New Boat: Hargrave 76

Following Doctor’s Orders

Ana C ushers in an era of modern

glamour for flush deck motoryachts

“I just wanted a fast boat for crusing that would take me and my family and friends to the islands where we can anchor and to listen to music, have a party and enjoy each other’s company,” says Dr. Armando Muñoz, who recently took delivery of Ana C, his new custom 76-foot Hargrave motoryacht. A resident of Puerto Rico, he had experienced cruising aboard a Hargrave yacht first hand with a close friend who owns a 97-footer named La Vida. When Dr. Muñoz decided to retire and spend more time cruising, he also decided he would need a bigger boat than the 55-foot Italian cruiser he currently owned.
“When we first met Dr. Muñoz, we thought he would probably build a 100 footer,” recalled Hargrave President Mike Joyce. “As he explained his vision that he wanted to operate his new boat on a smaller scale with less crew, and talked to us about the economy and where he thought the world was going to be in another couple of years, it was obvious he had a better vision of where our country was headed than we did.
“As I look at his boat today, and recall what he told me back then, I can see now that his seventy-six-foot yacht may in fact be our new hundred-footer of the future,” added Mike. “His boat was designed for family boating in the Caribbean and will frequently sail with as many as 10 people aboard plus crew, and yet there is room for people to spread out and move around in comfort.”
Comfort is only half of the equation. Ana C has a very contemporary upmarket interior with numerous pieces of loose furniture in the saloon such as the Italian-style leather seating arrangement. Spare cabinetry and stonework styled without bullnoses by Shelley DiCondina let the quality of the materials and the architecture make the statement.

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Mike notes that he was surprised to see how involved his client was in the interior design aspect of his boat. “By the time we were done, I was convinced his other calling in life would have been as an architect or Interior designer. He had obviously built things before and had a real eye for detail. He was able to recall features that he saw on other boats off the top of his head and to easily articulate his vision to Shelley’s design team so they could draft it up on paper for his review. While his wife, Lourdes, certainly had a lot to say about the boat and the interior design, she really saw this as his dream and welcomed his advice and suggestions.”

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New Boat: J/95

A Sloop for

Skinny Waters

J Boats debuts a balanced

boat with a lifting keel

By Chuck Husick

Florida has lots of water, unfortunately much of it is thin, severely limiting where you can sail, especially in performance boats. The introduction of the new J/95 sloop blows away the thin water problem. With a board-up draft of only three feet, we sailed the new J/95 virtually anywhere we wished in Sarasota Bay, happily ignoring almost all of the navigation marks that govern our usual sailing in these waters. The performance of the J/95 is what you expect from a “J” boat, exceptional handling and speed, beautiful design and every indication of quality construction.
Accompanied by Craig Crossely and Tom McFadden of dealer CrossCurrent Marine, plus Craig’s wife and teen-age children, our goal was to assess how the boat performed in the typically light air conditions often present on Florida’s west coast.
We started the Yanmar Sail Drive and backed out of the slip, testing the boat’s behavior under power with 360 degree turns in reverse and moving aft in a straight line. Engine noise was unobtrusive, even when we ran the engine up to over 3000 rpm.
Operation under power aside, the purpose in owning any J boat is to SAIL and that’s precisely what the J/95 does to perfection. Virtually any boat can sail well in a decent breeze, this one will make you grin from ear-to-ear when chasing cat’s paws on the water.

In the slings (above), you can see the bronze centerboard, saildrive and tips of the twin rudders. As Tom McFadden ties up the main sheet (bellow), the handy shape of the Hall Spars EZV boom is readily apparent.

As the breeze increased, we sailed north, with 7 to 8 knot SOG readings on the Lowrance HDS  chartplotter. We found no need to drop the boat’s 200-pound bronze centerboard, the boat sailed as close to the wind as we could wish for and in the conditions in which we were sailing, we were making virtually no leeway.
The effort needed to manage J/95’s 44-inch diameter wheel was light enough to make you think the boat has power steering. The wisdom of using twin rudders was immediately apparent as the boat heeled in stronger puffs of wind. Helm effectiveness was constant regardless of angle of heel. The boat was immediately responsive; it did what was asked, quickly and with precision.

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Our Hull #1 was equipped with virtually every option, including a carbon fiber Hall Spars mast and retractable bow sprit. The Sailtec hydraulic backstay handles rig adjustment. The custom carbon fiber Hall EZV Boom with Quickvang made setting and recovering the mainsail as easy as if the boat were equipped with lazyjacks. Drop the sail and the trough shape of the boom gathers the sail so the captive cover can be zipped back in place.
The accommodation provides port and starboard settee berths in the main cabin. The forward compartment houses a V-berth, a washbasin and a manually operated head. The galley is more than adequate for weekends afloat with AC power provided from a DC/AC inverter and dual AGM batteries.
J boats are not inexpensive. Fully equipped, the list price of the J/95 is close to $200,000. That’s a lot of money for a 31-foot boat, but a real bargain in terms of pleasure per dollar invested, especially when you take into account the opportunities provided by a boat that can sail virtually anywhere.

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