History of the J/24

The J/24 is the world’s most popular one-design keelboats. It all started in 1975 when amateur boat designer Rod Johnstone was tinkering around in the garage at the family’s Stonington, Connecticut, home after having an idea for a small racing sailboat that was both race-worthy and family-friendly.  The J/24 debuted with Hull #1 Ragtime. He turned a lot of heads as he and his family dominated every racecourse they came across. In 1977, Johnstone teamed up with Everett Pearson to build J/24s and as they say, the rest is history. Today, there are more than 50,000 people sailing 5,300 boats in 150 fleets in 40 countries. 

More about the J/24 overall history can be found at J/Boats.