[Public-list] Thinking about buying an Alberg ... sorry very long post

[Sam Stone]

Hi All,

First a little introduction. My name Sam Stone and I live, for the 
moment, in Austin, Texas. I have been thinking about buying a sailboat 
for some time now. I have done some sailing, mostly making offshore 
deliveries. I have subscribed and lurked on this list for a couple years 
now. Below is a copy of a post I made to sailnet.com recently that does 
a pretty good job of describing where my thinking is on potentially 
becoming a new Alberger. For what is worth, most of those who responded 
to the inquiry thought that the A30 was the best of the three.

snip ------------

I am for the first time seriously thinking about buying my own boat. In 
the past I have satisfied my sailing itch by sailing others boats ... 
that is beginning to change. I have very little money for the initial 
purchase ... at the most $20,000 ... less that $15,000 would even better.

My basic requirements are cheap (in price not quality), proven bluewater 
capabilities, active owners groups (i.e. fair amount of "communal" 
knowledge to aid in upgrades and known problems and solutions), small 
enough to single hand yet large enough to coastal cruise with wife and 
daughter, small to keep slip fees and maintenance cost to a minimum, 
high quality initial build. I am very handy and usually not frightened 
the need for a little work (i.e. I could do the work required to deal 
with the mast compression issues that have been known to occur in the 
A30 and Vega). I am pretty sure I don't want a wood boat. I want, for 
the most part, to stay clear of home built boats (can you say Bruce 
Roberts kit boats). I realize that this limits my choices fairly old boats.

To that end my short list is:
Alberg 30
Albin Vega
Pearson Triton

I have sailed on two A30 although in mild conditions, seen and been 
aboard a Vega, seen but never aboard a Triton. I have been subscribed to 
both the A30 and Vega mailing lists for a couple years. Read everything 
I can find on the boats (PS Boat Buying Guide, Vigor's 20 Small 
Sailboat, John Neal, even recently brought Yves Gelinas dvd With 
Jean-du-Sud, atomvoyages.com, etc).

I am currently leaning towards the A30.

Any and all comments and insights anyone has on any of these boats, 
these boats compared to one another, any other boats I should consider, 
whatever would VERY GREATLY appreciated.

---------- snip

In the coming month of so I plan to go to Dallas to look at an A30 the 
broker describes as a "project". For those interested the boat can be 
found on yachtworld.com ( http://tinyurl.com/ykoaxt ). This boat has 
been listed for sale on yachtworld for 2 to 3 years. The original price 
was $23,000. It was lowered about about 14 months ago to its current 
price of $15,000. It is listed as having been built in 1968. It has 
wheel steering; I don't know if this OEM or not (BTW, how difficult is 
it to change it back to a tiller?) The "improvements" and  "upgrades" 
pictured strike me as downgrades and "unimprovements", if you will. The 
one big advantage I to this boat is I can "customize" (i.e. galley 
upgrades as talked about in the recent "oven installation" thread) it to 
my needs without worrying about ruining its resale value. There was 
another A30 for sale during this time period on the same lake that went 
up for sale and was sold fairly quickly (in less than 8 months).

Here is what the broker has told me so far (I have not any way been able 
to confirm any of this yet):
1) The boat has been in fresh water for at least 12 or 13 years, 
probably longer maybe as long as 15 or 20 years
2) He doesn't know the hull #. He thinks at the last survey of this boat 
could have been as long ago as 15 years ago; he hasn't seen any survey 
for it.
3) He doesn't know the condition of the engine. AFAIK, it could have as 
long as a couple of years since the engine has even been started. I am 
going to assume the engine will need A LOT work, if not even a new engine.
4) The hull, deck, and spars are in good shape. The boat is in the water 
and the bilges are dry.
5) He doesn't know the age of the rigging or sails. The standing rigging 
is good shape, though it and the sails could be original to the boat.
6) He said it is for sale for the "right price", intimating that the 
boat could go for very much less than the list price

I invite any comments any of the above (the quoted post, or the boat 
itself) and, in particular, what to look for in an A30 in this condition 
that  could be either a deal breaker or indicate a real steal. Has this 
boat ever been the subject of discussion on the list and I somehow 
missed it?

I often times hear people say to be wary of "project" boats because even 
if they are a "good deal" the coast of fixing them can exceed the price 
of buying one that is in good shape. Does anybody have any good rules of 
thumb, if you will, about how to judge this? I have more time than 
money. Should I have this boat surveyed before closing on it regardless 
of how much I pay for it?

To be frank, I can't see myself offering more than $5000 to $7000 (and 
maybe even a lot less) for this boat given what little I know about it 
at this time. I can easily see have to sink $5000 to $15000 into this boat.

Thanks and sorry for the very, very long post,
Sam Stone