What the fleet has seen
The J Boats Tillotson Pearson J/46, as the fleet has seen it
Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.
The J Boats Tillotson Pearson J/46 is a 14.0-meter masthead sloop designed by Rodney S. Johnstone and built by J Boats Tillotson Pearson from 1995 to 2003. With a fin keel, bulb, and spade rudder, the J/46 displaces 10886 kg. Aboard *Sailing Sweet Ruca*, the J/46 has completed extensive passages, including a 1,200-mile journey through the Patagonian fjords and an 1,800-mile transit from American Samoa to the Marshall Islands.1:09 The crew of *Sweet Ruca* performed a significant refit in Puerto Montt, Chile, replacing mainsail battens, upgrading to a 2:1 mainsail halyard, and re-bedding chain plates due to corrosion.10:57 They relocated refrigeration compressors to reduce cabin heat and reconfigured reefing lines to lead all three reefs and the vang to the cockpit.17:50 During a passage from Maine to Nantucket, *Sweet Ruca* maintained 6 to 7 knots in 10 knots of wind and reached 10.6 knots under spinnaker in 14 to 15 knots of breeze.1:41 The crew has experimented with a wing-on-wing configuration using only the jib and staysail for downwind passages in rolly seas, as seen during a three-day transit from Amanu to Tahiti.8:38 Navigating remote atolls like Amanu in the Tuamotus requires careful attention to dense coral bommies and strong currents in narrow passes.11:16 The J/46 has also sailed to Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands, an area affected by radioactive fallout.0:46
