1984 J/N 39 One Ton

1984 Wiggers J/N 39 Fractional One-Ton “Encore”

The Joubert/Nivelt 39 Wiggers “Lager 40” One Ton is the limited production version of Diva, a boat which swept the IOR in 1983, winning the Fastnet Race, Admiral’s Cup, SORC, and other major events.

Encore was originally delivered to San Diego and later made her way to Lake Michigan. She sailed out of Michigan City, Indiana for many years and was purchased in 2011 by a passionate racer in St Joseph, Michigan. Under his ownership, she was extensively refurbished in both hull and deck, all wet core was removed and replaced with the deck, bottom, and hull professionally fared and refinished.

Today she is an absolutely solid boat. You can sound any part of her structure without worry. The decks have Kiwi-Grip non-skid, beautifully refinished. The scariest part of buying an old boat is fixed on this one; she is solid. The bottom was faired and coated with epoxy barrier coat, as well as multi-season bottom paint. All deck hardware was removed and replaced with Butyl tape bedding.

The interior of the boat has not been refurbished, and many interior surfaces could use varnish and/or paint.

The engine is a Universal Diesel model 5424, an in-line 3 cylinder, with fresh water cooling, serial number 311-603. Hours are unknown. We have done a great deal of work getting her ready for the water, including installing a host of new engine parts.

Amazingly, once we fixed the glow plug button, the engine started up and ran smoothly even with very old diesel fuel in the tank. The oil was changed prior to lay-up and was perfectly clean. We have started and stopped the engine several times, and found no smoke once running. We have also shifted the transmission in and out of forward and reverse gears. We have run the engine enough to watch the temperature gauge operate. The engine starts easily with manual glow-plug operation.

Winches include a complete set of alloy drum Barients: Primaries, two 2-speed #28, forward cockpit; Secondaries, two 2-speed #27 ST, aft edge of cabin top; Running Backs, two 2-speed #27 ST, aft edge of cockpit; Halyards, three two-speed #23 ST, cabin top.

Sail Inventory

All Sails from North, conditions noted based on observation

Extensive photos are available of many of these sails

• 2004 Dacron Main, Very Good
• 2008 3DL Light/Medium #1, Like New, hardly used

• 2008 3DL #3, Like New, never flown

• Old Light #1, Dacron, Fair
• Old Light/Medium #1, Roller Furling, Good
• Old Heavy #1, Fair/Poor
• Old #3, Kevlar/Mylar, Fair/Poor

• Old #4, Heavy Kevlar, Fair

• Kevlar 95% Jib, Very Good
• Dacron Storm Jib, Very Good

• Dacron Storm Tri-Sail, Very Good

• Daisy Staysail, Fair/Good
• 1/2 ounce TriRadial Spinnaker, Fair
• 3/4 ounce TriRadial Spinnaker, Fair
• 3/4 ounce TriRadial Spinnaker, Fair/Good

The boat is available for inspection in St Joseph, Michigan. From the outside, she looks like a brand new boat. There are a few paint flaws in the hull and deck which can be easily repaired. There is work to do below with varnish and paint, but she is a sound vessel. The engine and gear are first class, the sails a mix of new and older. Many additional photos of the deck and interior are available. This ​​boat is seriously for sale at the asking price of $6,900 and represents a great bargain for a wonderful old ​​boat.

Contact: Jim Schrager; jimschrager@gmail.com; 574-258-4500​