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

[George Dinwiddie]

Rachel,

That's a pretty good synopsis.  Close enough to give a good feel.

I'd just like to add that the chainplate attachments are a problem in 
all the boats, and the bolts should be upgraded to 5/16" or doubled in 
number (and don't use fully-threaded bolts).  Sometimes the knees should 
be given attention, too.

Also, while they should mostly be gone, watch out for Whitby's "home 
made" 3/4" through-hulls.  They were a two-piece design made from pipe 
and washer--a very dangerous boat-sinker.

  - George

Rachel wrote:
> 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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-- 
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   When I remember bygone days                         George Dinwiddie
   I think how evening follows morn;            gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
   So many I loved were not yet dead,           http://www.Alberg30.org
   So many I love were not yet born.
                'The Middle' by Ogden Nash
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