J/35
J/Boats · Rod Johnstone · 1983
Updated
The J/35 is a 10.82 m displacement racing yacht designed by Rod Johnstone and built by J/Boats, first launched in 1983. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 51% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 51% of the boats it races against.
78th of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 61 starts across 9 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
10.82 m
35′ 6″
Beam
3.65 m
Draft
2.11 m
Displacement
4.5 t
Sail area
81 m²
On the podium
Where a J/35 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
51%
of 61 starts by 7 boats
Wins
11%
Read from 61 starts by 7 boats between 2023 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a J/35 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Lliga Creuers2026
Loro Piana Giraglia2026- ORC DH World Championship2026
MIYC Winter Trophy 2026 - Act 52026
Nordseewoche2026
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
53%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
42%
of these races end on the podium
Sharper round the buoys. Short courses reward acceleration and manoeuvring, and that is where this design makes its money.
Who she races against
The designs a J/35 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Comet 45 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Polli) (6 meetings), Swan 47 (6 meetings), Farr 40 (6 meetings), Este 39 (6 meetings), Elan E5 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (6 meetings), Sun Fast 40.3 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Design) (6 meetings), First 40.7 (6 meetings), First 31.7 (6 meetings), Bolt 37 (6 meetings), Solaris 55 (6 meetings), Dufour 455 (6 meetings), First 36 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (6 meetings), Azuree 46 (6 meetings), Salona 37 (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the J/35 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.47
36°
Beam reach
8.34
90°
Broad reach
9.34
135°
Downwind VMG
7.91
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
This one is at home going to windward. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is upwind in the light stuff, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind in a working breeze, giving away time it never gets back.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a J/35
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.79 | 5.04 | 5.36 | 5.47 |
| 52° | 5.72 | 7.00 | 7.27 | 7.40 |
| 60° | 5.99 | 7.13 | 7.43 | 7.61 |
| 75° | 6.15 | 7.24 | 7.67 | 7.97 |
| 90° | 6.01 | 7.23 | 7.79 | 8.34 |
| 110° | 5.65 | 7.29 | 8.02 | 8.75 |
| 120° | 5.50 | 7.22 | 8.08 | 9.24 |
| 135° | 4.95 | 6.90 | 7.82 | 9.34 |
| 150° | 4.19 | 6.29 | 7.41 | 8.71 |
| Run VMG | 3.62 | 5.46 | 6.73 | 7.91 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 660 kg.
Rigging
J/35 rig and sail dimensions
A J/35 carries 12.65 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.27 m boom, a forestay 14.14 m above the deck and a 5.00 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 42 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 78 to 121 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.