[alberg30] Re: Alberg 30 ??'s

[Gordon E. White]

Bill:
    I bought my Alberg (# 275) in 1991 and was led to this particular
Alberg after looking at probably a dozen, many of which smelled of
gasoline. Not that a properly-maintained boat with a gas engine can't be
safe, but after 20-30 years metal fuel tanks do deteriorate, as do
Atomic Four engines. Mine had had a Westerbeke diesel installed in l989.
I had a boat earlier with an old Atomic Four and the ignition and other
things were a constant problem. I believe all the original Atomic Four
installations had raw water cooling rather than the more modern
heat-exchanger with fresh water in the engine itself. I had found with
the earlier boat (not an Alberg) that salt water cooling was a problem.

    Anyway, I am very happy with the Alberg 30 with the diesel. I love
the boat, which is overbuilt by 1998 standards, which (as George
Dinwiddie says) I like.
    If you buy an Alberg, do join the A-30 Association. George is your
contact for that. The Association has a newsletter, a maintenance
manual, seminars on racing, cruising & maintenance and many summer
events on Chesapeake Bay. Great bunch.
    As to other things to look for: recently owners found that the
thru-hulls needed changing. Not a big thing in cost, but necessary to
look at when hauled out. Some original thru-hulls were not cast bronze
but were brass washers hammered over the end of brass pipe and one
failed a couple of years ago and sank a boat at its mooring. Mine were
that type but had not significantly deteriorated. I replaced them myself
at small cost in time and money. This is the kind of thing the
Association can inform you about.
    Also, my boat, being an early one, 1967, seems to be made of  better
resin than more recent fiberglass boats and I have not had blister
problems in the gelcoat. (Blisters should be looked-for in any
fiberglass boat) I find blisters in the paint on haulout, but not in the
gelcoat.
    I assume that the early boats, like mine, not having the liner, all
have masonite cores, which are better than the balsa cored decks. I
strengthened the mast step but have had no other problems attributable
to the basic boat. I did have the exhaust pipe break off at the manifold
but that was the fault of the installer of the diesel who used steel
water pipe instead of bronze. By the time I reached shore the boat was
full of carbon from the exhaust. I piped the cooling water overboard
with a lashed-up hose but could not get the exhaust itself clear of the
engine compartment. Major mess!!
    Incidentally, I just hauled the boat out after 2 1/2 years in salt
water and had hardly any barnacles. I hauled out my 16 ft outboard after
four months in the water and had only one barnacle and that was on the
depth sounder pickup that had not been painted with bottom paint. That
barnacle was about a half-inch in diameter, so I guess the paint I am
using is pretty effective. I am down Chesapeake Bay about 100 miles
south of Annapolis where the water is somewhat more salty that further
up. I will find the paint can and advise what brand it was.
                                        - Gordon White
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