Design and Construction
The 30-30 PC is a recreational keelboat built predominantly of fiberglass with wood trim, carrying a raked stem and a raised reverse transom. At just under 30 feet overall with a 25.4-foot waterline, a 10.25-foot beam, and a 5.5-foot fixed fin keel, the hull carries 6,500 pounds of displacement against 2,310 pounds of lead ballast — a 35.5 percent ballast-to-displacement ratio that marks her as a stiff, purpose-bred racer-cruiser rather than a heavy coastal cruiser. The internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by a tiller and the fin keel describe a boat tuned for responsiveness, and the 2.2 capsize ratio and 16.9 comfort ratio place her firmly in the light-displacement, offshore-rated MORC camp rather than the weekender class.
Rig and Handling
Above the deck, the 30-30 PC is a masthead sloop carrying 440 square feet of sail and a PHRF racing average handicap of 141. The mid-cockpit mainsheet traveler and internally mounted halyards keep the working lines close to the helm, while four winches and aluminum genoa tracks and toe rails outfit her for rapid sail changes. The boom is seriously geared for control: a 12:1 boom vang, a 3:1 Cunningham, and a 2:1 foreguy, plus two flattening reefs and an internal outhaul and topping lift, let a short crew shape the main precisely as the wind builds. Those purchase ratios are not cosmetic — they reflect a deck plan built around racing pace in moderate fleets.
Accommodations
Below, the 30-30 PC is laid out as a compact cruiser-racer. The galley is split with a two-burner alcohol stove and sink to starboard and the icebox to port, the latter doubling as a navigation table. The head sits forward just aft of the bow V-berth and includes a hanging locker, while additional sleeping space comes from two cabin berths plus separate dinette settees. A large hatch forward brings light and air into the forepeak, a practical touch on a boat whose racing intent did not erase the cruising half of the brief.
The Verdict
The Santana 30-30 PC is a focused MORC design from Nelson/Marek, built in tiny numbers by W. D. Schock Corp at the turn of the 1980s. She pairs a light, stiff fiberglass hull with a heavily geared masthead rig and a tiller-steered spade rudder, and her belowdecks plan keeps the cruising essentials without pretending to be a voluminous cruiser. For a sailor wanting a scarce, race-oriented 30-footer with genuine offshore ratios, she rewards the search; the low production count is the obvious caveat.
Pros
- High ballast ratio and capsize-screening figures suited to MORC racing and coastal offshore work
- Thoroughly geared boom and mast controls for a small crew
- Split galley with icebox-navigation table and forward head with hanging locker
Cons
- Only about 40 built, so finding one demands patience
- Light-displacement racer-cruiser comfort ratio limits her as a long-range cruiser
