Tartan 30
Every documented weak point for this model, in the order to check them, plus the general inspection, the sea trial, the haulout and what each finding costs to put right.
- 93 checks, 10 specific to this model
- 17 repair-cost reference lines
- Printable, or works on a phone with no signal
- $19 credited if you buy the full volume later
The Tartan 30 is an honest boat to survey: Sparkman & Stephens drew an overbuilt hull with few bad habits, and its short problem list clusters around one theme, water getting into places it should not. Read the safety-flagged items twice, because on this boat condition dwarfs the deceptively cheap purchase price.
What you get
- Every documented weak point for this exact model, in the order to check them.
- A full system-by-system walk of the boat, written to be worked through on your knees with a flashlight.
- What each finding typically costs to put right, so a soft deck stops being a feeling and becomes a number.
- The questions and documents to get before you drive four hours to see it.
- The findings that are not negotiations. Nine reasons to walk away and buy the next one.
Three of the 10 model-specific checks
These are free, and always will be. The kit has all 10 for this model, plus 83 general checks covering the fast screen, every system, the sea trial and the haulout, 17 repair-cost reference lines, and the walk-away list.
The Tartan 30 was only ever a fixed fin keel with no centerboard, so check the badge and HIN: if it turns out to be one of the centerboard S&S Tartans, the survey is a materially different and more expensive job.
Chainplates are prone to leaks, the aft one bolts through a plywood bulkhead that the water soaks and rots, and owners have had to replace an entire side bulkhead, so inspect the metal at the deck exit and clevis holes and probe the bulkhead top corners.
Groundings and poor jackstand storage loosen the floor timbers and one-inch stainless keel bolts, so sight the joint for a widening smile and check the bilge for rust-streaked nuts, cracked tabbing, and soft or crushed floors.
Straight answers
- Is this a substitute for a surveyor?
- No, and it does not try to be. A professional survey is what your insurer and your lender will require, and you should buy one. This kit is for the trip before that: deciding which boat is worth paying a surveyor to look at, and walking aboard able to see what is actually in front of you. It also makes you a far better client, because you will know what to ask the surveyor to focus on.
- What form does it come in?
- A web page built for the job: checkboxes, note lines, and a print layout that comes out clean on paper if you would rather carry it. It works on a phone in a bilge with no signal once the page has loaded. No app, no account.
- Are the cost figures reliable?
- They are broad US ranges at yard labour rates, and the kit says so on the page. They exist to tell you whether a finding is a $500 problem or a $30,000 problem, which is the decision you are actually making on the dock. Get a local quote for anything you intend to negotiate on.
- What if I buy the kit and then buy the book?
- The $19 comes off. The kit price is credited automatically against the digital edition of Tartan 30 at checkout, so nobody pays twice for the same research.
- What if I do not end up buying this model?
- Then it did its job. Most of the value in a kit like this is the boats it talks you out of, and the general sections, the sea trial, the haulout and the walk-away list apply to any boat of this era.
Take it aboard this weekend
Instant access. If it does not tell you something useful about the boat you are looking at, reply to the receipt and we will refund it.