Advice on a Rawson 30

[Colapuaky]

On a somewhat limited budget, but want a boat capable of bluewater. Would this be one to consider? I know the hulls were hand laid and we're strong in their day. Would this be one to consider? Thanks Newbee.

[rognvald]

Cola,
I've only been aboard one R30 that was docked next to us for a week. It was a very impressive boat but, as in any other purchase, you must do your due diligence with a proper survey to determine it's individual state/condition. I personally think it is a good looking boat as well. Good luck and safe sailing.

[boatman61]

If memory serves the Rawson 30 was pretty well discussed earlier this year when someone in the PNW was thinking of taking one on.. maybe someone else will remember the exact thread coz I cant.

[Terra Nova]

They're strong boats. One of my hard dodgers has circumnavigated on a Rawson.

[Schooner Chandlery]

They are Water boats">blue water boats but each was finished out by the owner so all are a bit different. There is an owners group on yahoo that you can join and ask questions there. They're all old boats so the details of the concrete ballast, chainplates, and even how the aluminum mast has been maintained will matter. We had one for a couple years and really enjoyed it but didn't contemplate cruising with the 5T boat as we wanted more load capacity for all our junk.


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[pickpaul]

I was looking at them before getting my Alberg30 which shares many similarities. Really liked the pilothouse version but they are rare. Also, seems to be an east coast / west coast thing too.

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[Schooner Chandlery]

Originally Posted by pickpaul

I was looking at them before getting my Alberg30 which shares many similarities. Really liked the pilothouse version but they are rare. Also, seems to be an east coast / west coast thing too.

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We're east coast folks and they don't come up there very often. We bought a Rawson 30 while we were rebuilding our boat on the west coast. Used it for 2 years local coastal stuff before selling it when we relaunched our present boat.

No pilothouse on our Rawson but great boat none the less.


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[Colapuaky]

Originally Posted by Schooner Chandlery

They are blue water boats but each was finished out by the owner so all are a bit different. There is an owners group on yahoo that you can join and ask questions there. They're all old boats so the details of the concrete ballast, chainplates, and even how the aluminum mast has been maintained will matter. We had one for a couple years and really enjoyed it but didn't contemplate cruising with the 5T boat as we wanted more load capacity for all our junk.


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Thank you.

[Celestialsailor]

I had the pilothouse version. There was delam on the foredeck. During the repair, I was amazed how thin the lay-up was in that area. The boat was slow and had a tendency to hobbyhorse. The ballast was cement which in my opinion shows the manufacturer taking shortcuts.
Another boat to seriously consider is the Spakman and Stevens Yankee 30. Sails fast, handles well and seems to be laid up well.

[Cheechako]

My first offshore cruise was in a Rawson 30. Down the West coast and Mexico for 1.5 years. I liked the boat. Probably the driest boat I ever had including all lengths! But they certainly aren't perfect. Short waterline being an old Garden design, so yes, some hobbyhorsing in the right sea state.... and not exactly a fast boat. By comparison, better to weather than a Westsail 32 though. (sailed with a companion boat a lot that was a W32) The boat would just get in the groove and go to weather nicely. Not like a race boat though. No deck to hull leaks at all. As mentioned, the hull layup is definitely not as thick as I had presumed.... but my hull was laid in the 70's gas crisis, so I always thought that was why. Many people put a short bowsprit on the early ones to reduce weather helm a bit. It seems many of Garden's designs have some weather helm. I think the later ones came with a bowsprit. The early boats did not have deck coring which is a plus in an older boat. Not sure if or when they started doing coring. All in all one of my favorite boats, but definitely a bit crude.

[Celestialsailor]

Yes, the W32 is well put together and hundreds of them did offshore work. Some years had a lot of blisters, while other years did not. The price range varies a lot also.

[Cheechako]

The W32 will kick the Rawson's butt on a reach or downwind.... much longer waterline. We also sailed a lot with a little Falmouth 22 cutter. The Falmouth and the Rawson were pretty much identical speed.

[Schooner Chandlery]

Ours built in 1966 was solid deck but thin on the foredeck. We actually laminated up a deck beam to place under the tail of the bowsprit and windlass because the foredeck was so thin.


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[Cheechako]

Yeah, you could feel the deck flex in spots when walking on it on the uncored ones.

[Celestialsailor]

Well you could with a cored one too. The upper skin was less than 1/8" and the skin under 1/16" if you were lucky. The core was a foam checkerboard around 3/8".
I had to laugh, when on the Rawson board (Yahoo), some one called Ron Rawson a "Sage". I blew coffee all over the screen with that one. William Garden designed a fair boat for it's day but to call Rawson a Sage was way over the top. The boats were rough at best with a few corners cut...as I mentioned earlier...there is no other reason for using cement in a keel other than to save a few bucks. There have been a few problems with that ballast. Such as water and oil getting between the F/G keel sides and the rock. Not even covered with F/G to prevent it.