J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment J/30 buying question

I am in the market for a J/30 and found one that has been in the water for many, many years. I have been warned that this most certainly would mean the bottom likely has blisters and potentially moisture/water in the core as well. I am wondering if, as J/30 owners this is something common that you have experienced as well ?

There isn't a J/30 that's less than 25 years old at this point, so all have been in the water for many years. (Except one I know that lives in a Quonset hut in PA, but that's another story.) If you're in the market get it hauled and surveyed. See what, if any repairs are likely, then compare to others available. You might want to search the Boat, Sails and Equipment forum or read the several blogs of owners who have done extensive repairs.

Echoing Bob's comments. From my own experience, I stripped all the bottom paint and redid the bottom with barrier coat in 2007 - no blisters. Then a year later I had blisters in the stbd aft quarter. The source was not what most would think. Instead of osmotic blisters caused by water from the outside, the problem was due to wet balsa core on the inner skin. My boat had significant water intrusion from the transom area exhaust cutout. You can read more about it via the link below.

Not all the J/30s have this problem, but it is a common one. Look at it this way - you can do the work yourself, or pay a professional to do it. Plus when it is done right, it will last forever. The cost for me to do the repair was under $1000 in materials and LOTS of weekends over the fall through spring 2008. I've been told the bill to have somebody do this would have been somewhere between $15 to $20K.

Here are some links for those who have done this type of work:
Rattle & Hum #124
Brass Monkey #294
Mango Madness #185
Rhapsody #348
Phantom #364
Nordic Star #406
Vee Jay 2 #506

Am I the only one to can't bear to read all the "core rot" posts?

Seriously, the pictures make me sick to my stomach!

-dan

Thanks for the very helpful information, especially the links. Although the boat I am looking at is privately listed, the broker nearby told me that he could "save me" the estimated $ 800 for a haul out and survey expense by telling me in advance to simply expect blisters and wet core as a given and if I buy the boat to "expect that and be prepared to deal with it" Thus I was kind of wondering if it was a "given" as the broker suggested. Even the surveyor I chatted with says he charges and additional $3/ft when surveying an old J/ Boat because of the added time it takes to "find" the moisture in a fully cored boat. He said it's never a case of "if" but rather where and that is why it costs more.

I am trying to figure out if this is all a "given" expectations. From looking at all of those pictures it would suggest that it is. I now have to decide if I want to take on such a make work project, or maybe find another boat or roll the dice and maybe get lucky that this boat is not so bad. Decisions...decisions...

Thanks again for all of the information....

Not all J30s have wet hulls. I am lucky, when I bought Madcap I bought a GE protimeter to meter the hull and deck. The hull is completely dry. Prior owners have barrier coated the bottom with VC Tar and that probablly helped.

I do have a couple wet areas in the deck, but I have just stopped the water infiltation and monitor the spots with my meter. Also I drilled several breather holes from the inside to help dry out the spots. They do dry out over a long period of time. And fresh water dries better than salt. ALL old boats will have moisture issues. It is just a matter of the extent and how to deal with it.

Good luck on your search. The J30 is a great boat.

John - how much do the moisture meters run?

I've got some wet deck that I've put off doing anything about. I like your approach of stopping the bleeding, drilling some breathing holes and monitoring....

-dan

Here in the Pacific Northwest we keep our boats in the water year around. That means my 1983 model has been floating for about 27 years. I had to recore a portion of the bottom in 2006 from a leak at the top of the bilge that was not completely sealed when built. It was not that bad, but the moisture meter readings concerned me and I could not determine where the water was coming from until we tore into it. The rest of the boat is solid and mostly dry except a couple of deck areas where hardware was not seated properly.
Bottom line is these are solidly built boats that if properly maintained will hold up very well. There will likely be some wet areas, but unless it is excessive, the boat would still be more sturdy than a lot of other boats on the market. Sounds like the surveyor is trying to rip you off a bit. Any boat will need to be checked for wet areas. Use the information from the survey to negotiate a price you can live with and go for it. If the rest of the boat looks and works well that is. If the boat is well maintained you can usually see it in the cabin, motor, running gear and standing gear. If any of those areas are neglected, then the rest of the boat is probably the same.
Just some thoughts from a happy J30 owner. Hope you will be one too.

That is basically the challenge with J/30 I have located. It has been hugely neglected for a very,very long period time. In fairness it is priced fairly according to the condition, it is more a case of trying nail down exactly how much work is required and does one really want to take on so much ?

Ideally I would like to find one in better condition closer to home here in NW....As you are also from the NW I was wondering if you know of any that might be for sale ? Thanks for your comments.

If I do decide on buying this boat I would obviously hope that after removing who knows how much bottom paint that things below the waterline were not all that bad....I like the idea of being a wishful thinker, just not certain if that is realistic or not.