{"id":82213,"date":"2025-06-24T12:19:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T16:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=82213"},"modified":"2025-06-26T11:34:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T15:34:50","slug":"simple-pleasures-with-the-j-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/sailboats\/simple-pleasures-with-the-j-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Pleasures With the J\/7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0159-1-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"J\/7 being tested\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0159-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0159-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0159-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0159-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0159-1.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Dropped straight into the easy-sailing category, the J\/7 is a 23-foot daysailer that sailing programs and yacht clubs will appreciate: It\u2019s simple, lively and stable, with plenty of room.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>The first nominee on the list for <em>Sailing World<\/em>\u2019s Boat of the Year judging team in February is the J\/7, which J Boats unveiled in the dead of Rhode Island\u2019s winter in December 2024, ice on deck and all. Here in St. Petersburg, basking in its slip at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skybeach-resort.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SkyBeach Resort<\/a>, it looks better already. On board to brief us is Chris Tait, a dealer from the Northeast who\u2019s handling the J\/7\u2019s Florida roadshow. He\u2019s sold a lot of J Boats over the years, but this one, he tells us, has everyone\u2019s attention. Small is the new big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/\/5fxX-pr5_lw' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis boat really fills a void in the marketplace for a small keelboat daysailer,\u201d Tait says. \u201cIt\u2019s a simple family boat, a first-time boat, a club boat, a program boat. It ticks a lot of boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe id=\"x8aa2rgac1\" src=\"https:\/\/Sailingworld.dragonforms.com\/x8aa2rgac1\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:165px;border:none;overflow:hidden;\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s amazing how many people the boat\u2019s cockpit swallows and still sails impeccably, he adds, drawing our attention to 8 feet of comfortable seating. There are even seats aft of the \u00adend-boom mainsheet bridle. The J\/7 is indeed spacious, and the \u00adcoamings are angled outboard, which makes them comfortable when sitting inboard or on the rail for a better view.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou want to hike so bad, but you don\u2019t have to,\u201d Tait says. \u201cWe\u2019re all used to \u00adhiking on a boat, but this is just as comfortable sitting back, chilling out, and enjoying the sail.\u201d<br>US yacht clubs are increasingly turning to club-owned fleets to attract and retain members; the J\/7, Tait says, encompasses all of what they are asking for: a simple and durable boat with low offseason maintenance. Belowdecks on the J\/7 is glossy white gelcoat, a 6-foot V-berth, and 5-foot settees. There\u2019s no battery, electronics or facilities. There\u2019s not a single piece of wood on the boat or a \u00adredundant piece of hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the jib, 2-to-1 sheets lead to Harken SnubAir winches. The mainsheet cascades to a swivel cleat on a post, and the Dyneema backstay splits and snap-shackles to the cockpit walls. The rig is a deck-stepped (hinged) aluminum spar on a compression post. There\u2019s a ring on the mast for symmetric sailing and an optional bolt-on prod for an asymmetric spinnaker. There are no downwind sails for our demo, but the judges sure wish they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keeping it simple also keeps the price down for club-flee\u00ad\u00ad\u00adt purchases, and to that end, we\u2019re told that the China-built and US-assembled base-boat price is just shy of $55,000, excluding sails. The full sail-away package brings it to $70,000 with a trailer (there\u2019s a single lift point for hoists, and the boat weighs 2,300 pounds).<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0026-1-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"J\/7 deck\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0026-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0026-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0026-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0026-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0026-1.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The judges appreciated the simplicity and spaciousness of the J\/7 for club and harbor racing. The only improvement from their notes would be to add a fairlead at the winches to prevent overrides.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>Shallow draft was high on the priority list for designer Al Johnstone, and the result is a 3.8-foot trapezoidal-shaped bulb keel, ideal for skinny coastal waters and inland freshwater playgrounds. We\u2019re happy to have it when sailing through Tampa Bay\u2019s shifty shoals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the boat brief complete, the judges exit the marina under mainsail and into a 10-knot northerly that lays the water board flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BOTY judges Erik Shampain and Mike Ingham promptly have it gliding upwind, wishing they had another J\/7 to line up against. It\u2019s in their nature to tweak, so they fidget with leads and controls and their weight placement, and soon settle in and relax. There\u2019s not much they can do but sit back and enjoy the sail. That is the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before turning downwind, Ingham spins the boat through a mock 720 penalty turn, and the boat circles its length. The boat\u2019s straight and deep \u00adrudder blade glides it through the turns, even without any kinetic assist, confirming that it would be a responsive boat for \u00adclub-level team- and match-racing skirmishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0546-2-1-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"J\/7 on the water\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0546-2-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0546-2-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0546-2-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0546-2-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BOTY2025_J7-0546-2-1.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">The J\/7\u2019s quoted price, as tested, is $58,000. One-design class rules will encourage \u201cfun, low-key, non-spinnaker racing.\u201d<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>Once they turn downwind, Shampain instinctively moves forward and crouches at the shrouds to wing the jib, wishing instead he had a spinnaker sheet in hand. Still, the boat tracks nicely dead-downwind with a slight weather heel, responding to subtle weight movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI really like the idea of a short sprit and a furling \u00adspinnaker,\u201d Shampain says with a grin after a few minutes of fighting the jib clew. \u201cOr a jib boom. But, \u00addefinitely, a spinnaker is a must.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ingham, who has spent more time on the helm, notes after sailing that the boat \u201chas really nice stability and steers really well, even from a dead-stop. There\u2019s always flow on the rudder, so I can see how this would be a really fun club racing boat. It\u2019s pretty darn simple.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The beauty of the new J\/7 keelboat is the sophistication hidden behind its simplicity and versatility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":82216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Dave Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"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":true,"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":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","alternate_title_newsletter":"","alternate_content_newsletter":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[160],"tags":[3001,173,3004,2992,164],"class_list":["post-82213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sailboats","tag-2026-boat-of-the-year","tag-boat-of-the-year","tag-j-7","tag-print-spring-2025","tag-sailboats"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82213","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\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}