albin ballad

[Malcolml]

I would like to know owners impressions of the Albin Ballad as from the reports I have read, it could be what I am looking to buy. I would be particularly interested in a contact name and phone number/e-mail address in the class association. Are there any for sale in the UK?

 

[stevebirch2002]

The Ballad does not have an owners club but quite a few belong to the Albin Vega Club. They are lovely boats, fin keeled and sail well. Not a lot of room for a 30 foot yacht. I can put you in contact with a few owners if you email me at

steve@albinvega.com

Albin Vega "Southern Comfort" V1703

 

[walter]

Malcolm they are an excellent boat and at a very reasonable price, they sail extremely well and will look after you in a good blow. Several have made transatlantic trips and they usually do well in longer races, one that I know of has circumnavigated the world. I have owned one for 14 years now and am more than happy with it. What Steve said about there being no owners association is not true there is an English Ballad asociation although not widely publicised as yet but there are plans to set up a website pretty soon, also several in Sweden, Denmark and Holland the Swedish ass has a good website http://hem.spray.se/balladklubben/ well worth a look. You can contact the British owners association through the secretary Charles Gurney Tel. No 01752 863373 or E-Mail at charlesgurney@aol.com
If you need any more help please dont hesitate to mail me, hope you find a nice one.

 

[Malcolml]

Steve,

Thank you for your reply. It would indeed be helpfull if you could put me in touch with some owners of the Albin Ballad, who could advise me on their sailing characteristics on and off the wind and the ergonomics of their interior layout.

My e-mail address is joe@hinton4.freeserve.co.uk

Regards

Malcolm Lyon

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[Malcolml]

Steve,

Thank you for your reply. It would indeed be helpfull if you could put me in touch with some owners of the Albin Ballad, who could advise me on their sailing characteristics on and off the wind and the ergonomics of their interior layout.

My e-mail address is joe@hinton4.freeserve.co.uk

Regards

Malcolm Lyon

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[Malcolml]

Walter,

Thank you for your reply. I have heard that the Ballad sails very well to windward and can make ground in very heavy conditions. What is its off wind performance like with and without a spinnaker. Does it have a similar pinched stern typical of Half Ton Cup class boats of the era. How stable is the boat when sailing down wind in a moderate to rough sea?
Down below what is the headroom, and to what extent if any does it reduce towards the forecabin. What is the arrangement in the heads.
As you will gather, I need to see an example of this yacht but to date in my tours of Brokers in the UK I have yet to find one for sale.
Since I live in Gloucestershire and Charles Gurney lives in Plymouth from his phone number, I will contact him and see if there is anyone willing to show me over theirs.

Regards

Malcolm Lyon

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[30boat]

There is one for sale in www.yachtfractions.co.uk

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[yoda]

Take a serious look at the boats in Holland, Denmark and Sweden as theye are often the better ones. Well worth talking to some owners and a lot are in the West Country. Nationals are in Plymouth over the late May bank holiday. The Ballad does sail well and gives the Contessa 32 a good run for it's money.

Yoda

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[Guest]

I'm an ex-ballad owner. Lovely boat, get one from scandanavia NOT the UK. All the UK ones are rather elderly.

Be very careful when inspecting the bulkheads. Albin had a daft system for bulkhead construction. Instead of glassing them in on a top hat section, they bolted the bulkhead onto a flange. Needless to say, the bolts work loose. I've seem the same problem on other Albin built boats.

The mast step needs careful examination too. Steel encapsulated in glass, add bilgewater and the resulting corrosion spalls the glass away.

I know, my ballad suffered structural failure in the 2001 Fastnet and Navigators & General didn't cough up. Sold her as a restoration project for £ 5,000. She had
£ 8000 worth of sails......

I'll give you chapter and verse. mike_wilczynski@hotmail.com



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