Production ran for roughly seven years, with between 602 and 630 hulls completed. An estimated 500 are still sailing today. The boat was conceived for both racing and offshore cruising, and its early record suggests it met that brief. In its first season, the Tartan 30 was the most successful 30-footer across a wide variety of race courses. A Tartan 30 also took the MORC of Long Island Sound in 1976, just as another had five years earlier.
Design and Construction
At just under 30 feet long with a 10-foot beam, the Tartan 30 has a fiberglass hull. Tensil-Cor laminate stiffens the forward section, while mat and woven roving strengthen the rest of the surface. The deck is a plywood-cored fiberglass sandwich. Teak toerails and conservative touches of teak trim dress an otherwise uncluttered deck.
One source puts the lead ballast at about 3,700 pounds; another cites 3,600 pounds. It is cast and secured by internal one-inch stainless steel bolts, centered over the keel and supplemented by the engine’s weight to reduce knockdown risk. The mast passes through the deck and steps on the lead ballast for additional strength.
The rudder hangs from a skeg attached with a bronze shoe. The builder claimed that the keel’s V-shaped bottom and sharp trailing edge generated lifting action. It also said the skeg entry added lifting surface and eliminated the erratic steering sometimes found with free-suspended rudders.
Practical Sailor judged the Tartan 30 a solidly built, comfortably appointed, fast production boat typical of the early 1970s.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The Tartan 30 is a masthead sloop with single upper and lower shrouds led inboard to chainplates fastened to the bulkheads. All standing rigging is 1x19 stainless steel, sized at a quarter-inch or more, with half-inch forged-bronze turnbuckles. The narrow, inboard shroud base helps the boat remain competitive upwind against newer designs. Because the mast is keel-stepped, under-deck support isn’t a concern.
Owners speak highly of the rig. One describes it as bulletproof, comfortable, and easy to sail, with very little weather helm. Another calls the boat very well balanced. Practical Sailor’s reviewers considered it a reaching machine, without the extreme helm and IOR downwind staggers that plagued some contemporaries.
The boat sails best to windward, where it is comfortable, stable, reasonably handy, and modestly dry. Off the wind, it remains more steerable than later successors with spade rudders and thin keels. However, on a broad reach in big following seas, the weather helm can become tough.
A tall rig was once optional and helps in light air. In those conditions, a folding prop and a genoa of at least 150% are recommended.
Accommodations
Tartan offered two interior plans: side-galley and aft-galley versions. Both sleep six using two quarterberths, a forward V-berth, and a port main-cabin berth that converts into a double. In the aft-galley layout, a starboard settee berth replaces the port quarterberth.
Headroom is 6 feet 1 inch in both the main and forward cabins, and the berths are at least 6 feet 5 inches long. Eight fixed ports provide daylight. The head has a hinged door for privacy, along with a stainless basin and shower drain. A hanging wet locker sits opposite.
The interior uses imported woods with a hand-rubbed oil finish. One owner confirms that the interior wood is solid teak rather than veneer or plywood.
The engine sits in a box at the forward end of the saloon. That box intrudes on the living space, but it also provides exceptional engine access. Practical Sailor found the head and forward V-berths cramped, the low wooden cockpit coamings uncomfortable, and the storage less generous than on many comparable boats.
Known Issues
The companionway sill is too low to prevent water from a flooded cockpit draining below. This helps explain why the Tartan 30 is wetter belowdecks than most boats and why the quarterberths can catch spray and rain through the companionway. The sink is also prone to filling and sloshing water onto the sole.
Most owners report notable gelcoat deterioration, including crazing, voids, and chalking. Blistering and deck delamination are about average. Below, the teak cabin sole draws the most complaints.
Chainplates are prone to leaking. The mast partner also allows water through, making corrosion at the mast step and mast butt common. The bonded joints at the main bulkhead and the rod connecting the deck to the mast step deserve careful inspection.
Groundings, or poor haulout and storage practices, can loosen floor timbers and keel bolts. They can even flex and tear the hull. A misaligned engine or a gap between the deadwood and ballast may signal trouble in the bilge.
The Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine may need rebuilding after water backs up through the exhaust, and the fuel tank tends to rust. The optional Farymann diesel is no clear improvement because parts are scarce and expensive. Inadequate winches are another chronic shortcoming.
Refits and Ownership
Despite its potential exhaust-flooding problem, the original Atomic 4 is so accessible that it usually received better-than-average care and should still be serviceable. A Chesapeake fleet member documented installing a Yanmar 2GM20 diesel in the existing engine box without modifications, a common upgrade path.
The rig’s durability has led a number of owners to replace the forward lower shrouds with babystays. For storage ashore, the boat fares better in a good cradle than on jackstands.
With a crew of four or five, the Tartan 30 can race PHRF hard on a modest sail budget. It also remains a weekend and vacation cruiser for a couple.
Verdict
The Tartan 30 is a Sparkman & Stephens classic that punches above its length. It is quick and steady to windward, avoids many of its era’s downwind vices, and combines a bulletproof rig with excellent engine access.
The trade-offs are a wet and occasionally cramped interior, modest storage, and a known list of leaks and corrosion points. Those issues reward a careful survey.
Pros
- Sparkman & Stephens design with a strong early-1970s racing record
- Keel-stepped mast and an indestructible-spec rig, with inboard shrouds for upwind grip
- Exceptional engine access at the forward end of the saloon
- Two distinct accommodation plans and a solid-teak interior
- Nimble, well-balanced handling with modest weather helm
Cons
- Low companionway sill allows water below, making for a wet boat and vulnerable quarterberths
- Chainplate and mast-partner leaks can lead to corrosion at the mast step and bulkhead
- Cramped head and V-berths, with below-average storage
- Fuel tank prone to rust and an Atomic 4 vulnerable to exhaust flooding; Farymann parts are scarce
- Chronically inadequate winches and widespread gelcoat deterioration
