The Harbor 30 was designed by Steven Schock and is the most recent offering from the venerable family business W.D. Schock Corp. Unlike its daysailing siblings, however, the 30 sports a full interior laid out for jaunts to Catalina Island and beyond. For that reason, the company calls the boat the Daysailer Plus.
While there are berths for four adults in a forward V-berth and a long quarter berth, the boat would be ideal for a couple, who’d find the accommodations cozy and charming. One of the really nifty features is a convertible saloon table with corresponding cockpit sockets for outdoor use as well. There are nice details throughout, including a teak-and-holly sole, a tongue-and-groove headliner, and mahogany trim and furniture.
Like the C&C, however, the Harbor 30 really struts its stuff once the sails are set. It was a light-air day on the Chesapeake when we put the boat through its paces, with the breeze never topping 10 knots. But the Harbor 30 acquitted itself well, scooting upwind at a solid 6 knots. Our test boat was laid out with the 4-foot-10-inch shoal-draft keel, and we reckoned there’d be a nice uptick in speed with the optional 6-foot-3-inch foil. Alvah Simon summed up the consensus of his fellow BOTY judges thusly: “This boat stood up well to a very high-aspect rig, and I really liked the feel between the rig and the keel when we were pressed in the little puffs. You could actually feel it powering up. It was a very nice sensation.”
It wasn’t just the visceral pleasure of sailing the Harbor 30, however, that vied for the panel’s attention; the smart and efficient deck layout and sailhandling systems also received high marks. The running rigging is color-coded and easily harnessed by Harken self-tailing winches. Handy lazy jacks corral the mainsail. The furling jib is set off a fixed Hoyt jib boom, which is self-tacking for upwind work and also negates the need for special downwind sails on a dead run (although a spinnaker is also an option). The boomed-out headsail retains its shape perfectly when set wing and wing before the following breeze. The spade rudder has plenty of bite, and the wheel steering is light and responsive. A cut-out transom “door” drops down as a swim platform.
The Harbor 30 costs $200,000 and features a hand-laid hull of E-glass and vinylester resin with carbon-fiber reinforcement in high-load areas. A torpedo ballast bulb is affixed to the business end of the encapsulated lead keel. W.D. Schock has been building boats for over 50 years. This cool little cruiser adds to a lustrous legacy.
Specifications
LOA 30′ 9″ (9.37 m.)
LWL 26′ 2″ (7.96 m.)
Beam 9′ 11″ (3.02 m.)
Draft 4′ 10″/6′ 3″ (1.47/1.91 m.)
Sail area 535 sq. ft. (49.7 sq. m.)
Ballast 3,300 lb. (1,497 kg.)
Displacement 7,500 lb. (3,402 kg.)
Ballast/D .44
D/L 188
SA/D 22.3
Water 36 gal. (136 l.)
Fuel 20 gal. (76 l.)
Holding 20 gal. (76 l.)
Mast height 56′ 0″ (17.07 m.)
Engine 20-hp Yammar
Designer Steve Schock P.E.
W.D. Schock Corp
(951) 277-3377
www.wdschock.com
_Herb McCormick is CW’s senior editor. _
