olson 25 sailboat review

A sporty classic offers the opportunity to go back to the basics on the race course

It is time to go racing once again, but we are looking for something a little different this time. We've done this dance before, from the squirrely IOR days to a brief (and expensive) campaign in a Farr 40. We want to get back to the basics-smaller crew, simpler boats-and our cash flow is not quite what it used to be. We need a small, affordable and easy-to-handle performance boat, the ultimate Wednesday-night boat. We immediately think of the sweet boats that sailed Monterey Bay in the late 1970s and 1980s. The boats from Bill Lee, George Olson and the Moore brothers, like the Moore 24, Olson 30 or Santa Cruz 27. These were the first sport boats; the boats that brought the ultralight displacement boats to the production market. Our first thought was a Moore 24, and we looked at few boats, but they were pretty tired and after our enthusiasm waned our broker mentioned that he just got a listing for a clean Olson 25. We took a look and the boat fit our needs perfectly. George Olson designed the Olson 25 in 1984 as a cross between the Olson 30 and more conventional designs of the day. Olson is an intriguing designer, he never finished a formal education and never received a naval architecture diploma, he just had an eye for and intuition of boats. But you can't question success, he drew many great boats, the Olson 25 and 30, the Moore 24, 30 and 40, and many others. The 25 was originally built by Pacific Boats, and later by Ericson. The Pacific boats are considered better boats, as they are lighter with cored hulls and no headliner, and have more race-friendly stanchions. Ericson added a headliner to clean up the interior of the boat, but it made it much harder to move around and re-bed deck hardware. The Ericson stanchions also cant inward, making it harder to hike out. The weight difference makes for a slightly better PHRF rating on the Ericson boats (nine seconds on Lake Michigan) but the boats seem to sail to their ratings. Our boat is a Pacific boat built in 1986 and has seen pretty light use, but it is lightly equipped. After a little negotiation we got the boat for $8,200, we'll need to spend some money to get up to speed, but we are well within budget. The sails on our boat were pretty tired so we enlisted the help of our trusted sailmaker Peter Grimm of Super Sailmakers in Fort Lauderdale. We told Peter that we were looking to race competitively, but wanted durable sails at a decent price. Peter went to work and came back with a great proposal for us. Peter convinced us to keep the boat class legal. Even though we are mainly interested in PHRF buoy racing it will be nice to have the option to enter class regattas. Peter specified a Dacron mainsail, to stay class legal and for budget purposes. Dacron will hold its shape for a couple years before declining, but will ultimately last longer than a laminate sail. The main has four battens, with the top one full length to prevent the sail from "hinging" when it luffs. It has just one reef for distance racing and cruising. The sail is loose footed and has class standard insignias, stripes and sail numbers. The sail cost us $1,500. We went with two headsails, a 155-percent for lighter days and a 95-percent for heavy air days. The 155-percent is the largest allowed by class rules and under PHRF. Peter built the larger sail out of Dimension Flex 13P Pentex, a mylar film sail with Pentex fibers. This cloth gives us a good shape and with minimum weight. The 95-percent sail is Dacron for durability and cost purposes. This smaller sail will have three short battens to stabilize the leech in heavy conditions. The 155-percent cost us $1,640 and the 95-percent was $1,150. Both sails included telltales with windows, sail numbers, an Aramid leech cord and a sail bag. Both of these new headsails are hank-on, which Peter felt was best for our boat. Wednesday-night racing is usually windward-leeward and typically crewed short-handed. The great thing about hanks is that when you dump the halyard you don't need to have someone on the bow to keep the sail from going in the water. At the bottom mark, no one needs to go to the headstay to load the sail into the feeder and watch it go up. There is no measurable speed difference between hanks and a foil on a 25-foot boat. You do lose the ability to do headsail peels, but no one changes headsails on Wednesday night races. You can change headsails, you just need to drop one first, the new sail will load right on top of the old one, once the new sail is up you strip the old sail out from under it. When sailing offshore you can even rig a downhaul to make sure a dropped sail stays down. Our spinnaker was in pretty rough shape, so we decided to replace it too. Peter suggested a reliable nylon symmetrical spinnaker in 3/4-ounce cloth. This sail will serve as well for windward course work; if we find the need to do more reaching we'll get back with Peter for a dedicated reacher or a asymmetrical spinnaker. The chute cost us $1,200. With our sails in order we needed to attend to our next go-fast topic: the bottom. Our bottom was solid, but not in race-boat form. Our first task was to strip the old bottom down to the gelcoat. We did this with a combination of stripper, Peel Away, and good old fashioned sanding. This took a few weekends and cost us about $275, but we now had a clean bottom to prepare. Our prep started out with a little filling and fairing to get a nice, smooth bottom. We used thickened West Epoxy and a lot of sanding with a longboard. After a few more weekends, we had a smooth, race-ready bottom. We protected our bottom with Interlux Interprotect 2000E and two coats of VC17m Extra with Biolux. The fairing, barrier coat and paint cost us $325 but was a very worthwhile investment. Our sails and hull are golden, so we now need to connect them with some top-notch running rigging. The rigging that came with the boat was OK, but modern cordage is far lighter for a given strength, and far less elastic-we'd rather use the power of the wind to push the boat than to stretch some rope. We started off with halyards. To keep things in budget we decide to use New England Ropes VPC, which has a blended core of Vectran and polypropylene covered with a high-quality Dacron cover. It is a very nice rope and costs just $1 per foot in 5/16th-inch, but has a 4,000-pound tensile strength and very low elasticity. We had our local rigger fabricate a jib, main and chute halyard. The main halyard was 70 feet, with a Wichard headboard shackle spliced on and a reeving eye on the bitter end to make the halyard easy to install. The other halyards were similar but used Wichard Snap Shackles, and our rigger included a halyard ball on the spinnaker halyard to help reduce masthead chafe. The cost for the halyards was $390. Sheets were next on the rigging list, and we replaced the main and jib sheets. Our spinnaker sheets were in good shape, the prior owner had recently purchased a nice set of tapered Spectra sheets. We decided to use Samson Apex, a single braid rope made of Dyneema and polypropylene, for the mainsheet. It is a very easy-to-handle rope and is relatively kink-free. We chose 7/16th-inch diameter; stronger than what we needed but we find a larger rope easier to handle. The cost for this, with the splicing, was $90. We chose New England StaSet in 3/8-inch for our jib sheets. Our rigger nicely whipped the ends, and the total cost was just $70. Our standing rig was in pretty good shape, but we decided on a couple changes. Our headfoil was pretty tired, the foil had taken a beating in a few boatyard wars. We decided to get a new headstay, which cost us just $75. After talking with some other Olson 25 owners we decided to upgrade the backstay and adjuster. The backstay does not provide a lot of mast shaping, the double spreader rig with inline shrouds doesn't really allow for that, but it really lets you precisely control headstay tension. We decided to replace the standing part with 3/16-inch Spectra single braid, and added a multipart purchase to adjust it. We double-ended the purchase and led the ends to cam cleats at the ends of the traveler. The backstay cost us $250 for the cordage, blocks, cam cleats and splicing. We don't really need too many electronics for our purposes but decided to get a new handheld GPS and a VHF radio. We have always had good luck with Icom radios so we decided to go with them again. The Icom M72 was our choice, a six-watt submersible handheld with a really good lithium-ion battery. This radio should hold up well under all conditions and the battery will last for distance races. For the GPS we chose a tried and true model from Garmin , the GPS72. This unit is a no-nonsense GPS with a four-color gray display and WAAS technology. Nothing fancy but we will always know where the buoys are. The Olson 25 will be our Wednesday racer for years to come. It is a boat that we can very competitively race, a perfect platform to introduce new sailors to the magic of racing, and great boat to daysail with the family.

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OLSON 25 Detailed Review

If you are a boat enthusiast looking to get more information on specs, built, make, etc. of different boats, then here is a complete review of OLSON 25. Built by Ericson Yachts (USA) and designed by George Olson, the boat was first built in 1984. It has a hull type of Fin w/spade rudder and LOA is 7.62. Its sail area/displacement ratio 23.19. Its auxiliary power tank, manufactured by undefined, runs on undefined.

OLSON 25 has retained its value as a result of superior building, a solid reputation, and a devoted owner base. Read on to find out more about OLSON 25 and decide if it is a fit for your boating needs.

Boat Information

Boat specifications, sail boat calculation, rig and sail specs, contributions, who designed the olson 25.

OLSON 25 was designed by George Olson.

Who builds OLSON 25?

OLSON 25 is built by Ericson Yachts (USA).

When was OLSON 25 first built?

OLSON 25 was first built in 1984.

How long is OLSON 25?

OLSON 25 is 6.46 m in length.

What is mast height on OLSON 25?

OLSON 25 has a mast height of 8.53 m.

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One-Design Class Type: Keelboat

Was this boat built to be sailed by youth or adults? Both

Approximately how many class members do you have? 100+

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Photo Credit: Fred Fago

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About Olson 25

The Olson 25 was designed in 1984 by George Olson as a dry-sailable sport boat. A cross between the radical Olson 30 ultralight and the traditional designs of the day, the Olson 25 can perform better than cruising boats much larger, and yet is capable of comfortable family weekending. Manufactured by Pacific Boats and Ericson Yachts there were approximately 130 built.

The boat is actively sailed in a one design fleet in the Bay Area and in several other locations throughout North America.

Boats Produced: 130

Class boat builder(s):

Pacific Boats Ericson Yachts

Approximately how many boats are in the USA/North America? 100+

Where is your One-Design class typically sailed in the USA? List regions of the country:

Does this class have a spinnaker or gennaker? Yes

How many people sail as a crew including the helm?  5

Ideal combined weight of range of crew:  950

Boat Designed in  1984

Length (feet/inches): 25

Weight of rigged boat without sails: 2900

Mast Height: 32

Class Rules (PDF Doc)

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Copyright ©2018-2024 United States Sailing Association. All rights reserved. US Sailing is a 501(c)3 organization. Website designed & developed by Design Principles, Inc. -->

Review of Olson 25

Basic specs..

The Olson 25 is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.37 - 1.47 meter (4.49 - 4.79 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.2 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Olson 25 is about 118 kg/cm, alternatively 664 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 118 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 664 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is a Ballast Ratio?

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 20m 2 (215 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Olson 25 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

The Olson 25 is a 25.0ft masthead sloop designed by George Olson and built in fiberglass by Ericson Yachts (USA) since 1984.

130 units have been built..

The Olson 25 is a light sailboat which is a very high performer. It is very stable / stiff and has a low righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a racing boat.

Olson 25 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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Engineering:Olson 25

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The Olson 25 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by George Olson as a one design and Midget Ocean Racing Club racer-cruiser and first built in 1984. [1] [2] [3]

• 1 Production
• 3 Operational history
• 5 References

The design was initially built by Pacific Boat Works in 1984 and later by Ericson Yachts in the United States , with 130 boats completed by 1989. It is now out of production. [1] [3] [4] [5]

The Olson 25 is a recreational keelboat , built predominantly of fiberglass , with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a reverse transom, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel . It displaces 2,900 lb (1,315 kg) and carries 1,300 lb (590 kg) of ballast. [1] [3]

The boat has a draft of 4.50 ft (1.37 m) with the standard fin keel. [1] [3]

The boat is normally fitted with a small 3 to 6 hp (2 to 4 kW) outboard motor for docking and maneuvering. [1] [3]

The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settee berths in the main cabin. The galley is located on the port side just aft of the bow cabin and is equipped with a two-burner stove. The head is located just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side underneath a seat cushion. Cabin headroom is 56 in (142 cm). [1] [3]

For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker . [1] [3]

The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 159 and a hull speed of 6.2 kn (11.5 km/h). [3]

Operational history

The boat is supported by an active class club that organizes racing events, the Olson 25 Class Association . [6]

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "this boat was designed and built in Santa Cruz, CA, a hotbed of sailboat innovation tucked along the shore of Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean. George Olson, owner of Pacific Boats, wanted to create a boat that would fast, rate well under MORC rules, look good, and be comfortable. It needed to be light in weight, but not necessarily in the extreme. When this boat came along in 1985, Santa Cruz was the center of ULDB activity. ULDB stands for Ultra Light Displacement Boat, meaning a D/L under 100. With a D/L of 135, the Olson 25 is more manageable in light air than she would have been as a strictly conceived ULDB. She was popular as a PHRF and one-design racer, especially in the Monterey Bay area, but in the downward economy, which came shortly after her introduction, business suffered, and eventually Ericson began building her until that firm too went by the wayside. Best features: An open stern makes the transom-mounted outboard engine easier to manage. A nice finish below includes Bruynzeel plywood with satin finished regina mahogany veneer, and a teak and holly cabin sole. The companionway step can do double duty as a cocktail table. A bench seat athwartships between twin Igloo coolers is a unique and handy arrangement. Worst features: None identified." [3]

A 2010 Sail Magazine review described the boat as, "a sporty classic [that] offers the opportunity to go back to the basics on the race course". [7]

• List of sailing boat types
• ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 McArthur, Bruce (2021). "Olson 25 sailboat" . sailboatdata.com . https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/olson-25 .  
• ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2021). "George Olson 1946 - 2015" . sailboatdata.com . https://sailboatdata.com/designer/olson-george .  
• ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Henkel, Steve: The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats , page 301. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN :978-0-07-163652-0
• ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2021). "Pacific Boat Works 1978 - 1986" . sailboatdata.com . https://sailboatdata.com/builder/pacific-boat-works .  
• ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2021). "Ericson Yachts (USA) 1964 - 1990" . sailboatdata.com . https://sailboatdata.com/builder/ericson-yachts-usa .  
• ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2021). "Olson 25 Class Association" . sailboatdata.com . https://sailboatdata.com/association/olson-25 .  
• ↑ "Olson 25" . Sailing Magazine . 16 January 2010 . https://sailingmagazine.net/article-847-olson-25.html .  
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Olson 25???

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Have just sold my Niagara 26. Now looking for something a bit racier but in same size range. Hoping to take advantage of soft market to get a boat 7000 or less. One boat that seems interesting is the Olson 25 with a PHRF rating in low 160s. Anyone have any experience on this boat and what conditions it likes & dislikes? Most of my sailing is 20NM + races in light wind but changing up to 20+ knots in same race. Shallow Strait with square close waves. Thanks Mike  

olson 29 in Bridgewater Hi Mike It's Terry Scott from PEI. I have a Tbird and Catalina 30 and sailed on Jason Macaulay's Olson 30. This summer I was looking at some boats in Bridgewater. A fellow wheels and deals boats there. He had 4 boats for sale: 30 Cheoy Lee, Range 28, Pearson 30 and an Olson 29. The O29 had some damage to the Port side that they were in the midst of fixing. I can't find the add on Kijiji anymore and cant' find any emails I bounced back and forth. I'll check the car to see if i still have the address or the guys name. He wanted way to much for it at the time. Originally he was asking 18,500. It's in pretty nice shape inside and maybe the outside is fixed as well now. He did not have much if anything in sails though. He said he could put us in touch with the previous owner where you could buy the sails. good luck Terry  

Olson 25 Mike - do try and find yourself an Olson 25 - we have one, as do a few friends now - and we're all crazy-happy with the boat. It is great all round...quality etc. It loves big wind - but is a rocket in really light air. We're in Canada - but you'll find that most for sales are in the States. email me at canadatomk@rogers if you want specific questions answered. The only thing I know for sure - is that O25 owners absolutely love their boats, and ex-owners wish they'd never sold theirs - it's almost "universal"...  

Sailingdog What do you sail on now? Mike  

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S2 7.9 or Olson 25

• Thread starter Drinky Crow
• Start date Jun 19, 2019
• Forums for All Owners

Drinky Crow

For single-handing. Which would you choose and why? Will also be used for beer can racing and crewed distance events but want to set the boat up primarily set up for single-handing. Both rate similar, both will fit my 27' slip but other than that totally different animals. https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/s2-79 https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/olson-25  

Both are great boats--very seldom do they come on the market. I'd buy the first nice one I could find. Now you got me thinking about the one that got away... -Z  

Both are very decent boats. One is fractional and one is masthead, if that matters to you. I think fractional boats are better for soloing because more power is in the sail you directly control (the main). Both will allow the driver to helm with an extender and straddle the traveler, a key for solo sailing. Genoa winches close by on both, another key. The 7.9 has a more active racing association; our club as a fleet of 20 of them and hosts the nationals on occasion. Big midwest following. The 25 not as active, and probably more out west. We see 7.9s for sale all the time. When soloing lightness helps, and the 25 weighs a ton (an actual ton) less than the 7.9, which is bigger in every way. The 7.9 has a more complex keel, the 25 a more complex rudder. Both are cored deck and hull, so you have to look hard at that. Both builders had a reputation for quality glasswork. Here in MN I'd do the 7.9 because I like fractional boats, and we have a fleet. But the 25 would be a solid choice, no question.  

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• Sailboat Guide

1985 Pacific Boats Olson 25

• Description

Seller's Description

1985 Pacific Boats Olson 25 for sale, $13,500 Hull number 50 built in Santa Cruz by George Olson. I am the original owner having bought the boat new from Sailing Atlanta in 1985. This boat was in the 1985 Atlanta Boat Show and I have been the proud custodian ever since. I bought a bigger boat and am ready to find a good home for my long-time favorite, one of the best little boats ever, the Olson 25. Fresh water sailed until 2017 when she was relocated to the southeast coast. Dry sailed since the move. The galvanized trailer has never been in salt water.

Equipment: Sails: 3-Mains the original Dacron Schurr is still OK for casual sailing where you dont care how it looks or comes down. Second oldest is a Dacron Schurr OK for club racing. The newest is a Dacron loose-footed main from Pineapple Sails, always rolled, still crispy and good for more serious racing. 3 - #3 jibs one original Dacron still OK for casual sailing, two mylar/carbon Quantum for racing. 2- #2 Genoas One old UK Tape Drive still OK for casual sailing, one brand new never used Schurr Aramid/Mylar/Black 135% (was $2,080 in 2020 and has never been set.) 2- #1 Genoas One older Mylar Schurr 155% still OK for casual sailing/club racing and one brand new never used Aramid/Mylar/Black 155% (was $2,230 in 2020 and has never been set.) All headsails have hanks. Mainsails are bolt-rope. 3 Spinnakers One @ 0.6 and two @ ounce. All in good condition suitable for racing. Two spinnaker poles, two sets of sheets/guys, Harken Ratchamatic blocks, twings, and multiple bags. Harken 40 halyard winches. Oversized, but they get the fatso crew up the mast easier. Lewmar 30ST self-tailing genoa winches. Mounted on Delrin pads to minimize chance of over-ride. Several winch handles and removeable pockets. 3:1 traveler with 4:1/2:1 mainsheet (nice Salsa traveler and mainsheet lines.) Harken vang, outhaul, and Cunningham. Dual Suunto bulkhead compasses. Hawkeye depth meter. Lifting eye and loop sling. Black closed-cell foam pads on quarter berths. Original maroon fabric quarter berth and V-berth cushions are stored at home off the boat. They are in very good condition. 2019 New standing rigging by Ballenger Spars ($1,132.) Original standing rigging kept as spares. 2003 Bottom gelcoat peeled and redone with 12 coats West Epoxy and longboard faired by Diversified Marine (Donnie Brennan.) No blisters. If you plan to continue dry sailing her, then the bottom is fine. Budget for a bottom paint job if you plan to wet sail her. Donnie also sprayed the deck with Awlgrip. It is peeling in a few places, but is cosmetic only. Prior to the painting, all hardware was removed, holes were oversized and epoxied so that when the holes were redrilled, the epoxy donut sealed the balsa core. No soft spots. Four life jackets, miscellaneous dock lines, anchor and rode, fenders, some tools and hardware. One outboard motor. Buyer has a choice of either a 5hp 2-cycle Nissan outboard or a 2.5hp 4-cycle Yamaha outboard. If the buyer wants both motors, the price is negotiable. The trailer has two sets of tires. One set for the yard and another set for the road. The radial road set has always been stored in a climate-controlled garage.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

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How to Sell Your Boat

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• Sailboat Reviews

This speedster is as specialized as it gets; mind-blowing performance, but almost no living space.

The Olson 30 is of a breed of sailboats born in Santa Cruz, California called the ULDB , an acronym for ultra light displacement boat. ULDBs are big dinghies—long on the waterline, short on the interior, narrow on the beam, and very light on both the displacement and the price tag. ULDBs attract a different kind of sailor—the type for whom performance means everything.

For some yachting traditionalists, the arrival of ULDB has been a hard pill to swallow. Part of this is simple resentment of a ULDB’s ability to sail boat for-boat with a racer-cruiser up to 15′ longer (and a whole lot more expensive). Part of it is the realization that, to sail a ULDB might mean having to learn a whole new set of sailing skills. Part of it is a reaction to the near-manic enthusiasts of Santa Cruz, where nearly 100 ULDBs race for pure fun—without the help of race committees, protest committees, or handicaps (in Santa Cruz, IOR is a dirty word). And part of the traditionalists’ resentment is their gut feeling that ULDBs aren’t real yachts.

In 1970, Californian George Olson tried an experiment and created the first ULDB. He thought if he took a boat with the same displacement and sail area as a Cal 20, but made it longer and narrower, it might go faster. The boat he built was called Grendel and it did go faster than a Cal 20, much faster than anyone had expected. The plug for Grendel was later widened by Santa Cruz boatbuilder Ran Moors, and used to make the mold for the Moore 24, a now-popular ULDB one-design.

In the meantime, George Olson had joined up with another Santa Cruz builder by the name of Bill Lee, and together they designed and built the Santa Cruz 27. Olson also helped Lee build his 1977 Transpac winner Merlin, a 67′, 20,000 pound monster of a ULDB (she was subsequently legislated out of theTranspac race). Then Olson and several other of Lee’s employees started their own boatbuilding firm (in Santa Cruz, of course) called Pacific Boats. The first project for Pacific Boats was the Olson 30, which was put into production in 1978. Pacific Boats later became Olson/Ericson, and produced a 25 and a 40. The latest incarnation of the 30 is called the 911.

Construction

Some people wonder how ULDBs can be built so light, yet still be seaworthy offshore. The answer is three-fold: first, a light boat is subjected to lighter loads, when pounding through a heavy sea, than a boat of greater displacement. Second, there is a tremendous saving in weight with a stripped-out interior. Third, as a whole, ULDB builders have construction standards that are well above average for production sailboats. The ULDB builders say that their close proximity to each other in Santa Cruz combined with an open sharing of technology has enabled them to achieve these standards.

The Olson 30 is no exception. The hull and deck are fiberglass vacuum-bagged over a balsa core. The process of vacuum-bagging insures maximum saturation of the laminate and core with a minimum of resin, making the hull light and stiff. The builder claims that they have so refined the construction of the Olson 30 that each finished hull weighs within 10 pounds of the standard. The deck of the Olson does not have plywood inserts in place of the balsa where winches are mounted, instead relying on external backing plates for strength.

The hull-to-deck joint is an inward turned overlapping flange, glued with a rigid compound called Reid’s adhesive, and mechanically fastened with closely spaced bolts through a slotted aluminum toerail. This provides a strong, protected joint, seaworthy enough for sailing offshore. We would prefer a semi-rigid adhesive, however, because it is less likely to fracture and cause a leak in the event of a hard collision. The aluminum toerail provides a convenient location for outboard sheet leads, but is painful to those sitting on the rail.

The Olson 30’s 1,800 pound keel is deep (5.1′ draft) and less than 5″ thick. Narrow, bolted-on keels need extra athwartships support. The Olson 30 accomplishes this with nine 5/8″ bolts and one 1″ bolt (to which the lifting eye is attached). The lead keel is faired with auto body putty and then completely wrapped with fiberglass to seal the putty from the marine environment. Too many builders neglect sealing auto body putty-faired keels, and too many boat owners then find the putty peeling off at a later date. The Olson’s finished keel is painted, and, on the boats we have seen, remarkably fair.

The keel-stepped, single-spreader, tapered mast is cleanly rigged with 5/32″ Navtec rod rigging and internal tangs. The mast section is big enough for peace of mind in heavy air. The halyards exit the mast at well-spaced intervals, so as not to create a weak spot.The shroud chainplates are securely attached to half-bulkheads of 1″ plywood. In addition, a tie rod attaches the deck to the mast, tensioned by a turnbuckle. While this arrangement should provide adequate strength, we would prefer both a tie rod and a full bulkhead that spans the width of the cabin so as to absorb the compressive loads that the tension of the rig puts on the deck.

The rudder’s construction is labor intensive, but strong. Urethane foam is hand shaped to templates, then glued to a 4″ thick solid fiberglass rudder post. The builder prefers fiberglass because it has more “memory” than aluminum or steel. Stainless steel straps are wrapped around the rudder and mechanically fastened to the post. Then the whole assembly is faired, fiberglassed, and painted.

Handling Under Sail

For those of you who agonize over whether your PHRF rating is fair, consider the ratings of ULDBs. The Santa Cruz 50 rates 0; that’s right— zero . The 67′ Merlin has rated as low as minus 60. The Olson 30 rates anywhere from 90 to 114, depending on the local handicapper. Olson 30 owners tell us that the boat will sail to a PHRF rating of 96, but she will almost never sail to her astronomical IOR rating of 32′ (the IOR heavily penalizes ULDBs).

ULDBs are fast. They are apt to be on the tender side, and sail with a quick, “jerky” motion through waves. Instead of punching through a wave, they ride over it. You may get to where you are going fast, but with the motion of the boat and the Spartan interior you won’t get there in comfort. Olson 30 owners tell us that they do far less cruising and far more racing that they had expected to do when they bought the boat. They say it’s more fun to race because the boat is so lively.

Like most ULDBs the Olson 30 races best at the extremes of wind conditions—under 10 knots and over 20 knots. Although her masthead rig may appear short, it is more than powerful enough for her displacement. Owners tell us that she accelerates so quickly you can almost tack at will—a real tactical advantage in light air. In winds under 10 knots they say she sails above her PHRF rating both upwind and downwind.

In moderate breezes it’s a different story. Once the wind gets much above 10 knots, it’s time to change down to the #2 genoa. In 15 knots, especially if the seas are choppy, it’s very difficult for the Olson 30 to save her time on boats of conventional displacement, according to three-time national champ Kevin Connally. The Olson 30 is always faster downwind, but even with a crew of 5 or 6, she just cannot hang in there upwind.

In winds above 20 knots, the Olson 30 still has her problems upwind, but when she turns the weather mark the magic begins. As soon as she has enough wind to either surf or plane, the Olson 30 can make up for all she loses upwind, and more. The builder claims that she has pegged speedometers at 25 knots in the big swells and strong westerlies off the coast of California. That is, if the crew can keep her 1800 pound keel under her 761 sq. ft. spinnaker.

The key to competitiveness in a strong breeze is the ability of the crew. Top crews say that, because she is so quick to respond, they have fewer problems handling her in heavy air than a heavier, conventional boat. However, an inexperienced crew which cannot react fast enough can have big problems. “The handicappers say she can fly downwind, so they give us a low rating (PHRF), but they don’t understand that we have to sail slow just to stay in control,” complained the crew of one new owner.

Like any higher performance class of sailboat, the Olson 30 attracts competent sailors. Hence, the boat is pushed to a higher level of overall performance, and the PHRF rating reflects this. An inexperienced sailor must realize that he may have a tougher time making her sail to this inflated rating than a boat that is less “hot.” The two most common mistakes that new Olson 30 owners make are pinching upwind and allowing the boat to heel excessively. ULDBs cannot be sailed at the 30 degrees of heel to which many sailors of conventional boats are accustomed. To keep her flat you must be quick to shorten sail, move the sheet leads outboard, and get more crew weight on the rail. You can’t afford to have a person sitting to leeward trimming the genoa in a 12-knot breeze. To keep her thin keel from stalling upwind, owners tell us it’s important to keep the sheets eased and the boat footing.

Being masthead-rigged, the Olson 30 needs a larger sail inventory than a fractionally rigged boat. Class rules allow one mainsail, six headsails (jibs and spinnakers) and a 75% storm jib. Owners who do mostly handicap racing tell us they often carry more than six headsails.

Handling Under Power

Only a few of the Olson 30s sold to date have been equipped with inboard power. This is because the extra weight of the inboard and the drag of the propeller, strut and shaft are a real disadvantage when racing against the majority of Olson 30s, which are equipped with outboard engines. The Olson 30 is just barely light enough to be pushed by a 4-5 hp outboard, which is the largest outboard that even the most healthy sailor should be hefting over a transom. It takes a 7.5 hp. outboard to push the Olson 30 at 6.5 knots in a flat calm. The Olson’s raked transom requires an extra long outboard bracket, which puts the engine throttle and shift out of reach for anyone much less than 6′ tall: “A real pain in the ass,” said one owner. Storage is a problem, too. Even if you could get the outboard through the stern lazarette’s small hatch, you wouldn’t want to race with the extra weight so far aft. So most owners end up storing the outboard on the cabin sole.

The inboard, a 154 pound, 7 hp BMW diesel, was a $4,500 option. Unlike most boats, the Olson 30 will probably not return the investment in an inboard when you sell the boat, because it detracts from the boat’s primary purpose—racing.

Without an inboard there’s a problem charging the battery. Owners who race with extensive electronics have to take the battery ashore after every race for recharging. If the Olson 30 weren’t such a joy to sail in light air, and so maneuverable in tight places, the lack of inboard power would be a serious enough drawback to turn away more sailors than it does.

Deck Layout

In most respects, the Olson 30 is a good sea boat. Although the cockpit is 6 1/2′ long, the wide seats and narrow floor result in a relatively small cockpit volume, so that little sea water can collect in the cockpit if the boat is pooped or knocked down. However, foot room is restricted, while the width of the seats makes it awkward to brace your legs on the leeward seat. The seats themselves are comfortable because they are angled up and the seatbacks are angled back. There are gutters to drain water off the leeward seat. The long mainsheet traveler is mounted across the cockpit—good for racing but not so good for cruising.

The Olson 30’s single companionway drop board is latchable from inside the cabin, a real necessity in a storm offshore. A man overboard pole tube in the stern is standard equipment. Teak toerails on the cockpit coaming and on the forward part of the cabin house provide good footing, and there are handholds on the aft part of the cabin house.

The tapered aluminum stanchions are set into sockets molded into the deck and glassed to the inside of the hull, a strong, clean, leak-proof system. However, the stanchions are not glued or mechanically fastened into the sockets. If pulled upwards with great force they can be pulled out. We feel this is a safety hazard. Tight lifelines would help prevent this from happening, but most racing crews tend to leave them slightly loose so as to be able to lean farther outboard when hanging over the rail upwind. If the stanchions were fastened into the sockets with bolts or screws they would undoubtedly leak. A leakproof solution to this problem should be devised and made available to Olson 30 owners.

The cockpit has two drains of adequate diameter.

The bilge pump, a Guzzler 500, is mounted in the cockpit. The Guzzler is an easily operated, high capacity pump. However, its seeming fragility worries us. As is common on most boats, the stern lazarette is not sealed off from the rest of the interior. If the boat were pooped or knocked down with the lazarette open, water could rush below through the lazarette relatively unrestricted. As the Olson 30 has a shallow sump, there is little place for water to go except above the cabin sole.

A “paint-roller” type non-skid is molded into the Olson 30’s deck. It provides excellent traction, but it is more difficult to keep clean than conventional patterned non-skid.

The Olson 30 is well laid out with hardware of reasonable, but not exceptional, quality. All halyards and pole controls lead to the cockpit though Easylock I clutch stoppers. The Easylocks are barely big enough to hold the halyards; they slip an inch under heavy loads. Older Olsons were equipped with Howard Rope Clutches.

The primary winches, Barient 22s, are also barely adequate. Some owners we talked to had replaced them with more powerful models. Schaefer headsail track cars are  tandard equipment. One owner complained that he had to replace them with Merrimans because the Schaefers kept slipping. Leading the vang to either rail and leading the reefs aft is also recommended. The mast partner is snug, leaving no space for mast blocks. The mast step is movable to adjust the prebend of the spar. The partner has a lip, over which a neoprene collar fits. The collar is hoseclamped to the mast. This should make a watertight mast boot. However, on the boat we sailed, the bail to which the boom vang attached obstructed the collar, causing water to collect and pour into the cabin.

The yoked backstay is adjustable from either quarter of the stern, one side being a 2-to-1 gross adjustment and the other side being an 8-to-1 fine tune. A Headfoil II is standard equipment. There is a babystay led to a ball-bearing track with a 4-to-1 purchase for easy adjustment. The track is tied to the thin plywood of the forward V-berth with a wire and turnbuckle. On the boat we sailed, the pad eye to which the babystay tie rod is attached was tearing out of the V-berth.

There is a port in the deck directly over the lifting eye in the bilge. This makes for quick and easy drysailing. The Olson 30, however, is not easily trailered; her 3600 pounds is too much for all but the largest cars, and her 9.3′ beam requires a special trailering permit.

The Olson 30 is cramped belowdecks. Her low freeboard, short cabin house and substantial sheer may make her the sexiest-looking production boat on the water, but the price is headroom of only 4′ 5″. There is not even enough headroom for comfortable stooping; moving about below is a real chore.

To offset the confinement of the interior, the builder has done all that is possible to make it light and airy. In addition to the lexan forward hatch and cabin house windows, the companionway hatch also has a lexan insert. The inside of the hull is smoothly sanded and finished with white gelcoat. There are no full height bulkheads dividing up the cabin. All of the furniture is built of lightweight, light-colored, 3/8″ thick Scandinavian plywood of seven veneers.

The joinerwork is above average and all of the bulkhead and furniture tabbing is extremely neat. There isn’t much to the Olson 30’s interior, but what there is has been done with commendable craftsmanship. The interior wood is fragile, though. There are several unsupported panels of the 3/8″ plywood; if someone were to fall against them with much force it’s likely they would fracture. The cabin sole is narrow, and with the lack of headroom the woodwork is especially susceptible to being dinged and scratched from equipment like outboard engines. Once the finish on the wood is broken, it quickly absorbs water, which collects in the shallow bilge.

The Olson 30 is not a comfortable cruiser. Even after you’ve taken all the racing sails ashore, the belowdecks is barely habitable. To save weight the quarterberths are made of thin cushions sewn to vinyl and hung from pipes. These pipe berths are comfortable, but the cushions are not easily removed. Should they get wet it’s likely they would stay wet for quite a while. Two seabags are hung on sail tracks above the quarter berths, which should help to insure that some clothes always stay dry.

Just forward of each quarterberth is a small uncushioned seat locker. Behind each seat is a small portable ice cooler. In one seat locker is the stove, an Origo 3000 which slides up and out of the locker on tracks. The Origo is a top-of-the-line unpressurized alcohol stove, but to operate it the cook must kneel on the cabin sole. To work at the navigation station, which is in front of the starboard seat, you must sit sideways. In front of the port seat is the lavette, with a hand water pump and a removable, shallow drainless sink. Drainless sinks eliminate the need for a through-hull fitting, a good idea; but they should be deep, not shallow.

The portable head is mounted under the forward V-berth, which we think is totally unsuitable for a sailboat. Who wants a smelly toilet under his pillow? Although there are curtains which can be drawn across the V-berth, we think human dignity deserves an enclosed head, especially on a 30′ boat. The Vberth is large and easy to climb into, but there are no shelves above it nor a storage locker in the empty bow. In short, if you plan to cruise for more than a weekend you had better like roughing it.

Conclusions

For 30-footers, the price of an Olson 30 is cheap; but for boats of similar displacement, it’s damned expensive.

What do you get for the money? You get a boat that is well-built, seaworthy, and reasonably well laid out. You get a boat that, in light air, will sail as fast as boats costing nearly twice as much. Downwind in heavy air, you have a creature that will blow your mind and leave everything shy of a bigger ULDB in your wake. If you spend all of your sailing time racing in a PHRF fleet in an area where light or heavy air dominates, the Olson 30 will probably give you more pleasure for your dollar than almost anything afloat.

However if you race often in moderate air or enjoy more than a very occasional short cruise, you are likely to be very disappointed. Before you consider the Olson 30, you must realistically evaluate your abilities as a sailor. There’s nothing worse than, after finding out that you can’t race a boat to her potential, knowing that she is of little use for the other aspects of our sport.

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CLASS ASSOCIATION

Boats & gear for sale, list of services.

Asking Price: $9,950.00 $

Location: San Francisco, CA

Seller: Andrew Hewatt (Email: [email protected] / Phone: N/A)

1984 Olson 25 Two mains Doyle dacron, one never used Foil track head stay #1 Pineapple Carbon #3 Pineapple Carbon Symmetrical spinnaker in great condition Other sails 6hp tohatsu recently serviced Bottom job micron 2019 New sail cover Recently varnished deck teak and tiller Garmin GPS VHF/Stereo CA Reg up to date May have option to stay South Beach Harbor, San Francisco offer negotiable, MUST SELL sailboat sail boat boat

Asking Price: $14,000.00

Location: Corvallis, OR, United States

Seller: Bill Schafer (Email: [email protected] / Phone: 541-760-5467)

Make: Olson Model: 25 LOA: 25 ft Price: $ 14,000.00 Year: 1984 Condition: Used Very Good Location: Corvallis, OR, UnitedStates Hull Number: PCX25042L484 Sail Number: 69219 Boat Name: OHANA Hull Material: Fiberglass Draft: 4 ft 6 in Beam: 9 ft MFR: Pacific Boats Steering: Tiller Engine Type: 4HP/4Stroke OB NOTES: · Kiwigrip deck · SS Chainplates · Harken Black Magic Headfoil · Rudder sealed and thrust bearing added · Garmin Speed,Depth,Temperature with two GMI20 displays · Spinlock Tiller Extension · VC-17 Bottom Paint over Sealed Epoxy Call for full inventory and to answer any questions regarding condition and upgrades. Bill Schafer (541)760-5467 OR email: [email protected]

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