30-footer Has Grace, Pace
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday January 18, 1992
A lot of yacht for the money: that was my first impression when I boarded a South Australian-built Offshore 30 distributed here by Sydney-based Catalina Yachts.
Built at Searle's Boat Yard in Adelaide, the Offshore 30 is a clever John Duncanson design incorporating both radical and traditional features.
Computer technology was employed to produce the lines and shape of the Offshore 30 - the identical technology, incidentally, which was used to design the 1987 America's Cup winner, Stars and Stripes.
The CAD (computer-assisted design) techniques allow performance predictions to be made to very fine tolerances, with accuracy to within 0.5 per cent.
Consequently, a designer can perfect the lines, trim and general stability of a yacht "on screen", virtually allowing sea trials and performance capabilities to be ascertained before manufacturing starts.
It shows in the Offshore 30, the overall design resulting in a stylish, workable sloop.
What's more, this is a very quick boat. It was put through its paces in a club race out of the Middle Harbour Yacht Club, and it creamed the opposition
Norman Ambrose, managing director of Catalina Australia, was seeking a locally built craft to complement his line-up of boats imported from the US.
It was the speed, internal space, overall comfort and general build quality of the Offshore 30 which prompted Ambrose to come to an arrangement to distribute and market the yacht nationally.
The Offshore 30, as the name implies, is a 9.26-metre (30 ft) fractional rig sloop boasting a broad 3.24-metre (10 ft 6 in) beam and a comparatively long waterline length of 8.18 metres (26 ft 6 in).
Displacement is 2930 kg, but of this more than half the weight (1473 kg) is in the form of lead ballast attached to the keel.
The keel, almost directly midships, is bolted directly to the hull with six 19 mm stainless steel bolts.
Aft, the big fibreglass rudder is of airfoil construction connected to the tiller via a 75 mm diameter stainless steel shaft.
That big rudder, allied with lightweight and well-placed ballast, showed the Offshore 30 to be quite a delightful rig to sail.
Conditions on the test day were not ideal - the winds fluky and swinging from different points throughout the morning.
Yet the Offshore 30 showed no tendency to fall away and was able to maintain brisk speed even when the breezes were light.
Sailing the boat is easy: her sail controls from the main and the number three jib all lead aft to the roomy cockpit.
This may be only a 30-footer, but it's spacious, its decks uncluttered, the cockpit featuring easy access via a step-through transom and there's ample stowage below.
Throwing the Offshore 30 into a series of tacks proved the rig had very precise handling qualities and again demonstrated she was very fleet and nimble, adjusting quickly to any new change of course.
The Offshore 30 can also lay claim to what appears very robust construction, her glass reinforced plastic (GRP) hull and deck using isothalic resins and first-rate gelcoats.
Hull and deck are strongly bonded together as are six structural bulkheads, the end result being a very strong yacht.
Below decks, the Offshore's relatively broad beam, combined with the somewhat radical placement of the sail-drive engine, a Volvo 2002 18 hp diesel inboard, has allowed the installation of two double quarter berths.
This makes for sleeping accommodation for up to eight people, quite incredible for a 30-foot boat where six is generally seen as "crowded".
Entering the cabin area, there's a neat galley to port with a handy navigation station opposite.
Convertible sofa/bunks face each other with a convenient drop table on the centreline.
The enclosed head is forward, in the foc'sle area which houses a very spacious sail locker.
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA: 9.26 metres (30 ft 3 in).
Beam: 3.24 metres (10 ft 6 in).
Draft: 1.60 metres (5 ft 2 in).
Water capacity: 100 litres.
Fuel capacity: 54 litres.
Price: As tested, $89,000.
For further information, contact Catalina Australia, Milsons Point (02 956 8244).
© 1992 Sydney Morning Herald