Double Eights - J BOATS FOR SALE

Purpose-built for the J/88 one-design racing circuit, this sailing yacht is dialed in with a premium sail wardrobe, a proper race-prepped bottom, and a matched trailer—ready for regattas yet refined enough for elegant day sailing. A two-owner boat with exclusive freshwater history, it has been lightly enjoyed by the current owner on Lake Lanier for a single season, with the dedicated race sails never hoisted. Thoughtful upgrades include a tiller pilot and a depthsounder, and the vessel presents exceptionally clean, with the poised manners of a performance sportboat and the polish of a luxury racer-cruiser.

The comprehensive sail inventory blends power and pedigree: a 2018 Quantum Sails Fusion M Class L/M jib with vertical battens (never used); a 2015 Quantum Fusion M Class L/M jib with vertical battens; a 2014 Quantum Fusion M Class heavy jib with roller battens (rarely used); a 2015 Quantum Fusion M Class mainsail; and a 2015 Quantum Class A2 asymmetrical spinnaker. From North Sails, you’ll find a 2014 3Di 760 mainsail with reef, a 2014 3Di 760 medium furling jib with vertical battens, a 2014 A2 AIRX 650 full-size 95 m² spinnaker in red/white/blue, and a 2014 Quantum A3 AIRX 700 heavy 78 m² spinnaker in yellow/black. Protection and presentation are equally considered, with a Quantum charcoal tweed mainsail cover featuring the J/88 logo and a North charcoal tweed jib sock, underscoring the yacht’s meticulous care and turnkey readiness as a regatta-ready keelboat and race boat.

Underneath, the hull is optimized by T&M Marine with a true performance bottom: five coats of Interprotect 2000 and four coats of VC Offshore Baltoplate, professionally wet-sanded and burnished for speed and precision handling. Shore-side logistics are effortless thanks to a 2015 Triad trailer specified for this platform, featuring the deep drop keel box with Lift On/Off package, four-wheel electric brakes, a 2,500 lb front jack with foot, eight hull-support screw jacks lined in marine-grade carpet, six tie-down loops, full LED lighting, a spare tire with mount, and twin rear stabilizing jacks—ideal for travel regattas and streamlined storage.

Factory options add comfort and refinement to this nimble cruiser-racer: opening ports at the aft end of the cabin facing the cockpit for ventilation, the V-berth package with platform, twin cushions, and a swiveling reading light, and a sophisticated two-tone light grey deck. Elegant, fast, and impeccably kept, this J/88 stands out as a polished day sailer and performance one-design racer, marrying sleek luxury with race-winning potential.

Overview

Purpose-built for the J/88 ethos of lightweight strength and effortless speed, this example arrives superbly outfitted and race-ready, with thoughtful cruising touches. The additional equipment suite is comprehensive and intelligently installed: a Fortress lightweight anchor with rode stows neatly in a canvas bag; docklines and fenders are aboard alongside a full complement of safety gear; the rig is optimized with a backstay flicker and an upgraded backstay; dependable communications are ensured by a VHF paired with a masthead antenna; performance instrumentation includes Velocitek ProStart and Velocitek SHIFT, each with its bracket installed; singlehanding and shorthanded sailing are simplified by a Raymarine tiller pilot and a Raymarine depth instrument; comfort and order on deck benefit from lifeline cushions, a dedicated hatch board bag, and a cockpit locker bag; and below, the port settee is fitted with an installed lee cloth for secure passage berths on the windward leg.

The J/88’s construction is a benchmark of modern composite craft: the hull and deck are infusion molded using biaxial and unidirectional E-glass fabrics, with a balsa core in the hull for rugged durability and a Corecell foam core in the deck for low weight. High-density core and additional glass reinforcements are precisely located beneath highly loaded hardware and structural components, while all laminates are engineered and built to the required ISO structural standards. Molded internal bulkheads and liners are gelcoat-finished and securely bonded and/or tabbed to hull and deck. The hull wears a white gelcoat with a single boot stripe and is backed by a 10-year transferable warranty against osmotic hull blistering and a 5-year structural warranty. Beneath the sole, an infused glass-reinforced structural grid integrates longitudinal and transverse keel support beams, and a large cockpit seat storage locker adds practical stowage. An open transom eases access to the water and dock and features a lightweight ORC transom safety ladder. The inward-turning, overlapping hull-to-deck joint is bonded with structural adhesive for high strength. The white gelcoat deck presents molded non-skid on horizontal surfaces and molded foredeck toe-rails to ISO/ORC height. A large self-draining cockpit incorporates molded, secure helmsman footbraces, and the low-VCG keel with lead ballast draws 6.5’, finished smooth with a molded composite fairing for optimal hydrodynamics.

Power and control are equally purposeful. A 14 hp, two-cylinder Yanmar 2YM15 diesel with an 80 amp alternator drives through a Saildrive SD-20 leg to a Flexofold geared two-bladed bronze folding propeller. Engine management is modern and intuitive, with a keyless start/stop panel and a tachometer featuring alarms and an engine hour counter, plus a throttle control with a neutral safety switch. Exhaust is routed aft through a waterlock muffler to the transom, and fuel is supplied from a 12 gal tank. Steering precision comes from a high-aspect, transom-mounted rudder on custom stainless-steel gudgeon hardware, paired with a custom molded composite tiller in a white gelcoat finish and a Spinlock EA 1200 adjustable tiller extension with handle. For safety and simplicity, a cockpit-operated manual bilge pump functions from the helm and is plumbed to a transom fitting.

The electrical system is lean, reliable, and offshore-aware: one AGM Group 27 battery is managed via a 12 V DC On/Off battery switch and distributed through a 12 V DC panel with six circuit breakers. Navigation and steaming lights are LED, wiring is UL-approved, stranded, tinned copper with ABYC color-coding, and the bonding system is built to meet ABYC regulations. Illumination below is well considered, with two swiveling reading lights in the main cabin and two red/white dome lights, while two DC charging plugs keep devices ready. Bilge duties are handled by an automatic electric pump with a panel switch for manual override.

On deck, hardware is robust, lightweight, and exactly where you need it. Low-maintenance stainless grab rails line the cabin house to port and starboard, and the companionway features PVC slider tracks, large gutter drains, a molded seahood, and a sliding cover. An acrylic offshore removable drop board secures with a lockable hasp operable from inside or out. Standing rigging attaches to custom stainless chain plates for shrouds and backstay terminations, and ventilation is aided by an interior flush hatch mounted on the cabin house forward of the mast. Natural light enters through two fixed cabin-side portlights. In the cockpit, two aluminum two-speed 40:1 self-tailing primary winches pair with two aluminum two-speed 30:1 self-tailing secondary winches on the cabin top, served by two 10" Lewmar OneTouch lock-in winch handles. Jib trim is pinpoint accurate thanks to Harken adjustable jib cars and 4:1 in-hauler systems led to port and starboard, while the mainsheet suite features a powerful 6:1 system led to a ratchet block and cam on a centerline swivel base aft of the traveler, plus an 18:1 fine-tune adjuster on a swivel cam forward of the traveler. The traveler itself is fully adjustable with a 4:1 control line and cam cleats to port and starboard. A double-ended backstay adjuster purchase system leads forward to cam cleats on both sides. The sprit launches internally, exiting at the aft face of the cabin house to a cam cleat, and headsails furl on a Harken underdeck system with black foils and a control line led aft on the port side to a cabin-side cam cleat. Asymmetric handling is streamlined with a starboard-side, cabin-side rope clutch for the spinnaker tack line, spinnaker sheet blocks outboard of the primaries on stanchion bases, and aft on the stern rail. Halyards run fair via lead blocks at the mast base, organizers, and double Antal V-Cam rope clutches, one per side. The perimeter is secure with stainless stanchions, twin stainless stern rails at the transom corners, and a custom stainless bow rail set to a 9.5" lower lifeline height, complemented by stainless double lifelines. Mooring is made easy with cleats on the foredeck and at the transom.

Spars and rigging are premium and performance-tuned. The Hall Spars carbon fiber mast carries double swept spreaders, a long masthead crane, and a mainsail luff track; it is deck-stepped on a stainless tabernacle system and finished in satin black with contrasting white bands. The boom, also in satin black with white bands, houses an internal 8:1 outhaul, features mainsheet attachment points, sheaves for outhaul and a single reef, and provisions for a reef cleat and block at the inboard end. Forward, a carbon bowsprit with a tack ferrule fitting is painted black and sealed by a sprit seal system mounted between the bearings. The standing rigging comprises a rod headstay, side rigging in 1 x 19 compacted strand wire with adjustable open-body turnbuckles, and a Dyneema backstay. A complete Hall Spars running rigging package is supplied, together with the Hall Quickvang.

Below decks, the interior is intelligently molded and refreshingly simple to maintain. The main salon liner integrates full-length settee berths with molded backrests, storage access below, and designated areas for a sink forward to port and a hinged utility counter forward to starboard. Comfort is assured by your choice of fabrics for the 3" standard main salon cushions, laid over a teak-and-holly synthetic high-wear cabin sole. Day provisioning is a breeze with an Igloo Cooler, and movement below is aided by a fabricated companionway ladder with teak treads. Forward, a molded V-berth and hull support liner await, with an option for a V-berth platform and cushions. The head compartment is equipped with a Raritan PH-II marine toilet, a holding tank, and a deck pump-out fitting, with convenient bin storage opposite the head. Systems service is cleanly executed behind a molded cockpit support liner surrounding the engine and mechanicals, with the engine area foam-insulated for noise and thermal control. All interior hull and deck surfaces carry a low-maintenance painted gelcoat finish, and mast loads are efficiently transferred by a black anodized aluminum compression post tied into the internal hull structure.