The J/30 Manifesto

Short Fuse !

2010-07-29T10:14:00.001-07:00

Before I begin this installment did I mention I hate wiring? The marine environment and more so in the coastal area, is a harsh one…and over a 30 year timeframe a fair bit of transformation occurs with a boats electrical system….some items get added and some never get touched. Some things are done the right way and others are done more “creatively” shall we say.

Most recently I have been doing a tad of an unexpected overhaul on some (emphasis on some) of the electrical systems on Hull # 48. This whole process initially began when the engine would generally only start at the dock and not once out on the water. This of course necessities removal of the engine cowling and manually “jumping” (or really shorting out) the solenoid directly to the starter….generally done with a long handled screw driver and with more than a few sparks flying in your general direction. If you’re really lucky you get an electrical burn as well!

In my quest to rectify this problem I first noted that the ignition was old and worn out….fortunately I sourced a suitable replacement locally and for a grand total of $ 43 and a few nights of work the ignition was relatively easily replaced. Naturally this did NOT solve the problem. Next up, and with the great assistance from my fellow J/30 fanatics at the J/30.org website, I had a few other suggestions. One common failure was bad connections and worn out inline fuse connectors. As you can clearly see in the picture, low and behold what did I find in the bowels of the engine bay? Bad connections and worn out inline fuse connectors. This time for a measly $ 10 in parts all inline fuse connections have been upgraded to the blade style and all connections have been replaced. Now some of you more electrically inclined might recognize a large blue capacitor in the picture and wonder what the hell that thing is doing there. I did too. And after some research I found my answer. 30 years of accumulated mysteries abound on this boat.

So during my electrical maintenance upgrades I left the boat off the charger and found the engine would not start at all in spite of having run the night before. Hmmmm…..this of course led to an examination of the batteries to discover that that the (not so old ) batteries were indeed over 5 years old and long overdue for replacement. So old batteries removed and this in turn led to the discovery of some extremely corroded connections….including a bad ground to the engine block….naturally this meant all terminals were also removed and several hours spent with the wire brush and baking soda restoring the connectors to “like new” condition.

Next up is for the new batteries to get purchased and installed….all going well this will occur over the next few days and pending all of the “fingers are crossed hoping that the electrical woes are now resolved” chants I will be uttering, the boat is possibly ready for the BC Day long weekend. Failing that next up will be the solenoid as the starter was rebuilt recently.

As you can see what started out as a simply project has evolved to become a somewhat more involved procedure and clearly a full re-wiring is likely on the winter to-do list. One of these days I am actually going to get out sailing. I swear!

Riding the hook.

2010-07-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

The problem with race boats is that they are never much fun sitting still. One of the many cool things about the J/30 is the bizarre side deck mounted anchor locker that can entice you to throw out the hook and meander about on a lazy and windless summer day.

In all fairness the J/30 is easily the heaviest tank I have yet owned, but there is something to be said for added displacement at anchor. The J/30 has a very neutral motion in the water and does not violently thrash about like most ULDB race boats do with the wake of each passing stinkpot. On a side note what is with power boaters and MWA (maximum wake angle)??? it is like there is some secret throttle setting guaranteed to move your stinkpot around at maximum hull inefficiency.

As you can see I have just posted about the joys of a J/30 at anchor…clearly my semi-race retirement from owning race boats MUST be getting to me. One of these days there will have to be a J/30 race report in the near future……Stay Tuned !

Have tunes…will travel….

2010-06-13T08:15:00.001-07:00

Let me be the first to say “I hate wiring”. Now one of the interesting things about boat wiring, and more so on an older boat, is trying to figure out exactly what went on before. At times (many times in fact) there is the temptation to ask questions such as “why” for example…”Why would you run speaker wire through the bilge of all places, run out of wire, and solider on connecting wire, to get to the other side ?” Naturally I try not to ask these questions, I am certain for whatever reason it made sense at the time.

So back to my task at hand….what started out as a simple upgrade to the head unit, became an odyssey in re-wiring the stereo section of the entire boat, and naturally removing the old wire and tracing wires, back, forth, (and under) ultimately something quite workable emerged.

I won’t bore you with the rest of the details but suffice to say several afternoons and a few Saturday’s of spare time was required to complete this project and it is now one more item I can cross of my list

The end results are good. I have tunes and can control the Ipod at the same time and no longer have speaker wires running through the bilge.

Can your hot water tank do this ?

2010-05-11T09:37:00.001-07:00

Ever wondered what your living room might look like exceeding 10 knots downhill ? One of the reasons why I went with a J/30 instead of going in a few different directions is because the J/30 is one of the few floating living rooms from the early 80’s that can break the 10 knot barrier with the comfort of knowing that if you suddenly needed to take a hot shower you could. Now, I don’t know about you, but the ability to take a hot shower at speed is what I look for in a floating living room from the 80’s…..

We Are Devo !

2010-05-04T06:56:00.001-07:00

Circe truly is a munificent and all powerful Greek goddess….not only able to transform men into beasts and wild animals but also able to transform moral and chaste crewmen into Devo !

Note: She is also trying to destroy them with poisonous juices, much as the legend foretold.

It Floats !

2010-05-04T06:50:00.001-07:00

And it actually looks almost svelte next to the Andrews 28. Who knew ?

A message from the boat ?

2010-05-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

So there we were prepping #48 for launch and soon the mighty J/30 was high up in the air en route to the ‘Lake when almost as if on cue the on again/off again weather suddenly changed; the heavens were darkened and indeed the sun was hidden behind the clouds…almost as if the legend of the great Greek Goddess “Circe” was trying to tell us something. Indeed once the boat his the water the sun came back out and the rig is now in a more familiar vertical position.

I would be remiss if I did not also mention that much as the legend foretold indeed Circe did attempt to poison us all later in the afternoon…..fortunately we escaped the beer doldrums unharmed and managed to avoid a possible rum squall as well.

So the boat is now floating and we were also able to prove that you can indeed fit 9 people inside a J/30 should the need arise. Next up will be a proper rig tune and more interior cleaning with a few engine maintenance items as well, and then some re-rigging.

One of these days we will actually get to do some sailing. Stay Tuned….

To re-name or not to re-name that is the question.

2010-04-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

Those who know me, know that I tend to change boats a tad more frequently then the average bear. I’ll admit, it’s more than a bit insane, but it has also given me the opportunity to own and sail some of the best boats ever made under 30’ feet and I have throroughly enjoyed almost every one of them. Where am I going with this? Normally as standard practice I change the name of each and every one of these boats…there have been a few exceptions, for example when I had Mark Soverel’s former personal Soverel 27 “Nitro” who could change that bit of history ? I also stuck with the name “Ricochet” on my J/27 largely because the shoe really fit on that one (and of course because the name was hand painted on and thereby almost impossible to remove…).

So that takes me to Hull # 48, currently named “Circe” From the get go I was determined that the name had to go. However two things have since caused a brief moment of reconsideration. For starters I actually looked up exactly what (or in this case who) “Circe” was all about. Read on…..

Circe, daughter of the sun, was a sorceress who, with the help of herbs, muttering incantations, or praying to her weird gods, could turn men into animals, or create unsubstantial images of beasts. She was able to darken the heavens by hiding the moon or the sun behind clouds, and destroy her enemies with poisonous juices,

So just to recap Circe was a greek goddess who could turn men into animals and destroy enemies with “powerful juices” Clearly Circe was way ahead of her time when it came to understanding the needs of sailors. On the other hand, I also discovered the original paperwork for “Circe” and indeed this was the very first, (and only) name that Hull # 48 has ever carried…so once again you are looking at messing with 30 years of history ! For whatever reason naming your boat after an obscure mythical figure seemed the tabu thing to do in the early to mid 80’s. Damned those 80’s.

So the name may have to go – or it may stay. I am still on the fence on that one.
.

T-minus 24 hours…

2010-04-30T22:48:00.001-07:00

All going well #48 should be floating with the mast assuming a more horizontal position by this time tomorrow…..meaning less than 24 hours ‘till the fun begins and #48 returns to fresh water. The Hull is washed and waxed (ed. Note Blackberry built in camera’s do weird things to your wax job) and the moorage is paid. For those of you asking what it costs to moore a J/30 in my neck of the woods it works out to $ 1000 for the season, roughly May-October or roughly $ 170/month. At the Port of Everett it was roughly $ 250 month in comparison or $ 1500 for the same period of time.

Still have a few small projects pending between now and launch time with another update hopefully once we are floating. Will the motor start ? Find out soon in another instalment of the J/30 Manifesto….

Yellowbelly !

2010-04-27T20:20:00.001-07:00

Yes, they came in yellow as well. And green, and red, and all shades of blue. You name it; you could pretty much order your J/30 from the factory in the color of your choosing. Mine, (#48) once upon a time used to be yellow, before it became its current theme of sapphire blue with a fire red stripe. I have generally come from the school of thought that suggest there are only two colors for a boat…there is white and there is wrong. Having said that, I suppose I was due for a blue boat. Aside form my much loved white boats, I have owned grey(x2) red, and also once burnt orange (don’t ask) so I was due for some blue.

Getting back to the formerly “yellow” color of # 48, I have also been able to track down some other random but interesting history as well. # 48 was sold as a new boat into the good state of Oregon. It was delivered in early 1980 and to my surprise I still have a copy of the original PHRF certificate…all $ 12 of it and a rating of 2.3 (things worked differently in those days) The owner ordered #48 with many (if not all) factory options including the hot water/pressure washer option, additional salon galley table, additional fresh water tank and even fresh water cooling on the diesel. Fortunately # 48 was a freshwater boat for it’s first 14 years and remained in freshwater until 1994.

Fortunately the original owner did a full epoxy barrier coat (the results mean still a very good bottom even today) and also replaced the shaft and strut in the 90’s as well. It looks to have sold on to the second owner in 1994 who relocated the boat up to Anacortes, WA where it lived briefly for three years before being sold again to its third owner in 1997 who moved the boat down to Everett where ultimately I found it.

Owner #3 took very good care of #48…..installing both a PYI dripless shaft seal and a max prop being two primary examples of someone who really loves their boat, as neither of these upgrades are inexpensive. Owner #3 also invested in some sails and a few other goodies as well. In roughly 2006 Owner number 3 sold the boat to Owner #4…who was the owner that I ultimately found before I became owner #5. Owner #4 also took good care of #48…Investing in electronics…speed…depth…stereo…autohelm…new head…..a charging system….and of course ensuring all electronics work perfectly…naturally being an electrical engineer doesn’t hurt and I also forget to mention they did a lovely VC Offshore bottom job complete with cryptographic messages that must be seen to be fully appreciated.

Somewhere along the way someone upgraded the mast and all standing rigging as well. Thanks former owners! So here I am as owner #5…to date I have actually removed more than I have added as I said goodbye to the kerosene heater and decided one hurricane lamp onboard was enough. It’s not often that you can get such detailed history on your boat, however those that came before me all did a remarkably thorough job in keeping records and logs….I will endeavour to do the same.

For those few of you following this blog I know there comes the question…when does it actually hit the water? The answer is pretty quick…all going well it should be floating with a rig standing this weekend. Stay Tuned.

P.S. The picture of the yellow J/30 is not # 48…simply the only other still yellow J/30 I could find a picture of to speculate what #48 once looked like.

Cleaning detail…..

2010-04-20T19:42:00.001-07:00

So tonight’s task involved a much need cleaning of the interior and indeed this was no small feat. There is a whole lot of boat going on there and while there is a copious amount of storage space, this of course also means copious amounts of areas to clean. So much so that I will score this one as round one, and I can see a few more hits over the next month or so before there is truly a level of “spick and span”present.

After mixing up a potent concoction of Mr.Clean, I went to work scrubbing pretty much every square inch from bow to stern. Along the way I finally had a chance to probe and discover virtually every nook and cranny throughout the boat. Let me tell you, there are a great many “nooks and cranny’s” on a J/30. Far more than I realized. For general interest, here are some things I learned about the J/30 that I didn’t know before….

The holding tank is a flexible bladder type waaaay up in the bow. Not exactly the choice location but it has some merit in being there. Did I mention it needs a pump out ?

Another discovery was that there is not just one but two freshwater tanks and both are of a pretty good size. It’s almost like the J/30 is secretly water ballasted.

This boat has a pressure water system complete with a hot water tank. Can’t say I have had a hot water tank on a boat before nor can I say I have ever wanted one on a boat either. Things that make you go hmmm……

The diesel tank is also massive. If you were on the East Coast you could make Cuba easily.

There were other surprises but mostly I am glad that the worst of the cleaning is now done. Next project is most likely on the topsides…..stay tuned.

Kudo’s to the Port of Everett....

2010-04-19T15:17:00.001-07:00

I have loaded, unloaded, rigged and de-rigged at a few different boat yards over the years and have to say that it was a real pleasure working with the staff at the Port of Everett. From the gals in the office to the guys at the boatyard everyone was friendly, professional, and it is a very well run machine.

One thing unique to the Port of Everett is that they actually let you do your own pressure washing. Unlike most boat yards who charge you an exorbitant fee and do a lousy job, the Port of Everett provides you with a nice space, charges a nominal fee, and lets you go to town on your bottom....as aptly demonstrated here by Greig who blasted away the green slime to reveal a relatively decent bottom (as 30 year old boats go) If you look closely you can almost see that dead sexy Max-Prop !

Day 1

2010-04-18T18:34:00.001-07:00

Day 1……today’s boat projects started off with a visit from the Honda pressure washer…there is nothing quite like 4000 psi to battle deck scum…..after my pressure washing battle was complete I am thinking I need a refund on this boat. I could have sworn I bought a boat with green decks and low and behold they were actually grey. Who knew?

In all seriousness the one major downside to trailering a sailboat that you seldom hear of is what I call the diesel stream. When you haul a sailboat like the J/30 that is up in the 13’6” clearance range you are up around the same height where pretty much every big rig’s dual exhaust diesel pipes are blowing out spent carbon at high temperatures that end up nicely leaving a thin coating of diesel effluent all over your boat. And note to those towing to regatta’s, this is not a speed enhancer. So off with the combined diesel effluent and green deck scum and things are looking much, much better again topsides.

Next tasks is to check inside for leaks…nothing reveals a hidden deck leak better then a hi-pressure water stream….to my general amazement I find really no significant water entry whatsoever. Now, I really want a refund, what kind of thirty year old boat doesn’t leak?

Next up is to remove the bulkhead mounted kerosene heater…I actually feel guilty doing this…after all, it is literally some stainless steel handcrafted work of art all of the way from Essex, England that someone clearly invested an entire weekend performing a very detailed installation on. And then of course it hits me, that as a seasonal lake sailor, the usefulness of this heater is on par with having a Loran onboard. Off the heater go’s…..and that not so aromatic aroma with it. Next up…old hurricane lamp…gone…second hurricane lamp survives this round of the freshwater lake conversion process, subject to further review.

As I am a little ahead of schedule on my projects for the day, I decide to take on one more project; the one of which I fear most. The Bilge. For whatever reason, a bilge is just like the very bottom of your tool box. Things just kind of accumulate in there and one day you need to take it on to figure out exactly what it going on, what is in there, and then wonder why you didn’t do so sooner. In the case of the bilge it’s also kind of nice to get an idea as to what your keel bolts actually look like. They are not unimportant. Although there were no unidentified biological discoveries in the bilge it most certainly did have a rather dark and ominous presence and is now drying out awaiting a good excavation and cleaning for tomorrow.

And that is about as far as the day’s boat projects were advanced for April 18…the next instalment will involve The Bilge. Part II. Stay Tuned……

Home !

2010-04-17T18:21:00.001-07:00

When I earlier joked on this blog about adventures and misadventures, I had envisioned the latter with a fair bit of levity…however our two day road trip to bring the J/30 home turned out to become a three day odyssey. And not really for any of the reasons you might think. Everything at the Port of Everett went extremely well, Greig was an awesome wing man on the trip, the boat and trailer all went down the highway almost as if they were happy to be headed for fresh water. We ran into an entirely different type of scenario that no matter how well equipped you think you might be, you can never truly be ready for the CVSE. I’ll save a future entry just to share the CVSE experience firsthand, suffice to say it was a most interesting series of events.

So now the mighty J/30 is home and the next phase of the project is soon to get underway. A good clean up will be a large part of the next ten days activities along with a hull waxing and a few small conversion projects to get the boat a tad more suited for fresh water.

Stay tuned as the project unfolds…..

I hope you have a permit to carry that thing.....

2010-04-13T15:27:00.001-07:00

Often the question is asked.....”Do I need a permit to haul a J/30 ?” The answer is yes, yes, and yes. Permitting regulations vary from State to State and Province to Province however when you are hauling an 11’ wide load you most certainly do require a permit...and likely a few other requirements must met as well, depending upon your jurisdiction. If we were travelling at night we would also need a pilot car. I have always wanted one of those......

Both over width permits are now in place and the adventure is soon to begin very, very shortly. Stay tuned for a travel report when (and if) we return in one piece. Did I mention boat insurance is also in place ?

What J/30 did I buy ?

2010-04-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

The effects of the current state of the global economy have a different impact on the sailboat market then you might think. It’s really not so much a case of people are selling boats because they cannot afford to keep them, it is more of a case that people are not upgrading to the newest, latest, greatest and as such are not selling their current boats leaving the market relatively dry.

In my case there was very little availability of J/30’s for sale. I did manage to locate a project boat in Santa Cruz, however it was really more work when I would rather be doing more sailing. This is where the J/30 Class comes in. Now I have long heard the J/30 class is full of some really amazing people and up until recently, never had cause to find out firsthand. Suffice to say after posting a “J/30 wanted ad” on the class website, I had a huge amount of assistance from some great guys who actually helped me find a boat reasonably close by that I could never have found without their help.

A quick discussion with the owner and it was clear that a recent property purchase meant more time on household projects then there was to be sailing. Thus there was a J/30 for sale. A quick trip down to the Port of Everett, a night at the Inn at Port Gardner, and the next morning I was out in the rain touring Hull # 48. Now with any boat, there are always going to be pro’s and con’s and positives and negatives. In the case of # 48 the boat has a newer rig, a newer max. prop, and a freshwater cooled Yanmar. All good things. Naturally there are some downsides….the deck has a few make work projects, the sail inventory needs some updating and overall a really serious clean up as 6 months of non use in the coastal environment adds up pretty fast. The spin pole needs some attention and a few other issues along the way. On the whole the positives outweigh the negatives and we are able to make a deal that keeps things relatively simple and easy for everyone. The former owners are great friendly people and very helpful. I know they will miss # 48.

The Port of Everett has been great to deal with and this coming week the real adventure begins. Bringing Hull # 48 back home. Where is home you ask? Here in the Okanagan Region of British Columbia. This of course means trailering over the BC Rocky Mountains. I have hauled sailboats all across North America and can state that you have never hauled a sailboat until you have hauled through the Rockie’s ! It’s a trip. So stay tuned for a run down on the trip home. Hopefully we get back here in one piece…

Why a J/30?

2010-04-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years I have been fortunate to own some truly great race boats. However as much fun as they were to be on (and they were) they were not much fun to be in. While many of these racer’s had what I termed as “drinking headroom” down below, any exercise from using the head to changing into a bathing suit was one that required near yoga like precision and ballerina like flexibility. Neither are assets of yours truly.

So it was time for a change. I looked back over the years to all of the boats that I had previously owned (something like 17 over the past 25 years) a few boats stood out from all of the rest. The Laser 28 because it was truly a great dual purpose boat. The S2 7.9 because it was basically the same, only smaller, and my all time two favourite boats for being an absolute dream to sail, the J/27 and my most recent boat, an SR 27. Of all of them, there was something special that always stood out about the J/27. Hard to put a finger on exactly what it was but it was just such a great sailing boat that I have always had a soft spot for J Boats even since.

More recently I have been fortunate to do some sailing on a J/109 and also have been involved in the Andrews 28 project here locally. The Andrews 28 is not unlike a smaller version of the J/109….both are amazing boats but you are approaching a significant price point. Fortunately there are some good choices in the 30’ size range. The Olson 911, Santana 30/30, S2 9.1 and J/30 are all the leading boats in this demographic and no doubt anyone who owns one of these four boats likely gave strong consideration to the other three before making that final decision.

So why choose a J/30 over the rest? For me the answer lies in the fractional rig. I am a huge fan of fractional rigs. There is something to be said for playing the mainsheet under a stiff breeze upwind and feeling the affects on your helm of some added backstay. You can actually “play” a fractional rig in breeze and this is something I have long enjoyed. Masthead rigs I have never gotten the same satisfaction out of. Aside from the fractional rig I also like the interior layout of the J/30, a nice simply salon style setup with a drop in galley table and generous accommodation thanks to the gigantic 11’ beam. And my final deciding factor was the overall fit, finish and “feel” of a J Boat. If you have owned one in the past you know what I mean. There is always something to be said for a boat that likes a stiff turn of breeze. So here I am with a J/30……stay tuned for more….

How did I get here ?

2010-04-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

Over the past twenty years I have been campaigning mostly full on race boats and somewhere along the way I think I had one race to many. It was time for a change. Time for a legitimate racer/cruiser. This led me to the J/30. I’ll chat more about why a J/30 in future postings. The idea of this blog it to follow along the journey of a newly purchased J/30 and all the adventure (misadventure?) that accompanies a new boat purchase. Have fun and stay tuned for more.

Welcome

2010-04-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

man·i·fes·to
play_w2("M0080900")
(m n -f s t )
n. pl. man·i·fes·toes or man·i·fes·tos
A public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions

Welcome to the J/30 Manifesto. No, that is not the name of the boat, simply the name of this blog dedicated to both the boat and the design. Feel free to share ideas and discussion an all things J/30.