model wooden sailboats allows you to fantasize that you are one of the rich elite who has nothing better to worry about what to do with your millions of dollars than to try to make a faster Wooden Sailboat.

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8 reasons to buy a J Class yacht

Own a piece of history with a j class yacht.

J Class yachts were the original America’s Cup racers. In 1929, tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton commissioned the build of the first J Class yacht for his fifth and last America’s Cup bid. The boat was 36.58 metre Shamrock V, which was the first and only J Class yacht to be constructed in wood.

“She was built by possibly the most famous British yachtsmen ever, Sir Thomas Lipton, who tried for years to wrestle the America's Cup from the Americans, culminating in his building Shamrock V ,” says Mike Horsley of Edmiston .

Amazingly, even though Shamrock V was the first J Class created — designed by Charles Nicholson and built by Camper & Nicholsons  — she remains in perfect condition, thanks to many refits over the years. In her most recent upgrade she received two new generators.

Sail with a J Class thoroughbred racer

J Class yachts are bred for racing, and it's their one design class that makes them so ideal for the sport. When you see Js out on the racecourse, the first thing that catches the eye — besides their staggering beauty — is that the race is so close!

When the J Class yachts started racing in the 1930s, it was under the Universal Rule, which used waterline length, displacement and sail area to control the rating. Nowadays, the fleet is made up of an intriguing mix of refitted originals and new-build replicas, some outfitted with luxurious interiors.

The new J Class Rating takes this into account, using a computational model that considers hull design, mast and sail plan to give each yacht an adjusted time. Even still, the relative difference in performance of Js is small. The J Class racing is thrilling, action-packed and always a fight to the finish.

Own an America’s Cup winner

Or a replica anyway… The original Rainbow and Ranger J Class yachts both held their own, aptly defending the America’s Cup. Harold Vanderbilt invested in J Class yachts to defend the Cup three times, with Enterprise in 1930, Rainbow in 1934, and Ranger in 1937. Although the originals didn't survive the cull for metal in WWII, replicas of both Rainbow and Ranger have since been built, which must be the next-best thing to owning the original winner.

The new 39.95 metre spectacular J Class yacht Rainbow was built by Holland Jachtbouw in 2012, based on the original Frank Paine lines of the 1934 America’s Cup winner. Rainbow was sold in 2015 .

Compete during the next America’s Cup on your J Class yacht

The J Class yachts are returning to their rightful home, the America’s Cup. The J Class Association is an active organisation, preserving the interests of the class and organising face-offs at regattas around the world. But the J Class Regatta, set to take place during the America’s Cup 2017 , will be the biggest reunion yet — both in terms of historical relevance and in number of Js on the start line, organisers predict.

Want to take part in this historical event and maybe win it all? Easy; get yourself one of the Js currently for sale. Ranger , for instance, was known as the “Super J” for her defence against Endeavour , and her replica is for sale with Northrop & Johnson .

Enjoy the unrivalled beauty of a J Class yacht

Sleek, slim and seeming to just slip through the water, the J Class yachts turn heads wherever they roam. While they were designed as racing beasts, these boats are undeniably beauties.

“One main justification for the hassle and expense of yacht ownership is that almost indefinable pride one feels when approaching one’s yacht at anchor in a beautiful bay,” says Mike Horsley of Edmiston. “There can be nothing in history more pride-inducing than a J!” It's okay to buy one because you think J Class yachts are simply the prettiest things on the water.

Be a steward of history by owning a J Class yacht

As many a classic aficionado can tell you, the joy in preserving and passing on a part of history is a main deciding factor in owning a classic yacht . It's no different with J Class yachts.

The J Class revival is largely credited to one such history lover, Elizabeth Meyer, who restored the original J Class yacht Endeavour , which was built for Sir Thomas Sopwith. The 39.56 metre iconic  Endeavour was the first J Class yacht to be restored.

“It was Endeavour that set the original comeback of the whole J fleet,” says Alex Busher of Edmiston . “Elizabeth Meyer should naturally take credit for her energy, enthusiasm and foresight at the beginning of this new [J Class] era.”

Endeavour is currently for sale with Edmiston, asking €19,950,000.

Gain entry to an elite club with a J Class yacht

When you own a J Class yacht, you are one of a select few. If your dream is to own a J Class sailing yacht, and even build your own yacht, it is possible to gain entry to this elite and private club by buying your way in and building a J design.

Holland Jachtbouw HJB, which launched Topaz in 2015, owns the exclusive rights to build two J Class yachts, Yankee and J9 . The Dutch builder has an official partnership with the J Class Association . Designed by Frank Paine, 38.1 metre Yankee was the third American J. She had a nearly straight sheerline and beautiful lines. While she was a sprightly and powerful defender, she never did take the Cup — but her designers Dykstra Naval Architects have optimised her design, and all she needs is for the right owner to bring her back to the life at HJB.

HJB also has the rights to build the previously unbuilt J Class yacht J9. Frank Paine drew the yacht as a defender for the last America’s Cup to be held with Js, but she was never built. Hoek Design has now carried out extensive research, which means if and when J9 is built, she is will be a contender on the racecourse and then some.

Experience the full package of J Class yachts

Beauty, racing brawn and technological brains combined? J Class yachts really have it all. “Apart from their obvious beauty and power under sail, they represent the apogee of technological achievement in their time,” says Mike Horsley. While the J Class yachts appear as classic beauties now, they were boundary-pushing creatures in their day, even incorporating early aircraft design.

“Owning a J Class yacht is the best medicine for someone with a passion for classic sailing yachts, both cruising and racing,” says Thys Nikkels, managing director of Dykstra Naval Architects.

The J Class yachts are also proven ocean-goers and many have comfortable, luxurious interiors, making them far more welcoming for long voyages than a modern, flat-out racing yacht.

“Although built strictly as racing machines, Shamrock and her J sisters have accomplished many remarkable voyages, including Pacific and Atlantic crossings, and work as charter yachts in different areas of the globe,” says Mike Horsley. “No other yacht design combines all these attributes in such a beautiful form.”

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• Ships of Scale Build Logs
• SOS Build Logs from Kits - Wood

America's Cup 1930 J Class Enterprise - Amati - scale 1:80

• Thread starter zoly99sask
• Start date Jan 14, 2017

Administrator

• Jan 14, 2017

• Jan 18, 2017

Are you taking a break from the Santa Maria or building the two in parallel?  

• Jan 19, 2017

I like the Amati line of kits. Good luck on this one.  

Graham said: Are you taking a break from the Santa Maria or building the two in parallel? Click to expand...

GaryM said: I like the Amati line of kits. Good luck on this one. Click to expand...

• Aug 31, 2017

Hello Bob!  

• Sep 9, 2017

Hello, have you suspended work on your America's cup yacht? I just got my Ranger kit and am looking for more detailed information on the construction of the mast and boom.  

Hello Bob,I am just busy with other projects.  

• Sep 10, 2017

OK, I'm in no rush. I won't be starting on the Ranger for a while most likely.  

Kurt Konrath

• Jun 23, 2020

good lead in story on the J class and Park Avenue Boom. I have a small fiberglass sailing boat. A 14' Lido, designed as a small class racer for west coast boys with bigger boats. Mine is down for maintenance as it needs a new transom installed. But it was fast little center keel board boat for evening or weekend sail with kids. She was designed for two adults or one adult and two youth.  

• Jul 26, 2020

I love the classic J-Class for appearance and performance at the time. Almost as impressive as the International Schooners like Bluenose and her competitors. The present shift to hydro dragsters storming back and forth in San Francisco Bay really did not show me seamanship or seaworthyness as they are still in an experimental stage of limited conditions racing. Give me the old days of round the bouys racing in a class of mutilple boats over one on one handicapped racing. Great build selection! PT-2  

• Jul 18, 2021

Great story! I built the Rainbow from Amati as my first kit. It was quite a ride to get the hull smooth and the rigging done right. How is the Enterprise coming along?  

modlerbob said: OK, I'm in no rush. I won't be starting on the Ranger for a while most likely. Click to expand...

Buffalo Jack

• May 24, 2023

zoly99sask said: Hello everybody, this is my new build log for the America's Cup 1930 J Class Enterprise,I received this kit from Model Shipway around 10 years ago, never ordered it, I gave them a call and explained what happened, they said that's fine just return it, and I did, and few weeks later came back again.Of course, I kept it. So here we go I decided to build it, hopefully comes out something good. A little history about the ship. The History of the Enterprise J-Class Yacht I’m considering model sailboats as a new hobby. I never knew how cool these model ships and boats were. They’re perfect little replicas of the actual ships on which they are based; they’ve even got the freaking Park Avenue booms! Of course, if you don’t know what a Park Avenue boom is, you’re got a thing or two to learn about sailboat racing history. But, before I launch into my lengthy dissertation on the America’s Cup Sailboat Enterprise, you’re going to need to imagine yourself very wealthy. After all, as JP Morgan said about Enterprise model yachts, “If you have to ask the price, you can not afford it.” Early History of the America’s Cup Racing Yachts You can’t really discuss sailboat racing history without discussing the America’s Cup. It’d be like talking about car racing without mentioning Formula 1. Actually, it’d be worse. Racing cars may be expensive, but racing sailboats are REALLY, REALLY expensive. So expensive in fact that there’s only one real international competition for wooden sailboat racing: The America’s Cup. The America’s Cup is a competition between the Americans and the British. Both sides field a single yacht, which is, itself selected by winning qualifying races against similar models. Once each nation has selected the fastest model and crew to compete on behalf of a given nation for that year. Of course, wooden sailboat racing is not only a contest for the crews of the model sailing yachts, but also a contest of the wooden sailboat’s designers. Just as with car racing, technology and innovation come to the forefront of wooden sailboat engineering. As such, the rules continued to evolve about exactly how a particular yacht model could be constructed as, for instance, both of the 1903 America’s Cup racing yachts (The Reliance and The Shamrock III) were so lopsided as to barely be seaworthy on stormy days. The yachts fielded by the Americans were particularly lopsided because they, unlike their British breathern, did not have to be seaworthy enough to actually sail to the racing site under their own power. The Americans, for reasons only wealthy yacht owners understand, could produce a yacht just seaworthy enough to not sink sailing about in closed harbor regatta races. A new set of rules came down in 1914 called “The Universal Rule” which established classes of racing yachts by the ratio of their length, displacement and the total area of their sails. Previously, length was the only criteria which matter and designers had abused this by putting excessive amounts of sail on those model yachts. Now these factors were accounted for, and different classes of yachts were established by different ratios of these three variables. Of special interest is the J class yacht, because that was the class used for America’s Cup criteria between 1930 and 1937. The Enterprise J Class Yacht The J class yachts are some of the beloved of the America’s Cup Wooden Sailboats because they represent an excellent compromise between seaworthiness and speed. As previously mentioned, the rules of The America’s Cup favor the Americans because, during this era, the British yacht had to sail to the racing site under it’s own power. Not so for the Americans. While it may win races, most people would like a sailboat that they can actually sail out of the harbor. Enter the Enterprise Model Yacht. The ENTERPRISE MODEL YACHT (aka the America’s Cup Sailboat Enterprise or just Enterprise Sailboat) was one of the best known American J Class yachts ever to sail. She was designed by the esteemed Starling Burgess and built in 1930 by Harold Vanderbilt- yes, THOSE Vanderbilts. This is, after all, a sport for the very wealthy. She was built to defend against the British challenger yacht, The Shamrock V, which she did successfully. One of the snazzy new design features which the ENTERPRISE MODEL YACHT had was the Park Avenue boom. “What’s a Park Avenue boom,” you ask? I’m afraid you’ll never be able to hand with the Vanderbilts asking naive questions like that! Let’s get you educated. Take a look at this picture of America’s Cup Sailboat Enterprise. You see that doohickey under the mainsail? That’s what we call the Park Avenue boom. It catches the mainsail as it’s lowered and makes it easier to manage. How does it do that? Well, the boom has wings which extend outward to catch the mainsail as it is lowered. From there a piece of equipment called a lazy jack ensures that the mainsail is captured within the confines of the recessed area of the boom deck where it hides the bulk of the sail when moored. What does all that mean? Hell, I don’t know. I do understand that it makes the sail easier to manage. Less labour on managing the sail means a more efficient race, which means the difference between sucking on some hot chicks in the winner’s circle versus sucking some British wake as you watch them sail to victory. The actual Sailboat Enterprise was sold for scrap in 1935. Alas, she sails no more. In fact, the entire J class ENTERPRISE SAILBOAT line has gone the way of the dodo. Along came World War II, and the war effort. These model sailing yachts were seen as too extravagant a use of resources. Even after the way, the J class yachts were seen as too extravagant for post-war economies. It seemed no one could afford the J class anymore, and they were replaced with smaller yachts. So you see the special place that J class yachts have in the history of America’s Cup. That’s why I love the little model replicas of these things. Now you can own your own little piece of rich, snobby sailing history by buying the ENTERPRISE MODEL YACHT. Owning a little model wooden sailboats allows you to fantasize that you are one of the rich elite who has nothing better to worry about what to do with your millions of dollars than to try to make a faster Wooden Sailboat.Source: http://prestonpoulte...-j-class-yacht/ I took a few pictures of the content: Zoltan View attachment 33375 View attachment 33376 View attachment 33377 View attachment 33368 View attachment 33369 View attachment 33370 View attachment 33371 View attachment 33378 View attachment 33373 View attachment 33374 ​ Click to expand...

Peter Gutterman

• Oct 2, 2023

The "Park Avenue Boom" was triangular in cross section and widest across the top, which was fitted with a series of tracks with slides and holes for pins along their length. These slides are secured to the bottom of the mainsail by a steel jackstay. The slides could travel freely along the length of the tracks when tacking. The airfoil of the sail could then be adjusted, according to the predicted wind conditions, by limiting the travel of the slides across the tracks with the pins. The wider apart the pins were, the greater the luff of the sail. More in the middle, less at the ends. The name "Park Avenue" was adopted because the width of the boom at its' widest would accommodate two men walking abreast. Hence "A stroll down Park Avenue". The design apparently proved successful, as it was widely adopted by the designers of the class. Source: "Enterprise to Endeavour" by Ian Dear pg. 66 A great and entertaining book for everything J-Class Sloop history. These Amati kits are fun to build with good instructions, diagrams, plans and English translation. I'm on my third. The finished "Endeavor" and "Rainbow" are on the finished models forum. Pete  

• Oct 3, 2023

Hi Zolly great little project, great story. I'll definitely stay tuned.  

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Enterprise (yacht) Enterprise. (yacht) Enterprise was a 1930 yacht of the J Class [1] and successful defender of the 1930 America's Cup [6] for the New York Yacht Club. [4] It was ordered by a syndicate headed by Vice-Commodore Winthrop Aldrich, [4] designed by Starling Burgess, [2] and built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company.

Enterprise. Orig­i­nally built for Harold van der Bilt and de­signed by Star­ling Burges, En­ter­prise was the first J to win the Amer­ica's Cup in 1930. She can be built in alu­minium with an al­most flush deck with­out deck­houses. Car­bon hi-tech spars, a tall sail plan and an ex­ten­sively op­ti­mised hand­i­cap will give ...

In response to Lipton's challenge of 1929 the Americans designed and built four J-Class yachts as possible defenders. Enterprise, Whirlwind, Yankee and Weetamoe were launched within a month of each other; Weetamoe and Enterprise from the Herreshoff yard and Yankee and Whirlwind from Lawley & Son's yard in Bristol.

Only ten J Class yachts were built before the Second World War stopped the movement in its tracks, but in the last 20 years they've made a comeback

The J-Class was adopted for America's Cup competition in 1928, looking forward to the next regatta in 1930. The Class itself, though, dated back to the turn of the century when the Universal Rule was adopted though no J-Class yachts had yet been built. The Rule used a yacht's various dimensions to calculate an equivalent rating in feet.

J Class yachts Velsheda, Topaz and Svea downwind legs. The J Class is one of several classes deriving from the Universal Rule for racing boats. The rule was established in 1903 and rates double-masted racers (classes A through H) and single-masted racers (classes I through S). From 1914 to 1937, the rule was used to determine eligibility for ...

The J Class Association was founded in 2000 to protect the interests of the Class, present and future, and organises an annual calendar of racing for these magnificent yachts.

The Americans will present four Class J to face the representatives of the crown: Whirlwind, Resolute, Vanitie and Enterprise. The latter is the first racing yacht to be equipped with a duralumin mast, which gives her an undeniable advantage in close-to-wind conditions. S/Y Enterprise

In answer to Lipton's challenge of 1929 the Americans designed four J-Class yachts as possible defenders. Enterprise, Whirlwind, Yankee and Weetamoe were launched within a month of each other; Weetamoe and Enterprise from the Herreshoff yard and Yankee and Whirlwind from Lawley & Son's yard in Bristol.

In answer to Lipton's challenge of 1929 the Americans designed four J-Class yachts as possible defenders. Enterprise, Whirlwind, Yankee and Weetamoe were launched within a month of each other; Weetamoe and Enterprise from the Herreshoff yard and Yankee and Whirlwind from Lawley & Son's yard in Bristol. Whirlwind, the second J, was the most ...

About In 1929 Sir Thomas Lipton, who had reached worldwide fame through his tea business issued his fifth challenge for the America's Cup and commissioned Charles E. Nicholson, to design the first J-Class Yacht, Shamrock V, to the Universal Rule, signifying the birth of the J Class and the start of a new era in design evolution and racing.

Endeavour is a J-class yacht built for the 1934 America's Cup by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, England. She was built for Thomas Sopwith who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day with a steel hull and mast. [1] She was 130-foot (40 m) and launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J's Velsheda and Shamrock ...

Enterprise to Endeavour is an engrossing celebration of the massive and magnificent J-Class yachts. Ian Dear tells how only ten of these formidable yachts were ever built and subsequently raced for the America's Cup as well as for other trophies in American and British waters between 1930 and 1937.

Lacking bowsprits but boasting big, beautiful rigs, the 10 J Class contenders were unlike anything ever seen before and performed spectacularly. Their names are famous to this day: Enterprise, Yankee, Velsheda, Endeavour, Rainbow, and Ranger, just to name a few. At 43.4 meters (142 feet), Lionheart is the longest J Class in existence.

The Enterprise J Class Yacht The J class yachts are some of the beloved of the America's Cup Wooden Sailboats because they represent an excellent compromise between seaworthiness and speed.

Own a piece of history with a J Class yacht J Class yachts were the original America's Cup racers. In 1929, tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton commissioned the build of the first J Class yacht for his fifth and last America's Cup bid. The boat was 36.58 metre Shamrock V, which was the first and only J Class yacht to be constructed in wood.

Originally built for Harold van der Bilt and designed by Starling Burges, Enterprise was the first J to win the America's Cup in 1930. She can be built in aluminium with an almost

The. ENTERPRISE MODEL YACHT. (aka the America's Cup Sailboat Enterprise or just Enterprise Sailboat) was one of the best known American J Class yachts ever to sail. She was designed by the esteemed Starling Burgess and built in 1930 by Harold Vanderbilt- yes, THOSE Vanderbilts.

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J/Fest Southwest Lakewood Yacht Club. Located on the shores of Clear Lake near the Kemah Bridge, with direct access to Galveston Bay, Lakewood Yacht Club is one of the country's finest racing destinations, and was recently named among the Top 10 yacht clubs in the United States. J/Fest Southwest Regatta.

Zhukovsky International Airport, formerly known as Ramenskoye Airport or Zhukovsky Airfield - international airport, located in Moscow Oblast, Russia 36 km southeast of central Moscow, in the town of Zhukovsky, a few kilometers southeast of the old Bykovo Airport. After its reconstruction in 2014-2016, Zhukovsky International Airport was officially opened on 30 May 2016.

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Notice of Election & Annual Membership Meeting

As part of its annual rotation, the Board seeks nominations of candidates to fill the positions of retiring members of the Board of Governors. Nominees must be current MCSA members and available to actively serve a three year term of office beginning January 1, 2025.  The elected individuals will fill the expiring term of Scott Slocum, Scott Harestad, & Natalie Sinn. When contemplating prospective nominees, consider the value of maintaining a Board balance in sailing, administrative, and leadership skill sets as well as a geographical representation of MCSA members.

The following member has accepted a nomination to fill one of the three open positions of the retiring Board members and will be placed on the ballot for a verbal vote:   The following is a list of the current Board members whose terms expire on December 31st of the year indicated:

Natalie Sinn      - Minnetonka YC, MN (2025) Dana Nelson    - Club de Voile Deux-Montagnes, CN (2025)

Kevin Neal       -  Florida (2025) Christy Will      -  Beulah YC, WI (2026) Matt Fisher       - Hoover SC, OH (2026) Sean Bradley   -  Barnegat Bay YR Assoc, NJ, (2026)- Commodore Chris Kubicek   -  Lake Beulah YC, WI (2028) - Vice Commodore Scott Harestad - Spring Lake YC, MI (2024) - Rear Commodore

The election will be held during the Annual Membership Meeting to be held at the MCSA National Championship August 21-24, Lake Geneva YC, WI.   Inquiries should be submitted to Chris Kubicek at [email protected]

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