[Alberg30] Living aboard the A-30 & Interior modifications.

[Maggie Ross]

My husband and I purchased Strathgowan, hull #400, earlier this year and are living aboard for our first winter with her although we have lived aboard larger boats since 1990. Going smaller was a deliberate choice as twelve years beyond our originally planned departure, the smaller boat will make the physical end of boating a lot easier on us.

While the A-30 will be 'small' for some people we know we have to reduce the number of non-essentials we have toted from one boat to the other. Our cruising grounds now point to warmer climates but not necessarily world wide. Because of the closer proximity to supplies, we do not feel that we will 'suffer' too much because we didn't bring all the photo albums and such.

An acquaintance has another A-30 which he has drastically modified, to the point that it no longer looks like the original bird. Some of his ideas might be worth your consideration.

First he literally moved the companionway and aft bulkhead of the main cabin back to the edge of the bridge-deck at the forward end of cockpit floor. Inside he added an extra foot of storage shelves and cupboards on each side of the companionway.

Secondly, he built a rigid dodger and rigid enclosure. Unfortunately, in our opinion, he did not elevate the extension for the enclosure high enough as he is a tall man and still cannot stand upright.This could have been accomplished by re-cutting the clew of the mainsail (tapering the foot to the tack) without having to move the goose-neck.

Thirdly, he converted the port settee to a single seater dinette (one seat on each side of a table extending inward from the hull). The boat I am describing is currently approaching Florida on its way to the Bahamas for the third or fourth time. It is painted with red, white and blue stripes running the length of the cabin at deck level and is called "Joy B". John is quite a character and not a member of this or any other list. He is a bit of a loner but always interested is discussing the changes he has made.

We wish to convert the starboard settee of Strathgowan to a dinette and then build a storage unit against the forward bulkhead to hold our sewing machine, repair fabrics and tools (no-one can sit in this area anyway).

We are also considering moving the 'backs' of the settees inward by 3 or 4 inches to improve the support for our loser back while seated and increase the storage area next to the hull on both sides of the cabin.

If any of you have converted from a settee to a dinette we'd be interested in any feed-back.

Maggie & Ian Ross
Strathgowan, #400
"May the Lights of the Houses along the way, guide you safely to your future destinations".
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