JPK 39, the French sense for performance cruisers

On the pages of the Sailing Newspaper, we have often told you about the JPK shipyard and its boats, but we have done so with regard to the victories these designs garner in international offshore regattas. The JPK shipyard for some time has also been trying to strengthen its purely cruising range, both pure and sport cruising.

JPK 39, the French-style cruise

So we present one of the latest additions to this segment, the JPK 39, winner of the European Yacht of the Year 2022, a cruising boat “in the French style,” that is, with character and many interesting design choices. The project is by Jacques Valer, who has already signed off on the other JPKs, and for the 39 he made some unconventional design decisions. The first interesting choices you notice are in the deck and deckhouse. The deck line is markedly downward towards the stern, serving to make the water drain away quickly if we sail in heavy seas, and at the same time the bulky deckhouse protects the cockpit from spray. The shape of the deckhouse obviously also relates to comfort, since we are talking about a cruising boat, and in particular to the increase in interior volume it generates as well as the brightness that the full-window solution provides.

Valer then played with the shapes of the fairing, and again there was no shortage of ideas. The hull underneath is not completely flat, but has slightly round volumes to be more tolerant of upwind with wave.

The stern edge is pronounced, but it is very high on the water and does not go submerged if the boat does not heel, thus avoiding unnecessary and harmful drag in low wind. The edges also help to increase volume in the rear cabins. So it is a mix of solutions that look at the boat’s sailing capabilities but also create that “plus” of comfort that on a boat that wants to be a cruise must be there.

Otherwise, the JPK 39’s appendages include a high draft T-keel, two rudders, and the boat is presented with a double tiller instead of a wheel. Overall, considering also the good volume of the interior, we are certainly talking about a cruiser but obviously it is a boat that with a few optimizations lends itself without problems to compete in racing even if it will prefer the offshore dimension to the buoys.

Technical specs