J/40
J/Boats · Rod Johnstone · 1989
Updated
The J/40 is a 12.46 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Rod Johnstone and built by J/Boats, first launched in 1989. It races in Class B.
Length
12.46 m
40′ 11″
Beam
3.86 m
Draft
2.19 m
Displacement
7.7 t
Sail area
98 m²
On the podium
Where a J/40 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
22%
of 23 starts by 1 boat
Wins
9%
Read from 23 starts by 1 boat between 2025 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a J/40 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Edison Next Italian Offshore Sailing Championship - Campionato Italiano Assoluto d’Altura2026- ORC World Championship2026
- Pasquavela - Inshore2026
- 70a Regata dei Tre Golfi2025
- Pasquavela - Inshore2025
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
7%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 9 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a J/40 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Grand Soleil 40 (Polli) (6 meetings), First 36 (6 meetings), Comet 51 (6 meetings), First 31.7 (4 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (4 meetings), X-35 (3 meetings), Sun Fast 3200 (3 meetings), First 30 (Kouyoumdjian) (3 meetings), Elan E4 (3 meetings), Bonin 31 (3 meetings), X-302 (3 meetings), Sun Odyssey 45.2 (3 meetings), Dufour 34 (1 meeting), Bavaria 36 (1 meeting), IMX 45 (1 meeting), Hanse 510 (1 meeting), First 45 (Briand) (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (1 meeting), Solaris 44 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the J/40 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
5.82
38°
Beam reach
9.32
90°
Broad reach
11.19
135°
Downwind VMG
8.63
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 design earns its keep off the wind. A course with long free legs suits it better than a windward-leeward.
Where it gains
Its best ground is cracked off when it blows, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a J/40
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.81 | 5.24 | 5.65 | 5.82 |
| 52° | 5.84 | 7.58 | 7.99 | 8.17 |
| 60° | 6.18 | 7.80 | 8.21 | 8.42 |
| 75° | 6.42 | 7.95 | 8.51 | 8.88 |
| 90° | 6.56 | 8.16 | 8.65 | 9.32 |
| 110° | 6.55 | 8.35 | 9.07 | 10.05 |
| 120° | 6.41 | 8.33 | 9.33 | 10.50 |
| 135° | 5.73 | 7.99 | 9.08 | 11.19 |
| 150° | 4.81 | 7.15 | 8.43 | 9.96 |
| Run VMG | 4.16 | 6.20 | 7.37 | 8.63 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 770 kg.
Rigging
J/40 rig and sail dimensions
A J/40 carries 16.20 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.60 m boom, a forestay 16.76 m above the deck and a 5.85 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 101 to 183 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.