J/30 for Cruising

[BluePeter]

That's not really a remarkably low price at all for an older J30. It's average--maybe a little above. There's one locally for 6000 with an operating yammer and yes, some softness here and there. Having said that, as an active 70 year old guy, I'd have np problem using a J30 as a distance cruiser. Yes she can do short Bluewater passages, but she's light. I was recently aboard above mentioned boat and found it quite comfortable. All depends on how much luxury you require. I did a recent 12 week cruise of the bahamas and Cuba--on a Bristol 35.5. The J30 could handle any and all of that kind of cruise standing on her head.....

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by BluePeter

That's not really a remarkably low price at all for an older J30. It's average--maybe a little above. There's one locally for 6000 with an operating yammer and yes, some softness here and there. Having said that, as an active 70 year old guy, I'd have np problem using a J30 as a distance cruiser. Yes she can do short Bluewater passages, but she's light. I was recently aboard above mentioned boat and found it quite comfortable. All depends on how much luxury you require. I did a recent 12 week cruise of the bahamas and Cuba--on a Bristol 35.5. The J30 could handle any and all of that kind of cruise standing on her head.....

I would have more luxury on that J/30 than I do on my old Bristol 27 plus the speed and room would have been nice.

Looks like the owner may have sold it though ......he indicated in his last email.

I hesitated a bit because I kept seeing things it needed like first thing was a dodger. On top of that, I was getting no return calls from surveyors I had left messages with.

I wanted a moisture check done at minimum on that cored hull.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by BluePeter

That's not really a remarkably low price at all for an older J30. It's average--maybe a little above. There's one locally for 6000 with an operating yammer and yes, some softness here and there. Having said that, as an active 70 year old guy, I'd have np problem using a J30 as a distance cruiser. Yes she can do short Bluewater passages, but she's light. I was recently aboard above mentioned boat and found it quite comfortable. All depends on how much luxury you require. I did a recent 12 week cruise of the bahamas and Cuba--on a Bristol 35.5. The J30 could handle any and all of that kind of cruise standing on her head.....

Sure any boat can handle a cruise like that in the right conditions but if things don't workout and you run into some bad weather, I don't believe the boat you want to be on is a J/30.

Folks have pointed to Fastnet 79' and the J/30 that survived. That's nice but it was well crewed and only had to last a short time.

I can't see as a single hander laying a hull or heaving to on a J/30 if one were to get tired after 12-20 hours and the bad weather lasted a few days.

Racing boats sit high in the water and that cannot be good during bad weather. The beam on a J/30 is over 11' and it displaces only 400 lbs more than my Bristol 27 which has a beam of 8' and on top of that a Bristol 27 has more ballast than a J/30.

[merrydolphin]

One of the most negative factors of the J-30 for a cruising is the fact that is was designed to be held down or “ballasted” by RAIL MEAT! They have a broad beam that overhangs and needs weight for good stability. Perhaps movable water ballast. (But then they take up room) Maybe use fresh water. Have it do double duty. I have sailed these boats in offshore San Francisco conditions. With just 2 people they are a handful.

[Boatguy30]

Lot more boat than a Moore 24 which recently circumnavigated. If kept light could do passages as fast as quite larger performance cruisers and cats. Would not be my choice for Coastal or long term liveaboard.

[slap]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Folks have pointed to Fastnet 79' and the J/30 that survived. That's nice but it was well crewed and only had to last a short time.

Survival in the 1979 Fastnet is a big reason why the Contessa 32 is often recommended as a blue water boat. I assume that it was also well crewed and it also had to last the storm for a short time.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Sure any boat can handle a cruise like that in the right conditions but if things don't workout and you run into some bad weather, I don't believe the boat you want to be on is a J/30.

Folks have pointed to Fastnet 79' and the J/30 that survived. That's nice but it was well crewed and only had to last a short time.

I can't see as a single hander laying a hull or heaving to on a J/30 if one were to get tired after 12-20 hours and the bad weather lasted a few days.

Racing boats sit high in the water and that cannot be good during bad weather. The beam on a J/30 is over 11' and it displaces only 400 lbs more than my Bristol 27 which has a beam of 8' and on top of that a Bristol 27 has more ballast than a J/30.

Pretty interesting way to dismiss the fact that J30 didvp well in the Fastnet storm while many other boats did very poorly. You ckearly have your mind made up with no actual experience.

My J37 did very well forereaching to rest during heavy weather. We would just use a reefed main and no headsail. The boat would move slowly forward in far more comfort than if we were under way in tough conditions.
Also since it could out point the older designs, if things got uncomfortable beating to weather we would crack off 5-10*, with much less sail up than the neighbouring boats and still be sailing equal or higher, sail faster and more comfortable because we were no longer close hauled.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by slap

Survival in the 1979 Fastnet is a big reason why the Contessa 32 is often recommended as a blue water boat. I assume that it was also well crewed and it also had to last the storm for a short time.

Actually the Contessa 32 is a totally different boat from the J/30 and has an outstanding Angle of Vanishing Stability of about 155%

It's simply a very seaworthy boat much more so than a J/30 although I like both boats the Contessa 32 is the one you would want to be on if caught offshore in bad weather single handed for a few days.

Contessa 32 Capsize Screening formula: 1.80

J/30: 2.34

Bristol 27: 1.71

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Pretty interesting way to dismiss the fact that J30 didvp well in the Fastnet storm while many other boats did very poorly. You ckearly have your mind made up with no actual experience.

My J37 did very well forereaching to rest during heavy weather. We would just use a reefed main and no headsail. The boat would move slowly forward in far more comfort than if we were under way in tough conditions.
Also since it could out point the older designs, if things got uncomfortable beating to weather we would crack off 5-10*, with much less sail up than the neighbouring boats and still be sailing equal or higher, sail faster and more comfortable because we were no longer close hauled.

I don't need to actually be on the boat during a storm to get an idea about it's seaworthiness during bad weather, I can read the data on the boat.

I like the J/30 but since I'm getting up there in years and sail single handed should I happen to get caught in bad weather offshore and get tired after many hours the J/30 simply would be the wrong boat for me.

If you have a crew of say 4 experience sailors, it might be the right boat.

On an old full keel boat like mine built the way it is, I would have several options but on a J/30 as a single hander the options would be very limited

That being said today the goal is to avoid storms but you can still make a mistake an get caught.

I got caught in mid 30 knot winds with tide against wind on a simple 20 mile crossing at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and had few options but to sail downwind. I couldn't even leave the helm to lower the main which had it's only reef already in.....luckily I was able to furl the jib. (the furling line came loose a few weeks later so I was lucky there)

As it was the dodger frame got broken due to breaking waves and the bow lights no longer worked since they had been under water so much during the 3 hour or so crossing. The sail was over driving the boat and kept putting the bow under plus the waves were steep and breaking.

Had it been a longer crossing and weather event that would have gotten quite interesting. As it was things were starting to lay down when I was nearing the Southern Shore and home.

At one point I was forced to head DDW because of the breaking waves but luckily I was over to the West far enough to allow for this and away from the bridge and the 4 tunnel islands which have destroyed quite a few sailboats.

Other than that I had one tanker to avoid on the Northern Channel and then just had to hope everything held together like the rigging, tiller, and rudder bearings.

[thomm225]

Also Contessa 32 Ballast / Disp ratio is 47%

Beam: 9.5'

J/30: 30%

Beam: 11.18'

Picture is of Contessa 32 Gigi which JOHN KRETSCHMER sailed around Cape Horn with crewman and owner Ty Techera

He didn't choose a J/30 for this.

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/contessa-32

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/j30

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by thomm225

On an old full keel boat like mine built the way it is, I would have several options but on a J/30 as a single hander the options would be very limited

That being said today the goal is to avoid storms but you can still make a mistake an get caught.

I got caught in mid 30 knot winds with tide against wind on a simple 20 mile crossing at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and had few options but to sail downwind. I couldn't even leave the helm to lower the main which had it's only reef already in.....luckily I was able to furl the jib. (the furling line came loose a few weeks later so I was lucky there)

As it was the dodger frame got broken due to breaking waves and the bow lights no longer worked since they had been under water so much during the 3 hour or so crossing. The sail was over driving the boat and kept putting the bow under plus the waves were steep and breaking.

Had it been a longer crossing and weather event that would have gotten quite interesting. As it was things were starting to lay down when I was nearing the Southern Shore and home.

At one point I was forced to head DDW because of the breaking waves but luckily I was over to the West far enough to allow for this and away from the bridge and the 4 tunnel islands which have destroyed quite a few sailboats.

Other than that I had one tanker to avoid on the Northern Channel and then just had to hope everything held together like the rigging, tiller, and rudder bearings.

Some of those challenges while singlehanding are as much down to how the specific boat is set up and rigged as anything else. The more you can do from the cockpit, the better. And invest in a good autopilot that will be able to steer at least reasonably in bad conditions until you push things hard enough to run out of rudder authority. Being able to set the AP and move around the cockpit to deal with sails makes a huge difference compared to being stuck at the wheel / tiller fighting with the boat and not being able to reach to do anything about the situation.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I don't need to actually be on the boat during a storm to get an idea about it's seaworthiness during bad weather, I can read the data on the boat.

I like the J/30 but since I'm getting up there in years and sail single handed should I happen to get caught in bad weather offshore and get tired after many hours the J/30 simply would be the wrong boat for me.

If you have a crew of say 4 experience sailors, it might be the right boat.

On an old full keel boat like mine built the way it is, I would have several options but on a J/30 as a single hander the options would be very limited

That being said today the goal is to avoid storms but you can still make a mistake an get caught.

I got caught in mid 30 knot winds with tide against wind on a simple 20 mile crossing at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and had few options but to sail downwind. I couldn't even leave the helm to lower the main which had it's only reef already in.....luckily I was able to furl the jib. (the furling line came loose a few weeks later so I was lucky there)

As it was the dodger frame got broken due to breaking waves and the bow lights no longer worked since they had been under water so much during the 3 hour or so crossing. The sail was over driving the boat and kept putting the bow under plus the waves were steep and breaking.

Had it been a longer crossing and weather event that would have gotten quite interesting. As it was things were starting to lay down when I was nearing the Southern Shore and home.

At one point I was forced to head DDW because of the breaking waves but luckily I was over to the West far enough to allow for this and away from the bridge and the 4 tunnel islands which have destroyed quite a few sailboats.

Other than that I had one tanker to avoid on the Northern Channel and then just had to hope everything held together like the rigging, tiller, and rudder bearings.

More interesting arguments. You claim your boat has many more options in a storm than a J, then go on to describe a 30kt blow where you had no options but to sail DDW.
If you think your Bristol is the boat for you, then keep it. Not sure why you bring up a J-boat. My wife and I, pretty much the same age as you have a lot of miles cruising on a J boat. We never considered 30kts a storm, even with 12ft seas.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Some of those challenges while singlehanding are as much down to how the specific boat is set up and rigged as anything else. The more you can do from the cockpit, the better. And invest in a good autopilot that will be able to steer at least reasonably in bad conditions until you push things hard enough to run out of rudder authority. Being able to set the AP and move around the cockpit to deal with sails makes a huge difference compared to being stuck at the wheel / tiller fighting with the boat and not being able to reach to do anything about the situation.

Exactly!

And that was where I screwed up and the day I was speaking of. The autopilot could probably have handle the situation if I had just a small jib up but I had the main up with it's only reef in.

See video with jib only and autopilot is fine winds gusting to maybe 28 knots. You can hear it correcting the course at the start of the video. I was also further North here and in more protected waters.

Second video wrong sail still up winds peaking near 35 knots. Sea state had laid down a bit by this point and I was able to open the hatch and grab my camera. Wind still whistling a bit in the rigging even though it had dropped off some. Boat is still pushing lots of water....

The boat still tried to round up when I lost focus for a second while filming

You can imagine on your own similar scenarios 50-100 miles offshore with winds near 40 knots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agtdrmAqojs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nXfjcCuiPk

[thomm225]

So the J/30 did get sold.

Now it's in a slip about 5 boats down from my boat so I'll get to check it out much closer over the next few months.

Those things are always coming up for sale it seems with people leaving racing or buying a newer boats once they learn the j/30 is rather ancient for a racing boat

Hopefully the new owner will put the sails on etc at the dock so I can see the overall setup better plus hear the engine run.....

[JimsCAL]

Sounds like you are having secodn thoughts on passing on the J30.

And FWIW, the J29 was the racer back then. The J30 the racer/cruiser. J29s are still popular in club racing.