J/Boats J/30

About the J/Boats J/30

Researched from public sources for this model. Any individual boat may have been modified or repowered — confirm before relying on any figure.

Built

1979–1986

Builder

Tillotson-Pearson (TPI)

Designer

Rod Johnstone

Length

29.83 ft

Waterline

25 ft

Beam

11.18 ft

Draft

5.25 ft

Displacement

7,000 lb

Ballast

2,100 lb

Hull

fiberglass-cored

Hull / keel

fin keel

Rig

sloop

Propulsion

inboard

Water heater

AC + engine · factory option

Bow thruster

not fitted

Stern thruster

not fitted

Steering

tiller

Sources disagree on number built — left blank rather than guessed.

Production figures disagree: sailboatdata says 1979-1986 and 554 built; Good Old Boat says 575 built with the run ending in 1987. Hull built in two halves joined on the centerline, with the deck bolted to an inward flange. Hull and deck use Contourkore end-grain balsa with vinylester resin. Post-1984 boats have a larger galley. 15 hp diesel (sailboatdata); Good Old Boat identifies it as a Yanmar.

Engines fitted

• Yanmar 2QM15 — 15 hp, diesel, single standard
  Factory engine in early hulls (owners report it in hulls #205, #215 and #256; a 1979 boat per a sailboatowners.com search excerpt). Class specs give the auxiliary as a 15 hp inboard diesel.
  Sources: j30.us · forums.sailboatowners.com · j30.us
• Yanmar 2GM — 15 hp, diesel, single standard
  Replaced the 2QM15 as the factory engine partway through 1981 (hull #340 owner calls the raw-water 2GM standard; 1982 and 1984 owners report it too, as does the class sale listing for 1984 hull #428, per search excerpt). Exact changeover hull number not documented.
  Sources: j30.us · j30.us · j30.us

Boats of the same model can differ — check which engines yours actually has before ordering parts.

Generator

Not in the 1981 standard or optional equipment lists.

Manuals and brochures online

• Brochure J/30 sales brochure, J Boats Inc., June 1984 (scan, class association) (1984) — j30.us
• Price list J/30 price list and standard/optional equipment, 1 Sept 1981 (scan, class association) (1981) — j30.us
• Spec sheet J/30 Official Specifications (J/30 National Class Association) — j30.us
• Document J/30 National Class Rules (class association; tiller, rudder and deck-gear rules) (2009) — j30.us

Hosted by the builder or an owners' association; they own the copyright.

Known problems for this model

• Soft balsa deck around stanchions deck
  Hull and deck are balsa-cored, and on many boats the deck around heavily loaded stanchions has gone soft and needs core repair.
  goodoldboat.com · spinsheet.com
• Blisters on early hulls hull
  Many boats from the second and third production years developed gelcoat blisters.
  goodoldboat.com
• Cracks at engine mounts and mast-step floors hull
  Look for cracking around the engine mounts from vibration, and in the floors around the mast step from age and over-tensioned rigging.
  spinsheet.com
• Chainplate leaks, lower-shroud attachment and spreader brackets rigging
  Leaking chainplates can soak and weaken the structural bulkhead; check the lower-shroud attachment, and on Kenyon spars watch for spreader brackets whose rivets have worked loose. Mast failures have been reported.
  goodoldboat.com · spinsheet.com
• Rudder gudgeons and pintles steering
  Failed rudder gudgeons and pintles are among the known J/30 trouble spots.
  spinsheet.com

Engines & parts

Other J/Boats models

• J/Boats J/105 1992–?
• J/Boats J/24 1977–?
• J/Boats J/35 1983–1992