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Old 29-04-2014, 14:35   #1
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Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

Perhaps there are dreamers reading this forum and thinking they could find a project boat, refit it in their spare time on a budget, quit their job and become a liveaboard or even take off over the horizon in their classic plastic. I thought my Cal was in bad shape when I found her, but in retrospect she was a 5.5/10 and this Alberg is maybe a 2 (given bonus points for a recently rebuilt diesel.)

The Sailing Channel did a segment about a group of guys restoring an Alberg 30. This one is now priced at $1000 (its owner moved out of state and is desperate- has been dropping the price $500 per week.) Late 60's Alberg 30 with a Volvo diesel rebuilt three years ago. The rest of it is rough, very rough. It looks like she rubbed against a piling during a storm, and may have even sank in her slip judging by the look of the interior. The deck stepped mast repair is not professional, there is no companionway slider- just a tarp, the wood trim may or may not be salvageable, the cockpit floor is a little soft, the interior may need to be gutted- but there are newish sails and a diesel. It would be sad to see her go into a landfill but it would be a lot of work to get this old girl back to usefulness. I've already rescued an old house, an old car, an old Cal and a Yorkie in the last three years...

But it might be fun to park her at the farm (jack stands are included!) then tear her apart and put her back together again. Maybe a year or two of hard work and $5K worth of supplies and she would be a $15K boat for when I am up north! I think that works out to $2.50 per hour for my labor, which is probably about right ha.
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Old 29-04-2014, 14:44   #2
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

I've been playing boat for almost 40 years and have taken on a few projects in that time. Some minor, some major. The common wisdom offered by old hands is any boat project will take twice and long and cost twice as much as you estimate. I have proven it to myself more that once.

Too bad to see a nice boat go but it looks trashed. The only way this might even make the slightest amount of sense. You are dead broke poor, homeless, have lots of skills and time, no job and no prospects of getting a job, access to tools and cheap materials and you don't give a shirt about quality or looks and will slap together an interior using leftover pine 2X4s from the scrap heap.
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Old 29-04-2014, 14:45   #3
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

More pictures, I think the stays are attached to the spreader with electrical tape.
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Old 29-04-2014, 15:27   #4
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

Where is she sitting now?
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Old 01-05-2014, 18:33   #5
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

If you can buy it for $1000 and invest $15000 in materials (don't kid yourself about scavaging...you won't find sheets of marine plywood and swage terminals at the neighbors garage sale) along with 2000hrs of free labour (20hrs/week for 2 years) you will have a boat worth about $15K when you finish. In other words, you will pay $1000 for the priviledge of being covered in epoxy until 2017.

"...5k in supplies..." - you will spend 5k on tinned wire....


I've done this, gutted a boat to the keel bolts and headliner....ribs, bulkheads, wiring, plumbing, cabinetry etc etc etc...I learned about 9 trades, but lost a fortune.

Maybe a an old boat with some history and 'pedigree' might be worth it, but most fibreglass boats of that era are easily found for a reasonable price in decent condition.
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Old 01-05-2014, 20:29   #6
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

Don't do it... Step away from the boat, turn around, start walking and don't look back.
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Old 01-05-2014, 20:45   #7
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenomac View Post
Don't do it... Step away from the boat, turn around, start walking and don't look back.
I'm with Kenomac on this.

Every boat refit I've done, as an earlier post mentioned, has cost me EXACTLY twice what I estimated in time and money - and this is after I already doubled my first estimates!!!

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Old 01-05-2014, 21:15   #8
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

My apologies for enjoying this forum so much and contributing so little but as a fan of these boats I thought I'd chime in, for what its worth. As a maritime museum director I take care of, restore, and build old boats for a living. How old? The operational historical ships range between 100 and 150 years old, replica ships average about 30, and we are currently building a 16th century Spanish galleon from scratch, so quite a range. Here's my two cents:

If you want what every one else considers a perfect Alberg 30, then the cheapest way to own one is to buy one that is already perfect and spend a lot of money perfecting it further. If you want to make your own version of a perfect Alberg 30, expect to relish every minute, but you don't fancy starting with a set of plans, some rolls of fiberglass and drums of resin, then the perfect boat for you is the one which is the closest to being gutted already, which looks to be the boat your looking at, and plan to spend a lot of money in that form of recreation. Just because some people get paid to restore and repair old boats doesn't mean that its not something fun enough to do on your own time. If you get it for next to nothing, invest a lot of money and then sell it for next to nothing, what's the harm if that money was spent for something rewarding? No need reminding you that your not going to be reimbursed for sailing it either, even though some people get paid to sail boats too.
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Old 01-05-2014, 21:52   #9
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

I'll go one set further and tell you how your project will end should you decide to "rescue the Alberg."

I purchased a 140 year old downtown mansion 17 years ago that was totally dilapitated... Needed everything, but I bought if for next to nothing figuring... How could I go wrong? I had vision, energy.... I'd do most of the work myself.

We'll... 17 years later, $800,000 spent plus tens of thousands of personal labor hours later, I now have the nicest house on the block. But the trouble is... It's surrounded by other cheap, crappy houses that haven't been renovated, so on a very good day... Maybe the house would sell for $600k. I'm totally upside down, as you will be if you buy the boat. Sure everyone comments on what a nice house we live in, but nobody in their right mind would ever pay me anywhere near what I have into it. Do I have regrets? You becha.

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Old 01-05-2014, 22:40   #10
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

Honestly, owners walk away from better boats than this. There is absolutely no upside potential, here. If the owner gave it to you, you should refuse it.
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Old 01-05-2014, 22:48   #11
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

I'm with squarerigger. It is entirely a matter of what your criteria are. If you like spending your time fixing up a old classic and spending more than its worth to go through that process, then go for it. There is no doubt that owning and sailing a boat that you have brought back from the grave and have essentially rebuilt from the keel up is hugely rewarding.

That said I do think people here are being generous saying it will take twice as long as you think. Unless you have all the required skills and have done all of the necessary work before, it will probably take 3-4x as long as you think.

On the other hand, if what you want is a nice boat for cheap then this is not the boat for you. No one ever gets back the money they put into a boat unless it's unique or a rare classic, and even that's chancy. You're not going to turn that into a $15k boat with $5k in materials regardless of the contribution of your time.
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Old 02-05-2014, 05:56   #12
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

In time and materials it isn't worth it. I also agree that the estimations should be 2x for slack.

The retort is the reward that you will know every nut and bolt in your boat.
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Old 02-05-2014, 06:13   #13
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

I cannot imagine viewing any boat as an investment in any way shape or form. If you like doing the work, its rewarding. If not, fagettaboutit.
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Old 02-05-2014, 06:31   #14
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

I would personally walk away. The Alberg 30 is a beautiful boat but that level of rebuild isn't for me at my current stage of life. If someone has the free time and proper skills then great but I think most would run not walk away especially in the boat market today.
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Old 02-05-2014, 06:45   #15
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Re: Alberg 30, Project or Landfill?

Scrap metal for salvage--aluminum and maybe iron or lead...bronze?....possibly an engine that could fetch ...ohh maybe a thousand if it was not underwater and it runs....perhaps a few winches or some hardware worth a few bucks..maybe some copper wire worth a hundred bucks or so....take the now scavenged hull and plop it in the ground near a seafood restaurant to attract customers and grow some pretty flowers out of it...hey--I'm just trying to make the best of a bad situation...there are sooo many other boats out there worth pursuing....the many oracles of cruisers forum have spoken..... now go there into the night...
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