We will pass along some more in the next few weeks from SAILING
ANARCHY.com. For this first week in January, we have Sailing
Anarchy.com founder Scot Tempesta taking you on a tour of the J/145
offshore racer cruiser.
As a quick backgrounder, the J/145 was a "follow-on" design to the
famous offshore silver-winning speedster- the J/125. It was created as a
request by J/Boats owners (most of whom started with the world-famous
J/24) to have a "more comfortable" version of the J/125 for their
family, while still having "cruise-ability".
Well, the specification for the J/145 was a bit O.T.T. (yes, over the
top). Like the J/125, it was constructed of a combination of foam core
and balsa core with a combination of carbon fiber layers, vacuum-infused
in triple layers (outer skin, core, inner skin). That construction
specification made for a robust, strong, lightweight, amazingly quick
offshore racer/cruiser.
For those who have sailed J/145s, it's an "eye-opening" experience.
No one expects what looks like a family cockpit, wheel-steered, cabin
with opening ports, sailboat to have a PHRF rating of -15! Seriously?
Another shocker is the interior... a REAL navigation station, a REAL
J-shaped galley (offshore friendly), and enough room to sail an offshore
crew in seriously comfortable Ritz-Carlton/ Peninsula Hotel comfort
fashion (at least by most offshore racer standards!).
Enjoy this YouTube video tour of a nicely appointed J/145 here by Scot Tempesta from Sailing Anarchy.