Your premier J/Boats dealer in the Southwest

J/Boats Southwest

Our mission at J/Boats Southwest is to find the perfect boat for you to accomplish your sailing dreams. There is no other sport that generates the passion sailors have for being out on the water with friends and family, enjoying the magic of the wind, that being on a wind-powered boat provides. We believe sailing brings the thrill of an adrenaline rush, healthy competition, moments of relaxation, and a connection with nature. Young, or young-at-heart, we want to help you reach your goals and deepen your yearning to be on the water.

Sailing is the ultimate freedom, the experience of being at one with nature and the sea, powered only by the wind and one's imagination. Sailing is one of the few "life sports" that offers both a relaxing escape as well as an invigorating challenge. You pick your own level of comfort and adventure.

Our mission at J/Boats Southwest is to find the perfect boat for you to accomplish your sailing dreams. There is no other sport that generates the passion sailors have for being out on the water with friends and family, enjoying the magic of the wind, that being on a wind-powered boat provides. We believe sailing brings the thrill of an adrenaline rush, healthy competition, moments of relaxation, and a connection with nature. Young, or young-at-heart, we want to help you reach your goals and deepen your yearning to be on the water.



We sell internationally designed, quality boats that make sailing enjoyable. Each moment on the water, whether you’re embarking on a racing adventure or planning quality time with family and friends, will bring unique experiences to remember for a lifetime.

The latest models or previously loved boats

Looking to buy a used boat? We can help! Our global brokerage business finds sailors looking to purchase their new dreamboat.
Get on board! Sailing is a lifetime sport! Sailing for Life in better sailboats!
Contact us today and we can make your sailing dreams a reality!


Welcome

Maritime Solutions (MSI) is a leader in the sales, service, and repairs of inflatable boats and outboard motors.

Maritime Solutions Inc.

Maritime Solutions

Your power and inflatable experts! Service, Sales and Fun!

# A little about us...


Starting in Newport, RI in 1995 as Maritime Solutions / Inflatable Experts, the market and the business has grown from a boutique business in a novel niche, to a full blown category of boats and engines for every need. MSI keeps growing with the market. Since its inception in 1995 Maritime Solutions (MSI) has established itself as a leader in the sales, service, and repairs of inflatable boats and outboard motors. Currently, MSI is a stocking dealer for some of the strongest and most respected brands...

# Honda Premier Dealership
This program is designed to recognize top performing dealerships in the areas of sales, service, training, and brand representation. 

# Expert Service
We sell and service the world's most reliable and efficient engine lines: Honda, Yamaha, and Tohatsu. Then, our factory trained technicians keep them running in tip-top shape for your worry-free boating.

# Factory Trained Technicians
Our technicians are factory trained and are regularly brought up to speed on the latest and the greatest tools an techniques to keep you on the water instead of in the shop (or worse, parked in the backyard). 

Dick Cromwell:  Graduate of University of Virginia in 1977, Started and ran many businesses in restaurants and rentals; started InflatableXperts in 1995 in Rhode Island. Developed the business as the premier business for inflatable boat and outboard sales and service on the East Coast. Manager of the Rhode Island Store. Also operator of the Freedom Boat Club for Rhode Island.

About Maritime Solutions - Inflatable Experts and more!

About

2023 Flexboat FLEX 450

Since its inception in 1995 Maritime Solutions (MSI) has established itself as a leader in the sales, service, and repairs of inflatable boats and outboard motors. Currently, MSI is a stocking dealer for some of the strongest and most respected brands.


# Expert Service
We sell and service the world's most reliable and efficient engine lines: Honda, Yamaha, and Tohatsu. Then, our factory trained technicians keep them running in tip-top shape for your worry-free boating.

# Factory Trained Technicians
Our technicians are factory trained and are regularly brought up to speed on the latest and the greatest tools and techniques to keep you on the water instead of in the shop (or worse, parked in the backyard).

# Freedom Boat Club
This boating season, we want you to embrace your free time. Weekends don't have to be about yard work, and rest doesn't have to mean sitting on the couch. As a Freedom Boat Club member, you can head for the water, where we'll always have the boats ready and waiting.  Our courteous staff takes care of all of the hassles of boat ownership for you, including maintenance, docking fees, fuel and cleaning, so that you can enjoy your free time out on the water. With a wide variety of boats and locations to choose from, we make it easy to spend time on the water!

# Rhode Island Marine Trades Association 

(RIMTA) represents all aspects of the recreational boating industry in its home state. We are dedicated to growing Rhode Island’s marine trades through advocacy, education, and promotion and positioning the Ocean State as a worldwide leader in the marine industry.

Home

Big Sky Yachts offers new yachts from J Boats and RS Sailboats. Contact us for assistance in ordering, commissioning and transporting your new boat.

Big Sky Yachts

Big Sky Yachts offers new yachts from J Boats and RS Sailboats.   Contact us for assistance in ordering, commissioning and delivering your new boat.

For larger power and sail vessels, we work with one of the premier yacht brokerages in the country, Swiftsure Yachts of Seattle, WA.  

For local and regional listings, we maintain a network of relationships and contacts of interested buyers. Our minimum fee to list a boat is $1,500 or 10%, whichever is greater.  

As a buyer's broker we work hard to locate the ideal boat for a customer's needs. We have assisted clients in purchasing yachts from all corners of the continent, including Puerto Vallarta, Vancouver, Ft. Lauderdale, Newport, RI, Annapolis, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and many points in between. We have the experience to negotiate a fair deal, and to arrange for survey, delivery and commissioning. A buyer should seriously consider having an expert on their side of the deal.  As in real estate, the seller pays the commission. 


We offer a complete line of custom racing and cruising sails from Ballard Sails, including custom carbon membrane sails for Grand Prix programs.    We will measure your boat and offer suggestions to provide the most value for your sail investment.

Big Sky Yachts is also a dealer for North Sails One Design.

Make your sail investment go further, and buy your sails in Montana where there is no sales tax!

New Sailboats from J/Boats and RS Sailboats
Quality Brokerage Yachts

“With the J/9, we set out to reimagine how to make sailing easier, more relaxing and more inclusive,” said Jeff Johnstone of J/Boats. “This is a boat you can sail by yourself in just a few minutes, or bring along the whole gang with plenty of room to spare. Escaping to the water and enjoying shared family adventure has never been more important, and the J/9 is the perfect platform.”

The J/9 cockpit has four great corner seats to nestle into and enjoy the day. With friends and family aboard, everyone can find the perfect place to relax. And access aboard has never been easier. A swim platform behind the cockpit allows walk-through boarding, and on those downwind sails home, you can cool off by dragging your feet in the water.

Sailing the J/9 is as easy as hoisting the mainsail and trimming the sheet. Why make it any more complicated? Look around on the water and you’ll notice 80% of the sailboats are sailing with only one sail. The answer is keep it simple!  One tiller, one sheet. The big difference with the J/9 is you will be sailing with one sail more comfortably and quicker than most others with two sails or under motor. Ready for the afterburners? Simply unroll the jib and enjoy effortless, stable & smooth sailing from the comforts of the best J/Boats cockpit ever.  

The daysailing community has not benefitted from a dedicated design from J/Boats since the award-winning J/100 (33’), which remains one of the most sought-after J’s created. The NEW J/9 offers the cockpit comfort and sailing features of a larger boat, at a price most will find competitive to the best brokerage offerings.

• Hull and deck molded with biaxial and unidirectional E-glass fabrics and Corecell foam for optimal strength to weight  ratio. High density core inserts used in way of highly loaded hardware.  
• White gelcoat hull with single boot stripe. 
• 10 year transferable warranty against osmotic hull blistering, 5 year structural warranty. 
• White gelcoat deck with molded non-skid on horizontal deck surfaces. 
• High strength, inward turning and overlapping hull to deck joint. 
• Molded ISO/ORC height foredeck toe-rails on foredeck.  
• Large self-draining cockpit with wrap-around seating and angled backrests. 
• Two large cockpit seat storage lockers. 
• Swim platform with transom boarding access and optional fold-up swim ladder. 
• Molded, structural transverse keel support beams. 
• 4.9’ draft low VCG lead keel bonded and bolted to keel sump. Option for 3.9’ draft keel.  


• High aspect, balanced spade rudder mounted in self-aligning, low friction rudder bearings. • Custom laminated, curved tiller. 
• Adjustable tiller extension. 


• One AGM Group 27 battery.
• 12V DC On/Off battery switch.
• 12V DC electrical distribution panel w/ 4 circuit breakers.
• LED navigation lights.
• UL approved stranded, tinned copper ABYC color-coded wiring.
• Bonding system to meet ABYC regulations.
• Two swiveling LED reading lights in main cabin.
• Two red/white dome lights.
• Automatic electric bilge pump and panel switch for manual operation.

• SS fabricated chainplates for shrouds.  
• Foredeck skylight hatch mounted on cabin house forward of mast. 
• Two opening portlights on cabin house sides. 
• Companionway opening with molded seahood and slider.  
• Acrylic offshore removable dropboard with inside/outside lockable hasp. 
• Two 2-Speed 35:1 self-tailing winches on cabin top. 
• Two 10" lock-in winch handles with winch handle pockets. 
• Two fixed jib tracks on cabin top with plunger-style jib cars. Option for self-tacking jib system. • 5:1 Mainsheet system leading to boom-mounted ratchet block/cam near the tiller. 
• Adjustable backstay system with control lines led to the cockpit. 
• Jib furling system with control line led to cockpit.
J/9 Specifications 11-20-20 
• Halyard lead blocks mounted at mast base, halyard organizers and double rope clutches one per side. • Stainless bow rail, stanchions and stern rails with single 20” height lifeline, starboard boarding gate and transom gate. • Foredeck and transom mooring cleats (4). 
• Cockpit operated manual bilge pump operable from the helm. 


• Tapered, fractional, keel-stepped aluminum mast with single sweptback spreaders attached with stainless thru-bar.  Mast includes halyard sheaves, fittings for boom and boom vang attachments, masthead crane, shroud termination points and a steaming light. Spars finished in white. 
• Boom with 8:1 outhaul, mainsheet attachment points, sheaves for the outhaul and reef line, and lazy jack terminations. • Standing rigging: 1x19 wire forestay & side rigging with adjustable open-body turnbuckles. Soft Dyneema backstay. • Running rigging package including main and jib halyards, main and jib sheets, reef line, furler line, lazy jacks. Optional spinnaker package. 


• Main cabin with full length settee berth and removable backrest to port, double seat to starboard, storage  compartments outboard and below the berth/seats.  
• Choice of Sunbrella fabrics for 3" standard main salon cushions. 
• Teak and holly synthetic high-wear cabin sole in main cabin with centerline access to bilge. 
• 48 Quart Igloo cooler. 
• Angled companionway steps with nonskid treads. 
• Molded V-berth supports (Option for V-berth platform & cushions). 
• Head platform with Raritan PH-II WC, TP holder, holding tank and deck pump out fitting. 
• Centerline storage aft of companionway (or engine compartment and systems w/inboard engine option).  • Air-dry gelcoat finish on interior hull & deck surfaces. 


• Two-tone deck. 
• Additional Opening portlights (2) on aft face of cabin. 
• Self-tacking jib system with athwartships track with jib sheet led aft to cockpit. 
• Asymmetric Spinnaker gear package – fixed carbon bowsprit with tack line, spinnaker sheets, halyard, and turning  blocks to lead the sheet tails to the cabin top winches. 
• 110V 30amp Shorepower system with shore cord and AC panel one interior 110V outlet & battery charger. • V-Berth package with platform, two cushions and two swiveling reading lights. 
• Adjustable outboard bracket mounted centerline. 
• Electric inboard engine with pod-drive and cockpit operated controller. 
• Inboard diesel engine (Yanmar 2YM15) with Saildrive and two-blade folding prop. 
• Flexiteek synthetic cockpit floor and swim platform surfaces. 
• Retractable/folding swim ladder. 
• Comfort Group – mainsail cover and tiller cover in matching Sunbrella, and 2” cockpit cushions in white vinyl. • Cockpit dodger with side curtains. 


NOTICE: Specifications are subject to change prior to delivery due to deletions, additions or revisions in quantities, brand or design at the sole discretion  of J/Boats, Inc. Newport, RI


Responding to a growing need amongst sailors for a more comfortable, simpler and easy-to-own daysailer, J/Boats is excited to announce a sleek new 28 footer (the “J/9”) with perhaps the most comfortable cockpit and easiest-to-manage sailplan in this size range. 

New model from "J/Boats"!  J/9

Capt. Pete Sauer

In 1999, Captain Pete Sauer assumed ownership of the company then expanded the scope to include yacht delivery and brokerage of larger yachts. Today Big Sky Yachts specializes in providing exceptional service to yacht buyers, both sail and power, in the greater northwest. Pete holds a 100 ton master certificate with the US Coast Guard and has completed deliveries to and from Mexico, Alaska, Caribbean, US East and West Coasts, and across the Atlantic. 
Pete and Amy own and sail the Ocean Flyer 55 "Big Sky", a custom aluminum long distance cruiser built in New Zealand.

Office: 90 Sunnybrook Lane, Somers, MT 59932. 

The best sailing regatta in the Southwest for J/Boat owners, sailors, friends, and family.

J/Fest Southwest

We look forward to hearing from you!

For questions about the event, please contact the **[J/Fest Regatta Chair](mailto:scott@jboatssouthwest.com)**

For questions about the venue, you should contact [**Lakewood Yacht Club**](mailto:lyc@lakewoodyachtclub.com)

And for J/Boat Southwest, send [**Inquiries Here**](mailto:scott@jboatssouthwest.com)

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## The J/Fest Southwest Regatta is celebrating its 13th Anniversary and is becoming a popular tradition among the J/Boat owners throughout the region with over 70 J/Boats and avid J/Boat competitors from around the country. 



# J/Fest Southwest Using Yacht Scoring

This year J/Fest Southwest is using Yacht Scoring to manage [registration](https://yachtscoring.com/event_registration_email.cfm?eid=13049), online purchases, crew waivers and scoring.  A few things you need to know.  You will establish an email address (username) and password and all your data will be kept in the Yacht Scoring database so you only need to enter once for all future regattas in their system.  The layout is quite different and there are many fields, but not too many more than before.  The skipper is responsible for entering boat info, handicap rating, crew names, and emails. It is a little more work the first time you register, but it will pay off at the event as your registration will be complete and provide you with more time to socialize! 

# Seabrook, Texas
Enjoy the small town waterfront of Seabrook, Texas just minutes from the bustle of Houston, the relaxing waters of Galveston Bay, the Kemah Boardwalk, shopping, and many more attractions!

# Lakewood Yacht Club
Located on the shores of Clear Lake near the Kemah Bridge, with direct access to Galveston Bay, Lakewood Yacht Club is one of the country’s finest racing destinations, and was recently named among the Top 10 yacht clubs in the United States.

Home of the 2022 J/Fest Southwest Regatta