Albin Ballad 30 Cruising Upgrades - Part 1 Overview

[@RussClarkRocks]

Excellent walkthrough. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

[@whitecap308]

You guys are doing a great job. It's fun working on old boats. They tend to have their own personality. I'm sure the new owner of this boat will have many years of happiness.

[@RechargeableLithium]

I look forward to seeing the transformation!

[@fargarden]

I like the exceedingly rare humour in referring to skinny Swedes! What a lucky boat owner being able to hand this boat to such a methodical and experienced craftsman - in the certain knowledge that nothing will have been overlooked. Will follow this one with interest.

[@RVP23]

as mentioned in the video, the port bunker is actually 10cm longer than the starboard. So on my Ballad i shortend the port bunker 10cm so its now actually possible to sit behind the chart table

[@svsalacia6495]

Looking forward to seeing the refit.

[@Yeaitstemp]

Hey albin ballad was my first sailboat have a southern cross now

[@Yeaitstemp]

My pic is the ballad aunt bee

[@jayknight850]

Thanks for the tour, interesting build technique, can you see any advantage of the bolted bulkhead, never heard of such. Bet it will sail more balanced moving the batteries aft of keel. Another unusual technique having all that weight forward of the center of effort. As always, watching with interest.

[@atomvoyager]

The only advantage I can think of is it saves labor when building. Bolting to tabs has proved adequate in most cases and is very common on European boats of this era. As you'll see in the next video I have glassed over this joint to improve the strength and make some of them watertight. Bolted bulkheads also tend to squeak when sailing so at the least I would inject some thickened epoxy into any joint gaps.

[@RVP23]

It is actually opposite. The stern on a Ballad has a tendency to dick down in the water as the speed goes up. That slows the boat. When we race the rule is as much weight foreward as possible. Im very happy about the battery placement...easy acces and thats important for me :)

[@chuckwagon7442]

Which jib sheet track do you prefer? Or Brand? I have been looking at the Ronstan, Schaefer, Harken etc etc. I think the Garhauer stuff is priced well. Your thoughts.

[@atomvoyager]

I usually get Garhauer based on price but shipping here from CA is high so best to shop around. I don't see it in their online catalog so you may need to phone them. I don't think any brand is better than the other. I use 1" for under 30' boats and 1.25" for over 30'.

[@roncanizares9966]

Very interesting. Where are you located and do you own a yacht yard?

[@atomvoyager]

We have a work shop and two boat sheds in our backyard in Brunswick, GA that we work from.

[@roncanizares9966]

@@atomvoyager I was pleasantly surprised that the boat was not black inside with mold, as Indiantown is purported to be the "mold capital" of Florida. I have been told that even boat left for just the 4 month hurricane season can often be a real mess.

[@StemtoSternSailing]

If you and the owner take a look at sail life restoration of his former albi ballard "Obelix" you migt get som ideas. This is a very well made boat. Its gonna be a interesting project to follow. Best regards from Jarle

[@superformOG]

At about 2.25 you see a wood cut out, that is covering 2 vent holes, one of those vent holes leads to ducting that feeds the engine with air. I would suggest adding self closing vents to here. The original vents would allow water to enter when heeled over, which is why they probably covered them up. Onlyair vents which are put on halberg rassy boats will just fit and keep the water out.

[@atomvoyager]

Thanks for pointing that out. I have an Aironly vent for my own boat that I plan to install soon and they look like a good solution.

[@superformOG]

@@atomvoyager no problem, there is also a very active Ballad FB group with a lot of info, even a post about that mast step inspection which might have saved you drilling into the resin :)

[@jonshaw4344]

Air-Only vents

[@pmnfernando]

great project

[@tonywrobleski5185]

Thanks

[@rmcnabb]

I really wish you would make your videos available for closed captioning. It seems like very few of them are.

[@atomvoyager]

Thanks for the reminder. I just set up the captions and will try to get it on the others when I have time.

[@pedronunes6932]

Hello, I have a Albin ballad 30 I would like a help in the deck i need a ruber or somethin to avoid entering water by the mast to the interior any sugestions i can help me? Thanks Pedro

[@atomvoyager]

I would use the equivalent of a Spartite kit of pourable rubber compound to seal the gap between mast and coachroof and then cover that with a standard mast deck boot. defender.com/en_us/spartite-2000-mast-wedge

[@pedronunes6932]

Thanks @@atomvoyager

[@pedronunes6932]

@@atomvoyager thanks 🙏🏼

[@volvotango8363]

Are these typical problems with keel stepped masts?

[@atomvoyager]

Most keel-stepped masts have a solid base but there are several model boats with potential rotted wood or corroded steel or just flimsy construction that need repair at some point. Some are easier to inspect than others.

[@volvotango8363]

@@atomvoyager I looked at an I36 that had to have the corroded steal beam at the base of the keel stepped mast replaced with fiberglass. What are the ways in which an keel stepped masts are solidly put in place?

[@volvotango8363]

And thanks for the reply!

[@atomvoyager]

@@volvotango8363 Solid fiberglass directly on top the ballast which is also fiberglassed to the hull is typical. A stainless bracket glassed or bolted in place to spread the loads to hull and keel also works. A hardwood block can work as long as it doesn't sit in bilge water. Or as I found here, a steel bracket that is well galvanized will last decades.

[@robertmcgovern8850]

Glad you scoped that mast step truss! The ungalvanized truss in our 1972 Ballad (hull #18?) was rotted clean thru. I replaced it with a custom-welded 316SS version and didn't pour polyester resin around it, so it will drain and dry. Biggest single issue on these boats. I also epoxied all bolted bulkheads to their tabbing and tabbed the other face to the hull. Looking forward to watching your Li battery solution video!

[@curtishill6490]

She's heavy-duty 😁

[@corneevandam6025]

Hey hello, i'm also an owner of an Albin Ballad and have the same leaking problems between de hull and deck. How are you going to solve this problem?

[@atomvoyager]

There are about 120 hull to deck joint bolts. Since most of the carriage bolts square shoulders did not grip the fiberglass holes we took a metal cutting disc on a 4/5" angle grinder and made a slot in each head to fit a screwdriver then removed them and put them back in with new sealant. Then we put a bead of sealant in the joint on the outside. I hope that takes care of it. We didn't try to do the ones on the transom though.

[@karstenboyenielsen4576]

Is this boat worth the work and costs considering that it is not an expensive one, even in good condition?

[@atomvoyager]

If future resale value is your main concern then no it's not worth all the work and expense. Few boats are in that regard. But if you love the boat and want it set up the way you like it then there is no choice because you aren't likely to find a boat already on the market refit according to your preferences. People should not get into this extensive of a refit if they don't expect to lose money at resale. One reason I do these videos is to give owners ideas and info on how they can do these jobs themselves if they can't afford to hire it done. Most of them will not do all the jobs I do on a typical boat that comes to me but they can pick a few that interest them that they can afford.

[@nuthenry2]

This video isn't in the playlist

[@atomvoyager]

Thanks. I just added it.

[@superformOG]

just remember for a ballad to be in the US it had to sail there, they are very seaworthy

[@davidbolduc828]

A lot of weight in bow.

[@davidbolduc828]

A nice boat with tons of potential.

[@thomcollins3322]

Thanks