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

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

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

There is alos the option of re-coring. I had a 3x5 section of the rear starboard quater re-cored of the acquired 2 years ago at a cost of about $4,000. I will probably have to consider re-coring additional sections at some point, but that was the only spot that had bad core (dark wood vs light indicating the begining of rot) and indicated a potential void when sounded with a rubber hammer.

I have some deck spots that will also need to be recored, but I may try to tackle that job myself one winter as they are above the waterline.

If you get the boat at the right price re-coring could make economic sense.

Hi, This is for 'atraxuus':
I might be interested in this cheap chicago boat. i am looking for a project J to refurb over a couple of years while I sail my other boat. I didn't see that one on any of the internet sites. I am in the Detroit area.

I am currently in negociations on a J/30. The boat is a 1979 model. The price has been agreed to and the sea trial, survey and mechanical inspections are pending. I am a littel nervous buying an older boat but it is a great opportunity to get a fast 30 ft racer/cruiser that the whole family will enjoy.

Could you please outline some of the preventative measures you allude to above?

This boat is near the top of my price range so I will not be able to afford any significant fiberglass work (not right away at least). So the questions begs... how wet is too wet?

I have been reading the forums here over the last week or two and I have a hitlist of problem areas for the suveyor to pay particular attention to. Does anyone have anything they think I should add to the list?

1) Check for impending failure at lower spreader - look for loose rivets.
2) Check for moisture/rot all over but especially in the following places: stanchions, chainplates, exhaust, rudder.
3) Check for cracking at engine mounts.
4) Check for cracking near the floor at the mast step.
5) Check rudder pintles and gudgeons for potential failure.
6) Check main sheet traveller for failure.

Too wet is a boat that is still leaking. If there are wet spots but the current owner has taken care of eliminating/minimizing the intrusion you are in ok shape provide the wetness is minor.

Wet spots to check:
Bulkead near chainplates
Cabin top near secondary winches

All in All the J/30 is a very solid boat and they are basically all wet in some fashion but that does not mean they are not sound boats.

Good luck hope to see you here as an owner!

David
#397

Older J/30, isn't that redundant? Is there another kind?

Anyone looking to buy a J/30 should check out Hullaballoo in Chicago. Great condition, fresh water sailed and definitely priced to sell!
http://www.yachtworld.com/co re/lis...oatsales&&ywo=sailboatsales&

[This message has been edited by GONeil (edited 10-15-2007).]

Thanks dbows I will add those places to my list.

GONeil as for the listing. Yes I agreee it is tempting however, it would cost alot of cash to get it to Vancouver, then I would pay more taxes at the border than by private sale in Canada.

[This message has been edited by dlabrosse (edited 10-16-2007).]

Refreshing to see a decent J/30 asking a fair price. While having a class helps maintain value, there always seem to be a number of J/30s languishing on the market for years at inflated prices. I'd like to see them back in action on the race course.

Well the sea trial went reasonbly well today despite lots of rain. Doing over 6 knots to weather was really fun. :-)

I wonder how easy this boat will be to cruise with 2 small children (4 year old and a newborn) and a wife who does not have much sailing experience. Specifically I need to figure out how to be able to leave the tiller for short periods of time. I read that some folks use a peice of shock cord wrapped 3-5 times around the tiller. The boat does have an autohelm as well but in English Bay this may not be very practical. The current owner advises me that his cruising main and furling 140% genoa generate much less power. Under this reduced sailplan and making use of the lazyjacks the boat has more weatherhelm but is more manageable with two people. I guess it will be easier when my oldest son will be old enough to steer.

I will want to lead the cunningham and vang control lines aft and will likely have to replace/add a clutch port side to accomodate these two additional lines. A Boomkicker and a dodger are on the list too.

The current owner claims there has never been any blisters below the waterline and knows of only one wet spot. He figures there is a dinner-plate sized spot around the starboard chainplate. Would this be the kind of thing that could be repaired from below with little cosmetic impact topsides? Should I have this taken care of sooner rather than later?

We will see what the surveyor has to say tomorrow.

Regards,
Dominique

Congrats! I hope this boat works out.

The first thing you need to do, as far as the wet spot is concerned, is figure out precisely how big it is and what the dimensions are. Forward of the stbd chainplate, you can do the work from the bottom and the repair will be hidden by the hanging locker. Aft of it, though, you''ll find that part is above the cabinet that sits against the bulkhead, and part is exposed. It can certainly be done from the bottom, but depending on the extent of the damage, you may need to disassemble some cabinetry and do a careful job with the glasswork as some may be visible in the main cabin.

Fix it sooner, not later and, while you're at it, isolate the chainplate from the new core with thickened epoxy so you're not repeating this project down the road.

As far as going out with your currently non-sailing family goes, I think you'll be in fine shape. I sail often with just the wife or with non-sailing friends and I have little problem. If you have a roller furling headsail, then you'll find it that much easier.

Encourage your wife to be comfortable on the helm for the times when you need to go forward. Also teach her how to depower the main by dropping the traveler. It will help her get a feel for how to keep the boat on its feet and it will probably improve her comfort zone as she learns that she also has some control over the boat.

The boat also sails very well with just the main. I've had friends out for dinner aboard and, despite quite a bit of breeze, well were sailing easily enough to have drinks and food in the cockpit and were occasionally sailing above seven knots.

No problem crusing, these should be on the top of your list:

1. Boom kicker
2. Slugs on the main
3. Cam Cleat on the mast about 1 foot from the exit plate for each halyard.
4. Self-tailing winches
5. Fine-tune for the mainsheet
6. Doubling the purchase of the vang to 8:1 or 12:1
7. Tune the rig for the smaller headsail - this will greatly reduce the weather helm
8. Maybe go to #3 on the roller until your "crew" gets comfortable sailing the boat


All these things helped me get the boat to not be a handful for cruising.

DB
#397

Thanks for the advice folks. Yes the cruising sails have slugs for both the mast and boom and the 140% is designed for the furler. These will definitely be my cruising set-up for a while. Besides I'd feel guilty having the beautiful North Sails kevlar 163% up when not racing.

[This message has been edited by dlabrosse (edited 10-22-2007).]

Actually if you are extended cruising, the 163 isn't a bad sail to have if you are trying to cover distance. I use a very "mature" 163 for cruising - well past its useful race life. The downside is when the wind starts to build, there isn't a lot of rail meat onboard. I had to put my daughter on the helm while I went forward to change to the #3. She wasn't a happy camper....

The #1 is good to keep speed for a broad reach without putting up a spinnaker. We did some 50 mile days cruising this summer.

A dodger is highly recommended for comfort while cruising too. Keeps you dry from spray if it is rough, can provide some limited shade, and allows you to keep the companionway open for a breeze while preventing rain / dew from entering the cabin.

Well the survey went well today. Yes there is a wet area by the starboard chainplate about 8-9 inches across and another oblong wet area starboard just in front of where the cabin top starts rising from the outside deck. The surveyor told me that these areas were not worth fixing as there are no structural implications. I will keep an eye on them, rebed the chainplates with 4200 and if they get worse will have them addressed.

The bottom and rudder are clean! No blisters. Very fair, recently expoxied and covered with VC-Offshore. Basically there is nothing wrong with the boat.

The one thing that bothers me is that the serial number is no longer visible. The boat had been painted at some point in the past and the hull number must have been covered over in paint prep. Anyone know of a red boat sold out of Seattle several years ago? It was registered with the Canadian Ship's Registry in February of 2004 with the name 'Legend'.

The engine inspection will happen tomorrow morning at 9am

Good deal - I'm glad to hear the boat is sound. I'm surprised the surveyor said to do nothing on the wet spots. Does the area flex underfoot? If so, the core is not just wet, it's rotten and will have to be replaced.

Also, the water came from somewhere - you need to identify the source and fix it. The chainplate is easy to identify, but what about the foredeck? The hatch?

Don't use 4200 for your chainplates! It's way too strong. 4200 and 5200 are polyurethanes, which means they are primarily adhesives. You want something on your chainplates that will flex with the boats motion, but that can also be removed for maintenance or renewal. Just because 4200 will be very hard to remove next year (or in five years...) doesn't mean that it is still adequately sealing the chainplates.

Instead, use a polysulphide type sealant, such as LifeSeal, LifeCalk, or Sikaflex.

The HIN will be available on any official doc related to the boat: CG registration, state registration, and insurance will all have the HIN. I'm sure the same applies in Canada.

The wet spots do not flex underfoot. The foredeck spot was a void from original construction that eventually broke down and leaked into the core.

The HIN does not appear in the records that we have. The title, insurance documents and the Canadian Ship's registry do not list the serial number. I'm assuming that it was obliterated before being brought to and registered in Canada. I would have to chase the paper trail back to Seattle to try and find it.

Subsequent to yesterday's mechanical inspection, the diesel requires about $1,000 worth of work. I'm thinking about splitting the bill with the current owner. Not sure if he'll go for it but it does not hurt to ask. The raw water system needs a bunch of work (new belt, pulley, impeller). It also needs a new alternator belt, zincs, oil and temperature alarms and a couple of new guages. The head gasket needs to be replaced and some touch-up paint work is required to the head gasket area. The idle needs to be adjusted. The two batteries also require replacement.

I'm of two minds here. On one hand I want all the work to be done professionally and not have to worry about it. On the other hand I think that alot of this I could do on my own. So I could save a bunch of money by getting the pros to do the head gasket and paint work and I could do the belts, pulley alarms and guages myself with the help of my aircraft mechanic friend.

Thoughts?

[This message has been edited by dlabrosse (edited 10-24-2007).]

If you are mechanically inclined, do the work yourself. Check out my engine rebuild and related maintenance site: http://j30rhapsody348.blogspot.com/p/rhapsody-j30-348-yanmar-2gm-rebuild.html

Parts are readily available for the engine. The one time investment in the Yanmar service manual is worth its weight in gold. Electrical work with harnesses and connectors is fairly simple, assuming you are not trying to manually reterminate old connector plugs on a harness. The generic Yanmar schematics are accurate and easy to read.

If you can negotiate with the seller on some of the items needed to be done, it may help defray the bill.

Subsequent discussions with the company who performed the work has revealed that the raw water problems might indicate that the Yanmar 2QM is nearing the end of its serviceable life. Re-powering within 3 years is not really within my budget so this might break the deal. This news makes me feel sick to my stomach because the rest of the boat is solid.

The representative from the mechanic's company figures there would be a slightly better than 50/50 chance on a rebuild. He thinks the raw water system's problems are due to corrosion and that there may or may not be enough material left to rebuild on. I'm already $1000 into this boat due to inspections and taxes. Is it worth spending another $600-700 to pull the head gasket and take a peak?

[This message has been edited by dlabrosse (edited 10-25-2007).]

Well you can pull the head in place without removing the engine. When I rebuilt Rhapsody's 2GM, the problem was scale built up in the water passages. The front cylinder was completely blocked in the head passages. I used a hammer and chisel to remove scale, Dremel tool to grind it out smooth, and then acid flushed with Vinegar. Again, if you have mechanical skills, you can save a lot of money to do the work. $600-700 to pull a head gasket could be reduced to > $100 for a gasket set if you did it yourself. The comment about "not enough material to rebuild on" is what worries me. I'd ask what components they are talking about, and why they drew that conclusion. I replaced the iron water bypath tube that was at the front of the 2GM because the nipple that held the hose to the water pump was deteriorated too badly when I rebuilt the engine - $36 for a new one.

Take it in perspective - what is the value of the boat, and what needs to be done to maintain/increase its value? You can spend money, or put in sweat equity. If you feel the cost/personal time is overwhelming for what you get, then make the decision to find another boat. Email me (link in header) if you want to be put in touch with other J/30s for sale. I know of 4 in the Southern New England area.

Bill

The current owner, being now aware of the problems you mention, will likely be willing to negotiate a significant price reduction rather than try to find another buyer. Also, surveyors will almost always present the worst possible situation so as to cover their butts. That being said, it is an older boat and my experience with Rauzer II #448 is there is always something that needs work and/or reconditioning.

DON'T LOSE HOPE !

It's a 20/25 year old boat, and all the rest of 'em are as well. They all will have issues.

Which issues do you want ? We all agree we don't want the core issues to be a major factor. Any possible engine issues are fixed easily enough. I have not heard of very many J30 repowers, perhaps none. That yanmar is a great ol' smoker. Talk to your jet wrench buddy about a head gasket (was the cause an impeller that wasn't replaced? Best case scenario - EZ fix, or was it the infamous mixing elbow problem). Go thru the engine archives here and learn about all the issues that everyone has had with these engines. Your engine's the same as all the other ones. Do you have a YANMAR mechanic talking to you telling you about a repower? That's the only strange part to the story.

Torreson.com on lake michigan knows em inside and out & you can talk to those guys by phone to ease your mind. Get a second opinon on whatever the engine issues may be (those belts will be a fun DIY intro for ya). The cool thing is that after you learn about all the issues the engine can have, and do the work yourself (it's a truly simple machine), that gives you great peace of mind at sea. I ONCE had the engine konk out on me (in the slip) & I knew right away that my recent oil & filter change was the culprit as I did not seat the gasket correctly and it bled air. The fix was easy. I think you want to keep after this boat since it's solid. Also, consider the price. At $30k, it should be the queen of the fleet in perfect shape in every way with good sails too. Discount for all the engine work that it needs (& it doesn't have the "Zephyr-Benz Faget" voodoo sails? minus $3k) (oh it didnt win the BC NOODS? minus $1500 right there), but don't bail, just renogiate the price to reflect the engine issues, get the boat, then make it right. This seems like a good boat.

I couldn't agree more. Very good advice in that post! If you do get too squeemish about that particular boat, drop me an email and I'll put you in touch with others who have J/30s for sale.

Ideally, we want you to have your new boat all ready to join as at the J/30 NAs on Narragansett Bay in 2008!

Unless the motor badly overheated and caused major damage (which sounds unlikely if it still runs) then I can't imagine a cooling system issue that would require a repower.

It's a very simple system on the 2QM15 motor, which is raw water cooled. You can replace most of the parts you mentioned for less than $100 dollars:

Hoses, impeller, belts, zincs, and thermostat.

Even if the water pump needs to be replaced, it's only $350 (not enough to kill a boat deal by itself).

These motors rarely have corrosion issues, the zincs do a good job of protecting the motor. What is vastly more common is an issue with sedimentary build up and scale. As the motor pumps raw water, the deposits in the water (salts and other minerals) can separate from the cooling water (particularly if the motor is run too hot) and cause blockages in the cooling passages. This is fixed with an acid flush, which is good to do every 4 or 5 years as preventative maintenance on any raw water cooled motor. If you would me to outline that procedure, let me know.

What is causing the mechanic to question the head gasket? Did he do a compression test?

These motors are truly very tough and part of that toughness comes from their simplicity. If there is something very wrong with the motor, then it probably won't run at all. Certainly, it will exhibit a clear symptom from the problem.

If the motor exhausts a lot of smoke more than a couple minutes after start up, doesn't start, doesn't produce much power, or has evidence of significant corrosion or leaks, then you'll have some issue to address.

Even then, though, there's not much that isn't fixable on these motors. If the rest of the boat is sound and the price compensates for the deficiencies, I personally would not let the motor stop me.
Of course, the decision is yours to make. Is this boat at this price better than the next best alternative?

No boat is perfect, particularly these old J/30's.

I had a number of issues with my boat that I wasn't thrilled about finding during the inspection. However, the good outweighed the bad and I couldn't be happier with Rambunctious.

I'm not trying to talk you into this boat, and I obviously don't know the precise state of the motor, but I can guarantee minor motor issues are - usually - easily overcome.

[This message has been edited by Jason King (edited 10-25-2007).]

Thanks folks for the words of encouragement. I have not given up on this deal yet though I don't feel all warm and fuzzy about it like I did before the mechanical inspection.

The mechanic is recommending the head gasket change as some rust stains have been noted coming off the head/block seam. I think this is behind the inspector's suspicion of corrosion damage in the block. The only way to really know is to open it up and find out.

I am hoping that this raw water problem is one that is easily addressed. I would like to clean the raw water strainer, check/replace raw water impeller etc. fix the temperature guage and install the temperature and oil pressure alarms while I'm at it and see what happens. If this does not relieve the raw water flow problem then the next step would be to open up the head.

I have forwarded the mechanical report and the large lines of my discussion with the local Yanmar dealer who performed the inspection and my concerns to the seller via the broker.

It's still not my boat. Any possible work will need to be discussed, agreed to and at least partially paid for by the the current owner. The ball is pretty much in his court.

I appreciate the offer of helping me to find another boat. However this is the only decent boat that I or my broker know of for sale on the West coast (I am in Vancouver BC). Trucking a boat in from the Eastern seaboard, Chicago or the Gulf of Mexico is not really an option. The cost would be more than a professional engine re-build. If this deal falls through I would have to start looking for a different boat altogether.

[This message has been edited by dlabrosse (edited 10-26-2007).]

I am no diesel mechanic that is for sure. But for the first 4 years I owned the boat I fought overheating. Always happend at the worst times. So I decided to dive in. Torreson was a HUGE help. I was able to solve my prolem for about $60 in gaskets and a new thermostat. It was basically scale buildup and pieces of an old impeller jamming the thermostat. I chipped away the scale etc. put her back together and we had a perfect season together - our first.

I found that the motor is amazingly easy to work on and with the help people like Torrenson and this list everthing was just as explained.

It seems that if it runs and has good compression then everthing else is relativly inexpensive and you can do it yourself.

Can't think of a J/30 that has been repowered.

If you need counseling, Teresa had the same up's and down when she was buying Triple Play.

David
#397

Things are looking up again. The current owner is going to pay the cash to pull the head and solve the raw water problem. The deal is still on for now...

Well. I have not seen the result yet but the owner of the boat I'd like to buy instructed the local Yanmar dealer to repair the diesel. They opened it up, chipped out the scale in the water passages, cleaned up the head, replaced the head gasket, changed the temperature gauge sending unit, rebuilt the water pump and boiled out the mixing elbow. Raw water problem solved apparently.

I will be looking at it first hand on Wednesday and will close the deal the same day if it all looks good. This is very exciting.

Many thanks to the members of this forum for all the help and encouragement. I can't wait to participate more in these discussions.

I hope all goes well with the rest. That engine repair is exactly what I did in my basement last year and it worked great - pictures here: http://j30rhapsody348.blogspot.com/p/rhapsody-j30-348-yanmar-2gm-rebuild.html

Rhapsody,

Thanks for posting the link. I found it earlier as I was researching this problem. I'm very thankful for this forum and for people like you who have been sharing information with the rest of us!