Albin Vega

[DanC]

Ok, the plan was to research this fall and winter and buy a Cape Dory 27 in winter-early spring. WEll... I have found a deal on a 1972 Albin Vega reported to be in decent shape for less than $7000. It has a 2 cylinder Universal diesel with under 1000 hours on it. I explained to the boat yard selling it that this really wasn't the right time of year etc and an offer of free slip/land storage for 6 months was thrown in. So let's assume it is in decent shape, is this a bad idea? I belive almost everyone will agree the Cape Dory is a better looking boat, but with the cost saving etc, I am considering it. I am a new sailor with little experience if that helps.

[Jim Walsh]

Not pretty, not bluewater, but they have crossed oceans and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. When I was in high school I often wished I had one so I could escape to the south seas. They were heavily advertised in their day and touted as a capable coastal cruiser.

[Russell]

I would disagree that an Albin Vega is "not bluewater". As far as small bluewater cruisers go, it is well known for its abilities. How it was advertised has nothing to do with what it can do. Most smaller Cape Dorys were advertised as coastal cruisers too.

No, its not pretty like a CD. But certainly a very good boat. Ultimately you can only decide if it is the right boat for you though.

[Dick Kobayashi]

I think, but am not certain, that the AV is in John Vigor's "Twenty Small Sailboats That Will Take You Anywhere" My copy is not at hand at my present location. Check the specs against a CD 27 and CD 25D. It had a rep as a strong and capable sailing boat. I'd consider it seriously as a first and perhaps last boat - if the survey comes out well.

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[Joe Myerson]

Dick's right, the Vega is in John V's book.

It's also the vessel featured in the weird, wonderful book "Berserk," which describes the insane voyage of three nearly suicidal guys across the Blake Passage to Antartica (and back for two of them). The boat had already taken its Norwegian owner from Trondheim to Tiera del Fuego.

That's pretty good evidence of these boats' seaworthiness, as far as I'm concerned.

--Joe

[DanC]

I will go by and take a look on Saturday. I'd planned to get a Cape Dory, and was even looking at the larger sizes, 27-31, but the price on the Albin Vega seems to be tough to pass by, especially for a newer sailor. By the way, and I may need to post this in a separate thread, any thought as to the size of boat for a first boat? I like the size and potential comfort of some of the larger sizes, but I always here how much better it is to have a smaller boat as a first boat.
Thanks
Dan

[Neil Gordon]

... any thought as to the size of boat for a first boat?

My 28 was my first boat and I never felt overwhelmed by its size. If you can sail a sunfish, nothing in the 25-33 size range should be beyond your capabilities.

[tmsc]

Dan,

We had a Vega for 7 years that we pretty much rebuilt. She was a darn good boat and we both loved it. In fact the wife still misses her. The Vega when new was tauted as the budget minded mans' bluewater cruiser, and one held the record for the fastest transatlantic passage for its size for a while too. Class racing was also promoted for the boat as well, so they are pretty much all the same unless it has been owner modified.

When you get to tearing into the boat you will find that some rather innovative , for the time, ideas went into them. The hulls are solid frp. Nothing fancy just chop mat and roving. The deck and superstructure on the other hand are cored with closed cell foam (Divinycell) and mahogany in compression areas.

Well I am not going to bore everyone else with the construction details etc. If you have any questions let me know, and I'll be glad to try to answer. Just send me a PM.

Since you are shopping, you may also want to add the Older (early 70's) Contests' like the 31 to your list. They are good boats as well and really innovative for the time. If you do look at the older Contests though don't be fooled by the way the decks feel underfoot or believe that the deck is delaminating from the core. Their decks feel a little springy because there is no core. They are solid frp so a bit of flexibility is to be expected. You won't have to worry about core issues though.

To close, I would have taken our Vega just about anywhere without reservation, so IMHO you could do far worse.



Good hunting.

[KDreese]

I believe John Neal (runs the Mahina Expeditions offshore sailing school on a Hallberg Rassy 46 - he has A LOT of bluewater experience) sailed from the west coast to the south pacific in an Ablin Vega. He wrote a book about it "Log of the Mahina". I believe he had issues with the forward bulkhead/compression post collapsing but it was repaired while he was over there.

http://www.mahina.com/books.html


Their site - also includes a nice list of bluewater cruising boats with their impressions of them:

http://www.mahina.com/

[DanC]

Thanks for the link. I looked it over and found a lot of information to go over. I am worried that I might quickly want more room than the Vega offers, but I am not worried about the seaworthiness of her.
Thanks again
Dan