in love with the J/42 - but i'd like some of the forums wisdom and advice

[Sterling]

i love the j/42's looks and performance. is there any reason there get so little press with the blue-water crowd? i know they're typically considered moderate displacement, but how does their construction quality and general "toughness" compare to its competitors?

can anyone suggest any alternatives? looking for something around 40' for a multi-year circumnavigation. there will be two on board (myself + girlfriend) and i'd like something quick, tough-enough for the occasional grounding and foul weather, and with adaquet space for normal storage and provisioning plus room for two sets of scuba gear.

thanks in advance.

[Paul L]

You might try asking on the Yahoo group:
j4x-owners-group@yahoogroups.com

Paul L

[David M]

There is no doubt about the quality of J Boats. I used to teach on and race J-24's. I have never seen any model J-Boat that I would consider to be a poor design or of poor construction. I think they are a fine foundation to start from so long as they have been maintained. As a long distance cruiser, I have no idea how good they are. A good cruiser does not necessarily mean a boat that is heavy. Medium displacement and light displacement boats can be excellent cruisers as well. Its all in the design.

They are indeed nice looking boats....



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[Pblais]

is there any reason there get so little press with the blue-water crowd?

Not really. They are tough enough for the most part and the 42 has lots of tanks for water and fuel with a decent engine and accommodations. As for being quick, they are a fast boat but after you load 4 tons of stuff on them they slow down more than a bit. It really takes about 4 tons to be comfortable without going overboard (fuel and water count). So if the goal is to be fast then the requirement is you need more water line and more displacement. If you are in less of a hurry a lot of options open up.

In your price range you could look at a lot of other boats and it may be worthwhile to do so. Just to get the ideas about all the features for cruising. You can nose around here and look at all the boat threads about various boats too. 42 ft is a common size as far as manageability goes.

Storing the Scuba gear means you sort of have a problem so you really might want to look at bigger boats not so much for length but volume. Friends that have been out 7 years have about 26,000 lbs displacement Nordic 44 and that boat is packed solid. That is "normal storage". They carry two sets of scuba gear too. They like to sleep in the V berth at anchor but they travel sleeping in the aft cabin. Takes them 2 days to move the stuff around to get in and out of sail mode. Coming to terms with all the stuff is perhaps the bigger task you have at hand. After that it's just a boat to stuff it into.

While the "blue water" boats have a lot of quality aspects to them they also have a lot of pickup truck qualities too. Many boats can take the trip but not with all the stuff loaded on it. It makes the dynamic loads soar out of sight.

[Sterling]

Pblais -

thanks for the reply.

I understand your comments about both the volume, and the weight of all the "junk". A few have suggested the J/133. while its only a foot longer, the plumb bow and stern configuration leave it with much more space, and a walk-in locker in the two cabin configuration. any thoughts on that boat?

[Fishspearit]

My wife and I carried two sets of scuba gear including tanks as well as extra sets of snorkel gear on our 30', 9.5' beam sailboat for 7 years of cruising. I think you'll be able to squeeze it into a J42

[Joli]

For cruising I think the 42 is a much better boat. Some of the sprit boats have had structural issues (ie wiggling keels, aka sumps failing). You should have plenty of room in a 42, if there are only two of you cruising your payload all up should not be more then 6,000 pounds.

Goodl luck,

Joli

[Sterling]

Joli-

Damn shame to hear that about the 133. Oh well, i like the lines of the 42 better anyhow

another thing - why are double heads so prevalent? it seems that most any cruiser (even with 2 couples on board) would turn one of the heads into storage. in my lifetime of sailing i've *never* been in a situation where both heads were simultaneously occupied - at least with any urgency, anyhow. (my entire two-head experience has been on a catalina 470, where, quite honestly i think they installed the second head only because they couldn't figure out what else to do with the space - after all, they already had a waster/dryer!)

[Rollo]

The 42 is the old 40 with a stretch and new keel shape. They are good sailing boats as were the 40. They are not a very roomy boat for the length and the smaller hull volume will probably be more affected by the wieght of the cruising gear you will want to carry.