Contest 30 Mk I Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used market for a Contest 30 Mk I means looking at a mid-sixties Dutch sloop from Conyplex, designed by Uus van Essen, with solid fiberglass hull and deck and a masthead rig. These boats carry about 362 square feet of working sail and a slim 9.28-foot beam on a 30-foot hull, modest in volume but pleasant to handle. The one variable to pin down is the underwater profile, since Conyplex offered the model with different keel alternatives and the exact configuration on a given hull must be confirmed at viewing.
Layouts on the Used Market
Any example is a compact 1966-era 30-footer with the space limits of a 3.23 length-to-beam ratio rather than a modern beamy cruiser, so expect a small belowdecks footprint and limited transverse room compared with later designs of similar length.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
No equipment tiers are listed for this model. A buyer should verify rigging against known dimensions: halyards at 22.9 meters and 10 mm, genoa and jib sheets at 9.2 meters and 12 mm, mainsheet at 22.9 meters and 12 mm, and check the 6.6-meter kicking strap and clew outhaul at 10 mm plus the 3.3-meter Cunningham.
What to Inspect
At a viewing, establish which keel a hull carries and whether it matches paperwork, since variants are not enumerated. Inspect the solid fiberglass hull and deck for age wear; check the keel-root join and ballast integrity as on any 1960s fiberglass boat. Confirm the masthead rig's halyard and sheet sizes against the figures above before committing, and look for any undocumented rig changes.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are found in the United States. For a buyer:
- Confirm the keel type on the specific hull
- Check hull and deck for age wear
- Verify rigging lengths and diameters
- Match keel configuration to documentation
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Contest 30 Mk I. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 3 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25 | 2 | $14,900 | — |
| May 26 | 1 | $14,900 | 0.0% |
| Aug 26 | 1 | $14,900 | 0.0% |
Where they're listed
Contest 30 Mk I listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 2.
Country view
2 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $14,900 | 2 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Rogers 32 | 32' | $ 31,464 | 71 | 16 |
| Moody 31 Mk I | 30.75' | $ 27,187 | 28 | 3 |
| C&C 30 Mk I | 30' | $ 15,000 | 25 | 6 |
| Conyplex 33 | 32.25' | $ 24,500 | 13 | 2 |
| Moody 33 Mk I | 33' | $ 20,976 | 12 | 5 |
| Contest 30 Mk IYou are here | — | $ 14,900 | 2 | 1 |