Was it Stupid to Permit In-hauling of the J/70 Jib?
(San Diego, CA)- The debate rages on. A discussion about a simple idea to make J/70s easier to sail takes place below in two articles from the Scuttlebutt newsletter.
Losing Sight of the Magic Formula
https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2025/02/11/losing-sight-of-the-magic-formula/
Scuttlebutt Editor/ Publisher Craig Leweck took on this simple question posed to him by several J/70 sailors based on the context and simple principle of “Keep It Simple Stupid” (KISS). As he explains….
“The growth of the J/70 has been impressive. From 38 teams for its coming out party at 2013 Key West Race Week, this one-design class is now present in almost every corner of the sailing world.
The trailerable 23-footer was a typical J/Boat – a modern design geared for the average sailor. But, with the growth of the J/70 Class came professional sailors who have figured out how to make a J/70 go fast, and this is where the Class lost sight of the “magic formula”.
The more technical a boat becomes the fewer people that can sail it well. Alan Johnstone created an easy-to-sail boat. But, the pros have leveraged the loopholes to make it hard, and that separates the haves and have-nots. Among my concerns is the legality of in-hauling the jib.
This is done with the weather jib sheet pulling the clew inboard, which improves sail shape for different conditions when it’s done right. Jib trim, using both sheets, takes on a third dimension.
In a SAILING WORLD magazine interview, 2024 World Champion Jeremy Wilmot reveals the importance of this advanced exercise:
“I believe the jib trim really sets the mode and what you’re trying to achieve. And, it’s especially critical on a J/70, where you can manipulate the clew position so much. With the in-hauler and the sheet tension and the car position, you can change it so much that it has a big effect on your speed. With just the smallest ease on the in-hauler or the sheet, your power and your “grip” from the leech and the power down in the foot of the jib can change so dramatically. So, we start with the jib and work back from there to the mainsail.”
Winning in the J/70 Class requires an elite pro crew, particularly with trimming. The J/70 would not be noticeably slower if in-hauling was banned, and would make the boat significantly easier to sail across the fleet. I say that’s a good thing. Disagree?
Send your comments to [email protected]
More jib trim details in these tuning guides:
• Doyle Sails: https://www.doylesails.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/J70-Tuning-Guide-1.pdf
• North Sails: https://www.northsails.com/en-us/blogs/north-sails-blog/j70-tuning-guide
• Quantum Sails: https://www.quantumsails.com/QuantumSails/media/ODClassDocuments/J70_TuningGuide_2021.pdf
EDITOR’s NOTE: I sailed the first J/70s on March 12th, 2012 (https://jboats.com/2012-blog/j70-speedster-goes-sailing) on Narragansett Bay and sailed hundreds of races on J/70s ever since. From day one, when the J/70 class rules were being written, I was personally dead-set AGAINST the idea of permitting “in-hauling” of the jib for the very reasons outlined above. In short, the pro-sailors/ pro-crew would have a huge advantage over casual Wednesday night beer-can or weekend warrior club sailors (the vast majority of the J/70 fleet worldwide). The technique of in-hauling requires a lot of strength, technique, and a lot of skill… not exactly a set of criteria attributable to most amateur club sailors young or old, man or woman. Worse, adjusting the windward in-haul sheet continuously on the Harken cam cleat means the 2 crew sitting outboard on the windward rail always have to move their “butt cleats”!!
Here is the second part of Craig Leweck’s J/70 “in-hauler” discussion below.
How Class Rules Impact Participation
https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2025/02/18/how-class-rules-impact-participation/
Scuttlebutt’s Craig Leweck got a strong response to his first article questioning the WISDOM of permitting the practice of in-hauling the jib on a boat that was meant to be “a Laser with a keel”.
It’s a healthy exercise to consider what impacts participation in the sport, and Scuttlebutt found the jib in-haul system on the J/70 Class boat to be an adjustment with marginal benefit that makes the boat harder to sail across the fleet. John Baxter from North Sails adds to the discussion:
“While in-hauling non-overlapping jibs is nothing new, the method of in-hauling on boats like the J/70, J/105, and others is flawed. As a result, the gap in these classes continues to WIDEN as it becomes more and more difficult for good club-level teams to keep up.
Why in-haul on non-overlapping jib boats?
• The jib track is often too far outboard, mostly due to the cabin top arrangement. That creates a wider sheeting angle.
• Each boat has a desirable sheeting angle. And, if needed, tightening the sheeting angle can help. For example, a tighter/closer angle can help power the boat up out of a tack sooner and help point higher into the wind.
The issue is not so much about jib in-hauling, but how it is being done. Due to Class Rules not allowing a proper in-haul system, the weather jib sheet is being used, which is a flawed approach that requires a more skilled and knowledgeable crew.
By using the weather sheet for jib in-hauling, you not only pull the jib clew inboard but also forward. As a result, this makes the jib foot too full. To compensate for this, the jib lead must be further aft than normal, but this can be slow too.
For example, when top crews come out of a tack, the weather sheet is pre-tensioned to the in-haul position before the primary sheet is made (sheeted and cleated). If you miss this step, you come out of the tack on a jib lead that is too far aft for acceleration with a wide-open leech.
Being skilled at adjusting both sheets for jib trim, particularly during a tack, is a big advantage. That is exactly why the higher-skilled crews benefit massively from that technique, and it has become a case of the “rich getting richer” on every tack. While some really good Corinthian teams have mastered this, it requires significant practice and repetition to get the edge.
What I find interesting is several years ago, the J/109 Class modified their Class Rules to allow a proper jib in-haul system to be installed after a few boats came up with a clever way around the Class Rule without adding any hardware. The Class was quick to realize the benefits and made a change to allow a proper jib in-haul system.
This was not an expensive upgrade and the systems are all very similar. The result was better racing, as now all the boats could achieve the desired benefits without needing extremely skilled trimmers. It simplified in-hauling so that it was easy to do, and more importantly, easy for “regular crews” to understand, without having to teach bad habits.
As a result, the competitors were all able to benefit equally from this upgrade, making the boats easier to sail in light and heavy winds which improved overall performance across the fleet.
The “magic formula” that Scuttlebutt referred to is still there in that sailing the same boats the same way against each other is a great experience. However, what gets forgotten is how to keep the competition as equal as possible.
The advantages of jib in-hauling are well known. And, if it’s allowed, any team needs to do it easily. That will tighten the racing up and hopefully make it more compelling for new people to give it a go and encourage others to continue sailing.”