J/30 for Cruising

[thomm225]

Too light?

Lack of head room?

No place for anchor besides on deck?

[TheOffice]

Define 'cruising". Overnight/weekend, fine. Anchor locker is on starboard side. For a lunch hook, not a serious anchor.
Extended passages, not enough tankage. No oven.
May have wet decks, so choose carefully.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

Define 'cruising". Overnight/weekend, fine. Anchor locker is on starboard side. For a lunch hook, not a serious anchor.
Extended passages, not enough tankage. No oven.
May have wet decks, so choose carefully.

This one actually has an oven which is more than my Bristol 27 has. The J:30 can probably also carry more water than my Bristol.

I would use in maybe for around here, coastal US to include short ocean hops, Caribbean Cruising

[psk125]

My brother and his wife go out for a week or two at a time from Juneau. Tracy Arm, Admiralty Island, Gustavus, Sitka... He cruised the boat up from Seattle. Would seem a lot more fun than something slower.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by psk125

My brother and his wife go out for a week or two at a time from Juneau. Tracy Arm, Admiralty Island, Gustavus, Sitka... He cruised the boat up from Seattle. Would seem a lot more fun than something slower.

Yeah it would seem like more fun to have a boat that could perform a bit, but it depends on age and crew maybe.....plus what you intend to do with the boat.

How you would use it. I'd hate to get half way to Bermuda and run into some really bad weather as a single hander of advanced age on a J/30. Much better to be on my good old Bristol 27 I'm thinking.

This boat is a later model J/30 and looks pretty good, but I can see how my Bristol 27 would be much better in a blow. In other words, if I knew I was going to hit bad weather for days and days as a single hander I'd chose a Bristol 27 over a J/30.

Maybe since this boat is at such a low price I could have both which is what I always did with the beach cats that I raced having two boats for different races and conditions.

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/d...401860066.html

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

Define 'cruising". Overnight/weekend, fine. Anchor locker is on starboard side. For a lunch hook, not a serious anchor.
Extended passages, not enough tankage. No oven.
May have wet decks, so choose carefully.

and more likely wet balsa in the hull.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

and more likely wet balsa in the hull.

Yeah that's the worry......I'd have it surveyed definitely though before buying

[boatpoker]

Anyone considering a J-boat should master the moisture meter. No need to spend hundreds on a meter. Ryobi has a terrific metet for about $60.

This may help ...
Moisture meter Mythology

[fishead]

I cruised the east coast and western Caribbean on a J30 for two years back in the early eighties. A lot of that was single handing. I put hanks on the jibs and slides on the main instead of a bolt rope. It made sail handling easier. A roller furling jib would have been nice. I also added a dodger, a Monitor wind vane, and an autopilot. The boat worked great. My next boat was a J35 which was a rocket ship to weather.

[Shanachie]

Two J30s survived the infamous Fastnet storm way back in the day. One had been singlehanded from the U.S. and the other was a British model entered in the race.


Of course, that was when men were men and all that. It wasn't necessary to have a 50-foot catamaran with watermaker and full laundry to go coastal cruising.


These boats are now what, 40 years old? So they would need a thorough going over, with probably a refit, before doing anything adventurous. But there is precedent for adventure.

[fishead]

Yeah, I was a hard young man then. Now I'am cruising on a 44' powercat with a water maker. Don't have a washer and drier though.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by fishead

Yeah, I was a hard young man then. Now I'am cruising on a 44' powercat with a water maker. Don't have a washer and drier though.

Yet :-)

[JimsCAL]

There were changes in the J30 over the years. The early ones were like the J24 and you sat on the deck. The later ones had a real cockpit. Friend had one of the later ones with a real cockpit, propane stove and oven, etc. I would have been perfectly comfortable cruising on that boat. Before he sold it I loaned him my moisture meter. Hull core was dry except for one small spot. it was a fun boat to sail.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by JimsCAL

There were changes in the J30 over the years. The early ones were like the J24 and you sat on the deck. The later ones had a real cockpit. Friend had one of the later ones with a real cockpit, propane stove and oven, etc. I would have been perfectly comfortable cruising on that boat. Before he sold it I loaned him my moisture meter. Hull core was dry except for one small spot. it was a fun boat to sail.

Thanks for that info.

This is one of the later ones and looks just like the pictures so far.

I haven't seen the interior yet though.

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/d...401860066.html

[Manateeman]

It depends on where you sail. I worked for TPI and if you hit something solid, there will be a lot of hull / keel damage which is very expensive to repair.
Light construction gets you a fast boat but it’s still very lightly built.
I wouldn’t take one far offshore.
Captain Mark