(Newport, RI and Cascade Locks, Oregon)- New J/70 owners include, amongst others, Tim Healy from Quantum Sails.
He and his sons recently went for a daysail on their J/70 in Newport,
RI this past week. As Tim passed along, "Timmy and Nathaniel Healy were
having a cool time on a hot August day, they loved this boat. We're
looking forward to having them as part of our regular crew soon! Key
West here we come! :)" Meanwhile, some other J/70 sailors were enjoying their maiden voyages on the far side of America, in the northwest corner to be more specific. "Seabird" (Scott Grealish) as his "nom de plume" goes on SA had this to say- "We have sailed hull#18 in Cascade Locks, OR (the Gorge) the past few weeks. I've sailed the boat with my kids and the local pros and my view is that the boat is very versatile. I really could sail it alone with my 11 year old daughter in 10-15kn, and the next night go out with guys in more breeze and have fun both nights.
Re: lee helm. I spoke with Dan kaseler (quantum Seattle) who was on the boat at WIRW and confirmed they went 1" longer than their forestay to get helm in light air at WIRW. We found (limited experience on the boat) that in the breeze we like 1" shorter than the "designed" length. This is a new boat and I'm sure some experience in one design will sort this out soon. Definitely feels closer to my Laser than my old J80 on the helm at any length :)
It's really a nicely built boat that's pretty quick and fun, yet less of a handful than a Melges 24 ( which is a good thing for the target audience, myself included). Resale value will be good. Casual daysailing is possible. My kids actually think the interior is great. My wife is not reluctant to sail the boat. I think they are going to sell these to a wide range of sailors and develop a nice class long term. Lots to like here."
