[Alberg30] Pre-Rookie Question

[Kevin Blanc]

I'm the other half of Terrapin's ownership.

We started sailing when my daughter was 10 months old - she's 11 years 
old now. My son is 8 and was first on the boat at about 5 months. A 
million other Alberg owners could tell you the same stories. It's a 
great boat and a great fleet if you have kids.

The only trick to sailing with them that little is having a place to 
stash them when the going gets tough and its all adult hands on deck. We 
made a playpen out of PVC pipe and netting on the port settee and left 
it in for years. It was a lifesaver (literally, once or twice).

Think short trips with a destination (island, sandy beach, town with ice 
cream, marina with a pool) and the kids will love you. Slog to weather 
for hours on end just to end in an anchorage without a dinghy and you'll 
have to drag them kicking and screaming to the boat (been there, hated 
that).

Have fun. My most treasured memories are of my kids on the boat - 
Cecilia standing on the opposite cockpit seat riser with both hands on 
the tiller steering with the boat at 30 degrees and a huge smile on her 
face, Neil sliding back and forth on the bridge deck while each time we 
tacked (intentionally).

Oh, buy harnesses. We put a big padeye in the old compass box so the 
kids couldn't get out of the cockpit. It't just too hard to ask them to 
wear heavy life jackets when its 95 degrees out. I know that's a choice 
others won't agree with.

Douglas Snell wrote:

> Mike-
>
>  
>
> I am looking at A30's as a move up for my expanding family.  We have 
> an 18mo old and a 4mo old (yes, that's close).  How does your family 
> do on the boat?  Is the A30 a good size for this age group?
>
>  
>
> Doug Snell
>
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: public-list-admin at alberg30.org
>     [mailto:public-list-admin at alberg30.org] On Behalf Of Hiesener, Michael
>     Sent: Monday, July 29, 2002 10:15 AM
>     To: 'public-list at alberg30.org'
>     Subject: RE: [Alberg30] Rookie questions
>
>     Mary & Bill,
>
>      
>
>     Congrats on delivery of your boat!
>
>      
>
>     My partner an I recently did quite a bit of work on our boat and I
>     will throw in my 2 cents...
>
>      
>
>     1.  We repainted the area behind the settees with a mildew
>     resistant kitchen latex paint.  We sanded the interior and striped
>     off the old paint in some areas and applied 2 coats of the paint. 
>     While the ideal fix would probably be to strip off the old paint
>     and apply a marine two part paint...this seemed like quite an
>     undertaking, especially when we had multiple projects requiring
>     time and energy.  Our boat does have a solar powered vent that
>     circulates the air and helps to keep the interior moisture down.
>
>      
>
>     2.  The old compass was broken and we replaced it with a bulkhead
>     mounted Plastimo Contest 101.   We are planning on racing and I
>     like the readability of this compass.  The accuracy seems good
>     when compared to a handheld GPS.  Our "little compartment" was for
>     a box compass.  It has a hinged cover and a pad eye which we
>     connect a tether and harness in an attempt to keep our 18 month
>     old son on the boat!  Might be a good location for a GPS mount.
>
>      
>
>     3.  No suggestion on how to upgrade the locker panels...but we
>     have a small soft sided cooler that fits perfectly inside the
>     icebox hatch.  Helps keeps everything cold and easily accessible
>     from the cockpit.
>
>      
>
>     4.  Sounds like a good location for a Nav Station!
>
>      
>
>     Look forward to seeing you on the water!
>
>      
>
>     Best Regards,
>
>      
>
>     Mike Hiesener
>
>     Terrapin  #254
>
>     Annapolis
>
>
>       -----Original Message-----
>     From: Mary & Bill Mahony [mailto:mabwjm at starpower.net]
>     Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2002 7:25 PM
>     To: public-list at alberg30.org
>     Subject: [Alberg30] Rookie questions
>
>         As I mentioned earlier this week, we just acquired hull #276. 
>         She's currently on blocks down at Solomon's getting some
>         survey-identified work done prior to launching.  I took my
>         wife down to see her for the first time today (did I mention
>         we bought her sight-unseen via the net?).  As we went through
>         the boat, a couple areas caught our attention that I wanted to
>         ask your thoughts on:
>
>          
>
>         1.  We removed some carpeting lining the hull from the
>         interior under the hanging cabinets in the salon and behind
>         the settees....the removal left some foam backing and glue
>         residue on the interior hull.  I'm thinking the right answer
>         is just to sand the foam and glue remnants down (there's also
>         some deteriorated finish on the interior glass) and repaint. 
>         Any advice concerning how to sand and what to use to repaint? 
>         Was this finish done in plain interior white in the boats as
>         they came off the line?
>
>          
>
>         2.  The boat has no compass...is there a recommendation for a
>         compass?   Is the little compartment just aft of the
>         companionway the preferred location?
>
>          
>
>         3.  The cockpit seat locker panels are deteriorated...any info
>         on what kind of wood these were originally?  Also, the cockpit
>         access hatch to the ice box is deteriorated.  I noticed a
>         Styrofoam backing, also looking pretty sad--any suggestions
>         for upgrades?
>
>          
>
>         4.  Previous owners had wedged a microwave into the aft
>         starboard salon overhead cabinet.  We don't want/need the
>         appliance, and since the cabinet space is already cut away,
>         I'm thinking of crafting a cabinet ala Carina Vela as a Nav
>         station in this space--any pros or cons?
>
>          
>
>         Apologies for the litany of questions...maybe a precursor of
>         more to come!  ;-)
>
>         Thanks, Bill
>
>          
>

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