Islander Bahama 30

Built 1973–1985 by Islander Yachts

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About the Islander Bahama 30

Researched from public sources for this model. Any individual boat may have been modified or repowered — confirm before relying on any figure.

Illustration of a Islander Bahama 30 — **Illustration, not a photo of this model.** AI-generated illustration of a typical mid-size cruising sloop.

Built: 1973–1985
Builder: Islander Yachts
Designer: Robert Finch
Length: 29.92 ft
Waterline: 24.58 ft
Beam: 10 ft
Draft: 5 ft
Displacement: 8,230 lb
Ballast: 3,130 lb
Hull: fiberglass
Hull / keel: fin keel
Rig: sloop
Propulsion: inboard
Fuel: 20 gal
Water: 25 gal
Holding: 15 gal
Stern thruster: not fitted
Steering: pedestal cable

Tank capacities — where the figures come from

Fuel 20 gal
“17-gal (77-liter) aluminum fuel tank” — review, practical-sailor.com · “20 U.S. gallons (76 L; 17 imp gal)” — search excerpt, en.wikipedia.org

Practical Sailor's 17 gal matches its own 77 L, so it's in imperial gallons; 77 L is 20 US gal, which agrees with our earlier figure. No builder document was found online.
Water 25 gal
“25 gallon (95 liter) plastic water tank” — review, practical-sailor.com · “25 U.S. gallons (95 L; 21 imp gal)” — search excerpt, en.wikipedia.org

Practical Sailor notes early boats filled from below; later ones had a deck fill.
Holding 15 gal
“a 15 gallon (56 liter) holding tank” — review, practical-sailor.com

From one magazine source, Practical Sailor: 56 L, which is 15 US gal.
Water heater unknown
“Open storage became cabinets and the hand pump for water at the sink became a hot and cold pressure system.” — review, practical-sailor.com

Practical Sailor says early boats had hand pumps only and later model years came from the factory with hot and cold pressure water; it does not say whether that was standard or optional, and gives no heater size or years.

Tanks are often replaced or added on older boats — check the tank labels or a survey for yours.

Thrusters and steering — where this comes from

Bow thruster unknown
No source mentions a thruster on the Bahama 30.
Stern thruster not fitted
Nothing was found either way; our earlier figure of none appears to be an assumption.
Steering pedestal cable
“The wheel pedestal seriously infringes on usable space ... in later models purchasers could select a choice pedestal opt” — review, practical-sailor.com

Practical Sailor (an owner-written used-boat review) describes a wheel pedestal driving a quadrant in the stern locker and suspects a tiller was the original design intent; later buyers chose between pedestal packages. The pedestal maker isn't named, and the cable type is inferred from the quadrant layout in this one source.

Thrusters and steering are often replaced — check the units on your boat before ordering parts.

Solid glass hull with lead ballast fully encapsulated in the keel (no keel bolts); plywood-cored deck and cabin trunk. Deck-stepped mast over a compression post. Sailboatdata says it shares its hull with the Islander 30 MkII; Practical Sailor says the two differ in coachroof, interior and rudder position, and that together over 500 were built through 1985. Shoal keel 4.0 ft. Aluminum fuel tank under the cockpit sole. Kerosene stove was original.

Engines fitted

Volvo Penta MD7A — 13 hp, diesel, single standard
Wikipedia: fitted with a Volvo MD7A diesel of 13 hp; built 1973-86. Single source.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Volvo Penta MD7A — 13 hp, diesel standard

Boats of the same model can differ — check which engines yours actually has before ordering parts.

Generator

No source mentions a generator for the Bahama 30.

Known problems for this model

Leaky hull-deck joint deck
The deck sits on sealant over an inward hull flange, through-bolted with the aluminum toerail; it tends to weep and needs periodic tightening of the nuts behind the headliner.
practical-sailor.com
Cabin window leaks rotting plywood core deck
The big fixed acrylic cabin windows flex and break their seal, letting water into the plywood-cored cabin trunk hidden behind the vinyl headliner.
practical-sailor.com
Chainplate deck penetrations rigging
Shroud tangs pass through the deck to the main and forward bulkheads; the deck plates need regular recaulking to keep water out of the plywood deck core.
practical-sailor.com
Osmotic blistering on early hulls hull
Early production hulls were prone to heavy blistering, sometimes hidden under a later gelcoat layer; survey the bottom carefully.
practical-sailor.com
Rudder tube with no bearing steering
The foam-filled spade rudder's stainless post runs in a plain fiberglass tube; early boats have no stuffing box, later ones added one.
practical-sailor.com

2 more

Original engines at end of life engine
Original Atomic 4s and Volvo MD7As are well past normal service life, and repower cost can approach the boat's value.
practical-sailor.com
Boom-bolted mainsheet blocks rigging
With the forward traveler option the mainsheet blocks were simply bolted to the boom and can pull out in a hard gybe.
practical-sailor.com

Model sources (4)

sailboatdata.com · practical-sailor.com · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Other Islander models

Islander 28 1975–1985
Islander 36 1971–?

Researched from public sources. Spotted an error? The sources are listed above — tell us what they got wrong.