#218 in refit
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Hello to the Olson 30 community!
My wife and I purchased #218 a few years back, sailed the boat for a year, and my wife and I fell in love. She was called many things throughout the years, most recently Status Quo, but is now boasting PROPER Buckeye colors, and sailing under the name ‘Sloopy’ (tongue firmly in cheek)Growing to love the boat, of course, meant listening to our surveyor, and starting the process of fixing her up. 1.5 years later, I’m nearing the end of a major core and hardware replacement operation, and I’m looking for your expert advice on setting her up from scratch.
We like the idea of racing at some point, but our prime love is just getting out on the Chesapeake, and hauling around as fast and far as we can. I’m interested in buying right once, and NOT having to do this deck-work again for a very, very long time. In that light, the engineer in us both requires that the equipment we get can stand up to forays into the Atlantic (Bermuda’s nice most of the year!), and to the abuse of us looking for every knot she can give.
My (amateur) list so far:
1) Replace the lights, radio mast, weather-vane up top (and get an actual anemometer)
2) Replace the winches (move to the 2 winch layout?)
3) Figure out what kind of jib track/blocks should go down (again, given the re-work, we’re starting from BARE deck)
4) Figure out what should go forward of the mast (there must’ve been 10 different pieces and parts of what I can only imagine were different spin pole systems out front)
5) Find a solution for raising and adjusting halyards, and a location for all the cleats
6) Acquire a nav system built AFTER 1990 (I have no idea where to start here)
7) Anything that I’ve forgotten…I’m sure it’s against some rule somewhere to make your first post a detailed request like this, but I get the feeling this community loves these boats as much as I do, and I REALLY want to get this wrapped up and back in the water!
Nothing wrong with your post – it’s awesome and welcome to the community!
1 – We replaced the original masthead tri-light with a lightweight anchor light, and installed Navi-Safe LED lights on the bow and stern. The lights are battery powered and mounted to brackets on the pulpit and pushpit. they are very nice quality lights. there are some drawbacks to pulpit /pushpit mounting but advantages too.
2-5 – There is some material in the boat setup pages:
http://www.olson30.org/the-boat/tips-and-tweaks
There are so many variables to consider: What kind of sailing (buoy racing, distance racing, no racing) short or single-handing, crewed; What kind of budget is a huge variable.
6 – for instruments there are so many options and variables and it’s possible to spend a couple hundred dollars or thousands. Many Olson 30 sailors go very minimal with instrumentation. iPad solutions for plotters (iNavx) are minimal and affordable. Our boat has iNavx, handheld GPS, a sailcomp fluxgate compass, a VHF with GPS and AIS and we’re planning to install a wireless NMEA multiplexer to have all the widgets talk to each other, and all of that stuff is quite affordable.
SWG
Hi Jason,
I replaced my masthead light with this one and I am quite happy with it: http://www.amazon.com/OP5001-AMAZONIA-CLASSIC-INTEGRATE-BI-DIMENSIONAL/dp/B00I8P2HHI
I am a budget sailor so I got these for my masthead instruments: http://www.marinedeal.com/product_p/sim22098529.htm
And now I am looking to get a Wifi to connect all this to my Ipad.
I am doing “Floating Low Friction Leads” for the Jibsheets.
I do most of my sailing solo so I kept 2 cabin top winches (2 speed non ST) and I replaced the Cockpit winches with 2speed ST. That keeps the sheets closer to the helm. I added a Harken windward sheeting traveller and most my Halyards come back to the cockpit except the Main and one Spinnaker halyard (I like to have my main halyard at the mast close to all my reefing so I do it from this one place and the spinnaker is in case I decide to do W/L races)
I updated my backstay with the Dyneema. And I brought the Spy pole downhaul to the mast base, but I kept one attachment point on the foredeck that I can use a snatch block if the wind is light enough.
One thing I did on my boat is I copied Speedster idea of adding a board between the seats aft of the traveller. It makes for more comfortable tacks and jibes in my opinion. Plus in those hot boring light wind days it provides a place to lay and chill… Hehehe
My boat is Clarice M. and it has come a long way since I got her last year but there is still a lot to do.
The guys here at the forum are a great help and source of knowledge so look at past posts and the tips and tweaks but also, do not forget to factor your own experience too!
Cheers
J
The racers will tell you to get the weight off the top of the mast, but since you will be offshore, I’d stay with the masthead light. The freeboard is low, so lights won’t show if there is any sort of sea. I put in a LED 25W equivalent bulb for low power usage. Radio antenna should be up there too.
Instruments…wow. Huge subject, but the answer will lie in how much $$$ you are setting aside. Network is best..get it over with. I have a bit of hodge podge myself, but am slowly getting the network together.
Having true wind calculations on your wind indicator is great for racing. I have the 531 Garmin GPS feeding speed to a Tack Tick network. I only have the tack tick wind, not the racemaster version. Tack tick is nice because it is wireless; except power at the unit, (not the masthead). You need to link your GPS to your VHF, don’t forget.
For a speedo..mounting it in a good position is best. Forward of the keel is not the best. I vary almost a knot from port to starboard, yet on a run it is accurate. It is mounted just to starboard under the V berth. Aft would be better is my guess. I’ve got ST40 speed and separate depth.
For racing: A pro start on the mast. GPS line fix; head/lift; countdown; gps direction; speed. Downfall is 3 AA batteries and no backlight but they last.
I have a compass on each side of the cabin bulkhead.
Garhaurer adjustable genoa car setup is the best bargain around. Strong and nice looking. Price is less than half the others. Uses the stock Schaefer track.
Winches: we went cabin top only for a while. Keep them and the primaries. A spare winch is nice and really helps for buoy racing while under spinnaker. In light air, you can always cross jib sheet to the cabin.
Spin Pole: downhaul..double ended to the base of the mast and up to spin pole. Make a spin pole sock for the boom. It allows you to keep the pole connected and is a good storage place. I have a carbon pole, so I don’t have to use a bridle system, just D rings.
Boom Kicker: A must.
Marine Stereo..yeah, you’ll want it. Bluetooth to your phone.12V cigarette outlet at nav station. For recharging stuff. I run an invertor for my laptop to charge that uses the cig 12v. Has USB charge ports too. Are you an inboard? How do you keep a battery up? LED red/white light at nav. Doesn’t need to be big.
Jib tracks on cabin top. Short. 2 feet or so for the #3.
Crewed: spin halyards on the mast, crossed to opposite side. Eye fairlead to cam cleat. Fast and never slips. Spin pole car that is adjusted with line/cleats.
Light crewed: All halyards back to clutches. I recommend cam cleats behind the clutches for Jib and Main halyards. You don’t want slippage. Spin is easy to draw back up.
All through deck holes should be oversize drilled and filled with epoxy/filler, then drill to actual. No core leaks that way and mount is stronger.
You don’t need a baby stay.
Change the colors to Spartan Green
Thanks a ton for the replies so far.
Some more info I ought to have supplied: much/most of our sailing is just the wife and I, so I certainly have a preference for choices (like an autopilot) that make that more manageable.
As for job tracks: how long, and where? So I hear you suggesting cabintop for, I assume, the #3: where would you suggest they start and end? Same question for the outboard tracks.
Thanks!
Jib tracks: #3 is on the cabin top just ahead of the hand rail or inside the stays. Some remove a section of the teak trim, others mount the track just inside the teak trim. Genoa tracks on the deck can be much shorter if you only use the cabin top #3 tracks. I have sailed in conditions where we used to stock #3 track position on the deck when punching through steep waves. You loose pointing ability for power. If you use a 140% for a #2, you deck tracks can end just ahead of the back of the cabin. The genoa track goes aft to the mid cockpit then to turning blocks. We should be able to get someone to post some photos of deck layouts for you. My boat is long gone or I’d help you.
Enjoy,Check out: http://www.olson30.org/the-boat/tips-and-tweaks/deck-setup-for-buoy-racing Good suggestions and photos of your deck layouts.
The original #3 tracks are fine, some people shorten the #1-2 tracks, some of the forward section of track will never be used.
as bill said, there are good photos of the jib tracks in the link above. some of the more spartan layouts would not be good unless you only racing W/L with a crew.
Jean Andre – can you please post or send me picture of your floating jib leads. I have spent countless hours thinking of how I am going to install mine. bizirka at gmail dot com
Hi Jiri, I am out of town for the next 2 weeks.
I’ll send you pictures when I get back.Hi Jiri,
while I cannot send you a picture of mine, here is the picture I used to “build” it:
Hi Jason – I’ve had Loki for a couple years. The layout was updated back in 2006, and I’m really happy with the layout, especially when we’re shorthanded. It is very clean and low maintenance.
You mention the Bay. We’re in Galesville. Maybe we can connect some time? Checking her out in person is worth 1000 words…
Chris,
We’ll have to make a swing at it! The boat is on the hard on Solomons Island, so we’re really not that far. Any chance of sending a photo or 2?And because doing everything topside isn’t enough…..
Having Read Spar Wars’ and others comments about the mast stepconstruction/degradation, and knowing just how often and how much water has sat in our bilge over the years, I think it’s time to take a look down there. I think I have a solid feel on how to repair it if damaged; can you give me a good idea of how to know what sort of shape it’s in? Or is it just: cut away the glass and take a look.Additionally, when screwing down my new floors, I noticed that it felt like the screws weren’t biting into anything at all. What’s supposed to be in those other cross-hull sections, has anyone else ever dug in to check their integrity, and is there a non-destructive way of taking a peek?
Thanks again for all the help. I swear I’ll finish this…some year or another…
Jason,
Those other stringers are the same as the maststep – they are glassed over 2by4s. My mast step was pretty obviously deflected downward so it was obvious it need to be replaced. To examine it I would drill into it, if you get dark or even worse wet wood it is a bad sign. Hopefully, you get back nice dry wood. If you have the mast out and a spare weekend or two, I would do it regardless. The hardest part was getting the new wood cut to shape and keeping it level with the other stringers.
My other stringers are foam. I placed a solid block under the mast step just aft of the main stringer. The block is about 4″ athwart ship and 5″ fore and aft and spans from the bottom of the sump to the underside of the mast step, about 6 or 7″. To ensure a solid support I buttered up the top of the support with an epoxy paste before landing the mast step. The grain is vertical. I had to notch the bottom to span a keel bolt.
I just bought #67 last month to replace a J/24. #67 is rigged mostly for short handed sailing and I intend to do mostly buoy and random leg racing with some point to point. This whole thread and especially Bill Vosteen’s reference on cleaning up the deck have been very helpful.
My preference is to cross sheet to the cabin top winches. In that often done? If so, how are the sheets usually routed?not cross-sheeting but many people sheet to the cabin top winches instead of the cockpit winches. so you are not sheeting across the cockpit, but from the cheek block aft of the genoa lead up to the cabin top.
we have 4 winches but the boat is not completely setup yet and there are no cleats installed yet for the cockpit winches (non self-taling). one thing we’ve found is the cockpit winches tend to get in the way of the main trimmer. especially in a big breeze you are pretty active on the mainsheet and traveler and the winch is pretty much exactly where you need to sit to trim the main. we can see now why many people remove them. getting weight forward is part of the rationale for sheeting from the cabin top but clutter in the cockpit is another.
make sure to look over the pages here on deck layouts. they are far from comprehensive but there are good examples to refer to.
also doug, you might consider joining the class association, and also we will send an email so we have your info in the hull database.
Or someone can buy the mold I have and make a modern, ergonomic, clutter free cockpit.
Hope Bruce does’nt mind i posted a photo of his vessel. Absolutely awesome!
Don’t forget the beer holders……sheesh!
Jean Andre – I was wondering if you had any pictures available yet? I am really curious how this floating leads look on the olson. thank you!
Jiri, a couple of pictures from Loki. I like the setup… not too cluttered, everything in easy reach. We can cross-sheet but rarely do.
I think all the refitting was done by Pride Marine.
Hi Jiri,
It’s been 3 months I do not go to the boat… I will try to go in the next couple of weeks and take pictures for you. Cheers
Thank you, Chris. It is always helpful to see a different layout. A few good takeaways for me.
Thank you, Jean Andre – I look forward to seeing them.
I am trying to get Joe to send me photos of The Source – he has gone completely floating leads on the whole boat. I am sure he will send soon.
http://www.olson30.org/projects/radical-refit-olson-30-007-the-source
Still waiting for photos of The Source showing floating leads, Joe Joines promises they will be sent to the site before long.
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