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This review was written by another owner I know.
Newport Sailboats were built
by Capital Yachts, Inc. from 1971 to 1996 in Harbor City California. This review will focus on the Newport 30-III, our is
a 1985 Newport 30 III.
The Newport 30-III came with either a standard keel (5′ 2″) or shoal draft keel
(4′ 0″). The ballast on the Newport is a solid lead and alloy keel. Galvanized iron keel bolts are permanently
locked in place by positioning them in the keel at the time it’s poured. An epoxy adhesive is applied to the top of
the keel before it is bolted to the keel recess in the hull. Fiberglass cloth is bonded over the entire joined area to further
seal it. A resin filler mixture is poured into the keel recess and allowed to harden. This means the keel bolts and nuts are
now permanently locked and should never have water come in contact with them. Sail-away displacement averaged 8,500 lbs.
They
came standard with a 2-cycle diesel engine. There are times when you could wish for a slightly larger engine but our Universal
diesel is proving to be a good little workhorse. We average a half a gallon per hour with ours and given the cost of fuel
these days that feels pretty good.
The hull to deck is bonded and bolted with an anodized toe rail. The toe rail is
a nice additional detail that Capital Yachts did and isn’t always found on older boats of similar make and size. The
anchor locker is at the bow and self contained so you don’t have foul smells venturing into the V-berth.
The
mast is deck stepped and an optional item at production time was the jib roller furling. Our Newport 30 came with the roller
furling option and lines led to the cockpit. Yes, you loose a bit in sail shape with a furler however if you’re not
going to race then it’s much nicer to stay in the cockpit when working the sail.
A boom vang and masthead fly
are two extremely important optional items that were offered. It’s hard to know the wind direction and a mast head fly
will always be pointing in the direction the wind is coming FROM. It’s nice to quickly glance up to figure out the proper
trim or a course change.
A boom vang, which will hold the boom horizontal when off the wind, will come with some of
these older boats. If it was dealer installed is would most likely be rigged from the boom to a bail at the base of the mast
so it doesn’t have to be down rigged when gybing. This is an added safety feature in case of an accidental gybe the
boom would swing over without lifting up and maybe catching the leech of the mainsail on the leeward spreader.
Pedestal
steering was another option other wise you’ll find a tiller. If you buy a Newport 30 III with wheel steering, periodically
check for loosened bolts and cable tension. Also look for wear or ‘fish’ hooks on the cable and replace as necessary.
Three or four time a year, depending upon the frequency of use, lightly oil the chain, pedestal shaft bearings and sheave
bearings with a 3-in-one oil as part of your maintenance routine.
Swim ladders on the stern were another option. They
make getting back aboard much more convenient. If you’ve not read yet about how to have a safer swim ladder than maybe
you should.
The cabin is well laid out and the 10′ 8″ beam gives you more space inside than the average
30 footer plus those of you who are tall will appreciate the extra headroom. The salon is open as the dinette table folds
and stores against the bulkhead and when in place and opened it will comfortably seat six adults. The V-berth comes with a
teak door for privacy and with the center insert of the V-berth removed offers a nice amount of room to change clothes.
The
head is just aft of the V-berth and is nice in size. The standard was a vanity with storage outboard and below, shower with
foot pump (ours is upgraded to pressure water), toilet with holding tank and manual discharge in approved areas, teak door
with mirror.
The port settee slides out to form a double berth and there is a single berth to starboard. Ample stowage
can be found both behind and under these. The teak interior is beautiful and classic giving warmth to the cabin.
The
aft galley came standard with a serving island, double stainless steel sink, gimbaled stove and icebox. For this size boat
the galley is well sized as it gives the cook enough room to work comfortably. They came with an icebox and we did an ice
box conversion and now have a 12 volt fridge which is really nice.
The nav-station was well thought out for this size
boat. The nav seat is body formed and the chart table slides away when not in use. There is a teak drawer below the table
and a chart light above. It is a comfortable work area and nearly disappears when one needs to use the quarter berth.
They
have fresh water storage for about 70 gallons and the fuel tank holds about 30 gallons. There have been some issues with blisters
but they have been easy to fix at least on ours. The Newport 30 III is a nice coastal cruiser with a big boat feel.
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