# Just bought a 1979 Islander Bahama 30 today



## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

I just bought a 1979 Islander Bahama 30 today.

Fully loaded - 

roller furling
bimini
wheel steering
new sails
new rigging
new air conditioning/heat
new head
new water heater
2 new batteries.
fully restored inside and out.

Check out my photo gallery to see photos - you will be as shocked as I was!

( guess what I paid for it )...


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

SPCAlan1—

The photo posting is basically broken. Read the POST in my signature to learn a more reliable way to do it. As for a guess... $15,000 is my guess.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Did you see the photos?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

not yet.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Don't be mad..::batter I only paid $ 7,700 for it.
I believe I got a great deal.


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## zedboy (Jul 14, 2010)

SpcAlan1 said:


> Don't be mad..::batter I only paid $ 7,700 for it.
> I believe I got a great deal.


I saw those pics  .

The seller is the one who oughtta be mad!

Seriously, sweet boat. I assume the cabin sole looks so nice and shiny because it's used for eating off of?


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## joeybkcmo (Feb 28, 2006)

congrats, enjoy her


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

zedboy said:


> I saw those pics  .
> 
> The seller is the one who oughtta be mad!
> 
> Seriously, sweet boat. I assume the cabin sole looks so nice and shiny because it's used for eating off of?


That's the funniest thing I have heard. I thought the same thing when I saw it.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Congrats... sounds like a good price... how did the survey go?


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Very good. No soft spots. The Volvo diesal runs pretty good.


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## omaho5 (Jun 5, 2008)

You should be arrested for grand theft


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

haha.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Hey guys.
I 'tried' to raise the main sail yesterday - very, very tight halyard.
New sail, new 'slugs', and new halyard makes for a tough pull ( even with winch ). After breakng it in, it got better, but never really got it 100% up. I may have to oil the pulleys on top of mast - yay me.

This boat has so many pulleys ( a lot more than my Catalina 25 had ). I wonder if I have it setup correctly.

There are 2 sets of 3 'roller pulleys' on each side of the mast that I can use to route the main halyard to the cockpit, not sure which to use, which may be causing the stiffness in raising the main.

I may have someone more experienced take a look at it.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Did you clean the mainsail track and lube it with SailKote? Also, one issue that can cause a problem is if the main halyard is spliced, since the splice may be too thick for the sheave and cause the halyard to bind up before you get to full hoist.

Photos will help. 

BTW, the main halyard, usually on the starboard side of the mast, will generally come back to the cockpit on a set of deck organizers to starboard.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

it was tough with no sail on the halyard, and almost impossible with the sail on. i will use the sailkote, but this is something different causing the problem.


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## HPLou (Feb 25, 2002)

Congratulations on your new boat, she is a beauty. As for the the halyard, it may have jumped the sheave. Good luck with her.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

SpcAlan1 said:


> it was tough with no sail on the halyard, and almost impossible with the sail on. i will use the sailkote, but this is something different causing the problem.


Did you run the halyards yourself? If so, it sounds like they're not running fair or free.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

No, the halyard was already up.
So this can be a 'stuck' pulley at the top, maybe needs oiled?
Could be the halyard 'off-track' from the pulley?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

SpcAlan1 said:


> No, the halyard was already up.
> So this can be a 'stuck' pulley at the top, maybe needs oiled?
> Could be the halyard 'off-track' from the pulley?


Unless the sheave is damaged or the slot was way oversized for the line and sheave, this is pretty unlikely.

Did you run the rigging or was it already run? If you ran it, you might have accidentally tangled or twisted two of the lines around each other, which would lead to a lot of friction for no visible reason.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

HPLou said:


> Congratulations on your new boat, she is a beauty. As for the the halyard, it may have jumped the sheave. Good luck with her.


I had the same thing happen on our boat when I went up the stick to change the anchor light bulb. The sheaves were old and the one I was on essentially disintegrated with the weight (it was plastic). Lesson learned.

I replace both sheaves and everything was a lot easier to haul.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

May have to get someone to 'go up' to check it out.
Thank goodness for the extra 3-4 halyards that go to the top of the mast.
that also reminds me, I need to replace the spreader lights, hehe.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

sailingdog said:


> Unless the sheave is damaged or the slot was way oversized for the line and sheave, this is pretty unlikely.
> 
> Did you run the rigging or was it already run? If you ran it, you might have accidentally tangled or twisted two of the lines around each other, which would lead to a lot of friction for no visible reason.


The rigging was already in place. but who knows the real reason....But the twisting may be the reason as well. I'll keep you posted.


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## CalypsoP35 (Jul 24, 2006)

OK, so what's the story behind the price? If it really is in such great condition for a '79, how is it that you paid so much less than FMV?


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Good question.
Survey came back good.

People have asked me, with all the new stuff ( sails,rigging,ac,roller. etc ). how could the guy make any money on this?

I do not know( nor care ). I triple checked the registration ( DNR and marina ) to verify the ownership before purchasing. You could probably part the boat out and make 10k, haha. ( unless of course, i can't raise the main sail ), haha,


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

Congrats on the nice boat 

Clearly some of you have not payed for parts and service on and older Volvo diesel IF you can even get the parts


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Hopefully, I won't have to ( keeping fingers crossed ).
If it makes everyone feel better - I will have to replace the alternator soon.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Ok, yesterday was the shake down cruise.
Volvo cranked great. I am new to the 'drip' for the shaft, so I was walked through how to adjust it. 

Issues:

Main halyard - would only go 3/4 way. it took 2 of us to muscle it to the top.
The previous owner went up ( on the spin halyard ) and lubed everything. He said everything looked good, but after lubing, still too tough to raise. No way I could raise the main by myself, even with winch. I will have to hire someone to replace/check out again.

The Harken roller furling - had to replace the feed line. Realized the front sail is a North Sail. Very clean and in great shape. 

Good sail though, winds at 5mph and shifty. Good had a good time.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Are the halyards wire/rope or all rope? By your descriptions it sounds like a problem at the masthead.... If you try hoisting at the mast is it any better? (Eliminate any issues with the series of turning blocks on deck)

If there's no improvement then you may have crossed halyards, as already mentioned, but the other thing that comes to mind is that the bushing for the masthead sheave is gone, or it has a flat spot. Could be that once there's a significant load the pulley stops turning, lubed or not.

I think you need someone aloft as you test this, and try the halyard on its own with a strong retrieveing line, and put some strain on it as you 'hoist' to see if the masthead pulley turns at all times.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

The main halyard and spin are all rope. The weird thing is the spin halyard is smooth as butter. The main very, very tough. Takes 2 people pulling to get just the halyard up ( no sail ). This is at the main. 

We thought about the crossed halyards, but the ex-owner said everything looked ok when he went up yesterday.

I am going to contact a 'professional' to take a look at it. If I have to replace the sheave or pulley at the top, I am ok with that. Just want to get it fixed.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Check out the photo of the main sail and the 2 lines attached.

The highest line is a line that is attached to the end of the boom to the top of the mast. But the main sail is always on the inside of the line, therefore holding the sail.

The 2nd line ( lower ) is attached to a reef point down a pulley and cleats off on the boom. I have it pulled tight in the photo, and it is 'pinching' the main sail.

The main sail is not attached to the boom on the bottom - like my old Catalina, so there is no 'foot' on the sail attaching it to the boom at all. 

What are these 2 lines used for? or did someone not know what they were doing?


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

SpcAlan1 said:


> The main halyard and spin are all rope. The weird thing is the spin halyard is smooth as butter. The main very, very tough. Takes 2 people pulling to get just the halyard up ( no sail ). This is at the main.
> 
> *We thought about the crossed halyards, but the ex-owner said everything looked ok when he went up yesterday.*
> 
> I am going to contact a 'professional' to take a look at it. If I have to replace the sheave or pulley at the top, I am ok with that. Just want to get it fixed.


Crossed halyards wouldn't be visible at the masthead.. they might be intertwined with each other inside the mast, between the masthead and the exit slots. Often the drag can be felt on the other halyard as the lines rub on each other inside. Still, this shouldn't call for a winch to overcome the friction. I'm leaning towards a bad sheave.

Have you tried hoisting at the mast? That would eliminate issues with the rest of the system.

Also, I'd quite trying to force things.. NO WAY should it required two people pulling hard to pull an unloaded halyard up. You can't be doing things any good by forcing it through.

Another question.. is it equally difficult to pull the halyard back the other way???

EDIT: Sorry .. just noticed your next post.... now I'm wondering.... could this be as simple as you're trying to drag the reef lines through with high friction? The clew reefing lines need to be able to run absolutely free during the hoist. (I don't see/know which picture you're referring to) It sounds like your reef lines are holding things up. If they don't run free on their own, prefeed them out first. You'll see the reef lines tighten up and dragging on the leech if they are what's holding up your hoist.

Be good if that's all this was!


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

I am hoisting at the mast. Just pulling straight down, so definitely not the other equipment. 

Yes equally difficult up and down on an unloaded halyard.
The roller halyard is also the same way - I loosened up that line as well - no luck on getting the roller sail down.

Did you see my photo of the main?


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

OK - found the picture...










Your "strange line'' - blue- in the shot is your clew reefing line. That line needs to be free to run... if not, once that gets caught up and tensioned you will not be able to hoist.

Looks like a padeye/cam cleat at the forward end of the boom. Those are notoriously high drag - prefeed all the blue line through, leaving slack under the boom.

Also - check into joining photobucket, then you can post pics directly here as I have.

Another Edit... sorry, having a brain fart this morning.. that line must be free to run as I mentioned, but the fact that your halyard is tough to pull through without a sail still points to problems at the masthead or inside the mast...... and the fact that both halyards are stubborn is pointing even harder at them being twisted together internally...

and... assuming you did have the genoa unfurled when you tried to drop it.....


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## HPLou (Feb 25, 2002)

Another possibilty could be that wire/rope halyards were replaced with all rope halyards. If this was the case then the sheaves would be undersized and there could be clearance issues at the mast head.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Ok, will let the reefing line free. Makes the sail ugly, ha.
Yes they are all rope only. Spin, main, roller ( assume ).

Yes, I had the genoa unfurled when I tried to drop it.

Something is funky up top. I am going to have to get someone to take a look at it.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Faster said:


> Crossed halyards wouldn't be visible at the masthead.. they might be intertwined with each other inside the mast, between the masthead and the exit slots. Often the drag can be felt on the other halyard as the lines rub on each other inside. Still, this shouldn't call for a winch to overcome the friction. I'm leaning towards a bad sheave.
> 
> Have you tried hoisting at the mast? That would eliminate issues with the rest of the system.
> 
> ...


Makes sense, but the halyard takes 2 of us to raise/lower without a sail on the halyard. am I missing something?


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

ok, so one of my weird line is the reefing line. What about the outside line that the sail is laying on?

Seems like the main sail is too big, or the boom is too short and that would cause that line to be further away from the mast giving the sail free range,


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

The other line is the topping lift - it keeps the boom from dropping when the sail is down... this needs to be slack when you're sailing. If it's too tight, as it appears in the picture, then your mainsheet can't put the proper leech tension and it won't fly right.

There should be an easy adjustment for this.. either at the end of the boom, or at the mast/deck if it's run to the masthead and back down.

So the drill is: reef lines slack, hoist main... once it's up,(and it's important that it's 'fully hoisted') slacken topping lift until the sail supports the boom, then remove excess slack from reefing lines and trim the main. Give the topping lift plenty of slack because as you sheet in you'll tend to tighten it again. When you're ready to drop the main, re-tension the topping lift to support the boom and then drop the sail.

While you're actually sailing that topping lift should have a foot or more of slack and be very sloppy. This is a bit of a potential chafe problem and is one reason why rigid vangs (which can eliminate this line) are popular - they support the boom... btw do you have a boom vang? It looks like you might, and this, too, must be slack during the hoist to ensure you get the sail all the way up.

All of the above predicated on fixing the original problem with the halyard drag.

As to the reef line, you can pull it through and store it forward on the boom, or simply bury the slack in the flaked sail. The former will add to the difficulty of raising the sail again unless you preslacken the reef lines before hoisting..

No disrespect, but you need to start doing some reading about the basic controls and methods for hoisting and reefing!


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Alright, got it fixed today:

1. Had to replace the roller furling. This line was old.
2. Had to reroute the 'extra' spin halyard. Come to find out it was aft of the roller, therefore not a very good spin halyard - supposed to be outside of roller. This was the reason the roller was tight.
3. The main halyard was too large for the sheave. This boat came with wire halyard, so the rope is too big, but the real reason was because the line was spliced with a huge knot between the 2 pieces. This was shoved up inside the sheave and was causing the line friction.
4. Removed the topping lift pulley ( on mast ) - dont have a spin sail, nor would I use it.

Next:
replacing the traveler line. current line is too big, need to go down in size.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Good news... simple solutions.

By topping lift I assume you mean the one half way up the front of the mast, not the one on the boom?

Your 'extra' spinn halyard sounds more like a second jib halyard. Most common situation is 2 jib halyards (exiting under the forestay tang) and one or two spinn halyards running through blocks above and outside the forestay.

Did you replace the main halyard with smaller diameter line?

Was the "roller furling" you replaced the furling line or the halyard on that sail?


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

If you need to replace, nor have not the main halyard, get a smaller diam, hopefully obvious, and go with something other than sta set. get a good quality non stretchy line. There are some lines as strong or stronger than steel, with less stretch. That might get the line small enough to go thru the sheaves, etc.

Have fun with the new to you rig!

marty


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## thehardaground (Jan 19, 2011)

sometimes people choose bigger line because it feels nicer in their hand. Don't be afraid to go back to wire/rope for your main halyard either. Would be good to know what would fit comfortably through your sheave though.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Another option is to take the outer sheave off of some of the highertech ropes, this will allow a smaller diam material thru the sheaves, yet have the larger diam line that some like to hang onto. This will be lighter in wt than a wire rope combo. Any good rigger, maybe even a semi poor one, will know how to do this.


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Thank you for all of the ideas.
I may go the wire/rope combo in the future.


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## pinayreefer (Mar 18, 2011)

Very interesting read. I'm looking for a boat, thought it'd be a Columbia 31 or Erickson 30. The broker said he had an Islander 30 but it is "ugly" which turned out to be zebra print settee cushions and a bad hull paintjob. I'm not sure why I like a wood interior but I'm looking harder at the Islander now. I wonder if I can get the kind of deal SpcAlan1 got?


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## SpcAlan1 (Aug 31, 2009)

Only spcalan gets those kinds of deals.


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## pinayreefer (Mar 18, 2011)

You must be right. That Islander 30 was a POS. It totally escapes me how anyone would pay $300/month to keep that in a slip. Needed more work than anyone would be willing to do.


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