TOPIC:

Hi All

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

Hi Rich,

If you buy a wooden boat that has been recently stripped and sealed, you shouldn't have any problems maintaining it. I would expect that it may need the decks wet and dried and a couple of fresh coats adding maybe every other year.

You should be OK to leave the boat outside over winter as long as you have a good polycotton breathable cover, it is probably best not to leave it to close to water were it would be to damp. Do not leave the undercover on. My old woden boat actually was lighter when I left it in the dinghy park during the season, opposed to keeping it in the garge, saying that it wasn't very well sealed.

There are a few boats around at the moment, that have had a "job" done on them. With respect to plastic boats, they probably still need a polish ever year anyway.

John Woffendon has written a very good buyers guide...

www.8oar.com/Albacore/AlbacoreBuyersGuide_Draft_0.2.pdf

This should tell you what you need to know.

If you require any more advice I can be contacted at philsmithathome@hotmail.co.uk or 07776200874 after 7. I will of course be out sailing this afternoon. Alternatively keep posting on here and everyone will try and give you the best advise.

Good Luck

Phil
Northern Rep
A8152 Albaholic
A6504 Nemesis

Hi Rich,

You are welcome to come and have a look at my boat to get an idea, she is for sale at the moment and has had the full job done so if I were to keep her would not expect to do anthing for 2 years.

Where abouts are you, she is here in Warsash, no pressure to buy! Failing that give me a call if you would like some more advice.

Best regards,

Hugh.
07779755295

Thanks for the advice so far.

How are the relative performances of the various hulls i.e a good wooden boat, Speed , Ovington etc ?

The helm and crew are the most important speed factor followed by the rig - the hull comes along way third especially on restricted waters and in light winds!
A well-maintained older boat with good sails is a match for the newest Ovi, as has been shown at the champs over the recent past. However the Ovington built in epoxy has promise to be very durable unlike some of its GRP predecessors- which is a boon for DIY incompetants like me who dislike varnishing etc.
If you were a skilled woodworker you could make a sound, down to weight older boat into a championship winner, but it would need a new mast and sails. If you are always going to be sailing on a river or small lake then any old wreck can win in the right hands.
In the 1960s at Grimsby docks was bred a very talented group of sailors including our current chairman, Michael McNamara, and they took pride in how little they spent on the boats they sailed in the docks! They took newish down to weight sorted out boats to the champs though!

Thanks for this.

What would you therefore think of the Speed boats that preceeded the Ovis ?

Hi Rich give me a ring 07775 664104 if you wish to discuss cheers Graham

Rich96 wrote:

Thanks for this.

What would you therefore think of the Speed boats that preceeded the Ovis ?

Rich,

A squiz at the recent nationals results will help answer your question.

This year there were only 3 Speeds at the Nationals (8080,8070 and 7991) 7991 (one of the very first Speeds) came 15th with a new owner.
Ovis came 1,4,7,9,11,12,17,18,19,21


Out of the top 20 in 2010
Speed boats came 2,6,7
Ovis came 8,12,15,16

In the top 20 in 2009,
Speeds 2,7,10,16
Ovi 3,4,14,18


Clearly the Ovis are good but the 2009/2010 results would suggest that they are no quicker than a well looked after Speed, but as Jerry says the Ovis being epoxy will be very durable.

Rich... best of both worlds, the GT Marine, timber decked Ovington

Rgds Mark...

Looks lovely - probably a bit outside my price range though !

Looks like a nice Kingsfield just appeared on Apollo Duck

Hi All.

We are still after a good condition and competetive Albacore.

GRP or wood is fine as long as the hull is sound and the rig/sails recent.

We are based in the South but could travel for a promising boat.

Please call me on 07773 810 171 or email on rsharp@rsspecialistservices.co.uk

Cheers

Richard