| J-Boats History |
| The J/30 | J-Boats History | J-Boat Models |
The J-Boats story begins in the garage of Rod Johnstone, the founder of J-Boats and the designer of
many of J-Boats’ most successful sailboats. In the mid-1970’s, Rod Johnstone was a hobbyist boat
builder in Stonington, CT. With his sons, he built a few small racing sailboats in his garage. The
realities of family life and the need to pay the bills meant that Rod was unable to pursue a dream of full
time yacht designing. However, the first real steps towards the realization of that dream began in 1974,
when Rod sat down to design a 24 foot sloop that would have a huge impact on the sport of sailboat
racing just a few years later.
Ragtime: The J/24 Prototype
“The design objective was clear: to create the largest, fastest boat we could build in the confines of our
garage.” (J/Boats: Sailing to Success, Anthony Dalton)
Like the Silicon Valley tycoons to follow a couple decades later, Rod Johnstone’s meteoric career would
start humbly in his garage. In fact, the garage itself would prove to have a significant influence on the
design of the first J-Boat: a J/24 that would eventually be named Ragtime. The garage was 28 feet
deep with 9 ft. wide doors. The boat that would emerge two years later was 24 feet long with an 8 ft. 11
in. beam.
The construction of Ragtime was largely done by Rod and his family; built on a shoestring budget with
the help and generosity of friends. It was a foam-cored fiberglass hull, fin keeled with a fractional rig
and a nearly flush deck. It was launched on a grey Saturday in May 1976. The first race was the
following weekend and it was a success as Ragtime claimed her first bullet in an eventful race: “By the
time we got the lines sorted out, we didn’t get the genoa up until five minutes before the start,” recalls
John Johnsone, Rod’s younger brother. “…We planed at speed down to the next mark at Bartlett’s
Reef. We were the smallest boat in our class and we finished half an hour ahead of all other boats
without setting a spinnaker.” (J/Boats: Sailing to Success, Anthony Dalton)
Ragtime sailed 21 races during that summer, claiming wins in all but two – scoring a second and a
fourth in those. It was an impressive beginning for a family sailed boat built in a garage.
The attention and positive comments the boat garnered inspired Rod to pursue putting the boat into
production. His brother Bob was then the marketing director for the sailboat manufacturer AMF/ Alcort
in nearby Westbury, CT. Rod invited his brother, who had not yet seen the boat, to crew for the next
race. Bob quickly endorsed the idea of turning his brother’s creation into a production One Design
sailboat.
Ragtime raced her last race in October 1976, but her legacy was just gaining momentum. That same
month, Rod contacted Everett Pearson. Everett Pearson, whose career also started in his garage
building dinghies, was the founder of Pearson Yachts and a major figure in fiberglass boatbuilding. It
was his company that took a design by legendary designer Carl Alberg and built the Pearson Triton:
the first major production fiberglass sailboat (and, interestingly, my first sailboat). Both the Triton and
the J/24 are part of just a handful of boats to be inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame.
Everett Pearson recalls the meeting, saying “Rod came to see me and told me about this new 24-foot
sailboat he’d built, which was doing quite well at local races. At that time we were building the Etchells
22, so at first I was rather reluctant to build what appeared to be a competing boat.” (J/Boats: Sailing to
Success, Anthony Dalton) Fortunately, for both the Pearsons and the Johnstones, he overcame his
reluctance and the company, now called Pearson Composites, is still producing J-Boats in its Bristol,
Rhode Island factory.
Everett used Ragtime to make the molds and tooling for J/24 production. The process took its toll on
the home built boat and Ragtime met her fate: an ignoble rendezvous with a chainsaw and a dumpster.
Says Rod: “It made me cry, but using Ragtime to make production molds had destroyed it anyway. The
production J/24’s were built heavier and more durable, with balsa core covered with thicker fiberglass
skins. Also, we did not want the old Ragtime out there sailing when we were trying to promote the J/24
as a strict one-design racing class – all boats completely alike.” (J/Boats: Sailing to Success, Anthony
Dalton)
The first advertisements were published in Soundings magazine as early as November 1976. By the
following January, Rod had the first deposit check in hand. He was in business. The same month, his
brother Bob resigned from AMF/Alcort and the two brothers formed a partnership. In February, J-Boats,
Inc. was launched. Rod contributed the J/24 design and assumed the role of vice president and
treasurer. Bob invested $20,000 to become an equal partner and became the president and marketing
director. Although not a partner in J-Boats, Everett Pearson invested heavily in the young company
and their fast, new boat by contributing the tooling costs and production line.
Sales over the summer of 1977 were slow while J-Boats built a dealer network and marketed their
product. The work paid off when, by the end of the year, the orders began pouring in. In the first year
of production, J-Boats sold nearly 750 boats.
Today, the J/24 enjoys a wildly successful legacy: more than 5300 boats have been built in factories
around the world and there are 150 J/24 class associations in 40 countries. And it all began in a
garage with a door 9 feet wide.
many of J-Boats’ most successful sailboats. In the mid-1970’s, Rod Johnstone was a hobbyist boat
builder in Stonington, CT. With his sons, he built a few small racing sailboats in his garage. The
realities of family life and the need to pay the bills meant that Rod was unable to pursue a dream of full
time yacht designing. However, the first real steps towards the realization of that dream began in 1974,
when Rod sat down to design a 24 foot sloop that would have a huge impact on the sport of sailboat
racing just a few years later.
Ragtime: The J/24 Prototype
“The design objective was clear: to create the largest, fastest boat we could build in the confines of our
garage.” (J/Boats: Sailing to Success, Anthony Dalton)
Like the Silicon Valley tycoons to follow a couple decades later, Rod Johnstone’s meteoric career would
start humbly in his garage. In fact, the garage itself would prove to have a significant influence on the
design of the first J-Boat: a J/24 that would eventually be named Ragtime. The garage was 28 feet
deep with 9 ft. wide doors. The boat that would emerge two years later was 24 feet long with an 8 ft. 11
in. beam.
The construction of Ragtime was largely done by Rod and his family; built on a shoestring budget with
the help and generosity of friends. It was a foam-cored fiberglass hull, fin keeled with a fractional rig
and a nearly flush deck. It was launched on a grey Saturday in May 1976. The first race was the
following weekend and it was a success as Ragtime claimed her first bullet in an eventful race: “By the
time we got the lines sorted out, we didn’t get the genoa up until five minutes before the start,” recalls
John Johnsone, Rod’s younger brother. “…We planed at speed down to the next mark at Bartlett’s
Reef. We were the smallest boat in our class and we finished half an hour ahead of all other boats
without setting a spinnaker.” (J/Boats: Sailing to Success, Anthony Dalton)
Ragtime sailed 21 races during that summer, claiming wins in all but two – scoring a second and a
fourth in those. It was an impressive beginning for a family sailed boat built in a garage.
The attention and positive comments the boat garnered inspired Rod to pursue putting the boat into
production. His brother Bob was then the marketing director for the sailboat manufacturer AMF/ Alcort
in nearby Westbury, CT. Rod invited his brother, who had not yet seen the boat, to crew for the next
race. Bob quickly endorsed the idea of turning his brother’s creation into a production One Design
sailboat.
Ragtime raced her last race in October 1976, but her legacy was just gaining momentum. That same
month, Rod contacted Everett Pearson. Everett Pearson, whose career also started in his garage
building dinghies, was the founder of Pearson Yachts and a major figure in fiberglass boatbuilding. It
was his company that took a design by legendary designer Carl Alberg and built the Pearson Triton:
the first major production fiberglass sailboat (and, interestingly, my first sailboat). Both the Triton and
the J/24 are part of just a handful of boats to be inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame.
Everett Pearson recalls the meeting, saying “Rod came to see me and told me about this new 24-foot
sailboat he’d built, which was doing quite well at local races. At that time we were building the Etchells
22, so at first I was rather reluctant to build what appeared to be a competing boat.” (J/Boats: Sailing to
Success, Anthony Dalton) Fortunately, for both the Pearsons and the Johnstones, he overcame his
reluctance and the company, now called Pearson Composites, is still producing J-Boats in its Bristol,
Rhode Island factory.
Everett used Ragtime to make the molds and tooling for J/24 production. The process took its toll on
the home built boat and Ragtime met her fate: an ignoble rendezvous with a chainsaw and a dumpster.
Says Rod: “It made me cry, but using Ragtime to make production molds had destroyed it anyway. The
production J/24’s were built heavier and more durable, with balsa core covered with thicker fiberglass
skins. Also, we did not want the old Ragtime out there sailing when we were trying to promote the J/24
as a strict one-design racing class – all boats completely alike.” (J/Boats: Sailing to Success, Anthony
Dalton)
The first advertisements were published in Soundings magazine as early as November 1976. By the
following January, Rod had the first deposit check in hand. He was in business. The same month, his
brother Bob resigned from AMF/Alcort and the two brothers formed a partnership. In February, J-Boats,
Inc. was launched. Rod contributed the J/24 design and assumed the role of vice president and
treasurer. Bob invested $20,000 to become an equal partner and became the president and marketing
director. Although not a partner in J-Boats, Everett Pearson invested heavily in the young company
and their fast, new boat by contributing the tooling costs and production line.
Sales over the summer of 1977 were slow while J-Boats built a dealer network and marketed their
product. The work paid off when, by the end of the year, the orders began pouring in. In the first year
of production, J-Boats sold nearly 750 boats.
Today, the J/24 enjoys a wildly successful legacy: more than 5300 boats have been built in factories
around the world and there are 150 J/24 class associations in 40 countries. And it all began in a
garage with a door 9 feet wide.
The J/30
The J/30 was the second boat produce by J-Boats. It is discussed in detail HERE.
The J/30 was the second boat produce by J-Boats. It is discussed in detail HERE.
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