[christian.hess]

agree completely schnool

I would argue however that a j24 is not the BEST starting boat by a long shot...

however if the price is right and you have some good sailor friends with j experience you can learn well and fast!

first off the rudder needs constant input even in wind angles assumed steady like upwind for example.
ddw the ride can be wild, wet and needs a good helmsman
j24 are known to turtle not saying sailing beer can races this happen but it has MANY times, this can be atrbuted to a design feature but also to racing hard, REALLY HARD.

in chop you need to power through stuff and that requires above average sail trim and knowledge that a new sailor wont necessarily have or know of yet so you might be surprised that the j24 isnt as fast as you thought it would be..

not a con just not what you "expected"

a perfect beginner boat for the most part wont be a boat that excells in one design racing around the world "just sayin"

you need a boat that tracks easy(maintains course without much input), tacks easy, and steers easily...of these 3 only tacking can be easy on a j24 once you get the technique down

now thats just my opinion, however for me a perfect beginner boat in the low to mid 20s would be one with a shallow long keel and attached rudder and a sailplan with a low aspect main and a boat prefferrably with a self tacking jib.

THATS A BEGINNER BOAT

however a catalina 22 would be a great beginner boat in my book too that has a nice easy to use swing keel(of the 3 models they offer)

if you grow out if it soon by learning fast, by all means step it up to a j boat or similar however my opinion is that going all in FIRST rarely gives the new sailor any benefit in the long run and quite often what happens is they get scared and shy away. this is something only you will know, the op in this case...

for example Im possibly buying a merit 25 from a sailor who didnt have much experience(with these kind of boats)

all it took was 1 broach down wind because he got caught in a summer gust of just 25knots to scare the living crap out of him, he never once set a chute, never sailed a race and only went out for short daysails...a racer isnt necessarily the best boat in this scenario is it?

he then left the boat unattended for 3 years

just sayin

others experience may vary

ps. I could also add that the j24 has no cabin to speak of, has no portlights so its dark and is quite weird inside...also the decks are ballooned right to the edge which makes it a perfect rail meat deck(again for racing) but a very weird deck for a NEW sailor to get used to...it always feels like you are falling into the water...

Im sorry if this info has all been mentioned before

fwiw

 

[christian.hess]

you can broach without a spinnaker...in fact thats what the owner of my soon to be boat did

I opted not to recomend any boats as usually you will get flack from the racer guys saying why get a crappy slow boat? but Ive seen it way too many times where people get scared away doing just this, Im not being archaic here just realist.

those that start off fast and learn fast and learn on a spirited boat already have some sailing background and or are familiar with sailboats and the basics

the basics is that a j24 IS NOT a beginner boat in any sense and making new racers suffer a bit by having a "cool" boat well it really just doesnt work that way

in my experience I might add

being a trainer at a sailing association back home I could get people hooked on sailing(getting new members was part of my job, 10 a month to be exact) by taking them first on a hobie 16 and wizz by at 20miles an hour by their friends and family on the shore, wave by take pics, etc...

then when they signed up to the club I showed them our keel boats including small 16. 18 and 21 footers, there where also lasers and optis for the kids...a couple of 505s and some wood boats...

then and only after they took some classes would we take the j24 out...and after crewing a while they could day sail and charter the boat with a skipper at the club.

what I dont reccomend doing ever is skip important steps...its not constructive to getting a good solid base sailing wise

if all you want to do is have fun on a spirited boat the j24 is awesome for that Im not arguing that at all

but a beginner boat like the op asked the honest answer I think is no.

 

[christian.hess]

dont get me wrong me too! just there are better boats out there to get you started and more enjoyable to begin with...like portlights in the cabin and a good cockpit for petes sake! ajajajaa