[Public-List] Alberg 30 or Triton?

[Rachel]

On Jul 1, 2010, at 8:59 AM, C.B. Currier wrote:
> ...
> 1. the Triton is a nice Carl Alber designed boat - but compared to  
> the Alberg 30 it was not built as well.

To be fair, I don't think any of our "family budget" coastal/racer/ 
cruisers of the era were built all that well.  They were built with  
semi-skilled (to be generous) labor, with resin rich, polyester  
layups, and to a price.

To their credit, they are nice designs and have lasted much longer  
than anyone probably expected them to.

I did enough work on my A-30 to see how it was built, and I have  
looked at many A-30s and also Tritons - some in the middle of projects  
and so "laid bare," so to speak.  I don't see anything that would make  
me say one was better built than the other.  Neither were  
masterpieces, and both had good and bad points compared to the other.   
For example (with the "better" boat listed first in each example):

1) Triton, lead ballast; A-30 iron ballast.
2) A-30 masonite deck (early); Triton, balsa (poorly sealed; not that  
there is anything inherently wrong with balsa).
3) Triton, fiberglassed hull-to-deck joint; A-30 bolted hull-to-deck  
joint that is prone to leaks at toerail bolts.
4) Triton, ballast pig either externally bolted or internal and well  
sealed from bilge; A-30, ballast pig not well sealed from bilge.
5) Triton (all but latest) bronze large port frames; A-30, aluminum  
large port frames.
6) A-30 top opening sail lockers in cockpit; Triton (early only) side  
opening lockers.

I could go on but I think this gives the idea.  Basically, in my  
opinion, the layups are very similar if not the same.  Then there are  
good and bad details in each of the builds, and they flip-flop a bit  
as the boats go through model year changes.  I don't see the A-30  
coming out either way above or way below the Triton in build quality.   
The A-30 is a bit roomier, but that isn't part of build quality.

I chose an A-30 and really liked it, but I also looked at Tritons.  In  
the end I chose the boat in the best condition that fit my intended  
use and budget.  It happened to be an A-30 at that moment in time (and  
I did have a use for the extra room in the A-30, but that's not really  
part of this conversation).

Rachel
ex-#221




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