Lesson plan
Olson 30
The Olson 30 is a sailboat designed by George Olson of Santa Cruz, CA around 1978. Olson was a surfer and surfboard shaper who decided to design a 30' ultra light displacement boat while on a delivery from Honolulu to Santa Cruz on Merlin, a 68' Bill Lee designed and built ultralight sailboat which had competed in the biennial Transpac race in 1977. During this delivery, Olson came up with the idea while sailing with Denis Bassano and Don Snyder, who lent their initials to the prototype's name, SOB 30. The resulting boat was christened Pacific High, and it was launched in 1978. As a result of what Olson learned about the sailing characteristics of Pacific High, he constructed a plug for a production boat. The draft was reduced somewhat, the freeboard was increased, and the teak decks of the prototype were replaced with fiberglass and rolled-on non-skid. Olson and partners Lyn Neale and Alan Wirtanen started Pacific Boats in an industrial area of Live Oak, CA, an unincorporated area between Santa Cruz and Capitola. The Olson 30 was introduced into a crowded market of ultralight boats constructed in the Santa Cruz area, including Ron Moore's Moore 24 and Bill Lee's Santa Cruz 27. The Olson 30 featured a single spreader masthead sloop rig with aluminum spars from either Sparcraft Spars or Ballenger Spars of Santa Cruz.…
Article summary
The Olson 30 is a sailboat designed by George Olson of Santa Cruz, CA around 1978. Olson was a surfer and surfboard shaper who decided to design a 30' ultra light displacement boat while on a delivery from Honolulu to Santa Cruz on Merlin, a 68' Bill Lee designed and built ultralight sailboat which had competed in the biennial Transpac race in 1977. During this delivery, Olson came up with the idea while sailing with Denis Bassano and Don Snyder, who lent their initials to the prototype's name, SOB 30. The resulting boat was christened Pacific High, and it was launched in 1978. As a result of what Olson learned about the sailing characteristics of Pacific High, he constructed a plug for a production boat. The draft was reduced somewhat, the freeboard was increased, and the teak decks of the prototype were replaced with fiberglass and rolled-on non-skid. Olson and partners Lyn Neale and Alan Wirtanen started Pacific Boats in an industrial area of Live Oak, CA, an unincorporated area between Santa Cruz and Capitola. The Olson 30 was introduced into a crowded market of ultralight boats constructed in the Santa Cruz area, including Ron Moore's Moore 24 and Bill Lee's Santa Cruz 27. The Olson 30 featured a single spreader masthead sloop rig with aluminum spars from either Sparcraft Spars or Ballenger Spars of Santa Cruz.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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