J/30 West Coast Equivalents

[jeffphoto]

My wife and I downsized from a Baltic 39 a few years ago & very happily decided on a J/30, which we love. Sails like a dream, standing headroom, very cruise-able and great to race. We are now thinking of moving from the East Coast to the West Coast . Since the cost of transcontinental transport is high, it probably makes sense to sell in the East and buy in the West, where J/30s are thin on the water.
Are there any good equivalents on the West Coast with standing head room, sails like a dream etc. for around $20,000?
Jeff

[Faster]

I would think that J30s are not so hard to find, although definitely harder than back east.

Another boat that might suit you in a similar vein (but perhaps no less rare out here) is the Aloha 30, another frac, a Holland design. Probably a tad 'cruisier' interior wise than the J (it's slightly heavier).

A Kirby 30 should give you similar sailing but with a more austere interior and possibly less headroom. It's substantially lighter than either the J or the Aloha.. all have similar sail areas, most of the extra weight in the Aloha seems to be in ballast.

Be sure to factor in all the transactional costs (surveys, haulouts etc) for selling and buying vs trucking - consider all that against local prices and availability of what you'd be looking for out west.

Some links for comaprisons:

ALOHA 30 sailboat on sailboatdata.com

J/30 sailboat on sailboatdata.com

KIRBY 30 sailboat on sailboatdata.com

[mikieg]

on the westcoast w.d. schock rules as jboats rule in the east. i am going to start a new thread to see what folks think about the j30 versus the santana 30.

[jeffphoto]

What a comprehensive answer with a number of excellent points. Much appreciated. We are planning on moving to the East Bay, so I will probably sell my new Fairclaugh cover, since (I assume) the boat will be kept in the water over the winter. Do sailors own their own jackstands, for use when thecan boats are hauled for bottom painting or are they usually supplied by the yard? Do most yards allow the boat owner to paint their own bottoms?

[jeffphoto]

That would be an interesting comparison. Looking forward to the results.

[WDS123]

where on the West Coast ? - typical sailing conditions vary quite a bit from SF Bay to SD bay for example.

[jeffphoto]

We will probably berth and race her on the East SF Bay

[Fstbttms]

Originally Posted by mikieg

on the westcoast w.d. schock rules as jboats rule in the east.

Boy, I would challenge the validity of that statement. There is no doubt that Santana 22s are pretty ubiquitous, but in the 30' and up size range, I see many more J/boats in the marinas than I do Schock designs.

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by jeffphoto

What a comprehensive answer with a number of excellent points. Much appreciated. We are planning on moving to the East Bay, so I will probably sell my new Fairclaugh cover, since (I assume) the boat will be kept in the water over the winter. Do sailors own their own jackstands, for use when thecan boats are hauled for bottom painting or are they usually supplied by the yard? Do most yards allow the boat owner to paint their own bottoms?

I bought my current boat in S.F. - I'd keep a boat covered there. I found the boats there suffered from sunburn instead of slime & rot like here - very faded decks and so forth.

[Fstbttms]

Originally Posted by jeffphoto

Do sailors own their own jackstands, for use when thecan boats are hauled for bottom painting or are they usually supplied by the yard?

The yard will supply them.

Originally Posted by jeffphoto

Do most yards allow the boat owner to paint their own bottoms?

I think most do. Certainly enough do that DIYers don't have a problem.