Alberg 30 Refit: Mast Support Beam & An Unexpected Tent Shelter Repair

Happy Easter to all!

I've been delinquent in posting perhaps, but there has been plenty of work going on. The weather has been a factor lately too. February/March are typically the worst months for weather and that held true this year. Although it has been unusually warmer, the mild days have been sporadic and not really consistent enough to start any epoxy or fiberglass work.

We had a severe line of thunderstorms that came through toward the end of February and caused quite a bit of damage to my boat shelter. I feel fortunate that this is all that happened because no more than 30 miles to the west several people were killed by tornadoes from those same storms.

After assembling the tent I knew that it would have to be secured by straps or it would be blown away. I intentionally did not design it as a permanent structure so I could avoid problems with the city code inspector. For over a year and through several storms it has worked quite well...until recently. This failed strap is what I believe caused my tent damage. At its worst, the storm winds kicked up to near-hurricane speeds for for a brief 10-15 min window. It was during this period that the strap broke.

This picture was taken the next day, after I had already moved the tent off the house. During the storm, once the strap broke the tent became airborne...or at least tried to. In an effort to move to the next town over, the tent bent and twisted the front half of the structure supports and buttressed up against the side of the house. It caused some minor damage to my gutters which was not too big a deal. The damage was minimal and could be repaired.  I will note that even with the failed strap, our Sal was kept dry for the most part. It took me a few days to get the bent pieces replaced and I am happy to report the tent is back up and stronger than before.

The boat refit is coming along slowly. I have been gathering pieces and making a plan but execution of said plan has been a bit lacking. Work and side projects have been taking up a ton of time as I have been running the ferry both days of every weekend to generate money for more boat parts. A valid excuse when one is refitting a boat on a budget. As the weather warms up I will have both the funds and the time to pick up speed...at least that's the plan.

Lately I've been working on the deck beam and now have it ready to go back together.

Here is the deck beam on my "Liner" Alberg 30 all sanded and awaiting additional support. 

I will lay new layers of 1708 biaxial cloth in these low spots before bolting in beam reinforcement.

Looking to the port side of the beam; not as many low spots but still a few.

Here is the new plate that will be the back bone of the reinforcement and repair.

I am using this router table to help shape the piece of 3/8 G10 board.

A nice 1/4 rounded edge, this stuff works just like wood.

New piece clamped into place for a test fit.

After plate is mounted I will add a 3" wide beam aft of it. This beam will support the aft part of the mast step.

The beam will be made of 8 pieces of 1/8" thick G10 laminated together to form the new beam. That gap seen is caused by the deflection in the cabin top from original damage. I was advised to leave the deflection and just build the new support off of it. The gap will be filled with 406 thickened epoxy.

Same gap to port

Once all of it is epoxied in place I will make gussets from the face of the original beam to the new bottom of the laminated beam.

If you are unclear about the repair stay tuned, I hope to have it done in the next few weeks and I will post pics of process and product as it comes together. Once the repairs belowdecks are complete I will begin the topsides of the mast step. Once I get  the mast step back together I will pick up on deck re-coring. Much work to do but looking forward to it.

Thank you for following!

Repowering our Old Alberg 30?

During our refit I have given some thought to perhaps repowering our Alberg 30 with a new propulsion system. It's not that the one we have is not adequate, it is just old. Why not replace Sal's Atomic 4 while she's here at the house?

Here is a picture of the Atomic 4 that we have now. She is still a very good engine, but it's old technology and uses quite a bit of fuel, not a good option for cruising beyond America. She was rebuilt back in 2008 by A4 gurus at Moyer Marine, and hasn't really been any trouble for us. 

(picture from Betamarine.com)

Here is what I would like to put into our Alberg 30, a Beta 14 Diesel. This engine uses probably 1/3 the fuel of the Atomic 4, and diesel on a sailboat is safer than gasoline. So why not? Well, the $8,000 price tag. That's about 5000 extra reasons why this will not be at the top of the list.

(picture from starmarineinc.com)

Next consideration is the outboard. While not exactly designed to push a boat of Sal's size, in calm water it does just fine. I have seen several cost-conscious cruisers with boats similar to ours using this option. It frees up space on the inside of the boat and uses about 2/3 the fuel of our current system.

(picture from Thunderstruck.com)

Next there is electric power. I really like this option for some reason. No more fuel costs other than batteries (every 5-6 yrs). This system's only draw back is range. The large battery bank needed to supply a decent range is just not practical on a boat of our size. But let's face it, our Alberg is a sailboat...how much should we be motoring anyway?

These are our choices and I am still doing the research on each. Each option has its pros and cons and I will be weighing them out here on the blog during the coming months.

What are your thoughts on powering a sailboat?

Alberg 30 trailer nearing completion, Alberg 30 Salacia first sail of 2014

In the last post we were in the middle of a great weekend. Saturday night we went to an amazing concert, Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band. It was a spectacular display of pure musicianship, the band had so many talented musicians. They rocked for 3 hours straight! The following day we went sailing. 80 degrees, sunny and a good breeze out of the south made for a great first sail of 2014. We tacked back and forth just outside the inlet for 3 hours, it was much fun and more importantly...very relaxing.

First Mate enjoying the sail. 

We took it easy and just flew the large genoa. It was enough to push Sal along at 3-4 knots all afternoon. I am hoping to make 1 or 2 more sails before taking her out of the water. I'd like to sail out to the Chesapeake Light, about 12 miles offshore. We'll see if time allows....it should, aren't we the ones setting the schedule? In the meantime I am working on a video of our sail. I am practicing with some video editing software so it is taking me a while.

Progress on the trailer continues slowly but surely. All that is left is the wiring. 

A shot from the back just before installing the rear lights. 

I will be adding 4 additional supports to hold Sal in place, but this will be done at the boat yard with Sal still in the slings resting lightly on the trailer.

All the front clearance lights and DOT reflective tape installed. Really breaks up that black paint nicely.

Another side shot showing the tongue of the trailer all painted and ready to go.

This trailer is long, nearly 30 ft long. First Mate's classy 'Stang at the end there : )

Here is the wiring...yeah... it's a mess. I am  just beginning to tackle it. In the picture you can see I installed the new brake controller (top left); this unit will apply the brakes should the trailer break away from the tow vehicle. It is a safety requirement, and so there it is. 

Another shot of wiring spaghetti that I will have to sort out over the next few days. Once the wiring is completed the trailer will be ready.

All in all we are progressing along nicely and working to get Sal home so we can start her refit. I am beginning to give thought to all the areas and items that need to be addressed. It's nice to be able to turn my attention to something else. Stay tuned: there will be a boat on the trailer soon!

Beautiful weekend-In progress

The last few days the weather here has been great, nearly perfect! I finished all of the welding on the trailer and finally applied some paint to most of it. I was only able to paint the front half but its getting there. This Alberg 30 trailer will soon have an Alberg 30 sailboat on it.

Here is what our Alberg 30 trailer project looks like this am, starting to come together

We went to an absolutely great Bruce Springsteen concert last night, one of the best performances I've ever seen. The E Street band was amazing. They played for 3 hrs straight. It was well worth the money. Today WE ARE GOING SAILING!!!! It is going to be close to 80 degrees and there will be a nice southerly breeze. Check back for pictures and a sailing report

There she is! This Alberg 30 will be our new home and take us on a journey to true freedom.