The era of One Design is well and truly upon us, and none too soon. With fractured handicap racing resulting in many disenfranchised owners, One Design would seem to be a salvation of sorts. J Boats has of course helped foster this concept into reality, and the J-105 is, on many levels, perhaps one their finest examples of a successful One design boat and fleet.

The J-105 has enjoyed an unpredicted and nearly unparalleled success in terms of acceptance and shear numbers of boats produced and bought. Any time there is momentum with a class like this, we say "right on". Over twenty owners right here in San Diego think that the 105 is indeed right on, so we thought it would be interesting to gather the thoughts of a few of them to find out the who, what, why and where of 105 ownership. Thanks to help from Jeff Brown and Keith Lorence of Sail California San Diego, we compiled these owner's comments. Enjoy.

 


First of all, why did you choose to buy a J-105?

Doug Warner:
Someone wanted to buy our Erickson 38, ( the second coastal cruiser we have had since 1988), so we asked ourselves how we could take advantage of the opportunity to move our sailing in a new direction. Having just completed a PV race and not looking for a "round the world cruise", we decided that club racing would be new and fun. We learned from several sailing friends that one design would provide a better racing education than PHRF - and likely be less expensive. So, we sorted for good one design racers -fun, easy, lower than average on the cost scale - and quickly saw the J105 advantages - you know, why pay $60,000 extra for furnishings you rarely use when you can stay in a hotel in Avalon for a lot less the few times you actually get there.
Sam Merrill:
Class organization, performance, ease of sailing
William Johnson:
Size of boat & crew, one-design, realtively fast and ONE-DESIGN! Also, organization - national and local, and growth - both prior and potential.
Howard Lewis:
Nicest racer/cruiser around. Sprit design. Easy to cruise single-hand. Relatively small race crew. J-Boat is a relatively big company and can stand behind its products.
Dale Byrne:
I had a J120 and wanted a similar boat that was smaller, smaller crew and cheaper to own and maintain.

 


Deck layout...simple


What other boats did you consider?

Doug Warner:
Melges 24, J80,
Sam Merrill:
Olsen 30, melges, and several others
William Johnson:
None, really.
Howard Lewis:
None seriously. No others had the same racer/cruiser balance.
Dale Byrne:
Olson 30

 


Have you owned other J-Boats before?

Doug Warner:
No
Sam Merrill:
No
William Johnson:
No
Howard Lewis:
No
Dale Byrne:
Yes, a new 120

 


Tell us a little about yourself. (Profession, family, sailing experience, etc.)

Doug Warner:
Health plan consultant, wife works at Childrens Hospital Foundation, 2 girls in college/med school, sailed our cruising boats around So Calif., raced with friends, including Transpac 1997, PV Race 1999.
Sam Merrill:
Retired manufacturing co owner/operator, married 2 children 31/17. 3 years extensive sailing experience in the late 70's early 80's, the last 3 years.
William Johnson:
Management-type (human resources), married - no kids, sailing (racing) since 8 or 9 yrs old.
Howard Lewis:
Retired corporate CEO. Engineer. Grown family. Cruised forever. Started racing with the 105.
Dale Byrne:
Software company owner, sailed a hobie cat when I was younger but little experience on larger boat until I bought the 120 in 1998

 


Interior layout


What is your primary use of the boat?

Doug Warner:
OD racing
Sam Merrill:
Racing
William Johnson:
Racing
Howard Lewis:
Racing
Dale Byrne:
Racing

 


How important is the One Design aspect of the boat to you?

Doug Warner:
Big
Sam Merrill:
One design is very important for the J105
William Johnson:
The single most important.
Howard Lewis:
Very.
Dale Byrne:
It's important

 


On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your J-105?

Doug Warner:
8
Sam Merrill:
9
William Johnson:
10+
Howard Lewis:
9
Dale Byrne:
9

 


What are your three favorite features of the boat?

Doug Warner
Easy to race, Stiff and nimble and Cool design
Sam Merrill:
Ease of sailing/handling, Small crew requirement and comfortable to be on.
William Johnson:
Asymetical spinnaker, Non-overlapping jib and Quality of build.
Howard Lewis:
Acceleration, Sprit design and Small crew.
Dale Byrne:
Fun and easy to sail , Asym spin and I like the way it looks.



What are your three least favorite features?

Doug Warner:
Companionway lid chips off end of opening, Stantions and lifelines seem made mediocre quality materials - there is better SS and line available and Do not have a third!!
 Sam Merrill:
Poor sub 8 knot performance and Not competetive in phrf with class sails. I would like to see J boats work at getting a competetive rating for phrf 94/96
William Johnson:
Ice box not built in, Fuel tank problem (shouldn't motor-sail with less than ½ tank) and Placement of spinnaker downhaul (foreguy on an ASO?) stopper - I'm afraid someone is going to break it off.
Howard Lewis:
No Cunningham, Backstay pump handle location. and Traveller mechanism.
Dale Byrne:
No stove/oven (not very important however...), Poor performance in light air (not an issue when racing one design) and Too many good racers are buying them now (just kidding)

 


What do you expect from the 105 One Design organization in San Diego?

Doug Warner:
Keep up the good work promoting the fleet and selling 105s to more racers.
Sam Merrill:
I would like to see a phrf rating for class configuration. 92/94. continue the promotion and fleet building that you have been doing so well. I would like to see more effort outside of SD. Mdr,LA,Long Beach, Newport
William Johnson:
Actually, I'm in Long Beach, but the So. Calif. Fleet is from SB to SD. I expect a fostering of participation, a well thought out series of high-point events up and down the coast, some social (at regattas mostly) and representation to the national organization of our positions on issues.
Howard Lewis:
Nothing
Dale Byrne:
I live in Redondo Beach. Not expecting anything.

 


How seriously do you or will you take racing this boat?

Doug Warner:
Too bad I have to work.
Sam Merrill:
We are pretty serious about racing
William Johnson:
Pretty serious, but as I tell new crew members - I have one rule only and If you can't agree to it, don't come - HAVE FUN!
Howard Lewis:
Very.
Dale Byrne:
We won the first year we raced by showing up to all the races and doing reasonable well. I have decided that I will do this only to the extent that it is fun and doesn't dominate my life. That means I will race less this year than last although the boat will race all the races. I would say that we will not be taking it too seriously, but will be keeping the boat competitive, practicing, etc. It's not a lifestyle for our crew, however. We do it for fun.

 


How important is it to you to do well racing the boat?

Doug Warner:
We have a lot of fun being near the top of the class in results
Sam Merrill:
If we could not do well with the boat we would get another boat.
William Johnson:
It is more important than I let on, but I can't be so driven by it that no one will sail with me (it's happened before).
Howard Lewis:
Very.
Dale Byrne:
It is important that we do the best we can. If we do well, than so be it. In other words, it is not an important part of my life or anyone else on the crew.

 


What will you do to perform better on the racecourse?

Doug Warner:
Fine tune a lot of things, get some tips from experts, now that we have a building year behind us
Sam Merrill:
Continue to practice, work with Sail makers Tuning etc.
William Johnson:
Try to learn something from every race and apply it in all future races. Unfortunately, the second half is often lacking
Howard Lewis:
Practice and race more.
Dale Byrne:
We keep our sails in good condition, we practice a bit, especially by racing PHRF (this year in class sails) on Tues and Thurs everyweek and also racing the PHRF races on weekends in Redondo (no class racing in Santa Monica bay at this point).

 


What brand of sails did you buy, why, and are you happy with your decision?

Doug Warner:
North - love the sharkskin main! Price and experience with North sails previously, good service - although one of the "sails" guys has not shown up for his obligation to sail with us
Sam Merrill:
Ullman, yes they have been supportive of us and the sails seem to be very competetive
William Johnson:
Ullman. I had a choice of North or Ullman from Sail California and thought Ullman had a better J-105 program going. I'm mostly happy, although I going to try a Elliot-Pattison jib this season.
Howard Lewis:
Ullman.
Dale Byrne:
Ullman. Yes, they are Ok.

 


How else are you or will you use your boat?

Doug Warner:
We enjoy just day sailing it with the family around SD
Sam Merrill:
We will do some day/cruise sailing locally
William Johnson:
Occasional PHRF races (I don't know why - I'm a masochist?), pleasure day sails with non-sailing friends, weekends at Catalina (maybe).
Howard Lewis:
Cruising plans never materialized.
Dale Byrne:
Pleasure sailing 1-2 x /month. Going to Catalina 2 x /year.

 


Is your family actively involved?

Doug Warner:
Pam is almost always with me, and our daughters go along when in town. They like taking their friends out on it, as do we.
Sam Merrill:
No
William Johnson:
Not really, except for the pleaseure sail part.
Howard Lewis: My son races.
Dale Byrne:
Yes. My 18 yr old son drives on our crew, my 10 year old goes with us on PHRF races (his Sabot racing conflicts with one design usually) and my daughter goes sailing once in a while on races. My girlfriend likes to sail the boat (she drives well) but doesn't like the competitive racing stuff very much.

 


Do you plan on being an active participant in the 105 fleet, both racing and socially?

Doug Warner:
Racing, yes. Socially, we are more oriented to SDYC and other venues than the J105 fleet.
Sam Merrill:
Yes
William Johnson:
Sure.
Howard Lewis:
Yes, but not very much socially.
Dale Byrne:
Yes

 


Is the social aspect important?

Doug Warner:
No, but nothings against the generally nice J105 owners here in SD
Sam Merrill:
Only a little
William Johnson:
To a degree. It helps to get to know the other owners. As spread out as we are, it is all the more important.
Howard Lewis:
Low level.
Dale Byrne:
Not very much since there aren't any J105's in my local area.

 


Will you eventually move up to a larger boat of similar concept?

Doug Warner:
Doubtful - we think the 105 is just right for us in our current busy lives. Plus, what could be a better fleet to be in right now? 1D35? (ha)
Sam Merrill:
No, another boat that maybe more fun to sail, or other competetive class
William Johnson:
No.
Howard Lewis:
Don’t think so.
Dale Byrne:
Been there done that. No interest in that.

 


Thank you for participating! We greatly appreciate it and we think that information like this is important for helping to understand and foster growth in our sport.

02/02/2001