The J/109 is a 35-ft. boat that races well and has some comforts for short term cruising. It is a true racer/cruiser. The first time I won a sailing race was on Kind of Blue, a J/109 sailing out of Tiburon, California. It made an impression. I’d raced on a few different mid 30-ft. monohulls in the San Francisco Bay area by then, but this was my first time on a J/Boat and my first “pursuit” style race. That meant the faster boats started after the slower boats, and everyone raced to the finish line and hoped to cross first.
On that day, in the Tiburon Yacht club race, Kind of Blue started last based on her PHRF rating of 72. All the slower boats got a head start while we sailed in circles near the starting line. Over the race course we passed every other boat in the race and crossed the finish line first—a clear win. There is no sailboat math required from the race committee after a pursuit race to determine the winner. And, I discovered, it is really fun to pass other boats in a race and know that means you are winning. I raced on Kind of Blue several more times during my year of building-my-confidence-by-racing. We didn’t always win, but it wasn’t the boat that held us back.
DESIGN
Rod Johnstone designed the J/109 for speed while racing with stability and a layout for cruising. The beam is 11.5 feet, with plenty of headroom, and there are two cabins and attractive lines and a classic interior. Nearly 400 J/109s came off the production lines between 2001 and 2012.
When David and Pellie Anderson bought their 2004 J/109 in 2010, and named hull #129 Kind of Blue, they were looking for a racer/cruiser to host their family with two kids then aged 10 and 12. According to David, “It seemed like the J/109 was the perfect kind of family cruising and club racing boat.” That’s what they did. Initially they sailed and raced her in southern California with week-long trips to Catalina Island. Then they moved Kind of Blue with them to the San Francisco Bay. On one of the trips between northern and southern California, she withstood some feisty conditions with winds up to 40 knots. These days, Kind of Blue races in club races in the San Francisco Bay, and holds her own against some fierce J/105 competitors. Weighing in at nearly 11,000 lb., she is 3,200 lb. heavier than the J/105s.
Although the two cabins, galley and salon allow a comfortable stay onboard, her limited tankage may not make her an ideal boat for long term cruising. Leaving the factory, J/109s had smaller fuel (18.5 gallons), water (25 gallons), and house battery banks (80 amp hours on a 12 V system) than most cruisers would want today. The Andersons found these and the available storage adequate for their short term cruising on Kind of Blue, but other monohulls in this size range intended for cruising will have more tankage and storage.
SAILS AND RIGGING
The sailplan includes a main and a non-overlapping headsail. The headsail is on a furling system. The sailplan also includes an asymmetrical spinnaker on an extendable bowsprit that retracts into the forward V-berth when not in use. In addition to the ease of deploying the headsail off the furler, flying the asymmetrical spinnaker on Kind of Blue was a sharp contrast to the spinnaker shenanigans I sometimes experienced on other race boats. The spinnaker rigging on the J/109 was so much simpler than other kinds of race boats flying symmetrical spinnakers. With no pole and fewer lines to rig, there was simply less for a crew to mess up.
When I was racing her in 2022, Kind of Blue had her first, crispy, black racing sails. They cost $13,000, but David wants to win his club races, so he splurged a bit on the sails.
Continuous rod rigging holds up the tapered aluminum mast. The mast height above water is 53.5 feet. All the winches are self-tailing. A hydraulic backstay adjuster makes it possible to heed the captain’s command “more backstay!” This is a weird command to this catamaran cruising sailor who has never had a backstay on her own boat.
According to David, some of the original components were undersized for the high-wind racing in San Francisco bay. He replaced the mainsheet controls, for example, with more robust components than those that came standard.
AUXILIARY POWER
A Yanmar 28 horsepower diesel engine with sail drive and folding prop supplies auxiliary power when not sailing. The insulation around the engine compartment means it is not as loud as some boats when it is time to crank the engine. The small fuel tank—just 18.5 gallons—is under the aft cabin berth. This is plenty of fuel for most racing, but cruisers may find it necessary to carry more on voyages requiring motoring.
CONSTRUCTION
J/Boats constructed the J/109 with BALTEK ContourKore end-grained balsa composite construction using biaxial and unidirectional glass with vinylester resin on the outer hull. They use a “SCRIMP” resin infusion system molding process for strength. GRP-molded structural bulkheads are bonded to the hull and deck. The keel with 3,900 lb. of ballast is cast lead bolted and bonded to a deep molded stub. The rudder is a high aspect spade rudder.
David says the maintenance track records for the J/109 is generally good, but some standard components may be undersized for high-wind racing. Both the mainsheet controls and standing rigging will require replacement after several seasons.
INTERIOR
Going down the companionway, the galley is on the port side and the navigation station with forward facing chart table is on the starboard side. Settees and a folding table are forward followed by an ample V-berth with storage.
An aft staterooom is tucked under the cockpit aft of the galley. It’s one of those “double” beds that would be cozy for two people. The head is at the bottom of the companionway steps on the starboard side aft of the navigation station. It’s a wet head with toilet, sink and access to the giant locker under the cockpit.
The galley has a double sink, top-loading fridge and gimbal-mounted oven/cooktop. Kind of Blue‘s interior has a classic sailboat feel with warm wood trim and navy cushions. Handholds are abundant and sturdy.
DECK LAYOUT
The aluminum wheel is big. Really big. The rear of the cockpit is dominated by the giant wheel. The wheel is so big it is a bit challenging to get around while racing. It reaches shorter crew members nearly at their faces while standing on deck.
The cockpit size is ample and feels secure. Though usually, when racing, most crew leave the cockpit and head to the weather rail.
The decks are fairly easy to navigate with toe rails and plenty of spots to hold on and keep yourself on the boat. There is a large cockpit storage locker on the starboard accessible from the cockpit under the seat and a wall hatch in the head.
PERFORMANCE
Boat on boat, the J/109 has speed advantages with that big asymmetrical spinnaker and well- trimmed, laminated racing sails.
Her feel at the helm made her stand out among the boats David and Pellie considered. According to David, “When you’re driving, it feels very comfortable and confident. You’re sort of locked in. It has a very solid feel.”
The seven-foot draft and 3,900 lb. keel help. Some J/109s are a shoal draft version available with a 5.75-ft. keel. The hull speed is a frisky 7.4 knots.
Upwind performance, which is good with standard rigging, improves with inhauls rigged to reduce the slot between the main and the headsail. According to David, that is the one improvement he wishes came standard with the J/109. He’s considered adding rigging to make inhaulers (also known as barber haulers) on Kind of Blue. Like many things on a boat, it isn’t cheap, and while he could talk himself into those spiffy racing sails, he hasn’t yet added the inhaulers.
IDEAL CREW
Kind of Blue is not set up well for shorthanded sailing. It’s nice to have at least three sailors aboard—David likes six for flying the asymmetrical spinnaker in a race. When pushing the J/109 for speed, the boat benefits from strong, skilled, agile crew. The loads are considerable, and there are a lot of things to do at the same time, and each thing benefits from a crew member’s full attention.
I have an exhilarating memory on Kind of Blue racing around Red Rock in the San Francisco Bay and pointing high into the abundant wind. I was trimming the headsail which meant I was crouched over the self-tailing winch trying to grind one more inch on the jib sheet. We were on a big heel with the water near the rails and rushing just a few feet from my face while I tilted towards it. It was simply impossible to grind another inch, no matter how nicely or loudly the captain requested it, and I’m no weakling. I’ve also watched crew members with less strength pass off mainsail trimming on this boat to stronger crew when it got tough.
When I asked David if he’d buy the J/109 again, he said, “Was it the right boat in 2010? Yeah. But not at this point in my life.” Now he’d be looking for something that is a little easier to sail and still win with less agile and less experienced sailors. Because David, like many owners of J/Boats, still likes to win. While J/Boats no longer produces the J/109, they do make the J/111 (more racer than cruiser) and the J/112e (more cruiser than racer) both costing much, much more than a used J/109.
CONCLUSION
The J/109 is a fast racer and capable of cruising. With small tanks and batteries and hunger for agile crew, I’d categorize it as leaning towards racing rather than full time cruising. Still, it may sail this elusive racer/cruiser line better than most boats that have tried. If you want to win the yacht club races and occasionally spend days or weeks at a time onboard, the J/109 could be your boat.
John Harries at Attainable Adventure Cruising at age 70+ went from world cruising with his life partner on their McMurdy and Rhodes aluminum 54’ sloop to coastal cruising on a J/109 and there is a LOT of information on his website (www.morganscloud.com) about making a J/109 a viable coastal cruiser that can be double handed by older sailors. Worth a look if you are serious about a J/109 for a similar purpose.