I remember when after about 10 years of sailing the Whistler 32, I was growing frustrated with the performance of that boat.
Yes it sailed "nicely" and it was well mannered but it left a lot to be desired in terms of getting to windward. I remember stopping in for a visit to Chuck Paine's office and asking him what I could do about making it better...he told me that in order to improve performance I'd need a different boat! I was beginning to think that if we had to motor everywhere we wanted to go that we might as well get a powerboat of some kind...

At the time J Boats advertising revolved around the idea that it could be faster (and thus more fun) to sail a good boat to weather than motor to weather...something I thought was ridiculous.

We were on our way home from about 6 weeks of cruising, motoring into a short choppy sea with the mainsail just up to steady us when I noticed a Sabre passing us at good speed. I looked at Dorsey and said something like "they have to be running their engine...". She pointed to the transom and said "no exhaust!" and I began to understand...

We had a deal on the Whistler and a deposit on our Sabre at the Conclusion of the Newport boat show a few weeks later.

If I were in the market for an inexpensive boat to cruise today you can bet I'd be looking at older J's! I could certainly live with the interior and I'd love the performance! It all makes sense to me!