Hustler SJ-30 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used market for a Hustler SJ-30 means looking at a Stephen Jones–designed 30-foot fractional sloop from the late-seventies British second generation of the Hustler line, built by Verl Yachts./Oyster Marine and also finished at other yards. Some were completed by their owners from kits, so the brokerage pool mixes factory and amateur fit-outs under one name.
Layouts on the Used Market
The SJ-30 carries three cabins and seven berths with a galley, a layout that favors a racing or cruising crew over a couple seeking privacy. Because the design was also sold to be home-completed, the internal joinery, stowage, and systems routing can differ sharply between boats of the same length and rig. A buyer should treat the published accommodation count as the design intent, not a guarantee of equal execution afloat.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
With no equipment brief on file, the prudent used-boat view stays general: focus consequence on the fractional rig's running gear and the simple diesel systems rather than cosmetic add-ons. The original sheet spec calls for 30.9-foot jib and genoa sheets and a 77.3-foot mainsheet, both half-inch diameter, so verify that replaced lines match these loads. Any navigation or canvas upgrades should be judged on condition, not assumed as factory standard.
What to Inspect
The one documented fleet-wide caveat is that the SJ-30 was sold to be home-completed, which means the quality of each boat may vary. On any candidate, inspect the integrity of the fiberglass hull and solid deck, the fin-keel joint, and the consistency of interior completion — amateur finishes may hide weak bonding or omitted structural members that a production boat would not.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
For a shopper, the takeaway is a short discipline:
- Confirm whether the hull is factory- or home-completed and inspect accordingly
- Check fin-keel attachment and solid-deck condition closely
- Verify rigging dimensions against the half-inch sheet spec
- Treat the three-cabin, seven-berth layout as variable in finish quality
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Hustler SJ-30. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 1 | $10,592 | — |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
5 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneteau First 30 (Mauric) | 29.36' | $ 84,116 | 43 | 18 |
| Judel/Vrolijk J/30 | 29.83' | $ 14,500 | 21 | 1 |
| CS Yachts 30 | 30' | $ 20,980 | 20 | 1 |
| Pearson 30 | 29.79' | $ 7,100 | 16 | 5 |
| Hustler 30 | 30' | $ 6,554 | 7 | 3 |