Monday, December 19, 2016

New J/121 Offshore Speedster Update

New J/121 offshore speedster hull plug(Newport, RI)- The shape of offshore speed continues to evolve at the Symmetrix facility in Bristol, Rhode Island.  If you recall, their amazing 5-axis CNC milling machine took just 2.5 days of actual “carving” to produce the sweet lines of the J/121 hull plug to the initial tolerance of 0.1mm (100 microns)!  You can revisit that time-lapse video here.

The next step in the process was coating the hull with fairing epoxy for yet one more pass with the CNC 5-axis head, a finish that is equivalent to #36 grit sandpaper.  The next step was spraying the hull with the black “finish” epoxy; this will get hand-sanded and buffed to #800 mirror-like smoothness.  Then, the hull plug is prepped to make tooling for the boat.  Stay tuned!

The excitement is building for the most innovative 40 footer yet from the J/Design team.  Nearly a dozen enthusiasts have committed to getting their 121 to sail in many of the world’s famous offshore races- Fastnet, RORC 600, Bermuda, Chicago-Mackinac, Transpac, Halifax, Pineapple Cup and so forth.  The concept of “less is more” for crew is resonating with many experienced offshore sailors!  Learn more about the innovative J/121 Offshore Speedster here