Choosing a boat: Albacore

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Albacore

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: General
Forum Name: Choosing a boat
Forum Discription: Ask any questions about the sport!
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8152
Printed Date: 06 Aug 25 at 3:35am
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Topic: Albacore

Posted By: rich96
Subject: Albacore
Date Posted: 14 Aug 11 at 11:30am

Hi All

I am seriously considering buying an Albacore as a second boat - mostly for club racing and possibly some opens or local regattas etc.

I dont want to spend a huge amount of time on maintenance but have always loved the all vanished hulls.

With modern epoxy and vanishes is it still a really major job looking after a wooden hull and can they be left out (under a cover of course) in winter ?

For my budget the choices seem to be a 5 - 6 year old Speed plastic boat or late 1980s woodie.

Any advice would be great - plus any general hints for buying.

Cheers

Rich

Replies:

Posted By: kurio99
Date Posted: 16 Aug 11 at 12:12am

Plastic seems like such a ugly term. Fiberglass is light weight and very easily repaired. You can stow it behind some weeds and decades later, give it a good buff to bring back the shine. We like to reserve the word 'plastic' for the rotomolded boats.

Yes, wood is beautiful but I see the guys sanding and varnishing these things every couple of years. There are going to be places with little to no air circulation, where it's going to be a constant battle against rot. In the winter, under a tarp, damp ground, and no air circulation may increase your chances of rot. I find that tarps are not always 100% effective - they sometimes trap a bit a dampness where they lie against the thing that you are protecting. Rot can move pretty quick.

The best of both worlds would seem to be a hybrid (see JJ Boats, http://www.jjboats.co.uk/boats/albacore) where the hull is fiberglass and the deck is wood. You don't have to worry about leaks from rot and the deck is less likely to experience problems from rot than the hull. The hull is the part that takes the beating, so the easy repair nature of fiberglass helps there.

Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 16 Aug 11 at 8:33am

The main thing about wooden boats is that you have to pick up on minor problems before they become major ones. But if you do that they'll easily outlast plastic and won't need that much work. You just have to do it as soon as it needs it, not postpone it until you have a free weekend and suddenly its 8 weeks later... Frost is the big enemy so you need to have made sure every last bit of wood is protected before the serious cold starts. Other than that, leave the hatches open, get in the habit of leaving the end of the mainsheet looped out through the bungs to let water wick away and you will be fine.

Posted By: patj
Date Posted: 16 Aug 11 at 6:49pm

I know one of the eighties woodies currently up for sale has been very carefully looked after and garaged every winter and cost the owner a considerable sum and lots of sanding and varnishing time to keep it in good condition.

Unlike our plastic one which just sat out in the garden!

The class website has a number of boats for sale at present, including composites.

Posted By: Ruscoe
Date Posted: 17 Aug 11 at 3:01pm

Jim is right, Make sure you get a good quality breathable cover and if its an all varnished one try and get a cover with a longer skirt to protect from UV. Woofs, Kingsfields and late youngs are the hulls to have when it comes to wood. Although a boat builder friend and Albacore sailor says that the cascamite used to glue the wooden boats is now starting to fail (he repairs and varnishes lots of the wooden fleet in the area), its not a problem repairing, but can be laborous. I think there were build problems with the Speed boats, but i should imagine if they have got this far, tey will be sorted by now. The new Ovi boats look sweet and the JJ/GT racind composite Alb (ovi hull) that Mark Fowler and James Jarvey have devloped is a super slick peice of kit, very nice. My brother used to have an old Porter Albacore, its still at our club and still going as quick as the woof's we have their, it holds its own at opens and is very well made.

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Posted By: timeintheboat
Date Posted: 17 Aug 11 at 5:05pm

Good to see that there are some Albs on the market again. I looked a few months ago and there was nothing. There looks some good stuff there now.
Heart says wood is good, head says plastic.
Time to take the tape measure to the garage. I am seriously considering one despite one sail to few as they do appear to be a formidable weight carrier. How comfortable for the crew in the light stuff (I will be asked!)

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Like some other things - sailing is more enjoyable when you do it with someone else