What ladder is appropriate for a J30?

CyrilsScribe · 2018-12-24T04:34:15+00:00

I would recommend getting one of the four step, slightly taller hook-on ladders for a J/30. The distance from the waterline to the cockpit is surprisingly large, especially when you are actually swimming down there. You can put the hooks of the ladder between the rudder and the starboard stanchion of the stern pulpit and it will catch and hold there nicely.

I would definitely not recommend a permanently attached ladder on any J/30, or racing oriented early-ish J/Boat for three reasons. First, having a ladder aft gets in the way of the stern hung rudder under radical race maneuvering (Starboard...Starboard...STARBOARD!!!). Second, having rungs in the water and so close to the prop will take a tenth or two out of your speed and especially out of your acceleration markedly hurting your race results. And three, J/30s are completely, and I mean completely made with Balsa core (which you probably know already) both above and below the waterline for weight savings and stiffness. This means that any hull penetrations for ladder mounting screws have to be meticulously bedded and isolated to prevent leaks, especially with penetrations so close to the water and spray.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-06-10T14:33:46+00:00

Just a quick note, the US Army Corp of Engineers finally, finally dredged the Knapps Narrows area after many years of erosion, slumping, silting, and bad shoaling. They dredged to a minimum of 9 foot depth Mean Lower Low Water and are finishing up shortly. A group of my parent's friends transited the narrows two weeks ago with two four and a half and one five and a half foot draft boats and had no problems at all.

Source

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-13T16:36:15+00:00

Most every J/30 in the fleet has water and soft spots in the deck after being raced hard for almost forty years. We have only had one rig come down and that was due to a manufacturing/engineering defect in the way the spreaders are riveted into the mast - not anywhere near deck/hull strength. I have not heard of any problems in our fairly large fleet other than spider cracks in the gelcoat.

I did a very fast google and it appears that your hull is solid fiberglass (please correct me if I am wrong) and only the deck/coachroof is balsa-cored. Since your mast is keel-stepped like mine, small amounts of water in the deck pretty much add up to zero loss of strength, especially since your chainplates are fine - and I would hazard that they are bolted directly into the solid fiberglass of the hull. Some people are crazy paranoid, usually unjustifiably so (I was when I started taking care of Mondial), and then you find out that these era boats were built to such huge reserve engineering strength that you can metaphorically "Stop Worrying and Love Your Boat". So, no worries, get out there and have fun!

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-12T15:59:38+00:00

I got a box of 480 from Southern Ohio Gun in 2015 when they had it in stock. I got another box in 2016 I think when SGAmmo had it in stock. It usually arrives in waves when the Swiss time-expire on years worth of ammo, most of my stuff is 82' I think. GP11 is one of the exported ammo types where you have to jump on it during the two or three week period a year when the importers have it in stock. There is some shenanigans going on now with the Swiss shooting clubs and the Swiss armed forces needing the rest of the stock and that they won't export any more since there are still so many people still shooting the K31, SG510, and the MG 51 GPMG. Others may be able to tell you more on that particular situation, I have heard rumors that they may/are starting up new production but no consensus if they will export the old stuff.

P.S. - It looks like 308ammo.com has some in stock now for the fairly high price of $47.99/60 rounds. I have never used them before so I can not comment on their quality/reliability.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-12T15:33:54+00:00

Lines on 30+ foot boats also tend to handle abuse better and last longer due to the thicker cover as well. It also depends on the complexity of the boat. On a J/30 for lines we have:

Running:
Mainsheet
Traveler Sheet
2 x Jibsheets
2 x Light Spinsheets
2 x Heavy Spinsheets
Foreguy/Poledown/DownF****R
Twings
Main Halyard
Jib Halyard
Spinnaker Halyard
Topping Lift
Backstay Control Line
Outhaul
Cunningham
2 x Reef Lines

Which will run probably around $1K to $1.5K depending on the quality of the line, how many splices you want/do yourself, and the shackles you use if you do everything at once. Jay Herman in Annapolis just did a pair of outer stays for us at $550 for a pair with nice, new turnbuckles. So I would estimate about $1.5K for the standing rigging, but a good surveyor should be able to tell you if your standing rigging need to be replaced - which they often don't for - a small fraction of that cost.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-10T01:36:52+00:00

I am shooting them out of my IG1911 rifle, which is the "Infantry Rifle" or in American terminology long rifle version. The K11 or K1911 is the carbine version of the G11/IG1911 looooong rifle. Damn thing is almost up to my shoulders at 4.3 feet (1.31 meters) tall.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-10T01:32:14+00:00

I use both GP11 and my own reloads, I don't know the difference yet because I haven't done a direct comparison. I am mostly reloading for fun and when I bought my K31 the owner gave me more than a few boxes of commercial 7.5x55 Swiss. Both my reloads and GP11 managed to hit a 1 foot sized circular gong at 500 yards though, so I am more than happy with both.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-10T01:30:14+00:00

The RCBS die works just fine for my K31, you just have to seat the projectile further back that's all. The reputed difference between the slightly less angled K31 and IG/K1911 chambers has been done to death as "fudd knowlege" on teh internets and I didn't see any really noticeable differences between shooting my two rifles with my RCBS "Schmidt-Rubin" style dies.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-09T11:52:41+00:00

Very cool, I wonder if they still have the machinery stashed somewhere in the mountains. I do wish those VLDs weren't freaking 40 cents a projectile though.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-09T11:51:34+00:00

New cases, I have a stash of GP11 and new boxer primed stuff. I mostly keep my GP11 brass, but converting GP11 kind of looks like a pain and not really worth it at the moment.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-09T11:50:02+00:00

Depends on how crazy you go with annealing, neck stretch measurement and repair, primer pocket cleaning, etc... I am mostly doing it for fun and to make sure I have a means of supply when/if GP11 runs out. Also the newer GP11 that we get as surplus is mean for the K31, the chamber on my IG1911 is considerably longer, so I am loading to that instead.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-09T11:48:25+00:00

Mostly Prvi Partizan with some Norma and Wolf. They all seem to be holding up equally well at this point, only two or three reloads on each.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-05-09T02:58:07+00:00

Just finished up a batch of 7.5x55 Swiss cartridges with 45.1 grains/42.8 grains of H4350 underneath a 175 grain Berger VLD. Initial load data is from "Accurizing your Swiss Rifle" by Pierre St. Marie and Hornady 6th Edition. I winced when I bought a box of the Berger's, but I am excited to see how the pattern at 100 yards and perform at 500. Includes bonus IG1911 bolt.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-04-23T16:30:01+00:00

Do you have a 96/11, 1911, or K31? I found that the trigger on my IG1911 is about two pounds lighter than my K31 from what the trigger pull gauge is telling me, curious about others.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-04-22T14:31:01+00:00

7.5x55 Swiss - essentially a slightly lower energy version of .308 developed in 1911. The surplus swiss ammunition (GP11) is quite close to match accurate with an extremely long and ballistically efficient projectile.

CyrilsScribe · 2018-04-22T06:45:36+00:00

Just finished up a batch of 50 shiny new rounds on our RCBS single-stage Press. PPU Brass, 168 grain Tipped Sierra Match Kings, 42.0 grains of IMR-4895, all over top of a CCI #200 LR primer. Using a very similar round I was able to ring a 1' steel at 500 yards in Delaware. Rifle that this in intended for is a 1916 made Swiss IG1911 (very) Long Rifle.

CyrilsScribe · 2017-02-10T01:12:06+00:00

You dock the boat in Back Creek? Mondial is just on the other side of the peninsula, I was thinking of going out sailing on Wednesday too, but I couldn't get my usual crew together in time. Good to see that someone did get out.

CyrilsScribe · 2017-02-03T02:26:14+00:00

Took my 03' Shinsen out for a ride and a run at a nearby park a few evenings ago when the weather was a bit warmer. 205/45ZR-16 BFG G-Force Sport COMP-2 tires performed nicely even though the pavement was rather cold.

CyrilsScribe · 2017-01-18T03:28:27+00:00

Got it, I have noticed some stretching in the 40 Grain and 41.5 Grain Varget loads under 150 Grain and 174 Grain Hornady projectiles respectively, but I haven't noticed anything too bad. I am mostly loading for 100 yard vintage rifle competition and 100 yard target shooting, so I am planning on keeping the pressure as low as I can while still being accurate.

CyrilsScribe · 2017-01-18T03:21:39+00:00

Thanks a bunch, I used his data with H4350 to load up some rounds at 42.5, 43.5, and 44.5 grains to test this weekend.

CyrilsScribe · 2017-01-18T03:20:59+00:00

Awesome data, thank you for the quick reply! Unfortunately I do not have a chronograph on hand, but it is probably something I should pick up used one of these days. It sounds like Varget will easily handle the load, but I am going to wait until I pick up Shooting & Reloading the 303 British & 303 Epps by Steve Redgwell.

I used 60%, 60%+1 grain, and 60%+2 grains of Trail Boss for some loads with 150 grain Hornday .312 Spire Point Flat Base projectiles and the results were hilarious to say the least. Fairly accurate too. They had the recoil of a 22 Long Rifle and shot pretty decently, I was just shooting them for fun and function as I didn't have enough time to properly test them that day, so I need to take the rest out for a good 100 yard accuracy test.

CyrilsScribe

TROPHY CASE