Launching Retriving J/30

Hi all,

I am seriously considering a J-30 for single-handed racing and want to be able to take the boat to various locations so I want to trailer the boat.

How do you launch and retrieve a J-30. Does anyone launch on a ramp or do you have to find a crane for the mast and to pick the boat up?

Also, how extensive is the problem I've read about with moisture in the hull from exhaust core not being sealed etc?

Thanks,

Don

I have trailered my J-30 to several races within a couple hundred miles from my home. I usually have to use a tongue extension on the trailer (about 25 ft long) it depends on the ramp. I carry my own extension - so I don't have to rely on there being one at the lake. I have a smaller mast about 18 ft long that I raise on the deck and then use a block and tackle to raise and lower my J-30 mast with. It works surprisingly well.

I am intrigued by what you are describing. Have you ever taken any photos of the process and how you have everything rigged? I'm sure more people than myself would like to see how this works.

Great to know it can be done. Do you have a tongue wheel on the trailer to support the boat as you go down the ramp? And, do you raise the mast from the stern or the bow? It sounds like you're using an 18' gin pole. Pics would be fantastic.

I'm looking for a good J/30 as close the Pacific Northwest as I can get but I'd rather have a good boat than one that is just close. If anyone has a great J/30 for sale or knows of one please let me know.

Don

I do not have any photos of my mast raising rig, but it is relatively simple now that I have worked the bugs out of it. It takes two people about 30 minutes to raise or lower the J-30 mast using this method. I found an old sailboat mast laying abandoned at our boat yard (in fact I had to splice it back together). I use this as a gin pole to raise the J-30 mast. It is about two feet taller than the distance from the deck to the spreaders on the J-30. Somewhere around 18 feet long. It has to be light enough so that two people can raise it by hand. I made a plywood base plate that I set between the hatch and the raised ring on the deck around the hole in the deck that the mast goes through. I have a homemade "U" shaped hinge plate on this plywood base so I can rotate the gin pole up to vertical position. Position the J-30 mast resting on the fore deck or pulpit and the aft rail so the spreaders will be slightly behind the gin pole and the top of the mast is aft. The gin pole will be raised just in front of where the J-30 mast will be stepped. I use 1/8" wire rope or you can use spectron or other low stretch line to guy from the top of the gin pole to the bow and to two padeyes near the port and starboard toe rails slightly behind the side shroud chainplates. ( My side guys are cut to the corect length and I use a turnbuckle on the forward guy to tension these temporary guy wires. Make sure that you position the aft guys so they pass over the spreaders and between the J-30 mast and the upper side stays at the tip of the spreaders. I use a double block with becket and a double block rigged up with 100 feet of line to give me a 5:1 purchase. I fasten the double block with becket to an eye at the back of the top of the gin pole. If you are raising the mast you have to let out enough slack to go from the top of the gin pole to the deck. I also have a turning block mounted on the deck near the mast partners. The running end of the tackle goes through the turning block and then back to one of the main winches. Fasten the lower block to the J-30 mast just below the spreaders with a slightly loose sling or loop of rope (if the sling or loop of rope is too tight you won't be able to retrieve it after the J-30 mast is up. Also tie a line to this sling to help pull it down after the J-30 mast is stepped. One person uses the winch to begin raising the J-30 mast. Make sure the stays and shrouds do not foul on anything as you raise the mast. The other person guides the butt of the mast back as the mast is raised. Once the mast is verticle slowly lower it into the mast partners until the butt of the mast is on the mast base plate. Slack off the block and tackle as you pull the sling down the J-30 mast. Release the temporary guys and lower the gin pole. Lowering the J-30 mast is actually easier - you can use a halyard to raise the gin pole. The only hard thing is getting the temporary side guys over the spreader - I toss a light line over the spreaders then pull the side guys up over the spreader before I fasten them to the side decks.
My tongue extension has a set of wheels mounted on them at the aft end where it fastens to the trailer tongue. Make sure they are strong enough to handle at least 600 lbs of tongue weight.

Great description! Thanks for taking the time to write it all down.