I looked very closely at the N30 Mark II and III's. I would have bought a II, but it had very wet decks, which can happen to any poorly maintained boats with a lot of deck hardware improperly mounted. The Mark III is a different boat. The redesign of the keel for the Mark III was poorly done by the "design team" (the Mark II is a Gary Mull design) in my opinion and in the opinion of my surveyor. The fin is very small compared to the Mark II and there just isn't a lot of meat in the stub to bolt the keel to. The Mark III in question had grounded or perhaps been dropped by the yard with severe damage. Ironically the keel looked fine, but the keel stub had cracked all around where the hull flattened out (they had obviously attempted to seal it before), not at the stub to keel joint, but in the hull itself where there is a pretty abrupt transition between the hull and the stub. There also was evidence of repaired damage aft behind the keel stub. Long story short surveyor suggested I walk from that boat, and Mark III's in general (apologies in advance, but that was his opinion). It was a shame in that the rest of the boat was beautiful and in good repair.
One thing about the Mark II (I am unsure about the III) is an apparent lack of stiffness in the hull just aft of the keel. There are no stringers for about a three foot stretch aft of the keel, from what I recall. This can cause an large indentation in the hull aft of the keel if they are sitting on the hard for a while and aren't supported properly. It should resolve itself once the boat is in the water.
I really like the N30, but there just weren't enough to pick from in New England. I would have bought the Mark II, but for the fact that it had the wettest deck the surveyor ever saw. He couldn't even find a dry spot with his meter. In particular I like the room, the u-shaped galley, the novel chart table and excellent engine access.
Don't kid yourself...you will end up working on the engine yourself...and the access on the N30 is exceptional. I ran out of time and so paid $600 to have a yard change my oil, tranny fluid, a belt and most importantly...to take the boat for a brief run an listen to a ringing sound that probably was the shaft rubbing the shaft log after I replaced the stuffing box hose, cutless bearing and realigned everything. I had hired a professional Captain to help me with the move of the boat, which was new to me and he insisted I have a "pro" go over my work when I told him about the noise. When I paid the bill I asked to talk to the mechanic about the noise and a 20+ year old kid came over an told me he didn't know what it was either! By the way he overfilled the oil and transmission fluid (a big no-no) and I spent the first half hour of the morning removing the excess before embarking on a three day trip to Boston from Long Island. It became readily apparent that the Captain, who talked a good game and was a good sailor, had little mechanical ability. I had experience with a diesel and hoped to rely on him if something came up during the trip...right. There is no better person to rely on than yourself!
FYI the surveyor I hired used to work at Cape Dory and is a sailor. I caution anyone hiring a surveyor to ensure their surveyor knows sailboats. One guy posted on the S2 site that a surveyor refused to give a positive recommendation an S2 because he couldn't inspect the keel bolts even though the rest of the boat was apparently fine. The design in question didn't HAVE keel bolts. Many cruising S2's have integral keels filled with ballast inside. Don't pay $500 for a surveyor that doesn't know sailboats. You are wasting your money. But do get a survey. Otherwise your are REALLY wasting your money.
