I currently own a pearson 27, I thought I would take it to other lakes but that has not happened. I spend most of my time club racing on an inland lake. The pearson has a wing keel and is not competitive upwind. My concern with going to a boat that is ten years older than my current boat is their upkeep. I look at several J30 that have some sort of water in the core. With the racign that these boats have done I expect it going to be a problem with most of the j. How big of a concern is this? Is buying an older J30 over keeping my current 1989 a crazy move like my wife thinks?
thanks
John

It Will all depend how much you like the J30? I have had two J30s, my first was Blue J 1979, and it had core damage on the deck, but it was fast. I removed all the hardward on the cabin and deck, cut the glass where it was soft and replace with new core and the bored out the through deck fitting from beneath, then filled all the holes with resin, and then drilled new holes. I wanted to fix any problems from the past and prevent any from the future. I have solid deck that I never have to worry about, except for Katrina.
I then bought another J30 after Katrina and am in process of rebuilding her. She will be called the TOY BOX.
I love the J30, I think it is one of the best designs for a Racer/Cruiser ever thought of.
My wife and I have two year old, and one design in New Orleans maybe in the future, but PHRF and cruising, it covers all bases in my mind. Sailing in the Lake Pontchatrain and the Gulf coast, I'm sure we will many years of enjoyment.
I also hope to rebuild Blue J one day, if I can buy my partner out and have another J30 on the lake to race.
Neil

there is really nothing quite compared to the J out there which does a lot of things very well. You either have sportboats where you cant get the wife to relax on or leadmines which sail like crap.

I taked to Mr Johnstone a couple of years back ( at a show where i looked at a J 100 and he asked me about wht boat I sail. I said J 30 and his eyes were lighten up and he said.... great boat , if we would make a new one with all the stuff the j can do it would be VERY expensive ( over 150 grand )

Ergo... even if you have to work on one and dunk 10 grand into it its an absolute bargain in the long run. If you keep a J 30 in good shape and do preventive maintenace you also will get the money back you invested .... maybe more ... there are very I mean very few boats who can say that in earnest.

Go for it ...

Thor

I second Thor's comments. Rhapsody is 25 years old. I've had to do some glass work under a couple of stanchions where there was wet core. I did the work myself and it cost me well under $350 for materials and my TLC time to restore the area to new condition. This winter I'm spending about $350 and rebuilding my Yanmar. I'm a gear-head from way back, so this is a very easy engine for me to rebuild. I also just rehosed the entire boat (seawater, fuel lines and once it gets well below freezing, the sanitary lines). Again - cost to do that about $400. Add all that up and you'll see for about $1,100 I've significantly extended the life of a 25 year old boat that is great for cruising and racing. We don't have any blisters, however this spring we plan on doing a chemical strip of all bottom paint, then spray on 10 mil barrier coat, followed by bottom paint. I bought an $80 Wagner power sprayer at Home Depot last year and used it for the bottom paint. It works great. My philosophy is to try and make the boat in better condition than the previous year. I figure in another 5 years, Rhapsody will be a brand new boat! Thor is 100% correct. Even if you had to pay for a professional peel and recore at $10K, you are much better off that dropping the bucks on a new boat. That being said, if my bank account would support it, I'd buy a 3 - 5 year old J/109 in a heartbeat. If you look at the for sale ads on those - expect to pay $220K and up. A J/30 runs about $20K to $30K. The position of that decimal point is quite a good value.

Good luck!
Bill
Rhapsody #348

Thor - should we run a pool to see how long it takes for you to get another J/30?

Thank you to all that have replied. You helped to confirm my decision. I will be looking for a j30. I've done plenty of project on my other boats, I just wasn't sure about the effort invovled in repairing core damage. I to try and upgrade each year, part of the fun is working on the boats.
John

Hi - speaking of older J30s...
Has anyone seen Vivacious in Annapolis that is listed on Yachtworld? I'm contemplating making an offer - wondered if anyone has seen / sailed her.

Thanks.
Mike

I've seen her...post an email address.

oh, right.

rdy1take2@yahoo.com

thanks for the info!
mike

Ric:

I looked at Vivacious a couple of months again and thought it was a lot of money given the condition of the boat. However, I would be interested in your comments offline as well, if you don't mind.
My email address - jgiffing@csc.com

Thanks.

John was visiting his new boat this weekend with a newly purchased moisture meter in hand...

He was smilling a lot.... his trip to the winter storage of the old lady was a success I would think.

Loaded up the truck with sails and stuff for his return trip home.

I am pretty happy as well, cause the very dry boat obviously goes to a good new owner.


Thor