{"id":66639,"date":"2018-05-06T08:29:54","date_gmt":"2018-05-06T12:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=66639"},"modified":"2023-05-06T21:45:30","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T01:45:30","slug":"inside-the-classes-j-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/regatta-series\/inside-the-classes-j-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Classes: J\/22"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the local J\/22 class measurer, Jeffrey Todd, of Annapolis, Maryland, knows the boats far more intimately than he may want to admit. Some say he can practically measure one simply by looking at it on its trailer. He\u2019ll honestly tell you there\u2019s not much difference between them, but still, he knows a fast boat when it shows up on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the old TPI built boats there are some good one,\u201d he says. The same is true of those built by Waterline Systems, the last U.S. builder to pull boats from the mold. \u201cThere are no superfast boats, but good boats are spread around.\u201d One major difference between the two builders\u2019 runs, he says, are that the mast steps are different. As a result, headstay length is a key measurement and mast rake is something an owner can experiment with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Introduced in 1983 and now numbering nearly 1,700 boats worldwide, the J\/22 is the type of boat that Todd says one can buy and fix up inexpensively. \u201c[A used boat] could be anywhere from 5 to 20 thousand dollars, depending upon on how well it\u2019s been maintained,\u201d he says. \u201cAll you have to do is check the bulkheads for water damage, and other than that it\u2019s simple boat to get into.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Annapolis <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The designs of J\/22 class sails hasn\u2019t changed much over the years, says Jeffrey Todd, skipper of Hot Toddy. \u201cIt\u2019s really amazing that they try different shapes and cuts and we always up back at the same designs. Not much has changed.\u201d<\/span>\n Paul Todd\/Outsideimages.com<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Technical differences on the water come down to having a good set of sails and the rig tune right. But sometimes, he adds, the differences are substantial: \u201cWe seem to want to have the keel forward these days,\u201d says Todd. \u201cIt\u2019s like the J\/24 in that you are always trying to get the keel forward. The boats don\u2019t have a lot of helm so you create it with rake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Todd bought his first J\/22 in 2004, getting out of the more demanding Melges 24, in advance of the J\/22 World Championship that same year. \u201cWe finished 22nd and they did two fleets. It was always Annapolis-type conditions with current, windshifts, and the wind up and down, but we were very new. It was a lot of fun, a good experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The simplicity of the J\/22 is its greatest appeal, says Todd, but that doesn\u2019t prevent the top guys from extracting the one-percent speed advantage, which ultimately makes a difference around the race track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re simple, yes, but we\u2019re some of the older guys in the fleet and try and share our knowledge. A lot of yacht clubs around the country are buying J\/22s as club boats so we\u2019re losing some of our used boats to the clubs.\u201d It\u2019s harder today, therefore, to find one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

As to his own desire to join the J\/22 ranks, Todd says it was an opportunity to get back to boat that was easier to sail and required fewer crew. \u201cIt\u2019s faster than the Sonar and it handles a bit better,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a great little boat to sail; fun and lively with no engine so we have to sail in and out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Annapolis <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The simplicity of the J\/22 is its greatest appeal, says Todd.<\/span>\n Paul Todd\/Outsideimages.com<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

In terms of boatspeed and success in J\/22 racing, Todd reinforces the importance of rig tune. \u201cA lot of it is mast rake on your particular boat,\u201d he says. There are good tuning guides to start with then it\u2019s a matter of finding the best sailing characteristics of your boat. \u201cRake is the hardest thing to calibrate in, but once it\u2019s set, you don\u2019t have to mess with it that much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a well-traveled class as well, with championships north, south, east, and west, and for Todd, regatta travel has given he and his longtime teammates many a memorable week on the road. His favorite sailing sojourn was a recent class championship in Kingston, Ontario in Canada. \u201cThe wind and waves were fun,\u201d says Todd, \u201cbut so too was finishing third overall, his best finish at a world championship in Buffalo, New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The J\/22 World Championships are in September, with 40 something boats entered months out from the first race. Todd is hopeful it gets up to 75 or so and that would be plenty of competition for the already hypercompetitive team. \u201cIt should be a good event. I\u2019m the measurement coordinator for the event, so I get to make sure the boats are up to snuff and then sail the event myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the local J\/22 class measurer, Jeffrey Todd, of Annapolis, Maryland, knows the boats far more intimately than he may want to admit. Some say he can practically measure one simply by looking at it on its trailer. He\u2019ll honestly tell you there\u2019s not much difference between them, but still, he knows a fast boat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"David Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20180506","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"157","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The J\/22 is ubiquitous to Annapolis, perfect for the drysail lot and the quick sail out to the racecourse.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Inside the Classes: J\/22 %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"A4LWSQ4GSHZABWMD2USQI3QJOA","arc_website_url":"inside-classes-j-22\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[157],"tags":[181,768],"class_list":["post-66639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regatta-series","tag-helly-hansen-sailing-world-regatta-series","tag-inside-the-class"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}