[Public-List] Looking at an Alberg 30, wondering what the consensus is...

[John Birch]

Hi Steve,

The cracking you refer to at the mast step is not apparent in the pictures. 
If it is the glass, it is likely due to water ingress into the coring. This 
can be confirmed with a moisture test of the decks and mast step.

Are the step and deck deflected downward ?

Pulling a bolt might give you a look see, the core should be golden in 
colour and not black. However, it won't tell you if the coring is getting 
damp.

I would strongly recommend buying a moisture meter so that you can presurvey 
a boat to determine whether you wish to retain a surveyor for a more 
rigorous full survey and the attendant additional expense, rather than just 
hiring a surveyor right off the bat. The advantage of having your own meter 
is that you can presurvey a number of boats and only have to hire a surveyor 
for the most likely good candidate boat. Plus it will be around for years to 
come to monitor any water ingress into you decks and hull.

The cost of a good meter is about the cost of a survey $200-300.

There are several on the market.

A 600 series A-30 will have balsa coring, not sure when they stopped making 
masonitte cored decks, suspect 1967-68. Those decks are almost 
indestructible though they often have mast beam issues of delamination, 
which is a much cheaper issue to solve and the Chesapeake guys have Aluminum 
Retrofit Beams available for purchase or can get you a template for 
fabrication at a local shop.

I bought a Meter before buying A-37 Sunstone and have never regretted doing 
so. Figure it saved me a fortune in rejected surveys.

Hope this is a help.

Best regards

John

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Wylie" <swylie at uvic.ca>
To: <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 10:07 AM
Subject: [Public-List] Looking at an Alberg 30,wondering what the consensus 
is...


> Hi there,
>
> I am in the process of exploring my options on an Alberg 30, out in West 
> Vancouver, BC. If all goes well and I get the boat, I'll be joining your 
> group.
>
> The boat I am looking at, named "Wings of a Dove", is listed on Yachtworld 
> (Yachtworld boat ID#: YW# 39466-2059396) for CAD$24,900. It is hull number 
> 653. I was looking it over today and took several detail pics. I have 
> posted the pics on flickr, so no major downloading needs to be done. The 
> pics can be seen here:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/36677346@N06/?saved=1
>
> Is anyone out there willing to give feedback on the pics as to what kind 
> of shape it appears to be in? I am not looking for a free survey, I am 
> just wondering if the wear and tear shown in my pictures is to be expected 
> on a vintage '81 boat (I know, still young by Alberg 30 standards) or is 
> there something to be concerned about. If the consensus is that there is 
> nothing too scary, I'll book the surveyor.
>
> Of particular concern is the cracking around the base of the mast, the 
> funny repair job under the stbd galley berth and the leak behind where the 
> radio is mounted. I am not expecting to have to spend no money for 
> maintenance/repairs, but I want to know ahead of time if I am getting in 
> over my head.
>
> Thanks for forwarding this to anyone that might be interested in giving me 
> their two bits.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Stephen Wylie
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