America's Cup - J-Class Yacht History (2024)

Burgess and Stephens alternate design for Ranger, 1936 Drawing: ©2004 CupInfo

Genesis:

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

Notes:

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 Ranger 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.

Endeavour in Newport, 2004 Photo ©2004 CupInfo

Out of nine America's Cup J's, only two survive today: Shamrock V, the 1930 Challenger, and Endeavour, the 1934 Challenger. Velsheda, distinguished by being the only yacht built as a J-class though not intended for America's Cup, is intact and sailing, too. Of at least seven other boats that were rated as J's, two remain: Cambria, and Astra. Cambria was originally a 23-Meter International Rule yacht, but later altered to rate as a J. The surviving boats have all had extensive restoration and re-building. Endeavour was rescued from near oblivion, too delicate to move without structural reconstruction.

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 theLionheart 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 byHoek 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 theW-Class Website.

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.