Design and Construction
Both hull and deck are solid fiberglass, and the keel is lead. The boat carries a ballast ratio of 58 percent against a displacement of 4,740 pounds, with 2,778 pounds of that lead low in the hull, and a length-to-beam ratio of 4.17 across a 28-foot-1-inch overall length and 6-foot-9-inch beam. The production history complicates any blanket statement about build quality: Tollare Bruk built the RJ 85, but the design was also produced at other yards, and it was sold to be home-completed, which means the quality of each individual boat may vary rather than conform to a single yard standard. A buyer or reviewer cannot assume uniform structural execution across the class.
Rig and Sail Plan
The RJ 85 is built with a fractional rig and a sail area of 222 square feet on the ISO reference sail, giving a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.4; with a 135 percent genoa that figure rises to 16.6. By the numbers it carries more rig than 46 percent of similar sailboats, which leaves it slightly underrigged relative to its peers. The standing and running rigging follow period fractional-sloop convention: the three halyards — mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker — each run 24.3 meters at 8 mm diameter, while sheets range from 8.6-meter jib and genoa sheets at 10 mm to a 21.4-meter mainsheet and 18.8-meter spinnaker sheet, also at 10 mm, with a 3.1-meter cunningham and 6.2-meter kicking strap and clew outhaul in 8 mm.
Performance Profile
The design sits in an interesting middle band. Its displacement-length ratio of 211 places it among "moderate racers," and the theoretical hull speed for a displacement hull of this waterline is 6.3 knots. The Motion Comfort Ratio runs 24.7 to 26.4, and the capsize screening value is 1.55, a figure that by that formula alone would admit the boat to offshore events. The relative speed performance index is 31. With a draft that varies from 4.13 to 4.43 feet depending on load, the RJ 85 can tuck into shallow marinas, and its immersion rate of about 515 pounds per inch describes how heavily it sits as gear and crew are added.
Known Issues
The principal caveat is not a structural defect but a provenance one. Because the RJ 85 was sold to be home-completed and was also built at yards beyond Tollare Bruk, the execution of any given hull — laminate consistency, keel-to-hull joint, deck fitting bedding — may differ from a single-production-standard boat. A home-finished hull from the late-sixties run should be judged on its own merits rather than assumed to match the yard-built norm.
Refits and Ownership
Ownership of an RJ 85 means reckoning with a design whose wetted surface runs about 182 square feet and whose rigging lengths are known quantities, simplifying a re-rig. The underrigged sail plan invites a genoa-driven upgrade for lighter-air performance, and the shallow-draft long keel favors gunkholing over deep-water racing. The class's mixed build history is the overriding ownership consideration: documentation of how a specific hull was finished matters more than the model's averages.
The Verdict
The RJ 85 is a compact, lead-keeled fractional sloop from the late-sixties Swedish drawing board of Rolf Jacobssen, moderately racer-bred yet comfort-rated for coastal use, and unusually accessible for shallow water. Its weakness is inherited from its own success as a kit and multi-yard design: uneven build quality across the population. Taken hull by hull, a well-executed example is a sensible small cruiser-racer; a poorly finished home-completion is a different boat entirely.
Pros
- Lead long keel with 4.13–4.43 ft load-dependent draft for shallow marinas
- 58 percent ballast ratio and 4,740 lb displacement give stable, predictable motion
- Known rigging lengths simplify re-rigging and spares planning
Cons
- Home-completed and multi-yard production means quality varies by hull
- Slightly underrigged versus peers, needing genoa power in light air
