Albin Vega 27. Good choice???

[114]

I am going to look at an Albin Vega 27 this week and was wondering if anyone had any input on them. I''m a new sailor on Lake Ontario.
Dan.

[Jeff_H]

The Vega''s are a ''cult boat'' with a very strong following. For a 27 footer these boats have doen a lot of sea miles and have provided an inexpensive way to go voyaging for quite a few people. In that regard these are a good boat for a person doing what you are proposing.

On the flip side, these are quite slow and not expecially responsive boats and so
in my book would be a poor choice to learn to sail on if your goal is to really learn to sail a boat well. I also found them to have a very strange motion that sort of rolls freely through the center and then seems to lurch at the end of the roll. It is the kind of motion that makes it hard to keep lunch down. The Vega is a little short on ventilation and almost any boat this size will need a bit more tankage than would normally come from the factory.

I personally would try to find a Tartan 27 before going the Vega route. Other likely candidates in this size and price range might include Albin Ballad (30 feet), Bristol 27, Cal 27 and 29,Ericson 27 and 29, Pearson Ariel, Triton, Wanderer, Coaster, and 30, and Tartan 27 or 28.

You absolutely need to have a boat of this age surveyed. It is not that hard for a boat of this size and age to need as much as $30K over the purchase price to put the boat
back into proper shape. As with any boat
this age you can expect to find some ''issues''. Unless very well maintained and
updated by a previous owner, you might expect to need to address some combination of the following items:

· Sails, chainplates, standing and running rigging that are beyond their useful
lifespan,
-Mast support and mast step problems,
· an engine that is in need of rebuild or replacement,
· worn out or out of date deck, galley, and head hardware,
· worn out upholstery,
· electronics that are non operational, or in need of updating,
· electrical and plumbing systems that need repairs, upgrades to modern standards or replacement.
· Blister,fatigue, hull deck joint or deck core problems
· Keel bolt replacement (bolt on keel) or delamination of the hull from the ballast for a glassed in keel.
· And perhaps a whole range of aesthetic issues.

You are looking for a particularly clean and solid boat. Given the potential to find items that far exceed the purchase price and that you are new to sailing, a survey is absolutely critical here and the best money you can spend. Be there when the survey is performed. Don''t be afraid to ask questions and don''t be scared off by a long list of small stuff.

Buying a boat is expensive but buying the wrong boat is very expensive!

Good luck
Jeff