Ballot for J/109 Class Rule Change – Oversized Spinnakers for 2021 NAC

Email Sent to Group: voting

J/109 Class Association

Ballot for 2021 Proposed Spinnaker Class Rule Change

Hello %firstname% %lastname%,

This email is being sent to all J/109 Class voting members.  It contains an electronic ballot to vote on a proposed rules change.  Please do not forward this email to others as it contains a link with your personal ballot. This has proposed changes to the class rules for spinnakers at the 2021 North American Championship announced on the class website that current class members are eligible to vote on

>>> Read below then click this link to cast your vote <<<

Preamble: The proposed rule changes were approved by the Executive Board and forwarded to J/109 Class Members for a vote.

Background: As previously announced, the 2020 North American Championship (“NAC”) in Chicago was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fleet #11 (Great Lakes & Lake Champlain) was awarded the 2021 NAC. The proposed change was previously approved by a class vote for the 2020 North American Championship. Since the 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic, the previously approved 2020 change is proposed for the event to be held in August 2021.

Fleet 11 has traditionally conducted its class racing using “oversized” spinnakers (spinnakers larger than the 108 square meters permitted under the Class Rules). In order to ensure broad participation in the 2021 event, Fleet 11 has requested to use those same “oversized” spinnakers for the North American Championship. The Class officers believe this is a reasonable request, but only with appropriate controls in place that will ensure fair racing.

As such, in accordance with Class Constitution Section 7.2(b), the Executive Board voted on the following proposed Class Rule addition. The Executive Board approves with the proposal submitted to the full Class membership for a vote.

The proposed rules change would modify after J/109 Class Rules paragraph 5.7 the following paragraph 5.8.

5.8 For J/109 Class sanctioned events hosted by Fleet #11 (Great Lakes & Lake Champlain) during the 2021 calendar year, including the 2021 North American Championship and any event advertised as a 'pre-NAs,' 'tune-up' or similar, the following applies to spinnakers:

(a) The asymmetric spinnaker shall be manufactured from woven nylon with a minimum nominal weight of not less than 40grams per square meter. The area of the asymmetric spinnaker (“SA”) shall not exceed 120 square meters, based on the formula: SA=(luff length + leech length) *.25 foot length + (half width -.5 foot length) *(leech length + luff length)/3. Adjustable leech, luff, and foot lines shall be fitted to the asymmetric spinnaker.

(b) All asymmetric spinnakers declared for use during the events must be measured for compliance with 5.8(a) and issued a J/109 sail tag. Sailmakers are responsible for obtaining sail tags, conducting measurement, and submitting measurement data in accordance with Rule 5.1.

(c) All asymmetric spinnakers shall be listed in the J/109 sail tag database and the notes field will distinguish sails used under this Rule by stating the actual measured area in the following format: “Oversized Spinnaker Area xxx.xx square meters.” This rule shall expire on December 31, 2021 and be automatically deleted from the J/109 Class Rules as of that date. The expiration of this rule shall not cause the sail tag or accompanying notes to be deleted from the database.

Who may vote? A Voting Member as defined in section 3.0 of the class constitution shall be a legal owner or one designated legal owner in the case of a boat with more than one legal owner, such that each registered boat shall have one Voting Member. Each Voting Member shall have one vote. Voting Members maintain membership by paying annual membership dues and by complying with the J/109 Class Association Constitution and J/109 Class Rules. Note – if you desire to vote on the rules changes and are not a current year member, please go to the class website, update your membership and pay your current year dues. Voting members who payed previous year class dues will be allowed to vote through 31 March of the following year.

When may I Vote? All current members will be sent an email no later than 22 April 2021 notifying them that the official ballot is available.  Voting is available online through noon 22 May 2021, at which time the results will be validated and tallied by the J/109 Class Secretary.

When would the change be effective? Should the proposed change be approved by the class, the change would be incorporated in the class rules effective 1 June 2021.

How do I Vote? Click on this link to be directed to the electronic ballot where you may cast your vote.

This message was sent from the J/109 Class Association email system. We periodically send out messages about the J/109 Class including one design events, class rules, cruising, member updates, maintenance information, and technical advisories from equipment manufacturers concerning the J/109.  If you would like to update your email preferences, please send a message the J/109 Class Administrator.

Additional Information and Links of Interest are provided below


Your J/109 User Profile & Boat Information

Click the Member Update logo below to update your information.

Update your contact, boat and home port information.

J/109 Online Registration

Use your email address (%email%) as your login.
Need more help? Click on this link and read the section labeled Existing Members. If you still have a problem logging in, email the J/109 Class Administrator – admin@j109.org


Need Information on Maintenance, Rules, Buy / Sell J/109 Boats & Equipment?

Click the J/109 Class Forum logo below to read and share boat information.

The forum has information owners have shared on maintenance, sails, tuning, cruising and events.  If you have something boating related to buy or sell, this is the place to look.  The J/109 Class Forum is the designated method for people to ask the J/109 Class Measurer questions about rules and rules interpretations.

J/109 Class Forum

Anyone may read the forum without logging in, but to be able to post on the forum, you will need to register for a free account, which is separate from you J/109 Class website account.  Once you navigate to the forum, click Register near the top right to setup an account.  If you already have a forum account, click on Login located next to the Register.  There are helpful hints on using the forum located at this link.


J/109 Class Membership

One of the best ways to insure your investment in the J/109 is to support the Class. Owners and Co-owners are strongly encouraged to become Members of the J/109 Class Association. Others may become Associate Members. Members are owners or co-owners. Associate Members are crew and supporters of the J/109 Class. The membership fee is $50.00 for Members and $50.00 for Associate Members. Members who are current with annual dues are provided access to restricted areas on the class website and are able to view complete lists of owners and members.

Existing Members – If you are already an owner with an email address on file, all you need to do is get a password by clicking the Login button located on the menu bar of the website https://j109.org. When in doubt, try this first. Use the Forgotten Password section of the Login page. Once you enter your email address, we will send you a link to reset your password at that address, or if no account exists, provide immediate indication on the screen. As an existing or previous member you can inspect and edit your contact information (after you have logged in) by clicking Update My Info under the Members menu. Existing or previous members can pay annual dues (after you have logged in) by clicking on Renew Membership – Dues under the Members menu.

New Members – If you are not currently registered or do not have an email address on file, register by filling in the form by navigating the menu on the class website https://j109.org – Mouse over Market, then click on New Membership to open that page. Submit your information, then once we review your contact information we will add you to the database. This may take a day or two.

More information about registration and passwords is available in the Login page available by clicking on the Login button located on the menu bar of the website.


J/109 Custom Boat Website Subscriptions Available

The J/109 Class has arranged with Crew Manager LLC to make custom J/109 boat websites available.  Crew Manager provides a boat website with features the Skipper & Crew will use throughout the sailing season. In a nutshell, the team website provides a “Who, What, When, Where and Wear” schedule with automatic reminders.  After an event, the Skipper may post results and crew members may submit comments, pictures and stories about the event. Crew Manager works on most any device with a web browser including PC, Mac, iPad, Android tablet, iPhone and Android Phone.  The cost for an annual subscription is $90 and includes the website setup. The following J/109s have Crew Manager websites.



Schedule & Events on J/109 Class Calendar

Click the J/109 Class Calendar logo below for upcoming events.

Keep up to date on planned J/109 events via the website calendar.

Link to J/109 Class Calendar

For questions or comments, please contact the J/109 Class Administrator.

This message was sent from the J/109 Class Association email system. We periodically send out messages about the J/109 Class including one design events, class rules, cruising, member updates, maintenance information, and technical advisories from equipment manufacturers concerning the J/109.  If you would like to update your email preferences, please send a message the J/109 Class Administrator.

Email the J/109 Class Administrator
J/109 Class Association Administrator

Permanent link to this article: https://j109.org/cron_email/ballot-for-j-109-class-rule-change-oversized-spinnakers-for-2021-nac/