Owners Comments

Norman Jenkins

From a letter in MOCRA News May 1993

When I decided to quit wetsuit sailing and build a small, reasonably priced but exciting cruiser, I chose the Strider's baby sister, the almost unknown Janus.

Why should such a superb little trailer sailor have failed to catch on in Britain with tight budget backyard amateurs like me? Fair enough, she's a skinny person's boat with proportionately less sleeping and cooking space than the Strider, but performance wise - without making any extravagant claims - she is a super rough weather weekender with commendable aspects.

From  my experience of one-and-a-bit seasons I have found the Janus, with her semi-planing hulls, put up a fair show in all reasonable conditions.

With the weight of two crew on her solid sailing decks she is always stable, responds well to the helm and refuses to dig her bows in, even in five foot waves. In a Force five offshore northerly breeze Two Fishes sprinted from the Deben to Harwich with long planing surges, and with a following wind and sea (the most scary point of sail with many multis) she was always under control, and without a reef never gave a hint of any intetion to broach.

Light as a feather the Janus moves adequately with only a 2hp outboard, even against a 4 knot tide. It's not true that she floats on a pint of water - but almost!


Two Fishes in Holland

From a letter August 1995

I should apologise for leaving you without any news or pictures of our two epic crossings to Holland in Two Fishes our Janus whichis proving a really good little boat.

My crew is an excellent navigator and we have had four brilliant seasons. I would never have attempted such ambitious voyages without his inspiration, but we have now logged hundreds of miles including a crrossing to Flushing, straight across the North sea last year, and the same landfall this year - via Ramsgate, Dunkirk, Ostende and Breskens.