Retro Boat - Olson 30?

[Snatch Block 8]

Really love those video series of Retro Boat.

Olson 30...when do we get to see that one?

Cheers

[sierrawhiskeygolf 12]

I agree. There was a boat called ICHIBAN in SoCal that was beautifully sorted, but mostly stock. THE SOURCE was refit in an outstanding way, however modified so heavily it might not be an ideal example. Doing the feature on Pacific High might be good too, even though she's technically not an Olson 30 she is the prototype boat. I believe she is in Santa Cruz.

[Senator Seditious Maximus 363]

I'm still waiting for Scooter to shoot one with Lief Bailey about a B-25 or B32.  Now THAT would be awesome!

[cill123 6]

I want to see aswell.  Someone's brought one over to race in Ireland on irc and hasn't been modified yet

[Nobleman 20]

On 11/26/2020 at 2:55 AM, Snatch Block said:

Really love those video series of Retro Boat.

Olson 30...when do we get to see that one?

Cheers

We’re working on it. Olson is on the radar

[Cal20sailor 2,337]

I've had the good luck to sail on an Olson 30 and a Hobie 33.  Loved them both.  The Olson experience was at Bay Week on Lake Erie.  Goofy course but upwind at the start/finish.  There was a tricked out Tartan 41 that would round the uphill mark 5-6 mins ahead of us, we would blow pst them on the long run doing 12-15's, and they would fail to catch us on the way upwind to the finish.  I think we  sailed with 8.  The Hobie was a simple boat to sail.  9kts aft of abeam, your name is on the trophy.

Advice, buy and resurrect a trashed Mumm 30

[jackolantern 461]

The Stark Raving Mad Ranger 33(?) would be an awesome retroboat as well

[Tranquilo 14]

Anything Bill Tripp Jr! 

 

[P_Wop 1,908]

Happy days in 81 Antigua Week with Jol Byerley on his O-30 Riptide. 

Deshaies Guadeloupe to English Harbour in 4 hours dead.  Not bad for 45 nm, and no kite either.  Screaming tight reach across the Trades.

[PHM 19]

Article on Pac High (and other SC boats) from 2013: Pac High, skippered by one of the original owners (Susie). Looks like the teak deck didn't survive into modern times, but nice to see Pac High taken care of and on the water (hopefully still the case today).

[Squalamax 41]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:43 PM, PHM said:

Article on Pac High (and other SC boats) from 2013: Pac High, skippered by one of the original owners (Susie). Looks like the teak deck didn't survive into modern times, but nice to see Pac High taken care of and on the water (hopefully still the case today).

Great article. Would like to see the differences between PH and a standard O30. 

[Not for nothing 240]

probably the best fun boat to sail , once you get use to the knock downs, one race we were doing 16+ knots

[Looper 88]

There's nothing more retro than some old MORC production boats.  I put in a vote for another one of those.

The Santana 3030 was good but bring on the Lindenberg 26, Olsen 911, Merit 25, Soverel 26, Wavelength 24, S2 9.1, or with bias, the S2 7.9.

[stayoutofthemiddle 16]

On 11/26/2020 at 4:55 AM, Snatch Block said:

Really love those video series of Retro Boat.

Olson 30...when do we get to see that one?

Cheers

Agreed on this series. I have enjoyed the "video reviews and light hearted commentary." I think it is WAY better than any content on the front page. Maybe Ed should just post a new boat review a week and make that the home page. 

[stinky 117]

5 hours ago, Not for nothing said:

probably the best fun boat to sail , once you get use to the knock downs, one race we were doing 16+ knots

We rounded the top mark in 6th during a race at a Santa Cruz nationals. About a minute down the leg a huge puff tore down the course; we rounded down more violently than I have ever rounded down in my life. After popped back up and sorted ourselves out,  we were in 1st, everyone else was still pinned down!

On a related note, Pacific High's rudder is about a foot further forward and much less prone to ventilation. I know of at least two O-30's who've moved their posts forward to improve downwind behavior.

[TJSoCal 134]

8 hours ago, Looper said:

There's nothing more retro than some old MORC production boats.  I put in a vote for another one of those.

The Santana 3030 was good but bring on the Lindenberg 26, Olsen 911, Merit 25, Soverel 26, Wavelength 24, S2 9.1, or with bias, the S2 7.9.

Kirby 30 - super clean, very successful example in Long Beach.

[Peenstone 23]

Definitely waiting on the Olson 30 .  I dry-sailed hull #111 in the southern Chesapeake for 10 years.  Loved that boat.

 

[Nobleman 20]

next monday the Olson 30 Retroboat video will be up! 

[ROADKILL666 326]

Can’t wait for that one love those little buggers.

[olshitsky 11]

Popped my Mackinac cherry on an O30.  Race record was set that year.  Good times.

[Nobleman 20]

 

[Chris in Santa Cruz, CA 468]

nice job, Scot!

you did not mention the Olson 40 though, Transpac winner and also a really fast boat downwind for sure, though many fewer built than the other models

its interesting how similar the interiors are between the SC27 and the Olson 30, guess the designers shared the cabinetry designs

[Peter Cullum 6]

The Olson 30 is an awesome boat! I owned Mas Rapido, (hull #1) in the 90's. Sailed to Hawaii in the Pacific Cup double handed in 12 days, and loved surfing on the big Pacific rollers at 15 knots while deranged with sleep depravation. Also sailed in a Hardway Race out of Santa Barbara double handed the following year where there was 50 knots on the backside of Santa Cruz Island and we hit 22 knots before the mains'l block blew up. Literally crawled to the bow to get the kite down. So many great times. Glad I did it when I did, because that kind of fun is almost illegal now.

[Hike, Bitches! 279]

Ah, the Beam Of Destiny!

Don't forget the Olson 29..kinda like a sister ship, but only 25 were built. It had both an elliptical rudder and keel...2 spreader slightly frac (like 15/16th) rig with masthead kite..also had an open transom so you could pull the outboard off easily. The O-29 around here whopped all variations of the O-30. All cool boats. We even had an O-25 racing locally back in the 90's.

Keep up the good work Scooter.

[Chris in Santa Cruz, CA 468]

1 hour ago, Hike, Bitches! said:

Ah, the Beam Of Destiny!

Don't forget the Olson 29..kinda like a sister ship, but only 25 were built. It had both an elliptical rudder and keel...2 spreader slightly frac (like 15/16th) rig with masthead kite..also had an open transom so you could pull the outboard off easily. The O-29 around here whopped all variations of the O-30. All cool boats. We even had an O-25 racing locally back in the 90's.

Keep up the good work Scooter.

Yeah, I dont think the O30 owners in Santa Cruz really liked racing the O29 too much

[B dock 52]

The Olson 29

[apophenia 162]

3 hours ago, Hike, Bitches! said:

We even had an O-25 racing locally back in the 90's.

In SF, we have regularly had nine double handed O-25s at the midwinters starting line. 

[Hike, Bitches! 279]

I know it is a 4KSB, but I modeled my reinforcements off the Olson BOD designs. I have jock straps on both sides of my Catalina 30. This picture is 10+ years old. I replaced that bulkhead in 2011 and kept the jockstraps.

[Chris in Santa Cruz, CA 468]

10 hours ago, B dock said:

The Olson 29

Nice location btw. One of the best go fast boat tuners around is just a short walk away or used to be anyway. 

[Meat Wad 569]

For those of us who actually (really) sailed the O30

We don't need scot and his BS.

Scot just feels the need to be needed.

[Mr Moab 83]

7 hours ago, Meat Wad said:

For those of us who actually (really) sailed the O30

We don't need scot and his BS.

Scot just feels the need to be needed.

Self own much?

[Peenstone 23]

8 hours ago, Meat Wad said:

For those of us who actually (really) sailed the O30

We don't need scot and his BS.

Scot just feels the need to be needed.

Bitter, Angry Mr. Meat Head.

[Squalamax 41]

I've seen guys talk with their hands before but I think the Ed has them all beat! 

[TwoLegged 1,039]

23 hours ago, Meat Wad said:

For those of us who actually (really) sailed the O30

We don't need scot and his BS.

Scot just feels the need to be needed.

Go on, tell us how Scot hurt you and made you hate him

[Cal20sailor 2,337]

1 hour ago, TwoLegged said:

Go on, tell us how Scot hurt you and made you hate him

My understanding.  Meat Wad used to go by Dawg.  He and Scot I believe were both sailmakers and sailed quite a bit together many years ago and were good friends.  Dawg had an industrial accident that rendered him a paraplegic.  He got into the IT world and about 20yrs ago, he and Scot started SA with Dawg doing the technical work and Scot looking for advertisers and generally pissing people off.  Despite what I believe was a gentleman's agreement that they were largely partners, Scot cut Dawg out of the loop.  

If the above is true, he has the right to be pretty bitter.  The above are my inferences from comments made over the years, I don't claim 100% accuracy. 

[TwoLegged 1,039]

49 minutes ago, Cal20sailor said:

My understanding.  Meat Wad used to go by Dawg.  He and Scot I believe were both sailmakers and sailed quite a bit together many years ago and were good friends.  Dawg had an industrial accident that rendered him a paraplegic.  He got into the IT world and about 20yrs ago, he and Scot started SA with Dawg doing the technical work and Scot looking for advertisers and generally pissing people off.  Despite what I believe was a gentleman's agreement that they were largely partners, Scot cut Dawg out of the loop.  

If the above is true, he has the right to be pretty bitter.  The above are my inferences from comments made over the years, I don't claim 100% accuracy. 

Thanks, Cal.  If that is true it's a sad story which reflects very badly on Scot.  However, even if Meat Wad has a legitimate grievance, sniping like that does little for MW's own reputation.  

[Remodel 489]

At the risk of being banned, I'd like to see Scott do a shot with Bruce Nelson aboard a boat like Ragtime.

[Mark K 1,393]

On 2/17/2021 at 9:08 PM, Peter Cullum said:

The Olson 30 is an awesome boat! I owned Mas Rapido, (hull #1) in the 90's. Sailed to Hawaii in the Pacific Cup double handed in 12 days, and loved surfing on the big Pacific rollers at 15 knots while deranged with sleep depravation. Also sailed in a Hardway Race out of Santa Barbara double handed the following year where there was 50 knots on the backside of Santa Cruz Island and we hit 22 knots before the mains'l block blew up. Literally crawled to the bow to get the kite down. So many great times. Glad I did it when I did, because that kind of fun is almost illegal now.

When I was a kid I spent a couple months of a HS summer building the things. There was a serious QC program in place. They did it right. 

 The thing about the boat is everybody packs as much rail meat on as possible, it's the fastest way around a race course for the things, no question it's massively faster to weather when sailed flat...however that took a massive toll on it's downwind sailing characteristics. Sailed with design-weight, about 4 adults, it pops right up on a plane. A joy. Loaded up with 1400 lbs of meat? It becomes a nose-digger.  George regretted not adding just a wee bit more forward floatation. Tried to make it plane easier with the Olson 29 by spreading the ass end...didn't work out real well...that just made the nose go down earlier...unless it too was light. 

   Great rating beater in either light or heavy winds. Light because it's light, heavy winds with rail meat it kills because the CE of that sail plan is low low low. Designed for Santa Cruz conditions. Still a killer in those single-handed downwind trans pacs. Single handed the thing will plane with 15 knots with just the main and a winged out-#3.      

[Black Jack 335]

Who doesn't like a cliffhanger? I am waiting for this weeks short now.

 

[Chris in Santa Cruz, CA 468]

10 hours ago, Mark K said:

When I was a kid I spent a couple months of a HS summer building the things. There was a serious QC program in place. They did it right. 

 The thing about the boat is everybody packs as much rail meat on as possible, it's the fastest way around a race course for the things, no question it's massively faster to weather when sailed flat...however that took a massive toll on it's downwind sailing characteristics. Sailed with design-weight, about 4 adults, it pops right up on a plane. A joy. Loaded up with 1400 lbs of meat? It becomes a nose-digger.  George regretted not adding just a wee bit more forward floatation. Tried to make it plane easier with the Olson 29 by spreading the ass end...didn't work out real well...that just made the nose go down earlier...unless it too was light. 

   Great rating beater in either light or heavy winds. Light because it's light, heavy winds with rail meat it kills because the CE of that sail plan is low low low. Designed for Santa Cruz conditions. Still a killer in those single-handed downwind trans pacs. Single handed the thing will plane with 15 knots with just the main and a winged out-#3.      

I did a one design race in Santa Cruz on my SC27 with my buddy Doug and my 14 yo son. We called it 2 1/2 men sailing. We finished 2nd the 2nd race of the day when the wind picked up. With the #3 winged out and being super light the 5 person boats with the sets and gybes and douse we picked off half of them by not fucking up and then everyone but one boat doused and stayed on port at the lower mark and we just sailed in and tacked out for better air and we passed the rest as they stowed their gear and then tacked 2 mins later. Doug was totally anal about weight. Now the other boats upwind were still running 1s and putting the meat on the rail but with the 3 and less weight we could use the main more, no back wind bubble, but we could not power through the waves like they could. But tacking gets easier without all those people. Frankly it was more fun not worrying about winning and eating a Sammy downwind with your feet up while the other guys were so serious and running around the boat working the angles and looking at their polar charts forgetting that with big swells to surf they needed to go deeper than their piece of paper said. We were lucky that race with conditions. 5 more knots of wind and more chop upwind and we would have been spanked.

[Mark K 1,393]

18 hours ago, Chris in Santa Cruz, CA said:

I did a one design race in Santa Cruz on my SC27 with my buddy Doug and my 14 yo son. We called it 2 1/2 men sailing. We finished 2nd the 2nd race of the day when the wind picked up. With the #3 winged out and being super light the 5 person boats with the sets and gybes and douse we picked off half of them by not fucking up and then everyone but one boat doused and stayed on port at the lower mark and we just sailed in and tacked out for better air and we passed the rest as they stowed their gear and then tacked 2 mins later. Doug was totally anal about weight. Now the other boats upwind were still running 1s and putting the meat on the rail but with the 3 and less weight we could use the main more, no back wind bubble, but we could not power through the waves like they could. But tacking gets easier without all those people. Frankly it was more fun not worrying about winning and eating a Sammy downwind with your feet up while the other guys were so serious and running around the boat working the angles and looking at their polar charts forgetting that with big swells to surf they needed to go deeper than their piece of paper said. We were lucky that race with conditions. 5 more knots of wind and more chop upwind and we would have been spanked.

We did a Fallarons race like that. Only four of us, and I was the heaviest too at 200. Got killed upwind by a bunch of IOR lead mines, but coming back in 20+?  Surfing up to 18 knots with a winged out 3, hoisting our brews in salute to the butt-puckered guys rocking back and fourth (or worse) as we shot passed. Good times.