Considering a 70s Bristol 30…What should I look out for?

Posted by eight13atnight@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 7 comments

I have an opportunity to pick up a 70s Bristol 30 in very nice condition for a great price. The yanmar diesel engine/transmission was rebuilt within the last few years but hasn’t been used since (the boat’s been on the hard through the pandemic).

I know there are some soft spots on the deck, but I’m not sure if that’s a major structural issue or something that can be repaired without a full deck rebuild.

Regarding the hull, does anyone know if these boats have plywood cores, and if so, how big of a headache that could be?

I personally know the owners of this boat, and I know they’ve taken great care of it the whole time they’ve had her. But, she’s getting pretty up there in age and I just don’t know if it’s the right decision. I’ve sailed on her for 7 years and helped maintain her for that time. She could use a rewiring, and lots of cosmetic updates (new cushions, Bimini, teak paint, etc.). Since she’s been on the hard for several years, I’m nervous about the engine. The yard where she is did the both the work on the engine and the winterizing, so fingers crossed she’s still got a working engine!

Since I’m not super familiar with 50-year-old boats, I’d love some guidance. What are the key things I should inspect or ask the owner about before pulling the trigger? Any known weak points on Bristol 30s that I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

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StellaeNovum@reddit

Hello! I own a 70 Bristol 33 that I've been refitting and living aboard for the last two years. Same year, same designer so this might apply, though my layout especially with the keel and engine/bilge is quite different.

It kind of depends on how much work you want to do with any boat of that age.

Some things of note that I've found:

The hull is solid glass, if that's in good shape and the rig is solid, that's a great start.

Might be worth checking on the fiberglass tabbing of the bulkheads. Mine is good in most places, but I found that some of the bulkheads are not entirely glassed in, or are only glassed on one side. Not a huge deal, but something to look at.

The soft spots in the deck can be troublesome, the deck is cored on my boat and I have some spots of concern, but they don't extend very far. It's a bit of work to grind out and re-glass, but it depends on the extent of damage. If it's something like the whole foredeck is soft, you may be looking at rebuilding at least that section of the deck.

Wiring is definitely something I'd explore. If the wiring is original, you'd probably be well served to replace a large portion of it just due to age. That's my project for the spring.

Can't say much about the engine, I had an Atomic 4 gas engine which I didn't re-install. There's an electric motor at my family house awaiting me finishing a couple projects before it goes in.

Cosmetic stuff is easy, just takes a bit of time and money. Unless she needs to look perfect immediately, not a big issue.

If you have a centerboard, I can't speak to that since I don't have one.

So yeah, I don't know if that's at all helpful. Check the deck, see how extensive those soft spots are. The Yanmar is one of those ubiquitous marine engines so any diesel mechanic should be able to take a look and see what's up if you have issues.

Maybe look at the hull-deck joint and the supporting structure of the cockpit/cockpit lockers.

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eight13atnight@reddit (OP)

So I went and checked out the boat. It looks like there are two chainplates on the starboard that are showing evidence of rust/wear. Here is a link to what I saw. I don't know anything about working with fiberglass, so I have no idea what this entails to repair. Have you dealt with this at all on your boat? How difficult is something like this to take on? I'm not scared of getting my hands dirty. Farming this out to a rigger will take several weeks or months before they can get to it, so I'm considering just diving in myself and giving it a go.

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StellaeNovum@reddit

Definitely looks familiar. I'm in the midst of tackling something similar, though in the photos you have, I don't see the chainplate themselves. Here's a photo of my worst one: https://imgur.com/a/FLhehwn

My understanding is that painting chainplates is a bad idea, lack of oxygen in stainless steel can lead to crevice corrosion which can damage the chainplates. I'm replacing all 6 of my port/starboard plates, though that's a secondary project for me right now. You can make them yourself from some 316 stainless steel flat bar, just have to drill the right size holes in the right places.

If you want a super detailed above-and-beyond replacement: https://bristol29.com/Projects/chainplates/replacing_the_chainplates.htm

Fiberglass is messy, but it's not overly complicated. Big things of note: cleaning the surface you're going to fiberglass is important. Chopped strand mat doesn't work with Epoxy Resin (West System, for example) which is the most common thing people use. And for the love of everything, wear a respirator and gloves/paper suit when sanding, cutting, grinding, etc.

There are lots of folks on YouTube that do fiberglass work and walk through the process.

Short of cutting the boat in half, pretty much all of the work you can do on a boat can be undone with elbow grease, time, and money. It's just a matter of if it's worth it. For me it is, because it's also my house lol

I'm always hesitant to give the "yeah go for it" or "bad idea" advice when other people's time and money are involved so I won't push either direction on that.

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eight13atnight@reddit (OP)

I was watching some YT videos about the process to see how daunting it is. I know it's definitely time consuming. Im getting quotes at 135/hr which can balloon waaaay past the value of the boat if I'm not careful!

Good to know about the paint. One of the YT'ers mentioned there's a difference between stainless steel and iron, and suggested using iron as it corrodes more slowly and evenly. I have done exactly zero research on that beyond mentioning it here. No idea of it's truth.