General Information

The International FJ is a doublehanded, ISAF International Class, trapeze planing dinghy. It is small, light and fast, suitable for virtually any combination of skipper and crew, from couples, to parent/child teams, and siblings.

The FJ is very a competitive one-design boat, meeting strict Class Rules. The fact that the FJ is a one-design means that the boats are raced boat for boat, without handicapping. The light weight of the boat, combined with the trapeze as a hiking aid, means that a small crew can sail the FJ very effectively, and the relatively small size of the spinnaker is ideally suited to less-experienced or younger crews as well.

Many one-designs are "builder's classes", meaning that the builder controls the boat, and has the sole right to build and sell that particular Class. This means the boats usually qualify to be legal in the Class simply by being made by that builder. In fact, as the tooling or molds wear out, later hulls are different than the originals-- are they faster, or slower?? Who knows? It is a less precise way to ensure compliance with Class Rules.

The International FJ, on the other hand, can be built by any yard, or even a private builder. Each boat is "Measured" after building, thus ensuring boats built closer to the original design. The boats are not "FJs" until this Measurement process is complete.

International FJs are also an "International Class"; this is a prestigious designation given to sailing classes that are sailed around the World, in a minimum of six countries on three continents. The International FJ has active racing organizations in- Europe- Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Asia- Japan, as well as in North America, the United States. The international nature of the Class means that you can compete at any level-- local, Regional, National, Continental, or the bi-annual World Championship.

FJ Features:

• Easy to sail in a wide variety of wind and sea conditions.
• Easy to own- light for trailering, easy maintenance
• Fast and exiting to sail- planes in about 12 knots of wind.
• Inexpensive- used race-ready FJs are about $2500, new ones are about $5300.
• Has a full complement of rigging- main, jib, and spinnaker- the crew always has something to do!!
• Excellent design to learn the technical aspects of sailing- the wide range of rigging options allow the FJ to be tuned for any wind condition.
• Very competitive racing class- Local, Regional, National and World Championship Regattas available.
• Tactical- teaches the important tactical and strategic aspects of racing.
• A good daysailor- while designed for two-handed racing, the FJ can carry up to 600 lbs./ 4 people and still perform well.