Albin .. not the Vega .. the Ballad.. question

Oct 30, 2019
3
I know, this is Vega country, but::..

I am supposed to go see an Albin Ballad next week,
which is for sale.

I really don't know anything about this boat.. and
I found you guys .. so I figure, maybe someone here
can give me a heads up.. thanks
 
Oct 30, 2019
3
Captain Hall ,, thanks for asking ..

The boat I'm interested in is a 1975. She is a sloop rig,
Albin Ballad. The questions or thoughts that perplex me,
is its size, volume, when compared to other 30' boats.

I believe the displacement is only 7500 lbs. That is very
light for an ocean going, seaworthy, sailboat.

She does seem to be in very good condition. That said, she
is not cheap.

Can you give me an overview of her sailing ability? Her seaworthiness, her size for living aboard [ not full time
living aboard, but at least one month at a time ]

She seems very small ..

Just anything and everything that you may know about the ballad,
feel about the ballad, etc.

She is a larger boat than the Vega, isn't that right?

How much larger?

Is she more seaworthy than the Vega?

Thanks
 
Oct 31, 2019
562
Hi.:
Ballard:
Length overall 9.1`4 m (29'11")
Length waterline 6.9 m (22'7")
Beam 2.96 m (9' 8")
Displacement 3300 kg (7280 lbs)
Ballast 1559 kg (3420 lbs)
Draft 1,55 m (5'1")
these are the basic measurements.... she's a great boat
Wilhelm, V-257
 
Oct 31, 2019
562
so sorry... I goofed....

she's a "Ballad" (no 'r')
overall length is = 9.14 m (29' 11")
Wilhelm
 
May 3, 2004
34
Hi!

Albin Marin started to fabricat the Ballad in 1971. Its precursor was Joker made by Rolf Magnusson who was second in Half ton cup in 1969. Rolf Magnusson was later employed by Albin to convert the The Joker to a family crusier, The Ballad. It worked out very well and the Ballad become one of the most popular boats in the 30-feet class in Sweden during the 1970:th. 1493 boats was built from 1971-1981. Data for the Ballad:

Lengths o.a.: 9.18 m
Lengths w.l.: 6,90 m
Width: 2.97 m
Dephts: 1.55 m
Deplacement: 3800 kg
Keel weight (lead): 1500 kg
Sail (main + genua): 44,9 m2

The Ballad has a very good reputation in Sweden. Its sea worthy and very stable in water. It could have had more sail and is slow in light winds. The drawback is the big genua that is needed for speed. It is in average 8% faster than the Vega (has a LYS-value of 1.08 compared to 1.00 for the Vega). There should be no problem for a family of 4 people to live in it for a month. It is one step larger than the Vega. There are several Ballads that have sailed around the world and in e.g. 1977 there was 47 Ballads in the Gotland Island race, one of the tuffest sailing race in Sweden. If I would sell my Vega I would buy a Ballad or a Monsun from Hallberg Rassy.

Yours,

Björn
 
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
Hi 'reefearly'
I had the 'hots' for a Ballad a while back, but have since realized my Vega is all I really need. That's not to say that if the right Ballad appeared I wouldn't leap at the chance of owning it.

Over the years I followed the Ballad Forum, which recently moved to
There's a wealth of information there; much discussion on fixing things, modifications, upgrades etc. It gives an inside view into what problems people have had, and the joys of Ballad ownership. One of the problems that comes to mind was that the mast base (keel-stepped) could suffer corrosion problems, but overall the boat is a very well built tough cruiser.

Good luck on your quest!

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'