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British Marine

open 30 class sailboat

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The VG-Open30

high performance one-off racer

Project Detail

In December 2007 Moondance Yachts in Cape Town, South Africa splashed their first Van Gorkom designed production Open30 named “OverProof,” a high performance one-off racer. See our report on OverProof sailing the Cape to Bahia Race .

The next boat off the line has a cat-rig and a canting keel . The driving force for this innovative arrangement was a need to simplify the handling of the boat without a reduction in performance (read more).

Meanwhile, the first VG-Open30 is on the water in Australia ( see pictures ). The owner is an experienced offshore racer and intends to campaign his boat in short-handed and single-handed Pacific Ocean events.

The 30 footer has always been a popular and practical racer, particularly with amateur boat builders. To capitalize on this and bring more affordable boats into the market, Van Gorkom Yacht Design have entered the Open30 arena with an exciting new 30 footer developed as a do-it-yourself (and a few good friends) kit-plan-package. This comprehensive package makes it possible for the sailor/amateur boat builder to construct a high performance one-off racer for a fraction of what a custom design would cost.

As with all VGYD’s designs, the underlying theme of the VG-Open30 has been one of meticulous consideration to the sailing criteria of the boat. VGYD is predicting a great performance out of this boat with the VPPs indicating a speed of 19 knots in 25 knots of wind at 120 degrees true wind angle. At about 14 knots of true wind speed, the VG-Open30 will start breaking loose and the boat should start planing by 17 to 18 knots of wind at an estimated boat speed of between 16 and 20 knots. She has a sailing displacement/length ratio of 128 and a sail area/displacement ratio of 34 upwind and a massive downwind SA/DSPL ratio of 82.

The fractional rig is carbon fiber with 20 degree swept-back spreaders and carries non-overlapping jibs, reachers and generous asymmetric spinnakers.  Due to the highly roached/square top main there is no backstay to hang up on. The rig incorporates a user-friendly runner/check stay system to compensate for the fore and aft loads from headsails.

The deck arrangement has been well thought out to create the perfect working platform for a high performance one-off racer. All the halyards and control lines have been lead back to the cockpit to banks of neatly organized jammers. The deck-mounted, carbon fiber bow sprit is both retractable and can articulate. The mainsheet traveler is on a curved track bridging the aft end of the cockpit. The aft end of the cabin house forms a protective cowl that a sailor can shelter behind in rough conditions.

The VG-Open30’s deep fin keel and dolphin-bulb configuration generates plenty of powerful righting moment. The foils used on the keel are our state-of-the-art, high-lift, laminar flow sections. The twin, kick-up rudders have the same high-lift sections with elliptical trailing edges, which maximize efficiency and minimizes drag. This keel and rudder combination contributes to a remarkably well balanced boat, needing only a flex of the fingers to steer her through the chop.

The interior ergonomics of an offshore racing machine play an important role in the boat’s overall success by providing a functional and relatively comfortable environment for the crew. The VG-Open30 has a swing berth port and starboard, a sit-down navigation station with a curved seating surface to port, ample stowage volume, and a water tight bulkhead. The auxiliary engine is an inboard Yanmar 9.5 hp diesel with Saildrive.

Although this boat will be sailed shorthanded, a full range of dynamic stability is still available using the water ballast tanks. The system operates via an electric pump with a hand pump backup. The flow controls are located in the cockpit, providing quick and convenient access. The total capacity of the port and starboard wing tanks is 264 gallons (507 liters), or the weight of 6½ crew members per side.

VGYD is selling the basic VG-Open30 kit-plan-package for US$4500. See Kit Plans for details.

See OverProof in action!

Cat rigged version

Cat rigged version

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2022 Boat of the Year: Best Offshore Racer

  • By Dave Reed
  • December 17, 2021

Sailing World Magazine’s annual Boat of the Year tests are conducted in Annapolis, Maryland, following the US Sailboat Show. With independent judges exhaustively inspecting the boats on land and putting them through their paces on the water, this year’s fleet of new performance-sailing boats spanned from small dinghies to high-tech bluewater catamarans. Here’s the best of the best from our 2022 Boat of the Year nominees »

As interest in doublehanded offshore racing piqued with the expectations it would be an Olympic sailing discipline in 2024, so too did the development and production of several purpose-built 30-footers. Dehler Yachts, Germany’s big production boatbuilder, jumped into the action with its own 30-footer, and as we’d expect of a Judel/Vrolijk and Co.-designed race boat, this one is an all-business shorthanded racing machine jam-packed with cool features found on grand‑prix boats twice its size.

“You can tell they started with a blank slate because the boat is so well-integrated with the design and construction—from bow to stern,” Greg Stewart says. “It hits its design purpose spot on. It’s a complete small offshore one-design, and it’s obvious there was a lot of development required to get things so right.”

Prototypes and mock-ups after mock-ups were required, Dehler says, to efficiently accommodate a lot of boat handling and living in such a compact craft. Virtually every rope on the boat spills into the cockpit, which is the way of life in shorthanded sailing, where everything happens at the back of the boat. Vigilance with line keeping, therefore, is paramount. That and carefully executed and planned maneuvers. In full-tilt conditions, there will be a lot going on in the cockpit, Stewart says, but everything’s easily at hand.

“All the control-line leads are well thought out,” he adds, pointing to the smooth-operating traveler controls and the individual gross and fine-tuned mainsheet flip cleats mounted on the cockpit floor.

Dehler 30 One Design

Powlison’s first impression at the dock was that the boat would be challenging to manage, but “once we went sailing, it all was logical. Yes, there’s a lot of line management, but once you’re disciplined to do that, the boat is much easier to sail than it looks.”

With the trio of judges and the owner piled on board during the test sail, it was immediately obvious that two is company and three is definitely a crowd. “It’s also not the type of boat where you’ll want to spontaneously invite an inexperienced crew [to go race],” Powlison says. “You will really need to know what you’re doing, but once you do get comfortable with everything, it will be a really easy boat to sail well.”

Ben Corson, the Annapolis-based owner of our test boat, had spent the better part of a year racing with his female partner and tinkering with the boat, and consequently, the boat is meticulously prepared, race-ready and offshore-compliant. There’s no mistaking what’s what and where—labels pasted throughout the boat identify halyards, sail and ballast controls, safety gear and even the electronics manuals.

Dehler 30 One Design

As a tightly controlled one-design class with ratified rules, owners like Corson can’t do much to the boat as it is, but there’s not much—if anything—an owner would need to change anyway. Everything on the boat, the judges agreed, works as it should. Adjustable backstays, for example, lead forward to clutches mounted on the cockpit wall, which allows the backstays to be kept taut or released without having to worry about loading to a winch during a maneuver. With the turn of a locking nut on the tiller arm, the steering system can be adjusted to change rudder toe-in on either side. The traveler track runs nearly the full width of the wide transom, opening up a wide range of adjustability for the 361-square-foot mainsail, and as a bonus, small removable reaching struts open up headsail sheeting angles. Stainless-steel foot braces are easy to deploy and stow, and allow the skipper to lock into a comfortable position over the angled coaming, with great visibility over the bow.

When the boat is powered up and leaning on the chine, Allen says, the sensation is exceptional: “This delivered the best sailing experience of all of the boats we tested. It was easy to tack and jibe, it tracked great, it’s easy to get to the sail controls, and we had no problems whatsoever with wiping out—and we tried hard a few times.”

With Allen on the tiller and Powlison managing the sheets as they started upwind into a 15-knot breeze, Stewart hit the chamfered rail. “My first impression from the rail was how high I was and how it was charging upwind—like a big boat. I couldn’t feel the chop, I didn’t get wet, it didn’t skid out at all. I was also amazed at how solid it felt; there wasn’t one bit of pounding, creaking or anything.”

Dehler 30 One Design

Eventually, Stewart came off the rail and they filled the ballast tank instead—to the equivalent of 400-plus pounds of rail meat. Allen says the gravity-fed water-ballast system took about five minutes to top off, roughly 30 seconds to transfer during a tack, and less than a minute to drain.

“Once we added the water ballast, the boat just powered forward,” Powlison says. “You can really feel the difference when the boat sits on the chine and just tracks straight ahead.”

Impressed as they were with the Dehler 30’s upwind pace, when they set the big red A2 spinnaker (1,076 square feet) and took off down the bay, they had no doubts about the boat’s downwind potential. They only used three of the five class-sail inventory on board, which includes an A2, an A5, a spinnaker staysail and a Code Zero, and if they had more time and distance, they would have certainly piled on more sail area.

“I could see going with the A5, the J3 and the staysail, and maybe a reefed main in a big breeze,” Allen says. “That would be fun—and wicked fast.”

Lightweight and strong is, of course, the holy grail of every race boat, and here too Dehler delivers with what the judges say is an immaculate cored-hull laminate and good detail in the finish work throughout the boat. Dehler was also keen to leave out extraneous weight from the interior to get the boat to weigh in at just over 6,000 pounds. Without any floorboards (there’s thin foam padding glued to the inner hull skin instead), they’re able to get 6 feet of standing headroom at the companionway (which has a sliding hatch hood on rails) and plenty of sitting headroom forward of the mast and into the V-berth.

To achieve a higher level of the camper-sailor experience, comfortable V-berth cushions and removable mesh hull liners are standard, as is a folding centerline table, rounded wooden bench seats, and backrests that double as pipe berths. With storage cubbies scattered about the boat, a marine toilet with a graywater tank, a two-burner stove and two quarter berths, this little race rocket is definitely a legit weekender too. Lithium-ion batteries and a 9.9 diesel with a retractable Stealth Drive shaft that pulls up flush with the hull will get you where you need to go and keep the electronics suite powered up just fine.

The Dehler 30 was a strong contender for Boat of the Year, but the judges couldn’t dismiss the boat’s biggest limitation: It will get hammered by most rating systems, which makes it a one-trick one-design offshore-racing pony. It is, however, an outstanding design for keen shorthanded sailors looking for a race-ready platform for just over $240,000. If—or when—international class racing ever becomes a real thing, the offshore sailing world will be a better place.

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The Olson 30: Ultra Light, Ultra Fast

The complete book of sailboat buying, volume ii, june, 1987.

by  Editors of the Practical Sailor

The first project for Pacific Boats was the Olson 30, which was put into production in 1978. Over 200 of these 3600-pound ULDBs were sold, and the builder claims they have gathered in sufficient numbers to support one-design racing in Seattle, the Great Lakes, Annapolis, Texas, and Long Island Sound, as well as several spots in California. Pacific Boats was a small firm that built only the Olson 30 and the Olson 40, both to quality standards.

CONSTRUCTION

Some people wonder how the ULDB can be built so light and still be seaworthy offshore. The answer lies in the fact that a light boat is subjected to much lighter loads than a heavy boat when pounding through a sea (there is tremendous saving in weight with a stripped-out interior). And perhaps more importantly, ULDB builders have construction standards that are well above average for production sailboats. The ULDB builders say that their close proximity to each other in Santa Cruz, combined with their open sharing of technology, has enabled them to achieve these high standards. The Olson 30 is no exception. The hull and deck are fiberglass, vacuumbagged over a balsa core. The process of vacuum-bagging insures maximum saturation of the laminate and core with a minimum of resin, making the hull light and stiff. The builder claims that -they have so refined the construction of the Olson 30 that each finished hull weighs within 10 pounds of the standard. The deck of the Olson does not have plywood inserts in place of the balsa where winches are mounted, instead relying on external backing plates for strength.

The hull to deck joint is an inward turned, overlapping flange, glued with a rigid compound called Reid’s adhesive, and mechanically fastened with closely spaced bolts through a slotted aluminum toerail. This provides a strong, protected joint, seaworthy-enough for sailing offshore. The aluminum toerail provides a convenient location for outboard sheet leads, but is painful for those sitting on the rail.

The Olson 30’s 1800-pound keel is deep (5′ 1″ draft) and less than five inches thick. Narrow, bolted-on keels need extra athwartship support. The Olson 30 accomplishes this with nine six-inch bolts, and one ten-inch bolt (to which the lifting eye is attached). The lead keel is faired·with polyester putty and then completely wrapped with fiberglass to seal the putty from the marine environment.

Too many builders neglect sealing autobody putty-faired keels, and too many boat owners then find the putty peeling off at a later date. The Olson’s finished keel is painted, and, on the boats we’ve seen, remarkably fair. The keel-stepped, single-spreader, tapered mast is cleanly rigged with 5/32-inch Navtec rod rigging and internal tangs. The mast section is large enough for peace of mind in heavy air. The halyards exit the mast at well-spaced intervals, to avoid creating a weak spot. The chainplates are securely attached to half-bulkheads of I-inch plywood. In addition, a tie-rod attaches the deck to the mast, tensioned by a turnbuckle. While this arrangement should provide adequate strength, we would prefer both a tie-rod and a full bulkhead that spans the width of the cabin to absorb the compressive loads that rig tension puts on the deck.

The rudder’s construction is labor-intensive but strong. Urethane foam is hand shaped to templates, then glued to a two-inch diameter solid fiberglass rudder post. The builder prefers fiberglass because it has more “memory” than aluminum or steel. Stainless steel straps are wrapped around the rudder and mechanically fastened to the post. Then the whole rudder assembly is faired, fiberglassed, and painted.

PERFORMANCE

Handling Under Sail

For those of you who agonize over whether your PHRF rating is fair, consider the ratings of ULDBs. The Santa Cruz 50 rates 0; that’s right, zero. The 67-foot Merlin has rated as low as minus 60. The Olson 30 rates anywhere from 90 to 114, depending on the local handicapper. Olson 30 owners tell us that the boat will sail to a PHRF rating of 96, but she will almost never sail to her astronomical lOR rating of 32 (the lOR heavily penalizes ULDBs). ULDBs are fast. They are apt to be on the tender side, and sail with a quick, “jerky” motion through waves. Instead of punching through waves, they ride over them. Owners tell us that they do far less cruising and far more racing than they had expected to do when they bought the boat. They say it’s more fun to race because the boat is so lively.

Like most ULDBs, the Olson 30 races best at the extremes of wind conditions-under 10 knots and over 20 knots. Although her masthead rig may appear short, it is more than powerful enough for her displacement. Owners tell us that she accelerates so quickly you can almost tack at will – a real tactical advantage in light air. In winds under 10 knots, they say she sails above her PHRF rating, both upwind and downwind. In moderate breezes it’s a different story. Once the wind gets much above 10 knots, it’s time to change down to the #2 genoa. In 15 knots, especially if the seas are choppy, it’s very difficult for the Olson 30 to save her time on boats of conventional displacement, according to three-time national champ Kevin Connally. The Olson 30 is always faster downwind, but even with a crew of 5 or 6, she just can’t hang in there upwind. In winds above 20 knots, the Olson 30 still has her problems upwind. But when she turns the weather mark the magic begins. As soon as she has enough wind to surf or plane, the Olson 30 can make up for all she looses upwind, and more. The builder claims that she has pegged speedometers at 25 knots in the big swells and strong westerlies off the coast of California. That is, of course, if the crew can keep her 1800-pound keel under her 761-square foot spinnaker. The key to competitiveness in a strong breeze is the ability of the crew. Top crews say that because she is so quick to respond, they have fewer problems handling her in heavy air. However, an inexperienced crew which cannot react quickly enough, can have big problems. “The handicappers say she can fly downwind, so they give us a low (PHRF) rating. But they don’t understand that we have sail slow, just to stay in control,” complained the crew of one new owner.

Like any higher performance class of sailboat, the Olson 30 attracts competent sailors. Hence, the boat is pushed to a higher level of overall performance, and the PHRF rating reflects this. An inexperienced sailor must realize that he may have a tougher time making her sail to this inflated rating than a boat that is less “hot.”

The two most common mistakes that new Olson 30 owners make are pinching upwind and allowing the boat to heel excessively. ULDBs cannot be sailed at the 30 degrees of heel to which many sailors of conventional boats are accustomed. To keep her flat, you must be quick to shorten sail, move the sheet leads outboard, and get more crew weight on the rail. You can’t afford to have a person sitting to leeward trimming the genoa in a 12-knot breeze. To keep her thin keel from stalling upwind, owners tell us it’s important to keep the sheets eased and the boat footing.

Being masthead-rigged, the Olson 30 needs a larger sail inventory than a fractionally rigged boat. Class rules allow one mainsail, six headsails (jibs and spinnakers) and a 75-percent storm jib. Owners who do mostly handicap racing tell us they often carry more than six headsails.

Handling Under Power

Only a few of the Olson 30s sold were equipped with inboard power. This is because the extra weight of the inboard and the drag of the propeller, strut and shaft are a real disadvantage when racing against the majority of Olson 30s, which are equipped with outboard motors. The Olson 30 is just barely light enough to be pushed by a four to five horsepower outboard. It takes a 7.5 horse outboard to push the Olson 30 at 6.5 knots in a flat calm. The Olson’s raked transom requires an extra long outboard bracket, which puts the engine throttle and shift out of reach for anyone much less than 6 feet tall: “A real pain,” said one owner. Storage is a problem, too. Even if you could get the outboard through the stern lazarette’s small hatch, you wouldn’t want to race with the extra weight so far aft. As a result, most owners end up storing the outboard on the cabin sole. The inboard was an optional, 154-pound, 7-horsepower, BMW diesel. Unlike most boats, the Olson 30 will probably never return the investment in an inboard when the boat is sold. It detracts from the boat’s primary purpose-­racing.

Without an inboard, owners have a problem charging the battery. Owners who race with extensive electronics have to take the battery ashore after every race for recharging. If the Olson 30 weren’t such a joy to sail in light air, and so maneuverable in tight places, the lack of inboard power would be a serious enough drawback to turn away more sailors than it does.

Deck Layout

In most respects, the Olson 30 is a good sea boat. Although the cockpit is 6-1/2 feet long, the wide seats and narrow floor result in a relatively small cockpit volume, so little sea water can collect in the cockpit if the boat is pooped or knocked down. However, foot room is restricted, while the width of the seats makes it awkward to brace your legs on the leeward seat. The seats themselves

There are gutters to drain water off the leeward seat. The long mainsheet traveler is mounted across the cockpit. The Olson 30’s single companionway dropboard is latchable from inside the cabin, a real necessity in a storm offshore. A man-overboard pole tube in the stern is standard equipment. Teak toerails on the cockpit combing and on the forward part of the cabin house provide good footing, and there are handholds on the after part of the cabin house. The tapered aluminum stanchions are set into sockets molded into the deck and glassed to the inside of the hull, a strong, clean, leak-proof system. However, the stanchions are not glued or mechanically fastened into the sockets. If pulled upwards with great force they can be pulled out. We feel this is a safety hazard. Tight lifelines would help prevent this from happening, but most racing crews tend to leave them slightly loose so they can lean further outboard when hanging over the rail upwind. If the stanchions were fastened into the sockets with bolts or screws they would undoubtedly leak. A leakproof solution to this problem should be devised and made available to Olson 30 owners. The cockpit has two drains of adequate diameter. The bilge pump, a Guzzler 500, is mounted in the cockpit. As is common on most boats, the stern lazarette is not sealed off from the rest of the interior. If the boat were pooped or knocked down with the lazarette open, water could rush below through the lazarette relatively unrestricted. As the Olson 30 has a shallow sump, there is little place for water to go except above the cabin sole. A “paint-roller” type non-skid is molded into the Olson 30’s deck It provides excellent traction, but it is more difficult to keep clean than conventional patterned non-skid.

The Olson 30 is well laid out with hardware of reasonable, but not exceptional, quality. All halyards and pole controls lead to the cockpit through Easylock 1 clutch stoppers. The Easylocks are barely big enough to hold the halyards; they slip an inch under heavy loads. Older Olsons were equipped with Howard Rope Clutches. The Howards had’ a history of breaking (although the manufacturer has now corrected the problem). The primary winches, Barient 22s, are also barely adequate. Some owners we talked to had replaced them with more powerful models. Schaefer headsail track cars are standard equipment. One owner complained that he had to replace them with Merrimans because the Schaefers kept slipping.

Leading the vang to either rail and leading the reefing lines aft is also recommended. The mast partner is snug, leaving no space for mast blocks. The mast step is movable to adjust the prebend of the spar. The partner has a lip, over which a neoprene collar fits. The collar is hose-clamped to the mast. This should make a watertight mast boot. However, on the boat we sailed, the bail to which the boom vang attached obstructed the collar, causing water to collect and drain into the cabin.

The yolked backstay is adjustable from either quarter of the stem, one side being a 2:1 gross adjustment and the other side being an 8:1 fine tune. A Headfoil II is standard equipment. There is a babystay led to a track with a 6:1purchase for easy adjustment. The track is tied to the thin plywood of the forward V -berth with a wire and a turnbuckle. On the boat we sailed, the padeye to which the babystay tie rod is attached was seen to be tearing out from the V-berth.

There is a port in the deck directly over the lifting eye in the bilge. This makes for quick and easy drysailing. The Olson 30, however, is not easily trailered; her 3600 pounds is too much for all but the largest cars, and her 9.3-foot beam requires a special trailering permit.

The Olson 30 is cramped belowdecks. Her low deckhouse and substantial sheer may make her one of the sexiest-looking production boats on the water, but the price is headroom of only four feet, five inches. There is not even enough headroom for comfortable stooping. Moving about below is a real grind for an average-sized person. To offset the confinement of the interior, the builder has done everything possible to make it light and airy. In addition to the Lexan forward hatch and cabin house windows, the companionway hatch also has a Lexan insert. The inside of the hull is smooth sanded and finished with white gelcoat. There are no full-height bulkheads dividing the cabin. All the furniture is built of lightweight, light-colored, 3/8″ Scandanavian, seven-ply plywood.

The joinerwork is above average and all of the bulkhead and furniture tabbing is extremely neat. There isn’t much to the Olson 30’s interior, but what there is has been done with commendable craftmanship. The cabin sole is narrow, and with the lack of headroom, the woodwork is susceptible to being dinged and scratched from equipment like outboard motors. Once the finish on the wood is broken, it quickly absorbs water, which collects in the shallow bilge. ‘

The Olson 30 is not a comfortable cruiser. Even after you’ve taken all the racing sails ashore, the belowdecks is barely habitable. To save weight the quarterberths are made of thin cushions sewn to vinyl and hung from pipes.These pipe berths are comfortable, but the cushions are not easily removed. Should they get wet it’s likely they would stay wet for some time. Two seabags are hung on sail tracks above the quarter berths, which should help to insure that some clothes stay dry.

Just forward of each quarterberth is a small uncushioned seat locker. Behind each seat is a small portable ice cooler. In one seat locker is the stove, an Origo 3000, which slides up and out of the locker on tracks. The Ongo is a top-of-theline unpressurized alcohol stove, but to operate it the cook must kneel on the cabin sole. To work at the navigation station, which is in front of the starboard seat, you must sit sideways. In front of the port seat is the lavette, with a hand water pump and a removable, shallow, drainless sink. Drainless sinks eliminate the need for a through-hull fitting-a good idea-but they should be deep, not shallow.

Although there are curtains which can be drawn across the V-berth, we think human dignity deserves an enclosed head, especially on a 30’ boat. The V-berth is large and easy to climb into, but there are no shelves above it or a storage locker in the empty bow. In short, if you plan to cruise for more than a weekend, you’d better like roughing it.

CONCLUSIONS

A completely equipped Olson 30 ran about $35,000. Today, a used one will cost from $24,000 to $28,000 ( note – this was written in 1987, prices are lower in 2015 ). What do you get for this? You get a boat that’s well built, seaworthy, and reasonably well laid out. You get a boat that, in light air, will sail as fast as boats costing nearly twice as much. Downwind in heavy air, you have a creature that will blow your mind and leave everything (except a bigger ULDB) in your wake. If you spend all of your sailing time racing in a PHRF fleet in an area where light or heavy air dominates, the Olson 30 will probably give you more pleasure for your dollar than almost anything afloat.

However, if you race in moderate air or enjoy more than an occasional short cruise, you are likely to be very disappointed. Before you consider the Olson 30, you must realistically evaluate your abilities as a sailor. There’s nothing worse, after finding out that you can’t race a boat to her potential, than realizing that she is of little use for any other aspect of our sport.

The Complete Book of Sailboat Buying, Volume II

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Class 30 One Design™: Reservations are open!

open 30 class sailboat

With the preliminary design study phase drawing to a close, the ground is now being prepared for the construction of the first Class 30, with the next phase of the project underway, which is the development of the detailed construction plans. These will be completed by the end of March 2022.

The new Class 30 design will offer two different specifications; a Club and One Design version, with the Club offering being seen as a tool for training, learning about and competing on the offshore racing circuit.  This new boat is the fruits of an international architecture competition organised by France’s National Offshore Racing Union (UNCL) in partnership with the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), in the UK and the Storm Trysail Club in America. With the constant involvement of the competition winners, the VPLP naval architecture firm and the Multiplast yard. 

One of the objectives of the project is for the Class 30 Club boat, to have a competitive ready to sail price tag of under €100,000.

A promising start and the prebooking process

At this early stage of the programme, the project has been very well received with over thirty reservations of production boat numbers recorded on the UNCL – Yacht Club de France stand at the Nautic boat show in Paris, where the launch process began in earnest together with the presentation of the model.

The registration protocol is both simple and safe.  You need to send an email to [email protected]  where all requests are received; in return a booking contract will be sent along with a short presentation on the boat.  To secure the reservation a €2,500 deposit needs to be paid to a locked escrow account (all details in the information you receive), managed by a sworn lawyer.  Once funds are received, the lawyer sends a booking number in chronological order to applicants. This booking number is non-transferable and you can cancel your reservation at any time and receive a full refund.

Production set to commence from January 2023

With regards to the build schedule, the study phase has been extended to finalise the tooling and moulds so that construction of the production boats can commence at the beginning of 2023, with the aim of having a few of the boats competing that Easter, either at the Spi Ouest France or the SNIM, or at RORC races in UK.

Depending how the order book evolves, promoters of the production boat will consider in due course whether or not to put in place an additional mould to increase production capacity in France, whilst evaluating the development of a licence programme overseas.

A boat designed to be container-shipped

In addition to the very contemporary lines and a series of simple and inexpensive solutions, what has come off the drawing board of competition winner VPLP-Multiplast is a truly stellar logistical feat.  Indeed, through the possibility of fitting the whole boat and its rig into a 40-foot container was not a prerequisite of the initial specifications, it was quickly viewed as a major benefit in ensuring the best possible distribution of the one-design via both road and sea transport. The design of a transport cradle is also envisaged with this in mind. In line with the wishes of the project’s stakeholders, particular attention has gone into the pre-manufacture studies of the first prototype to ensure the best possible control of the budget for the production boats, which is a key aspect of the project.

A circuit for the Class 30 One Design™

The main aim of the class is to set up a sports programme enabling sailors – owners and clubs – to get out racing at the highest level as soon as possible on a variety of course types and stretches of water. To this end, the one-design is intended to provide an optimised response to the IRC measurement criteria. This option will pave the way for an extensive one-design race programme both in France, UK and overseas, around the cans and offshore.  UNCL and RORC are also very keen to quickly schedule in a ‘Class 30 Tour’, an event which will serve as a reminder of the project’s suitability and ambition for training and replenishing a whole generation of offshore racing crew and skippers of renown. This Class 30 Tour could travel with crews going back and forth between the English and French coasts.

Class Management

It is the intention to set-up class associations for both the Club and One Design to develop and manage the Class 30 (rules and racing programme), as well as being a forum for sharing ideas, training initiatives and managing and dealing with any issues that are relevant to the class.

Class30 model

James Neville, Commodore of the RORC

“ Beyond the political wrangling, we’re here to prove that in the sailing world, we know how to support joint projects and get the French and the English working together as one!”

Géry Trentesaux, new President of the UNCL

“We are extremely pleased with the progress of the Class 30 One Design™ project. One of our priorities is to ensure its success, and we are particularly happy with the involvement and motivation of the team formed by the naval architect firm/yard. As Yves Ginoux said, we’ve successfully rounded the first upwind mark and we’re now focused on running before the wind, ready to make the most of the favourable gusts.”  

Simon Watin, VPLP design

  “ Managing to combine performance, simplicity and fun with this boat, which aims to connect dinghy sailing and offshore racing, is an extremely motivating challenge for our whole team. Following on from our fine experience on the Figaro 3, it’s another step forward into the world of production monohulls for us.”

Dominique Dubois, Multiplast Groupe Carboman

“We’re very proud to have been selected to build this new one-design. For Multiplast, the race is already on and we’re investing a great deal of energy into this project to ensure the boat is accessible and easy to maintain, whilst also being quick and fun. It’s an ambitious challenge and just the kind of project we love taking on.”

Class 30 Club : a basic version that is simplified yet high-performance, for training offshore racing crew and one-design racing at a particularly competitive ready-to-sail introductory price enabling it to be purchased by as many people as possible.

Class 30 One Design™ : Club version to which kit integrating various fit-out modules has been added (electronics, navigation and galley modules, ballast tanks...), designed to expand its scope of use and performance for offshore racing. The Class 30 One Design version enables a duo or crew to race in a one-design class as well as be competitive in IRC.

Key points of the Class 30 One Design™ project:

 - A boat that is great to sail : seated comfortably at the helm or out on the rail, on a hull which is not too wet, with a large cockpit for carrying out manoeuvres in crewed format

- A design which keeps a tight rein on cost :

Simple forms with minimal developed surface area

A structure and assembly geared around the production of a one-design series

A pared-back deck layout and rig

- Significant focus on eco-design , with the overall consideration of the construction as well as the uses and manner of sailing

- A powerful and versatile hull for a boat which is evolutionary on every point of sail

- A light, effective and accessible deck layout to prioritise dynamic trimming and favour learning within crewed sailing.

For more information contact: 

[email protected]

Rolex

Yachting World

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World’s coolest yachts: Open 50

Helen Fretter

  • Helen Fretter
  • January 31, 2022

We ask top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest and most innovative yachts of our times. Ocean racer Nick Moloney nominates the Open 50.

open 30 class sailboat

“I’d been intrigued by solo or short-handed sailing since the early days of the BOC Challenge (Around Alone 5 Oceans) and was blown away by the wide beam Finot-Conq designs that began to push the parameters of form stability with incredibly wide beams,” recalls  Nick Moloney, as he nominates his favourite Open 50.

“In the build up to our 1997-98 Whitbread Round the World Race, we were constructing our yacht Toshiba in Newport, which is also where the Open 50 Cray Valley was also coming to life for Jean-Pierre (JP) Mouligne and his campaign towards the 1998 Around Alone Race. I snuck away from the sail loft the day that Cray Valley first went in the water and watched  from a distance. I remember saying to myself ‘I’d give anything to sail that beautiful boat’.

open 30 class sailboat

Nick Moloney winning division in the 2002 Route du Rhum aboard the Open 50 Ashfield Healthcare Photos: DPPI/Offshore Challenges

“Roll forward to 2002, and Offshore Challenges entered two boats in the Route du Rhum . Ellen MacArthur would race her beloved Kingfisher Open 60 and Mark Turner sourced an Open 50 for my campaign. I could not believe it when Mark revealed to me what my boat would be. I immediately knew that something special would come of this relationship.

“Both Ellen and I won our respective divisions in style, in a storm-torn event that also saw me set a new course record on the Open 50, then called Ashfield Healthcare . My memories of sailing solo on this boat, at speeds in excess of 20 knots are some that I will never forget.

Article continues below

open 30 class sailboat

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open 30 class sailboat

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open 30 class sailboat

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“Build me a beast. Don’t build me a sheep in wolf’s clothing. This has to be an edgy and innovative…

“That boat went on to have a further decorated life with some fabulous sailors such as Conrad Humphreys, Paul Larsen and Michael Perham, not forgetting that JP won the 1998 Around Alone, the race that she was ultimately designed and built for.

I believe that some boats have huge hearts. This is one of the biggest hearted boats I have ever sailed on.”

Open 50 Stats rating:

Top speed: 30+ knots LOA: 15.24m Launched: 1996 Berths: 2 Price: £2,000,000 Adrenalin factor: 85%

Nick Moloney

Nick Moloney is most famous for solo ocean racing, including the 2004 Vendée Globe . He has competed in the Whitbread Round the World Race, two America’s Cups, and set a crewed non-stop around the world Jules Verne Trophy record aboard Orange in 2002. He was also the first person to windsurf across the Bass Strait. Follow his adventures at nickmoloney.com

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  • Sailboat Reviews

This speedster is as specialized as it gets; mind-blowing performance, but almost no living space.

open 30 class sailboat

The Olson 30 is of a breed of sailboats born in Santa Cruz, California called the ULDB , an acronym for ultra light displacement boat. ULDBs are big dinghies—long on the waterline, short on the interior, narrow on the beam, and very light on both the displacement and the price tag. ULDBs attract a different kind of sailor—the type for whom performance means everything.

For some yachting traditionalists, the arrival of ULDB has been a hard pill to swallow. Part of this is simple resentment of a ULDB’s ability to sail boat for-boat with a racer-cruiser up to 15′ longer (and a whole lot more expensive). Part of it is the realization that, to sail a ULDB might mean having to learn a whole new set of sailing skills. Part of it is a reaction to the near-manic enthusiasts of Santa Cruz, where nearly 100 ULDBs race for pure fun—without the help of race committees, protest committees, or handicaps (in Santa Cruz, IOR is a dirty word). And part of the traditionalists’ resentment is their gut feeling that ULDBs aren’t real yachts.

In 1970, Californian George Olson tried an experiment and created the first ULDB. He thought if he took a boat with the same displacement and sail area as a Cal 20, but made it longer and narrower, it might go faster. The boat he built was called Grendel and it did go faster than a Cal 20, much faster than anyone had expected. The plug for Grendel was later widened by Santa Cruz boatbuilder Ran Moors, and used to make the mold for the Moore 24, a now-popular ULDB one-design.

In the meantime, George Olson had joined up with another Santa Cruz builder by the name of Bill Lee, and together they designed and built the Santa Cruz 27. Olson also helped Lee build his 1977 Transpac winner Merlin, a 67′, 20,000 pound monster of a ULDB (she was subsequently legislated out of theTranspac race). Then Olson and several other of Lee’s employees started their own boatbuilding firm (in Santa Cruz, of course) called Pacific Boats. The first project for Pacific Boats was the Olson 30, which was put into production in 1978. Pacific Boats later became Olson/Ericson, and produced a 25 and a 40. The latest incarnation of the 30 is called the 911.

Construction

Some people wonder how ULDBs can be built so light, yet still be seaworthy offshore. The answer is three-fold: first, a light boat is subjected to lighter loads, when pounding through a heavy sea, than a boat of greater displacement. Second, there is a tremendous saving in weight with a stripped-out interior. Third, as a whole, ULDB builders have construction standards that are well above average for production sailboats. The ULDB builders say that their close proximity to each other in Santa Cruz combined with an open sharing of technology has enabled them to achieve these standards.

The Olson 30 is no exception. The hull and deck are fiberglass vacuum-bagged over a balsa core. The process of vacuum-bagging insures maximum saturation of the laminate and core with a minimum of resin, making the hull light and stiff. The builder claims that they have so refined the construction of the Olson 30 that each finished hull weighs within 10 pounds of the standard. The deck of the Olson does not have plywood inserts in place of the balsa where winches are mounted, instead relying on external backing plates for strength.

Olson 30

The hull-to-deck joint is an inward turned overlapping flange, glued with a rigid compound called Reid’s adhesive, and mechanically fastened with closely spaced bolts through a slotted aluminum toerail. This provides a strong, protected joint, seaworthy enough for sailing offshore. We would prefer a semi-rigid adhesive, however, because it is less likely to fracture and cause a leak in the event of a hard collision. The aluminum toerail provides a convenient location for outboard sheet leads, but is painful to those sitting on the rail.

The Olson 30’s 1,800 pound keel is deep (5.1′ draft) and less than 5″ thick. Narrow, bolted-on keels need extra athwartships support. The Olson 30 accomplishes this with nine 5/8″ bolts and one 1″ bolt (to which the lifting eye is attached). The lead keel is faired with auto body putty and then completely wrapped with fiberglass to seal the putty from the marine environment. Too many builders neglect sealing auto body putty-faired keels, and too many boat owners then find the putty peeling off at a later date. The Olson’s finished keel is painted, and, on the boats we have seen, remarkably fair.

The keel-stepped, single-spreader, tapered mast is cleanly rigged with 5/32″ Navtec rod rigging and internal tangs. The mast section is big enough for peace of mind in heavy air. The halyards exit the mast at well-spaced intervals, so as not to create a weak spot.The shroud chainplates are securely attached to half-bulkheads of 1″ plywood. In addition, a tie rod attaches the deck to the mast, tensioned by a turnbuckle. While this arrangement should provide adequate strength, we would prefer both a tie rod and a full bulkhead that spans the width of the cabin so as to absorb the compressive loads that the tension of the rig puts on the deck.

The rudder’s construction is labor intensive, but strong. Urethane foam is hand shaped to templates, then glued to a 4″ thick solid fiberglass rudder post. The builder prefers fiberglass because it has more “memory” than aluminum or steel. Stainless steel straps are wrapped around the rudder and mechanically fastened to the post. Then the whole assembly is faired, fiberglassed, and painted.

Handling Under Sail

For those of you who agonize over whether your PHRF rating is fair, consider the ratings of ULDBs. The Santa Cruz 50 rates 0; that’s right— zero . The 67′ Merlin has rated as low as minus 60. The Olson 30 rates anywhere from 90 to 114, depending on the local handicapper. Olson 30 owners tell us that the boat will sail to a PHRF rating of 96, but she will almost never sail to her astronomical IOR rating of 32′ (the IOR heavily penalizes ULDBs).

ULDBs are fast. They are apt to be on the tender side, and sail with a quick, “jerky” motion through waves. Instead of punching through a wave, they ride over it. You may get to where you are going fast, but with the motion of the boat and the Spartan interior you won’t get there in comfort. Olson 30 owners tell us that they do far less cruising and far more racing that they had expected to do when they bought the boat. They say it’s more fun to race because the boat is so lively.

Like most ULDBs the Olson 30 races best at the extremes of wind conditions—under 10 knots and over 20 knots. Although her masthead rig may appear short, it is more than powerful enough for her displacement. Owners tell us that she accelerates so quickly you can almost tack at will—a real tactical advantage in light air. In winds under 10 knots they say she sails above her PHRF rating both upwind and downwind.

In moderate breezes it’s a different story. Once the wind gets much above 10 knots, it’s time to change down to the #2 genoa. In 15 knots, especially if the seas are choppy, it’s very difficult for the Olson 30 to save her time on boats of conventional displacement, according to three-time national champ Kevin Connally. The Olson 30 is always faster downwind, but even with a crew of 5 or 6, she just cannot hang in there upwind.

In winds above 20 knots, the Olson 30 still has her problems upwind, but when she turns the weather mark the magic begins. As soon as she has enough wind to either surf or plane, the Olson 30 can make up for all she loses upwind, and more. The builder claims that she has pegged speedometers at 25 knots in the big swells and strong westerlies off the coast of California. That is, if the crew can keep her 1800 pound keel under her 761 sq. ft. spinnaker.

The key to competitiveness in a strong breeze is the ability of the crew. Top crews say that, because she is so quick to respond, they have fewer problems handling her in heavy air than a heavier, conventional boat. However, an inexperienced crew which cannot react fast enough can have big problems. “The handicappers say she can fly downwind, so they give us a low rating (PHRF), but they don’t understand that we have to sail slow just to stay in control,” complained the crew of one new owner.

Like any higher performance class of sailboat, the Olson 30 attracts competent sailors. Hence, the boat is pushed to a higher level of overall performance, and the PHRF rating reflects this. An inexperienced sailor must realize that he may have a tougher time making her sail to this inflated rating than a boat that is less “hot.” The two most common mistakes that new Olson 30 owners make are pinching upwind and allowing the boat to heel excessively. ULDBs cannot be sailed at the 30 degrees of heel to which many sailors of conventional boats are accustomed. To keep her flat you must be quick to shorten sail, move the sheet leads outboard, and get more crew weight on the rail. You can’t afford to have a person sitting to leeward trimming the genoa in a 12-knot breeze. To keep her thin keel from stalling upwind, owners tell us it’s important to keep the sheets eased and the boat footing.

Olson 30

Being masthead-rigged, the Olson 30 needs a larger sail inventory than a fractionally rigged boat. Class rules allow one mainsail, six headsails (jibs and spinnakers) and a 75% storm jib. Owners who do mostly handicap racing tell us they often carry more than six headsails.

Handling Under Power

Only a few of the Olson 30s sold to date have been equipped with inboard power. This is because the extra weight of the inboard and the drag of the propeller, strut and shaft are a real disadvantage when racing against the majority of Olson 30s, which are equipped with outboard engines. The Olson 30 is just barely light enough to be pushed by a 4-5 hp outboard, which is the largest outboard that even the most healthy sailor should be hefting over a transom. It takes a 7.5 hp. outboard to push the Olson 30 at 6.5 knots in a flat calm. The Olson’s raked transom requires an extra long outboard bracket, which puts the engine throttle and shift out of reach for anyone much less than 6′ tall: “A real pain in the ass,” said one owner. Storage is a problem, too. Even if you could get the outboard through the stern lazarette’s small hatch, you wouldn’t want to race with the extra weight so far aft. So most owners end up storing the outboard on the cabin sole.

The inboard, a 154 pound, 7 hp BMW diesel, was a $4,500 option. Unlike most boats, the Olson 30 will probably not return the investment in an inboard when you sell the boat, because it detracts from the boat’s primary purpose—racing.

Without an inboard there’s a problem charging the battery. Owners who race with extensive electronics have to take the battery ashore after every race for recharging. If the Olson 30 weren’t such a joy to sail in light air, and so maneuverable in tight places, the lack of inboard power would be a serious enough drawback to turn away more sailors than it does.

Deck Layout

In most respects, the Olson 30 is a good sea boat. Although the cockpit is 6 1/2′ long, the wide seats and narrow floor result in a relatively small cockpit volume, so that little sea water can collect in the cockpit if the boat is pooped or knocked down. However, foot room is restricted, while the width of the seats makes it awkward to brace your legs on the leeward seat. The seats themselves are comfortable because they are angled up and the seatbacks are angled back. There are gutters to drain water off the leeward seat. The long mainsheet traveler is mounted across the cockpit—good for racing but not so good for cruising.

The Olson 30’s single companionway drop board is latchable from inside the cabin, a real necessity in a storm offshore. A man overboard pole tube in the stern is standard equipment. Teak toerails on the cockpit coaming and on the forward part of the cabin house provide good footing, and there are handholds on the aft part of the cabin house.

The tapered aluminum stanchions are set into sockets molded into the deck and glassed to the inside of the hull, a strong, clean, leak-proof system. However, the stanchions are not glued or mechanically fastened into the sockets. If pulled upwards with great force they can be pulled out. We feel this is a safety hazard. Tight lifelines would help prevent this from happening, but most racing crews tend to leave them slightly loose so as to be able to lean farther outboard when hanging over the rail upwind. If the stanchions were fastened into the sockets with bolts or screws they would undoubtedly leak. A leakproof solution to this problem should be devised and made available to Olson 30 owners.

The cockpit has two drains of adequate diameter.

The bilge pump, a Guzzler 500, is mounted in the cockpit. The Guzzler is an easily operated, high capacity pump. However, its seeming fragility worries us. As is common on most boats, the stern lazarette is not sealed off from the rest of the interior. If the boat were pooped or knocked down with the lazarette open, water could rush below through the lazarette relatively unrestricted. As the Olson 30 has a shallow sump, there is little place for water to go except above the cabin sole.

A “paint-roller” type non-skid is molded into the Olson 30’s deck. It provides excellent traction, but it is more difficult to keep clean than conventional patterned non-skid.

The Olson 30 is well laid out with hardware of reasonable, but not exceptional, quality. All halyards and pole controls lead to the cockpit though Easylock I clutch stoppers. The Easylocks are barely big enough to hold the halyards; they slip an inch under heavy loads. Older Olsons were equipped with Howard Rope Clutches.

The primary winches, Barient 22s, are also barely adequate. Some owners we talked to had replaced them with more powerful models. Schaefer headsail track cars are  tandard equipment. One owner complained that he had to replace them with Merrimans because the Schaefers kept slipping. Leading the vang to either rail and leading the reefs aft is also recommended. The mast partner is snug, leaving no space for mast blocks. The mast step is movable to adjust the prebend of the spar. The partner has a lip, over which a neoprene collar fits. The collar is hoseclamped to the mast. This should make a watertight mast boot. However, on the boat we sailed, the bail to which the boom vang attached obstructed the collar, causing water to collect and pour into the cabin.

The yoked backstay is adjustable from either quarter of the stern, one side being a 2-to-1 gross adjustment and the other side being an 8-to-1 fine tune. A Headfoil II is standard equipment. There is a babystay led to a ball-bearing track with a 4-to-1 purchase for easy adjustment. The track is tied to the thin plywood of the forward V-berth with a wire and turnbuckle. On the boat we sailed, the pad eye to which the babystay tie rod is attached was tearing out of the V-berth.

There is a port in the deck directly over the lifting eye in the bilge. This makes for quick and easy drysailing. The Olson 30, however, is not easily trailered; her 3600 pounds is too much for all but the largest cars, and her 9.3′ beam requires a special trailering permit.

The Olson 30 is cramped belowdecks. Her low freeboard, short cabin house and substantial sheer may make her the sexiest-looking production boat on the water, but the price is headroom of only 4′ 5″. There is not even enough headroom for comfortable stooping; moving about below is a real chore.

To offset the confinement of the interior, the builder has done all that is possible to make it light and airy. In addition to the lexan forward hatch and cabin house windows, the companionway hatch also has a lexan insert. The inside of the hull is smoothly sanded and finished with white gelcoat. There are no full height bulkheads dividing up the cabin. All of the furniture is built of lightweight, light-colored, 3/8″ thick Scandinavian plywood of seven veneers.

Olson 30

The joinerwork is above average and all of the bulkhead and furniture tabbing is extremely neat. There isn’t much to the Olson 30’s interior, but what there is has been done with commendable craftsmanship. The interior wood is fragile, though. There are several unsupported panels of the 3/8″ plywood; if someone were to fall against them with much force it’s likely they would fracture. The cabin sole is narrow, and with the lack of headroom the woodwork is especially susceptible to being dinged and scratched from equipment like outboard engines. Once the finish on the wood is broken, it quickly absorbs water, which collects in the shallow bilge.

The Olson 30 is not a comfortable cruiser. Even after you’ve taken all the racing sails ashore, the belowdecks is barely habitable. To save weight the quarterberths are made of thin cushions sewn to vinyl and hung from pipes. These pipe berths are comfortable, but the cushions are not easily removed. Should they get wet it’s likely they would stay wet for quite a while. Two seabags are hung on sail tracks above the quarter berths, which should help to insure that some clothes always stay dry.

Just forward of each quarterberth is a small uncushioned seat locker. Behind each seat is a small portable ice cooler. In one seat locker is the stove, an Origo 3000 which slides up and out of the locker on tracks. The Origo is a top-of-the-line unpressurized alcohol stove, but to operate it the cook must kneel on the cabin sole. To work at the navigation station, which is in front of the starboard seat, you must sit sideways. In front of the port seat is the lavette, with a hand water pump and a removable, shallow drainless sink. Drainless sinks eliminate the need for a through-hull fitting, a good idea; but they should be deep, not shallow.

The portable head is mounted under the forward V-berth, which we think is totally unsuitable for a sailboat. Who wants a smelly toilet under his pillow? Although there are curtains which can be drawn across the V-berth, we think human dignity deserves an enclosed head, especially on a 30′ boat. The Vberth is large and easy to climb into, but there are no shelves above it nor a storage locker in the empty bow. In short, if you plan to cruise for more than a weekend you had better like roughing it.

Conclusions

For 30-footers, the price of an Olson 30 is cheap; but for boats of similar displacement, it’s damned expensive.

What do you get for the money? You get a boat that is well-built, seaworthy, and reasonably well laid out. You get a boat that, in light air, will sail as fast as boats costing nearly twice as much. Downwind in heavy air, you have a creature that will blow your mind and leave everything shy of a bigger ULDB in your wake. If you spend all of your sailing time racing in a PHRF fleet in an area where light or heavy air dominates, the Olson 30 will probably give you more pleasure for your dollar than almost anything afloat.

However if you race often in moderate air or enjoy more than a very occasional short cruise, you are likely to be very disappointed. Before you consider the Olson 30, you must realistically evaluate your abilities as a sailor. There’s nothing worse than, after finding out that you can’t race a boat to her potential, knowing that she is of little use for the other aspects of our sport.

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Flyer (Ultimate 30) & the Ultra 30 Class

Design number: 73 year: 1988.

It’s over thirty years now since the Ultra 30 story began. Rob had been commissioned to design Flyer, an Annapolis-built competitor in the exciting American Ultimate Yacht Race circuit, which had three or four good years before it started petering out. The boats were designed to a restricted class rule and the circuit was entirely professional, with prize money awarded. Over the life of the event Flyer, skippered by Mike Hobson,    was the biggest prize-money earner, so it was a good result for the HYD office.

At about the same time in the UK we were all coming out of the back of the Deed of Gift America’s Cup challenge event between Dennis Conner’s catamaran and Sir Michael Fay’s leviathan, with the UK’s frustrated role in this manifesting itself in Blue Arrow, a foil-stabilised monohull that was intended to be able to compete with the cat but, technically, be a monohull. It’s a long story for another day, and despite Peter de Savary’s best efforts at getting Fay to allow us to race against him for the right to challenge Conner, the New Zealand team would not ultimately take us on.

That left a lot of people - the top end of UK’s sailing talent really - looking forward to a pretty quiet time. Rob and Derek Clark, Design Coordinator for the Blue Arrow Challenge, spent a lot of time discussing this and felt what was needed was a version of the Ultimate Yacht Race for the UK. But the general feeling was that the open aspect of the Ultimate Yacht Race wouldn’t work in the UK as well as a one-design would, with a strong element of cost control. The Ultra was based on our Flyer design, but whereas Flyer was of fairly exotic carbon construction, the Ultra 30 was designed to be of much lower cost in order to widen the point of entry. The laminate design was by Giovanni Belgrano, with the brief being to make sure that these could be crash and burn boats without much potential for downtime. We felt this was what professional sailing, and accompanying television, needed.

How to get a new concept off the ground is always challenging. What Derek and Rob did was to host an evening for potentially interested parties in a meeting room of a Brockenhurst hotel, and they had the great and good of British sailing expertise within the four walls, with lots of enthusiastic discussion. However, we were all concerned that it shouldn’t end up just being a talking shop and finally it was a case of trying to flush out those who might make it happen. Silence, for quite a while, until John Caulcutt showed huge leadership by popping his hand up first with words to the effect of, ‘Sod it, I’ll have one’. It wasn’t long before we had about six hands in the air, with Peter Newlands and Ossie Stewart following John. It was a rare moment when one, fairly spontaneous, three-hour meeting nurtured a whole decade of the most exciting televisual sailing.

With momentum assured, Ian Ridge was tasked to press on with the tooling, funded by Derek and Rob, and a full calendar of events followed the next season.

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open 30 class sailboat

Open 40 - Ready for OSTAR

  • Reference ID 51
  • Builder Open
  • van der Stadt Design
  • Location Norway
  • Engine type Single
  • L.O.A. (mtr) 12.19
  • Beam (mtr) 4.00
  • Draft (mtr) 3.40
  • Material Carbon
  • Engine Yanmar with saildrive and 2-blade folding prop, also serves as generator.

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Yacht description.

General Designed by ‘van der Stadt Design’. Built 1999/2000 by Rhebergen Composites, Amsterdam (deck and hull) and Vels Jachtbouw, Medemblik (fitting-out etc.). Re-fitted 2009, including complete new rigging, sails, deck hardware and paint job.

Comments owner:

The boat is in good shape, Engine was overhauled two years ago. All sails are good (she is sold with some older training sails in addition to full sail set). The boat got a brand new servo driver for the autopilot, and a RayMarine map/radar plotter. The rotating keel is working fine.

A model of this one-of-a-kind boat built by Van De Stadt can be seen at the maritime museum in Amsterdam. This was the first sailboat in its class to cross the Atlantic Ocean computer assisted. Pieter Adriaans and the university of Amsterdam used this boat for its experiments from early 2000. After the project was done in 2008, the boat was sold to Tuned Rigs & Ropes. In 2009 the boat was rebuilds and repainted, using only the best equipment available, mainly carbon and titanium. Tuned used the boat as a show/demo boat until 2013. This is a full carbon regatta boat in the Open 40 class, it is 12m long and 4m wide, needing 3.5m of water to sail, especially designed for OSTAR upwind cross Atlantic race. Open 40 is similar to Class 40, but with no restrictions to cost, solutions and materials. There are no other Open 40 boats in Norway, but hopefully “SOLO” and other Class 40 boats will let it compete. In short regattas the Open 40 will not be able to beat the Class 40 boats, but in long and open Ocean regattas the Open 40 got some advantages... Its speed record is 27.5 knots set by Pieter Adriaans. But since then boat has been fitted with a new custom made carbon mast almost 2 meters longer, and with a mast top genaker of 170sq/m… And the main sail increased to 100sq/m square top, and both carbon sails. The canting mast is removed as of new regulations, but the new rig is better than ever. Rather than using rod-rig, the boat now got Powerlight-PBO rigging. The rotating keel is still there fully functioning. Specifications Dimensions

Length (m.): 12.190 Beam: 4.000 Depth: 3.400 Displacement: 4.500 Ballast: 1.750 Overall length incl. bowsprit 13.700 Bulb weight 900 kgs Total mast height 21.700 mm Mainsail area 100 m2 Jib area 45 m2 Gennaker A3 area 170 m2

Construction

  • Hull: Carbon sandwich with red cedar core. Re-painted in 2009.
  • Deck: Carbon sandwich with Nomex core. Re-painted in 2009.
  • Bulkheads etc: Carbon sandwich with foam core.
  • Hydraulic rotating keel fin & bulb to provide up to +/- 4 degrees extra lift (new Holmatro hydraulics in 2009).
  • Dismountable alu-bronze keel shaft with lead T-bulb.
  • Two carbon rudders with carbon rudder shafts. Extendable central tiller.
  • Water ballast: 1.000 litres each side, divided in 3 tanks for longitudal trim.
  • Single central scoop.
  • Mast custom designed carbon keel stepped Seldén mast, featuring 2 sets of swept-back spreaders and a 0 degree jumper for lateral stability. Double backstays are there for extra stability, but the mast is rigid enough to sail without them in light to moderate winds. The mast has an internal hydraulic mast jack, Lopolight carbon 3-colour/anchorlight, custom B&G masthead transducer, VHF antenna, custom swivelling radar bracket etc. A Holmatro mast winch and Spinlock ZR jammers are fitted for all foresails.
  • Ronstan mainsail track for boltrope and sail cars.
  • Boom is a custom built carbon boom, very light because it doesn’t have a vang (the curved track acts as vang).
  • Standing rigging is all Powerlite PBO rigging with custom integrated turnbuckles.     Rod forestay has a customized Furlex through-deck furler.
  • Cutterstay fitting and all other deck fittings are custom light-weight TUNED pad-eyes.
  • A dismountable carbon A-frame bowsprit is fitted.
  • Masttop backstays are dyneema and have Karver KBTi carbon-titanium blocks.
  • Checkstays are added for stability when sailing with staysail.
  • Running rigging is Gleistein.
  • All cores are Dyna-One HS SK75, covers are polyester/Kevlar.

Sails A full North Sails inventory:

Mainsail: 2009 North Sails 100m2     - panelled carbon     - double sided Taffeta     - full battened     - square top     - 2009 North Sails sail cover

Jib: 2009 North Sails 45m2     - panelled carbon     - double sided Taffeta     - horizontal CT furling battens     - 2009 North Sails sail cover   

Downwind sails:     - masthead A3 gennaker 2011 North Sails 170m2, black     - fractional A2 gennaker North Sails (appr. 2002) with snuffer     - light genoa / code-1 North Sails (appr. 2002)     - Code-0 North Sails (appr. 2002)     - jib 4 North Sails (appr. 2002)     - staysail North Sails (appr. 2002)     - storm jib North Sails (appr. 2002)

Accommodations

  • two pipe cots
  • simple kitchen sink
  • toilet prepared (taken out)
  • very spacious nav. station
  • large sails storage!

Deck and Cockpit

All renewed in 2009

  • curved mainsail track (open 60’ style)
  • 5 Holmatro winches in the cockpit and Spinlock jammers to provide maximum multi-purpose usage.
  • The tiller extends out of the back of the cockpit to provide space for the 5th winch, saving weight. The tiller is telescopic: when on auto-pilot it takes only ½ the space in the cockpit.
  • All blocks on deck are Karver blocks: the highest possible strength-to-weight ratio!
  • All tracks are Ronstan ball bearing High-load.
  • There are no genoa tracks: a downhaul and inhaul provide 3-dimensional trimming. These lines are lead below deck to new Holmatro hydraulic rams that can be operated on both sides of the cockpit (carbon panels)
  • bilge pumps (1 electric, 2 manual)
  • ballast pumps (1 electric, 1 manual)
  • battery charger
  • 220V transducer
  • load cells on V1 and D1 shrouds (not connected at the moment but fully operational)

Electronics and Navigational Gear

B&G equipment incl. - speed, - depth, wind, - autopilot

  • Furuno radar and gps
  • active radar reflector
  • 2 x built-in PC’s

The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.

Contact Details

  • Name Site Broker | Racing-Yachts.com
  • Email [email protected]
  • Phone +31 (0)320 746046
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THE O'PEN BIC

FOR FUN, RECREATION, AND RACING

THE O'PEN SKIFF 

The O’pen Skiff celebrated its 10th birthday in 2016, along with the production of its 8,000th boat. Designed specifically for juniors, the little dinghy has blown a big breath of fresh air through our sailing world, close to the new-generation skiff concept, very fast and very simple. 100% open, self-bailing, rapid and responsive, with an up-to-date versatile rig, the O’pen Skiff offers kids a machine that delivers maximum fun while helping them learn the skills and reflexes to enjoy racing on current, high-performance equipment. Hundreds of sailing clubs around the world have opted for the O’pen BIC, for a new, fun way of teaching sailing to appeal to youngsters attracted to new sail sports.

Melges Performance Sailboats is an O’pen Skiff dealer.

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This weekend’s regatta is part of the 23rd Annual Women’s trilogy race series. July 22 is Race for the Roses. Aug 5-6 is the Fast Women regatta.

Bikini Cup July 15, 2023 @ Navy Yacht Club Pensacola https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/25610#_docs

Race for the Roses July 22, 2023 @ Pensacola Beach Yacht Club https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/26718/Roses2023NOR.pdf

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Most Popular One-Design Sailboats

Most Popular One-Design Sailboats | Life of Sailing

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

May 23, 2023

‍ Key Takeaways

  • A class-legal boats race is for you to compete without special modifications to the boat
  • Small boats are typically one-design but some can be up to 30 feet in length
  • The two most popular one-design boat brands are Laser and Sunfish
  • Each class association is governed by the US Sailing organization
  • Youth sailors greatly benefit from one-design classes to help shape sailing skills

‍ One-design class sailboats come in a variety of shapes and sizes. But what are the most popular one-design sailboats?

Popular one-design sailboats include Laser, 49er, I-420, and Ideal 18. Some popular multihull one-design boats are A-Cat, Isotope, and Hobie 16. Various one-design boat brands will cater to specific races and sailor’s needs in order to provide the best experience.

In my experience the Laser is one of the popular one-design brands in existence due to its rich history and sailors loyalty to the brand. Many other brands are right up there with it in terms of quality and performance.

Table of contents

‍ Top 15 Popular One-Design Sailboats

One-design sailboats are an international class of boats meant for solo sailing and racing. One-design racing incorporates virtually identical boats and some of the popular brands today have the best representation of the design class.

Laser

The Laser is the most popular racing dinghy across the world. It is a one-design sailboat they use in Olympic regatta and other world sailing events. There have been over 200,000 of these sold worldwide and they feature three rig setups to accommodate anyone that enjoys dinghy sailing.

49er

The 49er is another sailboat that is considered among the best of world class racing sailboats. This small sailboat is a double handed skiff and requires that you have plenty of skill to handle it. The popularity has exploded since its debut in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

I-420

The I-420 is a one-design class sailboat that is sailed around the world. It is commonly used in sailing schools and clubs for sailors that want to hone their skills as a dinghy racer. This boat is classified as an Olympic Development Class for all athletes trying to join the Olympics.

470

If you are wanting a blend of high performance competitive sailing without being too difficult then the 470 is the perfect boat. This incredible boat was introduced in the 1976 Montreal Olympics and is still currently used today for many of the races for design classes in the Olympics. These boats are used for the men’s and women’s double handed racing.

A popular one-design keelboat is the Ideal 18 that requires skill rather than any special rigging to win a race. It is one of the easiest boats to rig and is best for single handed sailing. You can use either a roller furling jib or self tacking jib to accommodate your sailing needs.

A-Cat

The A-Cat is part of the International A-Class and is an international developmental class for multihull one-design sailboats. It is 18 feet in length and is regarded as one of the fastest dinghy sailboats in existence. They mirror the quality used in the America’s Cup and are used in many races across North America.

Another one-design multihull that many sailors are switching to is the Isotope . This one-design class is a registered Formula 16HP class boat. At just 16 feet it is one of the fastest one-design multihulls out there.

Hobie 16

The Hobie 16 is a one-design multihull sailboat that is one of the most iconic sailboats. It is in the Sailing Hall of Fame and is easy to sail. Sailors have loved this boat for over 45 years with over 100,000 sold worldwide.

29er

The 29er is the younger sibling to the 49er one-design sailboat. This boat is a bit more advanced and perfect for youth that are wanting to take the next step up to the 49er. It has a race class devoted to it and is a great alternative to the Laser series if you have difficulty finding one.

J/30

A one-design boat that is geared towards a variety of uses does not get any better than the J/30 . It has the appeal of a racer cruiser and can accommodate all different types of sailing experience. This is perfect for those that want to race but not be tied down to limited options on the boat.

For youth that need a great starter one-design boat the Nacra 15 is a perfect option. It is a semi-foiling multihull that requires teamwork and is perfect for those that are building up the skills to one day be in the Olympics. At just under 16 feet it offers the ease of transportation anywhere the water is available.

Atlantic

The Atlantic is a classic one-design sailboat that is 30 feet in length and is fast. It has a keel and offers stability while remaining fast on the water. For nearly 100 years this 30 foot one-design has been at the top of its class.

Catalina 22

Catalina 22

The Catalina 22 was one of the first boats inducted in the 1995 Sailboat Hall of Fame for good reason. It helped revolutionize the trailerable sailboat market and is a great one-design boat for sailing. It is great for the entire family and can be passed on for generations if taken care of properly.

J/22

A popular one-design sailboat that typically needs three or four people to sail is the J/22 . Hundreds of J/22 boats have sailed over the years since it was used in the 2004 Olympics. Its design allows it to remain competitive against older boats due to the strict one-design class.

Sunfish

The most iconic one-design sailboat out there is arguably the Sunfish . There are over 500,000 Sunfish boats around the world since the 1950’s and are used in roughly a thousand races a year. The beauty of this one-design is that it can be used as a racing boat or for casual day sailing.

Why One-Design Boats are Used for Racing

Sailing has been primarily used over the course of history to ship goods across waterways. Over time designs changed and people were interested in seeing who was faster than one another.

This led to the design of racing sailboats and were first used in the 1800’s in Greece. Fast forward over 200 years later and there are thousands of boats racing across the world in various competitions.

One-design boats are not only meant for racing and can be used for daysailing depending on the brand. If you want to be on the same playing field and for everyone else to do the same then one-design boats are ideal.

Need for Speed

There is a unique feeling when you see another sailboat just like yours and you have the itch to race it. This has always been a driving force behind racing and it is fueled by sailors that have a competitive outlook.

One-designs are meant to allow your skill shine and not the boat aiding in your ability to win. Dinghy sailing are boats that are under 20 feet and are typically handled by less than three people.

Importance of Design

One-designs are a balance of sport and comfort. Some boats are geared entirely for racing but there are plenty that balance perfectly as a daysailer and a racing boat.

Many will also have keels to provide added stability. A small keelboat is great for those wanting to have a bit more stability if they have a fear of tipping over in the water. Small keelboats are also great for those that are new to sailing and require a little help remaining stable.

Best for Training

If you are an inexperienced sailor or you want your kids to lean how to sail then one-design boats are the best option. Since these design classes all have to be similar depending on the boat length it is easier to learn on these than another type of boat.

This allows youth to easily adapt to the boat without being too overwhelmed or discouraged. It also helps if you start out on a one-design boat and then move up to a more advanced boat with a similar skill set needed to operate it.

In addition you can try out different types of one-design sailboats without having to buy one. This will allow you to get your feet wet with yacht clubs or other solo sailing organizations and have fun trying new boats.

What are One-Design Races?

One-design sailing is where an event of racing takes place and all of the boats that are competing are identical or very similar. The reason that these boats are nearly identical is so that no one competitor has an edge based on their boat rigging or any other special influences.

These races are entirely based on skill with minor help from the boat you are using so that everyone gets a fair shot. Everyone starts at the same time and the first to go across the finish line is the winner.

There is an estimated 200 or more one-design race classes around the US and vary in boat length from eight to 40 feet. These races are narrowed down among various racing organizations and clubs across the world.

Different Types of One-Design Races

There are many versions of one-design racing that sailors can join. This all depends on your experience or potentially a club that you are a part of. In the Olympics you will also see various one-design races.

Match races are quite common among one-design sailing. This is where two sailboats are of the same design or very similar are competing against one another to determine a winner.

The only major difference between the two boats sailing against each other is the crews on board each boat. Depending on the experience of the crew will greatly affect the outcome of the race.

Arguably the most common one-design racing is fleet. This is where either a small handful of boats or even up to 100 at a time can compete to cross a finish line in a given location.

These are great because you have a lot of sailors starting at one spot at the same time in very similar or identical boats. This is the same setup used in the Olympics and is why it is the most common race type.

Sailing clubs are great for building experience and camaraderie among your sailing peers. These can vary on one-design use but most will outline exactly what type of racing is going to be conducted.

These typically use various forms of racing types or one-design sailboats depending on location. In addition you can race to be the best of your club and earn a trophy.

Team racing is a bit different than other races that deliver a winner as soon as they cross the finish line. These are usually a few one-design boats with a few people on board and will award points to those teams depending on how they finish the race. The team that has the lowest amount of points after each race is the winner and it will require a few races to determine a winner.

Regatta races can vary based on location and will use different types of one-design sailboats. These races typically last a few days and will need teammates if the event is geared towards a team event. Most people enjoy regattas since they offer one of the best social interactions lasting a few days.

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to travel hundreds of miles or sail for days on end to reach a destination first then offshore one-design sailing is right for you. These races require extensive knowledge in order to remain safe. They typically have one-design requirements so that everyone is on the same playing field.

If you have disabilities and still want to enjoy sailing then paralympic sailing competitions are right for you. These are one-design sailboat races meant to handle skill and can accommodate to anyone attempting to sail.

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I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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Home  News  Applications Open for the 2024 Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup

Applications Open for the 2024 Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup

open 30 class sailboat

The Rose Cup is an invitational event open to sailors who have reached their 16th birthday but not their 21st birthday during the calendar year in which the event is held (i.e., must be born between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2008). The Championship features world-class coaching and serves as an outstanding training ground for young sailors who are passionate about match racing and focused on competing at the next level.

“We are very pleased to see the competitive group of applicants we have received to date and welcome additional applications for everyone interested,” said Ryan Davidson, USYMRC Committee Chair. “This years event at Corinthian Yacht Club is not one you will want to miss!”

Applications submitted by April 1 will receive preference. Request an invitation here:  https://form.jotform.com/240095124431143 . Competitors are asked to provide their top three match and fleet racing accomplishments over the past three years, and to write briefly about their experience racing on a 3-4 person keelboat.

Teams consist of crews of four, with at least one male and one female and a maximum crew weight of 660 pounds. Teams may be composed of members from different yacht clubs or sailing associations.

The Rose Cup started as an invitational youth match racing event in 2010. It was founded by members of Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach, California, and the Newport-Balboa Sailing & Seamanship Association. Its mission is to assist in the promotion of youth match racing in the United States and improve the quality of US competitors in national and international competition.

Thanks primarily to the efforts of US Sailing Match Racing Committee Vice-Chair and five-time US Match Racing Champion, Dave Perry, US Sailing made the event one of its three match racing championships, and it officially became the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship in 2015.

Learn more about the championship: https://www.ussailing.org/competition/championships/2024-u-s-youth-match-racing-championship/

Copyright ©2018-2024 United States Sailing Association. All rights reserved. US Sailing is a 501(c)3 organization. Website designed & developed by Design Principles, Inc. -->

IMAGES

  1. Cape Dory 30C

    open 30 class sailboat

  2. Photo Of Sailing Yacht 30, Cheap Boat Rides San Francisco De

    open 30 class sailboat

  3. How to build a 30 ft sailboat

    open 30 class sailboat

  4. How to build a 30 ft sailboat Benefit ~ Canoe stabilizer plans

    open 30 class sailboat

  5. 1978 Catalina 30 foot Sailboat Outside Nanaimo, Nanaimo

    open 30 class sailboat

  6. open 30

    open 30 class sailboat

VIDEO

  1. Learn more about Mikassa's sailboat from our next open-movie 'Project Gold', on studio.blender.org

  2. Great How To for Rigging, Tuning and Sail Trim for a Legacy Star Class Sailboat

  3. Adventure 40 Sailboat Interior Arrangement Reveal

  4. Sail Boat

  5. 34 Sailmaster with Music

  6. Sailboat Launch

COMMENTS

  1. Open 30

    the boat had a refit and a new engine is placed (UK) 2012. the cockpit, the water ballast system and the sail plan have been adjusted. The boat painted. 2015. new nuts plates keel bolts; 2018. the underwatership is stripped to the laminate and provided with an epoxy system (not yet anti-fouling)

  2. New and used Owen Clarke Designs Open 30 boats for sale

    Netherlands. £23,862 GBP. Listed price €27,500 EUR. Tax paid / included. 1993 | 9.14m | Sail. View details. All boats from Bach Yachting d.o.o. Contact Seller. Search for a Owen Clarke Designs Open 30 on the worlds largest network.

  3. Open boats for sale

    Find Open boats for sale in your area & across the world on YachtWorld. Offering the best selection of Open boats to choose from.

  4. Open 30 Class

    Search titles only. By: Search Advanced search…

  5. A high performance one-off racer from VGYD: the VG-Open30

    700 ft 2. SA (dn) 155 m 2. 1668 ft 2. In December 2007 Moondance Yachts in Cape Town, South Africa splashed their first Van Gorkom designed production Open30 named "OverProof," a high performance one-off racer. See our report on OverProof sailing the Cape to Bahia Race. The next boat off the line has a cat-rig and a canting keel.

  6. Mount Gay 30 vs Open 30

    MG 30 was designed as a crewed offshore raceboat - the open 30 was along the lines of the 950. Very different boats. The MG 30 was more of a higher sided, wider Mumm 30 with a, bigger cabin, alumimum rig and cast iron keel. I see, Open 30 is designed for shorthanded vs crewed on MG30 on the outset.

  7. 2022 Boat of the Year: Best Offshore Racer

    The Dehler 30 One Design is selected Sailing World Magazine's Best Offshore Racer in its Boat of the Year competition. The 30-foot pure raceboat is designed for racing with fewer crewmembers ...

  8. open 30

    TWA 30 deg TWS 8-10 knots Boatspeed 7 knots. TWA 140 deg TWS 15-20 knots Boatspeed 10-16 knots. With the new main the rating is more optimized and has better performance upwind, especially with more breeze. Boat is more in balanced so the boatspeed is more consistent. Downwind we have a bigger gennaker than the old one so the boat can easily plane.

  9. Open 30 boats for sale

    View a wide selection of Open 30 boats for sale in your area, explore detailed information & find your next boat on boats.com. #everythingboats. Explore. Back. Explore View All. Overnight Cruising; House Boats ... Class Cruiser/Racer (1) Price $25000 - $50000; Length 30 - 40ft Year

  10. The Olson 30: Ultra Light, Ultra Fast » Olson 30 Class Association

    The Olson 30 is one of a breed of sailboats born in Santa Cruz, California called the ULDB, an acronym for ultra light displacement boat. ULDBs basically are big dinghies-long on the waterline, short on the interior amenities, narrow in the beam, and very light in both displacement and pricetag. ULDBs attract a different kind of sailor-the type ...

  11. Racing Yacht Design : Owen Clarke Design

    OC have been involved with the fastest growing offshore racing box rule class, Class 40, since its inception and now have eighteen of these offshore sailboats on the water, the latest being #157. Many of the details and naval architecture principals of these amazing boats are absolutely relevant to any high-performance racing yacht today.

  12. OPEN 30 SAILING FAST

    just come and sail and open 30 in argentina, canting proved keel

  13. Class 30 One Design™: Reservations are open!

    The Class 30 One Design version enables a duo or crew to race in a one-design class as well as be competitive in IRC. Key points of the Class 30 One Design™ project: - A boat that is great to sail: seated comfortably at the helm or out on the rail, on a hull which is not too wet, with a large cockpit for carrying out manoeuvres in crewed format

  14. Class 30 One Design™: Here we are! You can now order the affordable and

    Noticeably, from July 14th to 20th, the 'Demo Class 30 Tour' project, a 5-day race open to crews will start from Lorient. Also, a 'Grand Finale Class 30' over 4 days is scheduled for Two-Handed, as well as for crewed yachts, at Lorient or La Trinité. ... What we want with the Class 30 is a boat, affordable for young people, but also for people ...

  15. World's coolest yachts: Open 50

    This time Nick Moloney nominates the Open 50. ... J Class; Great Escapes. Sailing across the Atlantic; ... Open 50 Stats rating: Top speed: 30+ knots LOA: 15.24m Launched: 1996

  16. Olson 30

    Like any higher performance class of sailboat, the Olson 30 attracts competent sailors. Hence, the boat is pushed to a higher level of overall performance, and the PHRF rating reflects this. ... If the boat were pooped or knocked down with the lazarette open, water could rush below through the lazarette relatively unrestricted. As the Olson 30 ...

  17. Registrations are open for Class 30 One Design

    Registrations are open for Class 30 One Design. With the preliminary design study phase drawing to a close, the ground is now being prepared for the construction of the first Class 30, with the next phase of the project under way, which is the development of the detailed construction plans. These will be completed by the end of March 2022.

  18. Flyer (Ultimate 30) & the Ultra 30 Class

    But the general feeling was that the open aspect of the Ultimate Yacht Race wouldn't work in the UK as well as a one-design would, with a strong element of cost control. The Ultra was based on our Flyer design, but whereas Flyer was of fairly exotic carbon construction, the Ultra 30 was designed to be of much lower cost in order to widen the ...

  19. Open 30 boats for sale

    View a wide selection of Open 30 boats for sale in your area, explore detailed information & find your next boat on boats.com. #everythingboats. United Kingdom GB. United States Canada Australia Spain Germany ... Class Racer/Cruiser (1) Price £10000 - £25000; Length 30 - 40ft / 9 - 12m

  20. Open 40

    In 2009 the boat was rebuilds and repainted, using only the best equipment available, mainly carbon and titanium. Tuned used the boat as a show/demo boat until 2013. This is a full carbon regatta boat in the Open 40 class, it is 12m long and 4m wide, needing 3.5m of water to sail, especially designed for OSTAR upwind cross Atlantic race.

  21. The O'pen Skiff

    The O'pen Skiff celebrated its 10th birthday in 2016, along with the production of its 8,000th boat. Designed specifically for juniors, the little dinghy has blown a big breath of fresh air through our sailing world, close to the new-generation skiff concept, very fast and very simple. 100% open, self-bailing, rapid and responsive, with an up-to-date versatile rig, the O'pen Skiff offers ...

  22. National Class Association

    I also encourage everyone to share their experiences sailing and owning a J/30 on the J/30 Facebook page and utilizing the class association's website and forums. In closing, I want to thank you for being part of this amazing fleet. The J/30 Class is the reason for our bond, and our shared passion and firm determination will keep us moving ahead.

  23. Most Popular One-Design Sailboats

    Popular one-design sailboats include Laser, 49er, I-420, and Ideal 18. Some popular multihull one-design boats are A-Cat, Isotope, and Hobie 16. Various one-design boat brands will cater to specific races and sailor's needs in order to provide the best experience. In my experience the Laser is one of the popular one-design brands in existence ...

  24. Applications Open for the 2024 Youth Match Racing Championship for the

    Apply for the U.S. Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup, June 26-30 at Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead, Mass.The Rose Cup is an invitational event open to sailors who have reached their 16th birthday but not their 21st birthday during the calendar year in which the event is held (i.e., must be born between January 1, 2004 and December ...