Is Alberg the best production designer ever?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Yep, she's in great shape. You won't have to touch the fiberglass. The engine is junk, she leaks like a sieve and it'll only take a small chunk of bitcoin to get her ready to cruise offshore. Did I mention the fiberglass is in good shape?

I'd say for offshore the boat would need new rigging, AIS Transmit, (I have receive now with my Raspberry Pi/SH GX2200), an Echomax XS Active Radar Reflector w/alarm, and maybe a bilge alarm and I'd probably get better batteries......more AH other than that she's ready for island hopping or maybe a trip to Bermuda.

I might also have InReach and would do a good inspection on the thru hulls or just remove and fill next time I have the boat out.

So looks like around $5,000. Chump change as far as boats go.

My brother in law likes to say my boat was a gift! He had his 44 ' power yacht custom built in Maine and I'm sure it was $300,000 plus. His first one was a 35'r also custom built

[psjanker]

Originally Posted by Don C L

What a great photo! Reminds me of my daughter. That's what it's all about for me.

In my case my granddaughter. She “swam” off the boat when less than a year old in her diaper! Have to start them off right and keep them away from power boats until they can comprehend the magic of leveraging the wind! Mist be doing something right because she prefers the hank on jib of the CD 28 over the roller of the CD 30b.

V/r

Pete

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I'd say for offshore the boat would need new rigging, AIS Transmit, (I have receive now with my Raspberry Pi/SH GX2200), an Echomax XS Active Radar Reflector w/alarm, and maybe a bilge alarm and I'd probably get better batteries......more AH other than that she's ready for island hopping or maybe a trip to Bermuda.

I might also have InReach and would do a good inspection on the thru hulls or just remove and fill next time I have the boat out.

So looks like around $5,000. Chump change as far as boats go.

My brother in law likes to say my boat was a gift! He had his 44 ' power yacht custom built in Maine and I'm sure it was $300,000 plus. His first one was a 35'r also custom built

Certainly a reasonable cost for getting a boat ready for offshore. But it is still two and half times what you paid for the boat. Don't forget to fix those leaks before you head to Bermuda.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Certainly a reasonable cost for getting a boat ready for offshore. But it is still two and half times what you paid for the boat. Don't forget to fix those leaks before you head to Bermuda.

Leaks will not be fixed. Maybe by the next owner.

When you pay $2,000 for a boat, spending another $5,000 to get it ready for offshore use is not a big deal especially after owning it for 9 years and sailing it a lot in most all conditions.

I could have bought this Westsail 32 for $15,000 a few months ago, but I thought I might now be ready for a little bit faster and more efficient boat.

And I didn't feel right about paying so little for the boat which came along with a spare running Perkins diesel.

Btw, he had an Alberg 30 before he bought the Westsail

https://www.bayharborbrokerage.com/b...ginia-7710175/

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Yet there are >100 year old timber yachts sailing actively down here in Tasmania, and likely lots of other places. In another 40+ years it is likely that there will similarly be FRP boats, but so far ain't none that old sailing.

Only partly tongue in cheek...

Jim

...and how many of those >100yr old boats haven't had full planks replaced?

[omache27]

If you are serious about a 27-31' blue water full keel boat then you have to consider the Vancouver 27. I am always amazed that this boat doesn't come up on the search radar. Designed by Robert Harris for a couple to sail from Vancouver to New Zealand it is the most sea kindly boat out there under 40'. Tankage is enormous with 65 gals water & 40 gals diesel. It was built with the single purpose of long ocean crossings with tons of storage space. I have sailed mine from Toronto to Victoria BC and can attest to its sea worthiness. I have since sailed from Victoria to Hawaii and back without a problem. Over built, over rigged yet able to sail close to hull speed over 24hrs.
A number of them have circumnavigated - one recently Thom D'Arcy (https://www.facebook.com/yachtfathom...33080320188404).
Built originally in Canada & Seattle the moulds then went to England where they were built by first Pheon Yachts and then Northshore Yachts. Production stopped about 3 years ago.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by omache27

If you are serious about a 27-31' blue water full keel boat then you have to consider the Vancouver 27. I am always amazed that this boat doesn't come up on the search radar. Designed by Robert Harris for a couple to sail from Vancouver to New Zealand it is the most sea kindly boat out there under 40'. Tankage is enormous with 65 gals water & 40 gals diesel. It was built with the single purpose of long ocean crossings with tons of storage space. I have sailed mine from Toronto to Victoria BC and can attest to its sea worthiness. I have since sailed from Victoria to Hawaii and back without a problem. Over built, over rigged yet able to sail close to hull speed over 24hrs.

A number of them have circumnavigated - one recently Thom D'Arcy (https://www.facebook.com/yachtfathom...33080320188404).

Built originally in Canada & Seattle the moulds then went to England where they were built by first Pheon Yachts and then Northshore Yachts. Production stopped about 3 years ago.

I’d never heard of these boats but looking at the 3 current Yachtworld listings, I’m impressed! Very nice, seaworthy looking little sailboats, but none of the listed boats is in the US or Canada.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

I’d never heard of these boats but looking at the 3 current Yachtworld listings, I’m impressed! Very nice, seaworthy looking little sailboats, but none of the listed boats is in the US or Canada.

There was a 28 version too.

[Lance Monotone]

Originally Posted by Buzzman

I wouldn't be too worried about tankage unless you intend to cross oceans ALL the time, at which point it's more convenient.


But a solo sailor should not need to use more than a gallon a day - on short commons and with no showers etc, so *theoretically* that's a 24 day range, or 2400nm.


Where you gonna sail that long, that often...???

It's also relatively easy to add 'tankage' in the form of jerry cans, which can be kept below until added to the tank as it empties, then strapped to the rails when empty (to keep ballast low, not high).


Many offshore sailors and sailors travelling to remote areas adopt this method. It's no biggie.

Yes, that's a good point about capacity. I may not always be alone but 12 days is still a long time for anything I might do in the near future. Thanks.

[Eric West]

Originally Posted by Lance Monotone

I have been looking at a lot of 27 - 31' full keel Alberg designs and they seem to be almost universally well-regarded. My questions:

Are there known issues with his boats I should watch out for, or issues with particular models?

Is there a particular model which is considered better than the rest? Subjective, I'm sure!

Thanks for your input!

My first inboard liveaboards boat was an Alberg 30. I promised myself that if I were going to live in a space that small, that I would always keep everything stowed so that there would be no excuse for not going sailing. It is a wonderful boat in most conditions though it behooves you to keep heavy things out of the bow and out of the lazzarette, it it will hobby horse going to weather, and sail with your genoa about 5-6” off the speeders for better speed. Full keel boats don’t sail well sailing as close to the wind as possible. The mast is deck stepped, so don’t crank down on the rigging too hard. There is no headliner, so no airspace for insulation, so in cold weather they tend to sweat when you close it up.
But, on a close to broad reach, they sail very well. Back in 1982, there was a 114 no race from Ponce Inlet to Ohio Shoals, off Cape Canaveral, and back. My boat was rated the slowest boat in the fleet and the other boats could point higher, but out of around 20 boats, we were the third boat to finish (behind two spinnaker boats), and won by 9,5 hours on corrected time.
I sold the boat to a couple who sailed it from Ponce Inlet (Daytona Beach) to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands in 10 days.
No quarterbearth, but many places for dry storage.

[Tiemo]

Bulkhead beam under the mast has been known to delaminate on some Albergs, mast can go next. Here is a complicated fix that one owner did that allowed for a redesign of interior he wanted to do anyway. Or, you just replace the beam.

https://youtu.be/hpHIXXHR7Q4

[Pendragon35]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I owned and cruised a Pearson built Alberg 35 for a lot of years. Many of the Alberg designs were built to the CCA racing rules with design elements that help beat the rule --- not to make them good offshore boats. The long overhangs meant short waterline when standing upright, all that was measured by the rule. They have little initial stability, meaning to sail them they want to be healed way over. Some are yawls with extraneous mizzen sails that were free under CCA.
Most of these boats are 30 to 50 years old. This means you have to expect all systems to be replaced by now and a fair amount of metal fatigue and corrosion in lots of places.

I've always thought the Alberg designs were really good looking boats,

This is spot on. I've owned and cruised an Alberg 35 out of Baltimore for the last 6 years. It's a learning experience. I don't think I'd ever blown a tack before this boat but they take some attention to do it gracefully. Going upwind in significant wind there is considerable weather helm. I've never found the tankage to be an issue. The lack of space is at times. I sail singlehanded frequently, sometimes with my wife. More than two would be an issue.

She does like to heel about 30 deg. upwind. A lot of heel initially, then she tends to just stick with the lee rail barely out of the water. I frequently sail with the first reef in; it helps balance the boat. In short, steep waves (coming out of a creek with opposing wind and tide) she does hobby horse. The comment one post made about not being able to get to water and food is really about planning; I always have water and food near the helm (I learned to do this by having that person's exact experience, so not gloating).

On the other hand, the hull is solid. She's a 1965 boat and has benefitted from good owners who took care of her. You just have to learn to sail her properly.

On a dock full of production boats that are more modern, have more space, and probably go faster, my boat is the one that people admire. And finally, I can honestly say, I've never walked away without looking back and smiling.

[rgleason]

The solution for hobby horsing is to crack off 5 degrees and power up the jib.

[Pendragon35]

Originally Posted by rgleason

The solution for hobby horsing is to crack off 5 degrees and power up the jib.

True. But not possible in the narrow entrance at Bodkin Creek.

[Eric West]

Originally Posted by Tiemo

Bulkhead beam under the mast has been known to delaminate on some Albergs, mast can go next. Here is a complicated fix that one owner did that allowed for a redesign of interior he wanted to do anyway. Or, you just replace the beam.

https://youtu.be/hpHIXXHR7Q4

I took paper and pencil and made a template of the laminated mast support arch. Then I made two cardboard pattern s with that and stuck them to both sides, snug against the overhead and took another piece of cardboard the length and width of the support and taped it to the side pieces. I took that to a welder and had him reproduce this three sided box out of 3/8” aluminum and had him put three holes in the bottom piece and four in the side pieces opposite each other. I lag bolted the bottom to the support and then drilled through the support from the side pieces and through bolted the box and support together with washers and acorn nuts, all snugged tight. The rest of the support was attached to the bulkheads already, so this was really a massive over build in my opinion.
With regard to the heel angle when sailing to weather, the Alberg 30 rudder shaft was angled forward to the rudder shoe, which gives you about 80% of rudder efficiency when heeled at 30 degrees, whereas a vertical spade rudder would only have about 20% rudder efficiency at that angle because much of the rudder effort is pushing the transom up toward the surface. To visualize this, take a business card and put two folds in it starting at the same place. The first fold should be diagonal and the second vertical. With the first fold in tilt the card over about 30 degrees and notice that the rudder itself is barely tilted, whereas the second fold will look more like a trim tab.
With regard to hobby horsing, the commenter was partially right in suggesting cracking off the headsail, because it powers up the boat and allows you to push over the waves. But, equally important is to make sure that anything heavy that you can move to the middle of the boat and away from the ends will greatly minimize hobby horsing.