[Public-List] Alberg shopping (was Hope Island RacingConference)

[Rachel]

Hi Peter,

Sounds like you're pretty familiar with boats - Contessa... Mmmm!  I 
guess maybe you'd like to stand up for a change though :D

First of all, there are two "generations" of A-30s, in addition to a 
few "transitional" boats that were made between Generation I and 
Generation II boats.

They're both the same boat, but there are a few differences.  Here are 
a few highlights:

Gen I --- Hull #1 - #380-ish?
"Stick built" furniture - that is, the bulkheads, etc. are wood 
(laminate faced in the earliest boats) and are tabbed directly to the 
hull and deck.  The sole is wooden and is built upon wooden floors, 
etc.

The hull deck joint is comprised of an inward-turning flange on the 
hull capped off by a flat deck, and the works is resined and  bolted 
together with the same bolts that hold the teak toerail on.  I'd say 
they're spaced at about 3-1/2" to 4" apart.  The toerail is something 
like a vertical 1" x 2" profile.

The decks are double cored with Masonite (pegboard).  That is, it's a 
fiberglass/Masonite/fiberglass/Masonite/fiberglass construction (from 
what I've read - haven't seen inside myself).  The coring stops 
(mostly) short of where the stanchions etc. attach which has helped 
reduce the incidence of deck-core-saturation  problems.  Also the 
Masonite seems less prone to that than balsa (although I suppose it 
must be heavier what with all those resin filled holes). The decks 
drain directly overboard through cutouts in the toerails.

Rudder is either wooden planks with drift pins (earliest), or solid 
fiberglass with brass reinforcing (middle).  Not sure if there was a 
third evolution on the Gen I boats. No rudder stuffing box.

Hardware seems to be mostly chromed bronze, with some stainless.  The 
stem fitting is chromed bronze with a teak pad beneath it. The cockpit 
lockers and companionway and lazarette hatches are all wooden.  The 
forehatch is wood-framed with a clear panel for the top. Large, fixed 
ports are aluminum.  Smaller ports may or may not be opening (or a 
combination thereof, as opening were optional one-by-one). There's a 
deck hatch in the cockpit that leads to an "upright" icebox down below.

Belowdecks, the overhead is faired and painted glass.  There is a 
central aisleway, with a laminated wood beam that supports the mast, in 
conjunction with the plywood bulkheads. Water tank is integral 
fiberglass in the bow area under the v-berth.

Original engines:  Early Graymarine gas; later Atomic Four.

Gen II  Hull #40x-ish - to the end (#7xx?)
Note that I have a Gen I boat, so if I get any of this wrong, please 
someone correct me.
Gen II boats have an interior liner.  The bulkheads slot into the 
liner.  The sole is flat sections of ply that fit onto the molded sole 
liner.  Furniture itself is still wood though.

The hull deck joint incorporates a fiberglass bulwark, at the top of 
which the hull and deck overlap and are riveted together  (along with 
sealant and (perhaps some bolts?).  There is a teak cap on top of the 
bulwark (the whole thing is about as tall as the wooden toerail on the 
Gen I boats).

The decks are cored with balsa.  I think it may run all the way out to 
the edge, but I'm not sure. The deck drains inboard, through holes to 
scuppers.

Rudder is foam-filled fiberglass, with internal reinforcement.  There 
is a rudder stuffing box (?)

Hardware I'm not sure on.  Perhaps more aluminum?  The stem fitting is 
all metal (type?) and incorporates chocks. Cockpit locker lids are a 
bit longer, and are molded fiberglass with decorative wooden inserts.  
They have deeper gutters than the Gen I lids.  Forehatch is molded 
fiberglass (with an opaque/clear center?).  Companionway hatch is 
wooden (?).  Lazarette hatch is...? Large, fixed ports are aluminum.  
Smaller..??

Belowdecks, the icebox is a flat "counter style."  Over head is a 
molded fiberglass liner.  The mast beam is metal and is somehow 
integrated into the overhead (?) Water tank under V-berth --- integral 
glass with an aluminum top??

Original Engines:  Early maybe Atomic Four and later... diesel?

Transitional boats  Hull #380-ish to #40x?
  - incorporate some of the features of both.  New deck style, new 
cockpit locker lids, but no interior liner...

Things to look for (besides the obvious common to all boats, all wood, 
all glass, etc.):

Gen I specific:
Leaks where toe-rail fastens through deck (through the fasteners - not 
the actual joint that I know of).
Mast beam delamination (often repaired with aluminum sister plates or 
other methods).
Forward chain plate bolts (were threaded all the way through instead of 
having shoulders). (Is this on Gen II also?)

Gen II specific:
Can anyone fill this in?
Wetness in balsa cored decks.

Other:
The iron ballast does not seem to have caused too many problems.  It's 
set in a kind of cement aggregate.  It does bear checking, as the top 
of the ballast does not seem to have been well sealed from the factory 
(mostly resin with a thin layer of glass or mat), but again, people do 
not seem to have had many real problems with it (granted lead would 
have been nice).

At least on Gen I there is a small, filled in "sump" area behind the 
ballast pig (i.e. from the heel fitting forward about two feet).  This 
is not a structural issue, but maybe something to check as it has the 
potential to have been permeated by bilge water or oil, etc.  At least 
on Gen I boats, it's filled in with the same cementitious material that 
the ballast was set in, along with a "spacer" of wood, and with an 
unreinforced resin pour over the top. So the bilge is one long 
continuous slope from front to back. It's definitely deep under the 
engine (ask me how I know).

I hope this helps.  I've certainly missed things.  And I'm not as 
knowledgeable on the Gen II boats, although surely others will pipe in.

Happy shopping!

Rachel
#221


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