Lancer 30-4 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

C&C Design·1978 – 1985·Lancer Yacht Corp.

Drawing Diagram

Builder drawing

Hull Type: Monohull · fin
Rig: Masthead Sloop
LOA: 29.2' · 8.9 m
Disp.: 8,200 lbs · 3,719 kg
First year: 1978

The Lancer 30 Mark IV — widely listed as the Lancer 304 — is an American recreational keelboat built by Lancer Yachts in the United States from 1978 until 1985, now out of production. Conceived by C&C Design as a cruiser and developed directly from the C&C 30 using that design's molds, it sits within Lancer's midsized sailing line of the late 1970s and early 1980s, a period when the company drew heavily on C&C for its dedicated sailboat hulls.

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Measurements

Imperial Metric

Dimensions 01

Length Overall: 29.2 ft
Length on deck: —
Waterline Length: 24 ft
Beam: 10 ft
Draft: 5.18 ft
Maximum Headroom: —
Air Draft: —

Construction & hull 02

Construction: Fiberglass
Hull Type: Monohull
Keel Type: Fin
Rudder: 1× Spade
Ballast: 3,000 lbs (Lead)
Displacement: 8,200 lbs
Water Capacity: —
Fuel Capacity: —

Rig & sails 03

Rigging Type: Masthead Sloop
Mainsail luff: 29 ft
Mainsail foot: 10 ft
Foretriangle height: 35 ft
Foretriangle base: 12.83 ft
Forestay Length (estimated): 37.28 ft
Sail Area: 381.1 sqft

Calculations 04

Sail Area to Displacement Ratio: 14.99
Ballast to Displacement Ratio: 36.59
Displacement to Length Ratio: 264.81
Comfort Ratio: 23.09
Capsize Screening Ratio: 1.98
Hull Speed: 6.56 kn

Design and Construction

The 30-4 is a monohull of solid fiberglass construction with wood trim, carrying a raked stem and a raised counter reverse transom. Beneath the waterline she shows the pedigree of her C&C parentage: a fixed fin keel and internally mounted spade-type rudder. At 29.20 feet overall with a 24.00-foot waterline and a 10.00-foot beam, she displaces 8,200 pounds and carries 3,000 pounds of ballast. The standard keel draws 5.18 feet, while an optional shoal-draft keel brings that to 4.18 feet. Her hull speed is cited at 6.57 knots.

Rig and Handling

Above the deck the boat is a masthead sloop on a Bermuda rig, with an I foretriangle of 35.00 feet and a J base of 12.83 feet; the mainsail luff is 29.00 feet on a 10.00-foot foot, giving a 145-square-foot main and a 224.53-square-foot jib or genoa for a total sail area of 369.53 square feet. The inboard engine is fitted for docking and maneuvering rather than passage-making. The spade rudder and fin keel combination, drawn from the C&C 30 molds, gives a predictable coastal cruiser's steering profile rather than a racer's twitchy response.

Accommodations

Below, the 30-4 sleeps four. A double V-berth fills the bow cabin, and an aft cabin to port holds a second double berth. The galley sits on the starboard side just forward of the companionway ladder as an open L-shaped workspace with a two-burner stove and double sink; opposite it to port is the navigation station. The head is placed at the companionway on the starboard side, a compact but conventional arrangement that keeps wet and dry functions divided across the cabin's centerline.

The Verdict

The Lancer 30-4 is a straightforward fiberglass coastal cruiser with clear C&C design lineage, a practical four-berth layout, and a shoal-draft option for thinner water. She is out of production and best understood as a period cruiser rather than a modern performance boat.

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