J/99
J/Boats · Rod Johnstone · 2019
Updated
The J/99 is a 9.95 m displacement racing yacht designed by Rod Johnstone and built by J/Boats, first launched in 2019. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 84% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 84% of the boats it races against.
26th of 159 in its class.
Updated — First Race Edge for this design. Enough boats of this design have now been measured on the current scale to rank it. It is strongest in light air.
This design has been found in real race results — 197 starts across 42 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
9.95 m
32′ 8″
Beam
3.41 m
Draft
2.00 m
Displacement
3.9 t
Sail area
60 m²
On the podium
Where a J/99 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
20%
of 197 starts by 26 boats
Wins
5%
Read from 197 starts by 26 boats between 2019 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a J/99 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rodos Cup2026
73° Loro Piana Giraglia2026
Sandhamn Open 2026 - Swedish Championship in Offshore Racing (ORCi)2026- Marstrand Big Boat Race2026
- ORC DH World Championship2026
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
18%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
28%
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/99 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the J/99 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
5.32
37°
Beam reach
8.40
90°
Broad reach
10.36
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.
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 cracked off when it blows, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage running deep as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
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 1.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the downwind.
How fast is a J/99
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.46 | 4.78 | 5.20 | 5.32 |
| 52° | 5.27 | 6.79 | 7.21 | 7.36 |
| 60° | 5.54 | 6.95 | 7.39 | 7.60 |
| 75° | 5.76 | 7.10 | 7.62 | 7.99 |
| 90° | 5.91 | 7.31 | 7.78 | 8.40 |
| 110° | 5.99 | 7.53 | 8.27 | 9.22 |
| 120° | 5.86 | 7.49 | 8.44 | 9.82 |
| 135° | 5.27 | 7.17 | 8.17 | 10.36 |
| 150° | 4.44 | 6.52 | 7.57 | 9.01 |
| Run VMG | 3.84 | 5.64 | 6.68 | 7.91 |
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 550 kg.
Rigging
J/99 rig and sail dimensions
A J/99 carries 12.74 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.35 m boom, a forestay 13.15 m above the deck and a 5.11 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 81 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 70 to 119 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.