Innovative Cutting Edge J112 Sails

Construction Upwind Sails

Class sails are made using Carbon and Black Aramid fibres, which strike a nice balance between keeping their shape and delivering solid performance. To make them tougher, a technora X-ply scrim is added along with extra fibre passes on the leech.

Mainsail

The mainsail needs to be tough and adaptable enough to handle up to 35 knots without reefing. Thanks to the fairly stiff carbon mast, we can create a sail with less luff curve and more roach compared to similar-sized sails. The larger roach boosts performance across the board, offering better speed downwind and making it easier to depower the sail and keep rudder balance upwind. We’ve also recently rolled out new fibre layouts to maintain the sail’s aerodynamic shape across the full range of backstay tensions.

Headsails

When class racing, J112 Jibs are set on a furler, which can cause a performance issue known as the end plate effect. This happens when there’s a gap between the foot of the sail and the deck, letting air escape underneath and reducing aerodynamic efficiency. Many J111 headsails lack enough foot round, creating this gap and resulting in a less effective sail.

Ultimate Sails J112 Jibs are designed with enough foot round to keep air flowing over the sail consistently, boosting performance. Studies show that closing the gap between the sail’s foot and the deck can improve aerodynamic efficiency by 5–7%. The difference is noticeable, especially when accelerating out of a tack. Get into a tacking battle with someone using our latest design, and you’ll see who comes out ahead!

The Jibs’ vertical profile is carefully optimized to work efficiently across a wide wind speed range. We’ve tweaked the design to ensure maximum power at lower wind speeds while still allowing the sail to flatten with sheet and halyard tension for top-end performance.

We’ve also added new Fibre layouts with higher fibre content (DPI) to help the sails hold their shape in stronger winds. For the leech of the class Code 3 ORC jib, vertical battens provide reliable and cost-effective support for furled sails.

Asymmetric

Ultimate Sails J112 Class Asymmetrics dominated in 2011, and we’ve made further tweaks to keep our customers leading the pack in 2012. With class rules limiting the J112 to two downwind sails, we’ve designed a Code 2 and Code 4 that work perfectly with the polars we developed last season. In some cases, our customers were hitting speeds 50% faster than the designers’ polars (average downwind speed of 18.51 knots!), thanks to a stable luff that rolls smoothly to windward. This lets the helm push the boat hard downwind.

The sail’s stepped construction, featuring 0.9oz nylon in the high-load luff area, and the maximum twist in the top leech boost acceleration and help the sail plane early—making it an all-around top performer.