Sparkman & Stephens 30 Defiance Owners

[usdivers61]

Originally Posted by picklesandjesse

The faster one I mentioned had a taller bendy rig and was 3/4 rigged. I think he also might have taken the engine out and had an outboard.

Nice...mine has same rig, but no extended mast. Also has a 15hp in the old girl.

[X24]

Mine has a masthead rig with sail measurements very close to those of the Northstar 1000. She floats quite high though and is many hundreds of kilos lighter than the Northstar, presumably due to the fairly meagre existing fitout. There's a 25 litre fuel tank on a ledge behind the bulkhead behind the galley in what is arguably the most inaccessible place on the yacht, and a larger stainless steel water tank behind the engine with a pressure feed to the sink in the galley.

I've started planning to install larger water tanks under the settees so it's good to hear of others with them already. Big job though trying to work out what to do first. Considering the extent of the work involved - new wiring, new plumbing, new fuel tank, new water tanks, rebuilding the settees, moving and re-sizing the saloon table, re-fitting the galley etc etc, the challenge for now is working out how it will all look and fit together once completed, so I can figure out where and how to start.

For the record, Spinola Bay has an old 18 hp Volvo 2002 that still runs well but can take a while to start. We're looking into a new 16 hp Vetus M.18 which I've heard good things about.

[usdivers61]

I need some advice in regards to local Brisbane sail makers. I plan to get new sails for my D30.

Anyone have any recommendations on a sail maker that does good quality and is reasonable in price.

[usdivers61]

Has anyone had to rebed their keel on their D30? As I refit this old girl for offshore work, I have been wondering if I should spend the extra money to pull the keel off and rebed it...or should I just leave it there...."if it aint broke"...haha

[Spirit28]

Suggest you track down "Lydia" over at SA or on the Sea Breeze pages - he has recently restored a D30 in Brisbane (the light blue one mentioned earlier up the thread). Boat is now down in Tas (Cygnet). See some pics and discussion here:

https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/...riginal?page=4

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by Spirit28

Suggest you track down "Lydia" over at SA or on the Sea Breeze pages - he has recently restored a D30 in Brisbane (the light blue one mentioned earlier up the thread). Boat is now down in Tas (Cygnet). See some pics and discussion here:

https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/...riginal?page=4

Thanks for posting that. I owned Defiance for a few years. Got beaten up off the WA coast in her. My son..... now 29 was made on her after a 24 day passage from Darwin to Freo. We even had a visit from the Commonwealth Police about the Patanela which went missing at that time.

[usdivers61]

Hey guys, so have started the refit with electronics in Amazing Grace. The plan is to shape her into a serious off shore boat, so I wanted to start with power management. As a result the first thing I have fitted into the old girl is a smart battery monitor so I can keep track in regards to power input and output.


Next project will be to switch all internal cabin lights to LED. From there will go outside and fix all the navigation lights...at the moment the only thing that works is the bow port and starboard lights.

[usdivers61]

Next project after the electronics - will have to be the engine instruments - this is an expense I did not count on. This one is on me...I did not notice when I was checking out the boat in the first place that even though engine in great shape etc...no one had installed any instruments..grrr...I wish I would have noticed this before I made my offer.


This is not going to be a cheap exercise. However, it is one that needs to be done.

[usdivers61]

https://youtu.be/y4jArUjsFJk


First Video of me sailing my SS Defiance.

[PJM204]

Hi, I know this yacht, still at LBC. I have one named Topaz that probably began the interest of members in this design. I’m trying to find the location of the mould in the hope I can get a gel coat mould of the deck texture. Pls, reply if there is some knowledge in this regard.

[PJM204]

Pls see my response in the post.

[JarvW]

Hi. I’m about to buy a D30 located in Sydney, (Putney bay), which goes by the name of Criskator. Anyone know of her?

Apparently been family owned for 26 years.

I can’t get to see her properly yet due lockdown, but from everything I’ve read, she’ll be a good sea boat.

[Cyclesailer]

Originally Posted by usdivers61

Hey guys, so have started the refit with electronics in Amazing Grace. The plan is to shape her into a serious off shore boat, so I wanted to start with power management. As a result the first thing I have fitted into the old girl is a smart battery monitor so I can keep track in regards to power input and output.


Next project will be to switch all internal cabin lights to LED. From there will go outside and fix all the navigation lights...at the moment the only thing that works is the bow port and starboard lights.

Can you let me know about what power management goodies you've fitted? I need to do the same on my S&S30 which has two new AGMs - an Optima 70Ah for cranking and a Fullriver 110Ah house batteries - been going well for 3 years (never had to connect a charger) with just a small solar trickle panel I leave hooked up in the cockpit. Only basic electrics but seems to work - some battery management would make me a bit more confident when I take her some distance. Thanks!

[JarvW]

http://https://share.icloud.com/phot...xozzGvg#PutneyHi everyone.

I’ve just been to have a look at the D30 I had in mind.

It’s in pretty good shape overall, my only concern is some cracking of the fibreglass around the keel bolts.

I’ll try and attach some pictures that I took, but if anyone has any experience of this they could share.

The owner made no attempt to hide or cover it up. He asserts that it doesn’t represent a safety issue, and it has sailed quite happily like that for a long time.

[JarvW]

Hi all. Anyone have experience with fibreglass cracking along the edges of the ribs that the keel bolts go through?