The ETAP 30 is a Belgian

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by

Jacques de Ridder Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

as a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

and first built in 1994.

Production

The design was built by

ETAP Yachting ETAP Yachting is a Belgium, Belgian boat builder based in Lokeren. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats. History The company was founded by Norbert Joris in 1970 and was originally a manufacturer of lig ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

between 1985 and 1994, with 220 boats completed, but it is now out of production.

Design

The ETAP 30 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

-foam sandwich construction, with wood trim. The use of foam sandwich construction makes the boat unsinkable. It has a 7/8 fractional

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

masthead sloop rig with

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

spars, a deck-stepped mast, wire standing rigging and a single set of swept spreaders. The hull has a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a

reverse transom A transom is the vertical reinforcement which strengthens the stern of a boat. This flat termination of the stern is typically above the waterline. The term was used as far back as Middle English in the 1300s, having come from Latin ''transvers ...

, an internally-mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and a fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

or optional shoal draft keel. It displaces and carries of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the optional shoal draft keel. The boat is fitted with a

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

2002

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

for docking and manoeuvring. The fuel tank has a capacity of . The design has sleeping accommodation for five people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settees in the main cabin, plus an aft berth on starboard side. The

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

is located on the port side just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...

ladder. The L-shaped galley is equipped with a two-burner stove, an capacity

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

and a sink. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

is located just aft of the bow cabin. The fresh water tank has a capacity of . For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually n ...

of . It has a hull speed of .

Operational history

The boat was at one time supported by a class club, the ''ETAP Owners Association''. A 2009 ''Yachting Monthly'' review stated, "In many people's view, this was the best yacht Etap produced – and although she lacks an aft cabin, she was far ahead of her time in many other respects, not least her easily-driven hull, designed by Jac de Ridder, which was streets ahead of most other 30ft cruisers when she was launched, in 1983. She handles delightfully on all points of sail and is still a fairly fast cruiser for her length by today’s standards. The hull’s high freeboard is effectively masked by a thick gunwale stripe and the low-profile cabin top gives her an almost racy appearance. Down below she has five sea-berths (or six at anchor), including a quarterberth, and a heads compartment amidships. The galley is spacious and seamanlike, and she has a very practical chart table. Etap's tendency towards short coachroofs means that headroom in the heads and forecabin is restricted but it is fair in other parts of the boat The standard of fit-out is good, with solid teak trim, but stowage, as always with these double-skinned yachts, is limited."

References

External links

{{ETAP Yachting Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Trailer sailers Sailboat type designs by Jacques De Ridder Sailboat types built by ETAP Yachting

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links