J/80
J/Boats · Rod Johnstone · 1995
Updated
The J/80 is a 8.03 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Rod Johnstone and built by J/Boats, first launched in 1995. It races in Sportboat. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 74% 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 74% of the boats it races against.
8th of 28 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 114 starts across 36 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
8.03 m
26′ 4″
Beam
2.49 m
Draft
1.50 m
Displacement
1.4 t
Sail area
36 m²
On the podium
Where a J/80 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
24%
of 114 starts by 23 boats
Wins
8%
Read from 114 starts by 23 boats between 2014 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a J/80 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
XXX Lliga Social CMPO2026
Bundefjorden Onsdagsseilaser2026- XXIX Lliga Social CMPO2025
"Κυπελλο Χριστουγεννων"2025- "Αγ. Νικολαου 2025"2025
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
15%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
43%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a J/80 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
First 27.7 (7 meetings), Jv 44 (7 meetings), Cheese 6.5 (6 meetings), First Class 7.5 (6 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the J/80 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
4.64
38°
Beam reach
7.78
90°
Broad reach
11.04
135°
Downwind VMG
8.73
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.
It needs pressure to show what it can do. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short upwind when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that will lift and run given enough breeze.
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 2.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a J/80
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.23 | 4.37 | 4.62 | 4.64 |
| 52° | 4.92 | 6.19 | 6.44 | 6.53 |
| 60° | 5.18 | 6.35 | 6.63 | 6.77 |
| 75° | 5.34 | 6.49 | 6.94 | 7.21 |
| 90° | 5.50 | 6.54 | 7.15 | 7.78 |
| 110° | 5.67 | 6.96 | 7.61 | 8.59 |
| 120° | 5.55 | 7.02 | 8.03 | 9.40 |
| 135° | 5.03 | 6.73 | 8.01 | 11.04 |
| 150° | 4.27 | 6.14 | 7.22 | 10.08 |
| Run VMG | 3.69 | 5.32 | 6.26 | 8.73 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 350 kg.
Rigging
J/80 rig and sail dimensions
A J/80 carries 9.14 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.81 m boom, a forestay 9.56 m above the deck and a 4.80 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 124 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 59 to 69 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.