THE SHORTHANDED CREW BY J COMPOSITES

The J Composites yard is showcasing a new craft: the J/11S, a boat designed for shorthanded sailing.

It's not a revolution for J Composites, the 'racer-cruiser' range from the renowned Vendée-based boat builder, which has always geared itself around simple to use boats for two or three sailors.

However, the company managed by Didier Le Moal has decided to take things a step further and adapt to evolutions in demand. As such, it is offering a brand new model that is totally dedicated to shorthanded sailing.

"We based our ideas on hull designs, which we know to perform well on every point of sail and in all the different conditions," states Didier Le Moal. "At that point, all we had to do was design a fully dedicated deck layout so we adopted the solution of a tiller rather than a wheel on this boat, with the notable addition of two rudders so as to simplify the handling for one or two people. Historically, shorthanded sailing has formed part of J Composites' DNA since the Anglo-Saxons regularly ask us to adapt our boats in this way. However, we wanted to take this a step further by offering a boat like the J/11S for the very first time."

It's no secret. An increasing numbers of sailors are keen to sail without requiring bloated crews. Once again J Composites is responding to growing demand. The J/11S is available for sea trials now. Meantime, J Composites is busying itself with the construction of the J/112E to replace the J/109. The first J/112E will be showcased at the autumn boat shows.