J/34
Description
The J/34 (1983–1987) is a rare and highly regarded 34-footer that J/Boats built as a pure, no-compromise IOR racer with just enough cruising concessions to make it a fast offshore weapon. At 34′ LOA (28′6″ LWL), 9,900 lb displacement, and 4,600 lb lead ballast in a deep 6′3″ fin (or very rare 5′ shoal), it carries 650 sq ft upwind on a towering fractional rig (SA/D ~27, D/L ~155)—numbers that dominated the ¾-ton IOR level in the mid-1980s, with multiple North American and World Championship titles to its credit. The cockpit is huge and race-optimized, yet below is a surprisingly usable interior: full galley, enclosed head, nav station, and sleeping for six. Built like a tank by Tillotson-Pearson, it sails light, fast, and balanced, regularly surfing into the mid-teens under spinnaker and still highly competitive in PHRF (typically 84–96). Only 43 hulls were ever produced, making the J/34 one of the scarcest and most sought-after vintage J/Boats
Construction Details
| Designer | Rod Johnstone |
|---|---|
| Builder | Tillotson-Pearson |
| Length | 34.000 ft |
| LOA | 34.000 ft |
| LWL | 26.000 ft |
| Beam | 11.200 ft |
| Displacement | 8100 lb |
| Max Draft | 6.200 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 44 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 12.60 ft |
| p | 38 ft |
| e | 12 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 ft | 12.60 ft | 38 ft | 12 ft | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
J/34 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 38 ft - (11582 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 12 ft - (3658 mm) |
| Leech | * 39.21 ft - (11951 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 39.45 ft - (12024 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 5.25 in - (133 mm) |
| Area | * 235.05 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
J/34 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 36.61 ft - (11159 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 16.41 ft - (5002 mm) |
| Leech | * 32.34 ft - (9857 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 14.49 ft - (4417 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | * 265.28 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
J/34 - GENOA
| Luff | * 43.48 ft - (13253 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 20.11 ft - (6130 mm) |
| Leech | * 41.2 ft - (12558 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 18.9 ft - (5761 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | * 410.88 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
J/34 - SPINNAKER
| Stays | * 43.48 ft - (13253 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | * 22.68 ft - (6913 mm) |
| Foot | * 22.68 ft - (6913 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 838 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.