[Jeff_H]

The Tartan 30 is probably my favorite 30 footer of the early to mid-1970's. They sail well and make reasonably good single-handers for a boat of that era. They were reasonably well built, and the last few that I had been on seemed to be in very good condition for a boat of that age.

I really think the whole fear of Atomic 4's thing is way over stated. They were reliable, easy to trouble shoot and work on and the parts used to be cheap and readily available. In the 48 plus years that I have been sailing, I have never actually heard of one exploding, but you need to take reasonable precautions. I have heard of lots of boats with diesels and propane exploding and no one seems to worry about that all that much. That said, as I think about it, I haven't had an At4 in a boat in nearly 25 years so at this point parts may have gotten harder to get.

Under no circumstances would I suggest buying any boat of this age without a survey. With all due respect, in reading your (BMacFarquahar's) comments on this thread it is quite clear that you do not know enough to properly survey a boat and there are things that may not seem readily apparent on a boat this age that could cost several times what the boat costs to repair. Think of a survey as very cheap insurance.

Speaking of insurance, i was curious about the Allstate comment and so talked to my Allstate rep. If they do not already have your boat insured, Allstate requires a survey on all boats 10 year or older. They will not insure a boat over 30 year old.

Jeff