J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment concerns with older j30

Ric: I would be interested in this as well. Could you forward your comments to jeff@jeffandlinds.com?

Thanks, Jeff

I am also interested in a used J30. When I call a broker (about some of the boats listed on this site) I am always told that The boat is "saturated" or "has moisture problems". This is pretty scary for a newby. It also seems unlikely. What are the "typical" j30 moisture problem area? On person has nice boat in Chicago for less than 10K but has a wet hull in an area of 10 feet by 3 feet. That seems like a big problem to me. Does anyone have a word to chare about moisture problems of that magnitude?

I just bought Hull #278 and I looked at several boats before I finally settled on this one. I looked at one that had two feet of ice in the bottom, I saw one that had a hole in it fixed with Bondo, and I have saw one that had rusted running rigging. Every single one of them had moisture issues. The boat I bought has some moisture issues. The reality of a J boat from the 70's and 80's is they have moisture in them. The trick is to find out where on how much. Most boats have moisture at the Chainplates, around the stanchions, in the transom, and in the rudder. Many boats have some moisture in the bottom. The boat I bought has only minor amount of moisture in the usual spots. It does have some elevated moisture levels in the bottom. I actually had the boat "core" tested to make sure. My surveyor and yard guy both check the core while I was there. As long as the core is not rotten (black or falling out of the core) it is ok. What you want to avoid is core that is dripping, or again black or that you can pull out with your fingers. I had my boat check the core material analyzed. Long story short be prepared for some moisture be wary of dripping wet core or moisture meter reading over 70 or 80. By the way I just saw a powerpoint of Balsa cores that proved that Balsa cores will retain 95% of its integrity and load bearing capacity when it is 135% saturated. This of course is not ideal, but it goes to show how strong this boat design really is. They are great boats! But be wary of wavy hulls, spongy decks, depressions in the hull where the boat sits on the cradle. These are all telltale signs of serious structural issues.

HHSA
Velocity Girl
#278

What does it mean for something to become more than 100% saturated?

I am not sure how to explain it other than it is really dripping sopping fully wet. I am sorry I can't give you a better explanation. There was a long scientific detailed description of what it means. I can't post the powerpoint because it is proprietary info.

HHSA
Velocity Girl
#278

I would guess that percentage saturation refers to the relative weight of the saturated wood. Balsa can hold several times its own weight in water.

A cored boat can maintain its structural strength even with wet core. However, once a core is wet, it will eventually rot. Once that process starts, the skins will delaminate and, ultimately, there will be a void between the two skins when the wood fibers break down. It's at that point that it becomes a significant structural issue.

Here's a photo of me squeezing rotten, saturated balsa core from a Pearson Triton - note the water that's squeezing out. In this case, the saturated deck section failed and, when someone jumped from the dock to the boat, it caused a six inch crack in the deck.

Thansk for the responses! If the hull is wet via a meter reading of 70- 80 or if it is soaking wet wouldn't that be a very good reason not to buy the boat? How hard is that moisture to repair?
I read an article about moisture in the hull. What I got from it was that the manufacturer used cheap materials which are porous in the 1st place. Then during layup allowed the previous layer to cure to long or allowed it to gather dust before laying the next layer. This would cause a failure of the layers to cehmically bond resulting in a permanent problem that can't effectively be repaired permanently. A sign of this wold be a small puncture that causes a long moist area. This would lead me to think that a J boat is a great boat to sail, but a pain to own. (
PS I want a J so bad I can taste it and I loose sleep at night dreaming about sailing it.)

This moisture thing is tricky...When I bought my boat we metered a spot on the bottom at 90. The meter my surveyor used is a comparative meter so it works a bit differently than the standard type. The numbers don't exactly correspond to percents, however that number was too high for me. Due to some mitigating circumstances I was able to request and get permission to do a core test on my boat. The spot that metered at 90 ended up being basically dry. A small section of the hull had de-bonded which is not the same as de-laminated and we got a false reading. We did two other core tests and found some very old moisture that had been present in the boat from osmotic pressure. I had my local (not the yard guy at the marina where my boat was located) inspect the core we removed. He agreed that some elevated moisture was present, However he assured me that it would take 25 years before this could ever become a problem. He also offered me some "easy" solutions that I can do over the years I own the boat to prevent serious or permanent damage. Their is a difference between moisture that all boats with cored hulls have and saturation. Don't be afraid to ask for a core test and definitely don't be afraid to walk away from a boat. There are alot of J's out their and it is a buyers market. I almost walked away from the one I bought until I did the core test. If you want to check my boat out it is listed on Boats.com with a sale-pending marker. The boat is currently called divini smile but is soon to be Velocity girl. You can see how nice this boat is, but I was not afraid to dump it if the core results were not good.

HHSA
Velocity Girl
#278

P.S. Owning a J boat is a bit more work but an ounce of prevention saves thousands of dollars of cure. They are great boats but need a little extra TLC. However, that TLC is rewarded with awesome performance good cruising and great sailing at a very affordable price.

I hope I haven't scared you off of J's just be patient and you will find the right boat!

HHSA
Velocity Girl
#278