JPK 39 FC, Fast and Comfortable
You might ask, why we’d decided for this JPK 39 FC?
Our selection criteria
Well, we were looking for a fast sailing yacht of around 36 ft. Fast, not just because it is fun to overtake another, but also for safety. But we did not want the spartan, staid interiour of a racing yacht. The yacht should be a ‘comfort giving home’ for long tours. The commonly used term is Fast Cruiser. So we went looking for a ‘fast cruiser’.
Fast Cruiser quest to the JPK 39 FC
In the quest for our fast cruiser, we checked the top rankings of known EU regattas, like Fastnet Race, AZAB, Middle Sea Race, etc. The winners were obviously racing yachts.
Types that came across in the classes we were looking at were, Jeanneau Sun Fast, Pogo, JPK, Django, etc. These shipyards make both racing and cruising yachts. But we were also looking at shipyards like RM, and Walkabout. Besides Walkabout all these ships are build in France, and all are from Brittany.
JPK performed extremely well in the regatta rankings, but the JPK 38 FC was above our budget. We decided for another yacht, agreed upon a quote and after two of the three waiting years, when production was near start-up, the shipyard turned down on the agreement. The electric Oceanvolt regen-drive, they had signed for, should become a diesel engine. So we discontinued.
We visited a JPK 38 FC at Valk yacht brokers and the yacht matched our expectations. If this yacht would have had a liftable keel we might have chosen it. Then, the JPK 38 FC was redesigned to JPK 39 FC and the first model showed on internet looked very promising.
On a blog we read that the JPK shipyard was a pleasant shipyard to work with. It was also recommended by Michel Nave from E-NAV systems who supplies Oceanvolt in France. And so we went to France again, and with good hope.
About JPK
Jean Pierre Kelbert is the founder and owner of the JPK Composites shipyard in Larmor Plage, next to Loriënt. Jean-Pierre is nice person, and the company as a whole resembles as a family.
Don’t expect luxurous reception and meeting rooms at JPK. You just step into their office. Neither JPK has sales representatives. You talk to the owner. Jean-Pierre showed us the factory and it felt good.
So finally, our search for a good Fast Cruiser, ended at JPK in 2021 and we subscribed for a JPK 39 FC. FC stands for Fast Cruising, but Fast and Comfortable would also be suitable.
In 2022, little later after our agreement, the JPK 39 FC was rewarded with the “French Sailboat of the Year” award, and then it received the “Best Performance Cruiser” award in the European Yacht of the Year competition. This was a confirmation we had made the right choice. Be aware, we had never sailed one single JPK before closing the deal.
Waiting time 3 years for JPK 39 FC
Also for the JPK 39 FC the waiting time after order is 3 years. We were anxious to sail one, but there were none available. We opted to go to Dimitri in Greece from Ulysses Sailing but then, in the summer of 2023 we took the opportunity to rent a brandnew JPK 39 FC from Alternative Sailing in Brittany France. This was a very positive experience, and it was our second confirmation we had made a good choice.
We had plenty of time to think about all the JPK options and electrical and mechanical items on board. And so we did. The choise to go hybrid was allready made. At the JPK shipyard we were not forced to go for all standard options, as we had experienced before at the other shipyard.
Time flies and our JPK 39 FC becomes reality now. She will be launched in June and we will sail her to the Willemshaven in Den Helder this summer, probably in August.
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