I posted a lot of questions asking for help while we searched for, bought and prepped our 93 C30 TR WK for our first season sailing her. Here's an update for those who were patient and helped us along the way.
The primary goal for moving up from our O'day 25 was a more stable sailing boat with a larger, more comfortable cockpit and wheel steering. These were the requirements of my wife and we all know that life is better when the wife is happy.
The additional benefits of larger boat inside the cabin were secondary but I really appreciated the layout while working on the boat this spring. Especially the easy access to the engine.
Last week was our annual vacation on LBI. We stay in a rental that has a dock on a canal with the bay only 100 yards away. The boat was launched the week before and was still a mess inside from my many projects and the sails were still in the basement. With only an hour of practice maneuvering the C30, I motored the boat across the bay to LBI the Saturday we arrived. Having access to the boat just outside the back door, I was able to get the running rigging sorted out, wiped down the inside and put the cushions in place. By Monday afternoon the sails were hung and we were ready for our first sail.
The wind was up and the bay was choppy so to keep it simple we sailed with only the jib out. Cathy had a cervical fusion in April and while the Dr cleared her to go sailing, I was being sure to keep the boat flat and gentle.
While the C30 handled like I expected Cathy couldn’t get over how stable, smooth and comfortable the boat was compared to the O’day.
We sailed a couple hours each on Tue and Wed using only the jib.
Thursday we had light winds so we sailed with both the main and jib. We also did a sunset cruise.
On the Friday before we leave I always motor the boat back to the marina by myself but Cathy enjoyed the C30 so much, this time she came along for the ride.
I’m glad we moved up to the C30.
Cathy is ecstatic with our decision! She absolutely loves it!
I did have trouble getting back into our slip due to strong winds and little experience with a boat of this type and size. She suggested I speed up my learning curve by calling my ASA 101 instructor and asking if he could give me some docking lessons. He said sure and reminded me he has had his 87 C30 for over 25 years.
We met up on Thursday. He warned me the night before there were small craft warnings with winds 18-20 with gusts 25 plus. He would have canceled a normal 101 class but with a C30 he was OK with it if I was. I couldn’t pass up getting a chance to sail in 20 plus winds with someone who has the experience in the same boat as mine.
First we went over the boat and then set sail. He explained with these winds we only needed the first reef in the main and no jib.
We had winds 16 to 20 and much higher gusts, one we measured with a hand held meter at 26.2. The boat never rounded up and we spent a lot of time at or near hull speed.
We went over how all the lines were rigged, some improvements that could be made and he actually saved me some money by explaining how some upgrades I wanted to make were not needed. We practiced trimming for performance and trimming to keep it flat.
Then we went back to the slip and practiced docking in the high winds. It took a while to work out a docking plan and I did ding up the pulpit on a piling but overall it was a great experience and increased my confidence in what the boat and I could handle.
All of my upgrades, electrical wiring, batteries, ACR, charger, alternator, coolant hoses, HX cleaning, glow plug relay, new halyards, main sheet tackle, etc worked well except for one.
@Don Guillette You suggested I rig an external outhaul instead of fixing the internal outhaul but I stubbornly went ahead and built my own internal outhaul. It was an epic fail. Worked well at home but by the time the boom was mounted on the mast it was hung up. I switched to an external outhaul and it works great.
Never did get the new electric head, new autopilot, new inverter or all the LED lights installed but for now it’s all about sailing.
Here's our favorite photo of sun dogs, the bright spots on either side of the sun. Those spots "dog" the sun.
And here is "Sun Dog"
Copper, our 9 yr old golden, spent a lot of time lounging onboard while I got the boat ready.
Cathy relaxing on during our first time out with all sails up.
Heres a general pic. Nice Harken traveler but someone led the lines through several blocks and mounted the cam cleats on the teak of the sliding hatch cover. That added a lot of friction. I'll be moving them back to the traveler. That triple main sheet block is a nice Harken ball bearing block. The other main sheet blocks are new Garhaurer series 40 blocks. The main sheet clam cleat and single rope clutch will be replaced with a triple Garhauer rope clutch.
Here's the outhaul I rigged. Worked well. Will replace the horn cleat with a cam cleat at some point. Look close and you can see the clew strap I made. I sewed D rings onto both ends of a length of dyneema 1" webbing and used a shackle to attached to the clew. The dyneema slides easily on the boom.
Thanks all!
The primary goal for moving up from our O'day 25 was a more stable sailing boat with a larger, more comfortable cockpit and wheel steering. These were the requirements of my wife and we all know that life is better when the wife is happy.
The additional benefits of larger boat inside the cabin were secondary but I really appreciated the layout while working on the boat this spring. Especially the easy access to the engine.
Last week was our annual vacation on LBI. We stay in a rental that has a dock on a canal with the bay only 100 yards away. The boat was launched the week before and was still a mess inside from my many projects and the sails were still in the basement. With only an hour of practice maneuvering the C30, I motored the boat across the bay to LBI the Saturday we arrived. Having access to the boat just outside the back door, I was able to get the running rigging sorted out, wiped down the inside and put the cushions in place. By Monday afternoon the sails were hung and we were ready for our first sail.
The wind was up and the bay was choppy so to keep it simple we sailed with only the jib out. Cathy had a cervical fusion in April and while the Dr cleared her to go sailing, I was being sure to keep the boat flat and gentle.
While the C30 handled like I expected Cathy couldn’t get over how stable, smooth and comfortable the boat was compared to the O’day.
We sailed a couple hours each on Tue and Wed using only the jib.
Thursday we had light winds so we sailed with both the main and jib. We also did a sunset cruise.
On the Friday before we leave I always motor the boat back to the marina by myself but Cathy enjoyed the C30 so much, this time she came along for the ride.
I’m glad we moved up to the C30.
Cathy is ecstatic with our decision! She absolutely loves it!
I did have trouble getting back into our slip due to strong winds and little experience with a boat of this type and size. She suggested I speed up my learning curve by calling my ASA 101 instructor and asking if he could give me some docking lessons. He said sure and reminded me he has had his 87 C30 for over 25 years.
We met up on Thursday. He warned me the night before there were small craft warnings with winds 18-20 with gusts 25 plus. He would have canceled a normal 101 class but with a C30 he was OK with it if I was. I couldn’t pass up getting a chance to sail in 20 plus winds with someone who has the experience in the same boat as mine.
First we went over the boat and then set sail. He explained with these winds we only needed the first reef in the main and no jib.
We had winds 16 to 20 and much higher gusts, one we measured with a hand held meter at 26.2. The boat never rounded up and we spent a lot of time at or near hull speed.
We went over how all the lines were rigged, some improvements that could be made and he actually saved me some money by explaining how some upgrades I wanted to make were not needed. We practiced trimming for performance and trimming to keep it flat.
Then we went back to the slip and practiced docking in the high winds. It took a while to work out a docking plan and I did ding up the pulpit on a piling but overall it was a great experience and increased my confidence in what the boat and I could handle.
All of my upgrades, electrical wiring, batteries, ACR, charger, alternator, coolant hoses, HX cleaning, glow plug relay, new halyards, main sheet tackle, etc worked well except for one.
@Don Guillette You suggested I rig an external outhaul instead of fixing the internal outhaul but I stubbornly went ahead and built my own internal outhaul. It was an epic fail. Worked well at home but by the time the boom was mounted on the mast it was hung up. I switched to an external outhaul and it works great.
Never did get the new electric head, new autopilot, new inverter or all the LED lights installed but for now it’s all about sailing.
Here's our favorite photo of sun dogs, the bright spots on either side of the sun. Those spots "dog" the sun.
And here is "Sun Dog"
Copper, our 9 yr old golden, spent a lot of time lounging onboard while I got the boat ready.
Cathy relaxing on during our first time out with all sails up.
Heres a general pic. Nice Harken traveler but someone led the lines through several blocks and mounted the cam cleats on the teak of the sliding hatch cover. That added a lot of friction. I'll be moving them back to the traveler. That triple main sheet block is a nice Harken ball bearing block. The other main sheet blocks are new Garhaurer series 40 blocks. The main sheet clam cleat and single rope clutch will be replaced with a triple Garhauer rope clutch.
Here's the outhaul I rigged. Worked well. Will replace the horn cleat with a cam cleat at some point. Look close and you can see the clew strap I made. I sewed D rings onto both ends of a length of dyneema 1" webbing and used a shackle to attached to the clew. The dyneema slides easily on the boom.
Thanks all!
