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. Unlike the Moore 24 and Santa Cruz 27, the Olson 30 was relatively beamier and was not legally trailerable without a special permit in California (although it's unclear whether any of the owners actually sought out permits). Construction was similar to the other Santa Cruz boats with polyester resin, E-glass, and an end-grain balsa core in the hull and deck. The keel was cast lead with a small "stubby" of fiberglass, and the rudder was a fiberglass and foam sandwich with a pultruded fiberglass shaft. Unlike many of the boats built in Santa Cruz, the Olson 30 had a light spruce plywood interior, in contrast to the more common Bruynzeel plywood interiors of other boats.