New J/80s Now Available in U.S.

By Peter d’Anjou

Everyone associated with the J/80 class in North America knows that there are very few boats available for sale. When used boats do come on the market they are gone - sold in a heartbeat. As a result prices for used boats are up. So when I was approached to help a prospective buyer, Dr. Artur Zembowicz, find a boat we talked through the whole gambit of options from fixers to race ready boats with pedigree and what they cost until we got to the comparison of a brand new boat - and that required some history.

The last time a run of new boats came in was prior to the 2020 Worlds, 10 boats went to Hudson Sailing School as the 2020 worlds got canceled due to the Covid Pandemic. Also, because of the pandemic, manufacturing & supply issues grew along with shipping costs to halt new boat production. Bottom line - for the past few years, you couldn’t get a new boat.

Now, a solution has been worked out with J/Boats and International Marine of Bristol, RI to bring in molded parts from Red Dragon in China and assemble them here. Dr. Zembowicz has a purchase contract on this latest J/80. In fact, this project proved feasible and led to three more boats being sold. This will hopefully lead to a run of new boats for North America. Tim Kohl of East Coast Yacht Sales is the J/Boat dealer overseeing Dr. Zembowicz purchase and J/Boats has announced new boat special pricing of $59,900 to its entire dealer network.

Frankly, this is a formula that has worked previously when Waterline Systems assembled a run of Chinese parts into boats prior to the 2010 Worlds. The newest hull, 1700 includes AG+ rig, Profurl R250 furler, standing and running rigging. This price does not include sails, engine, or instruments and there are some options for the new owner to decide on, such as self-tailing Antal 30 winches, a fixed cradle for $1,850 or a customizble Triad trailer starting around $6,700.

International Marine has succeeded with the “proof of concept” build and new boats are now an option again to fill pent-up demand. Talk of existing owners lining up to buy new boats is already being discussed.

Dr. Z’s boat will be named Tresna and sail in the Massachusetts fleet in Marion - I have the pleasure of helping him trick out the boat to World Class standards.
"I am excited to buy a J/80", says Dr. Zembowicz, "I looked around for a safe boat to sail in Buzzards Bay with my family and one I could race with a local fleet." This is good news for all, seeing the class continue to grow in North America.

International Marine has set aside space for assembling the new boats and J/Boats says that the next boat available, beyond the 4 just sold, will be this May.

The keel on this boat will be epoxied white, note the class templates laying on the deck used for perfecting the fit and finish.

As a J/80 owner myself, I was able to compare the new boats fit and finish so here are just a few improvements that I witnessed on the new boat; the Teak and Holley sole has been replaced by a composite sole, the IBeam in the boat has a full length aluminum plate on top that extends to the bulkheads for the mast step, the cockpit scuppers are solid tubes thru the transom eliminating any possible leaks into the aft air tank, the tiller is composite, the AG+ spar has a Nav light on top eliminating deck level nav lights and interior wires, the thickness of the deck around the stanchions is increased and gussetted on the hull, cockpit bilge pumps are now standard and the plumbing is cleanly routed thru the step support rather than thru the area under the Barney post, lifelines are continuous thru the pulpit and along with the transom gate have a turnbuckle for tensioning, and the hatch board has plastic retention guide instead of wood - all minor but thoughtful upgrades within the one -design rules.

New J/80s are available through the J/Boat dealer network for $59,900 FOB Bristol, RI !!!