J Class
Considered to be the most beautiful of all the yacht classes, the J Class dates back to the 1930’s.
At that time the yachts were constructed to compete in the America’s Cup, unfortunately WWII scuppered most of them as they were stripped for metal in the war effort leaving many on the scrapheap. Today some of the fleet are original boats whilst others are new builds, built within the same class rules of the originals but with a modern twist.
Courtesy of Burgess Yachts
Hanuman is such a yacht, built in 2009 by Royal Huisman, the famed Dutch shipyard and commissioned by Dr Jim Clark. With an all steel hull and wonderful interiors by Pieter Beeldsnijder, Hanuman is possibly “the” J Class to own – but here at Montbards we are also partial to SVEA with her partially sunken helm and modern interiors.
At around 40m these yachts are big, with long sweeping decks of teak culminating in beautiful needle point tapers. 5000 sq ft of jet black main sail places in excess of 12 tonnes of load whilst the carbon mast can see up to 180tonnes of pressure more than the actual yacht weighs.
But whilst there’s chaos and excitement out on the water racing these stunning pieces of maritime artwork, the interiors are anything but.
Courtesy of Burgess Yachts
Hanuman’s interior is a delight of wood and formality with a design in keeping with the original yachts.
In contrast Svea is a more modern take on the wooden interiors and layouts.
For those with a taste for excitement getting aboard with a team of up to 30 to race head to head against an expanding class is about as good as it gets.
Raced without lifejackets J Classes are all about aesthetics (for safety they are followed by a rib at all times) and owners invest heavily in to the look of the team uniforms as well as these stunning vessels.
Owning a J Class is surely, in our opinion, the pinnacle for any dedicated sailor or lover of sail yachts. Today Hanuman is available via Burgess Yachts and listed at $14.9m
We think this could be the most perfect yacht, a racing yacht with blue water capabilities, exuding elegance in a contemporary yet classical style. If only everything in life could be this perfect.
