Life expectancy of a Vega

L

lysbuilder

.
Dec 24, 2005
2
I was wondering what thoughts anyone had on the usefull life of a Vega.
GRP was in its infancy as a boat building material when Vegas first
rolled off the production line. How's it stood the test of time and
what are the views as to how much life is left in an older boat? My
reasons are that I'm looking at an early seventies Vega with a view to
restoring her however will it be an economical proposition or just a
waste of money a few years down the line? Also how have most Vegas to
date ended there useful life? Just a thought.
 
S

stevebirch2002

.
Nov 8, 2001
1,818
The vast majority of Vegas are still about! Only ever seen one occurance of osmosis on a Vega.

Built to great standards and have stood the passing of time.

Cheers

Steve B
 
P

pjacobs55

.
Oct 30, 2019
1,459
I think most older boats that 'die' do so from neglect, languishing
away at some mooring or dark corner of a marina acumulating water in
the bilge, getting moldy interiors, rusting engines, and debris filled
cockpits.
I think a cared for boat that's used regularly will outlast it's owner.

Restoring an older boat can get expensive. IMHO it's far more
economical to pay more for a better boat than to bring an abused boat
back to life. Even a 'free' boat can end up costing more than one in
sail-able condition.

The only Vegas I've heard that have ended their useful life have either
sunk or been destroyed by collision.

GRP? ... it'll probably last forever!

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'
 
A

albinvega1493

.
Dec 15, 2006
139
Wood boats will rot away. Steel boats will rust away. GRP boats have
to be assasinated by neglect or accidental sinking.
 
P

papasbackhoeinc

.
May 1, 2007
127
Dear Sir,



I have an old Vega . During the many years I have replaced the sails a number of times. That goes for any sailboat. There is no problem with the hull, provided the owner takas her to the wall in the winter season, for a thorogh cleaning. This is a major job every (other) winter.. Of course you need underwater paint, which is expensive.



This also goes for every sailboat. The deck needs repainting after twenty years on most Vega’s . The sun is deteriorating the polyester . I used monourothane paint. To my surprise the paint lost its brilliance after 3 years. So this spring time I will have to repaint the deck.

Most Vega sailors had problems with e leaking stuffing box. The constructions with two propeller shafts creates leakage.



Then the interior . The mahagonay woodwork is fine, However, also a kind of puryuethane covered wallpaper is used. That has to be replaces after a number of years. The pulyurythane becomes a nasty powder and the wallpaper comes down.



Vegas sell in The Netherlands for about € 12000 provided they are being well amaintained.



Good luck



Henk Jansen





_____

Van: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com] Namens lysbuilder
Verzonden: maandag 31 december 2007 13:26
Aan: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Onderwerp: [AlbinVega] Life expectancy of a Vega



I was wondering what thoughts anyone had on the usefull life of a Vega.
GRP was in its infancy as a boat building material when Vegas first
rolled off the production line. How\'s it stood the test of time and
what are the views as to how much life is left in an older boat? My
reasons are that I\'m looking at an early seventies Vega with a view to
restoring her however will it be an economical proposition or just a
waste of money a few years down the line? Also how have most Vegas to
date ended there useful life? Just a thought.
 
P

pelagicasd

.
Jan 28, 2001
694
GRP had been in use for around ten years so not quite an infant. I found the gel coat to be on the thick side though. Probably why we get the crazing. It doesnt go into the lay up though. Lyric has had 4 blisters, all of which were at the waterline and on the side that was in the sun. Don't know if that is related. An easy fix and they haven't been back. Lyric was laid up in 1967 and except for a few short haulouts has been in the water year round until we hauled her in Mexico. She was commisioned in 1969 so thats 31 years wet.
Walt, S/V Lyric #120To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.comFrom: timo.heikkinen@...: Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:59:31 +0200Subject: Re: [AlbinVega] Life expectancy of a Vega

lysbuilder kirjoitti: GRP was in its infancy as a boat building material when Vegas first rolled off the production line. How's it stood the test of time and what are the views as to how much life is left in an older boat?Well, our old lady Kaarina is still more or less in perfect shape for all her 41+ years of duty. I don't know if it's been easier for her here up in the North, where she can rest the long winter on dry land - being hammered by freezing winds and temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius (not that bad this winter, yet). But she seemed to be quite happy under her cover when we just paid her a visit today.Few memories of last summer journeys (I guess most of you've already seen these): URL="Kaarina, Albin Vega #44 1966"Timo HeikkinenKaarina #44/1966Finland
 
J

jgbrisson2000

.
Jul 18, 2002
41
Adding to the discussion of spare parts... Both of the cars on my jib
sheet travelers have the thumb screws jammed closed. One of the
screws is sheared off and the other one is near that state.

I am planning to try to extract these (bronze?) thumb screws this
spring but I will need replacements for them. Does anyone have or
supply these screws/ cars?

-John
 
V

vegatern

.
Oct 2, 2005
465
Hi John, I had the same problem on both cars as well. About a
month ago I used a screw extractor to remove the broken thumb screws,
after soaking them with PB Blaster, and replaced them with bolts. I
had put off the job, thinking it was going to be a project and it was
low priority, but it only took about an hour or so.
Craig V1519
 
F

fotofundi

.
Oct 30, 2019
80
Barton (www.bartonmarine.com) in the UK make towable and pin cars that
will fit the 20mm Vega track (code 22). I had the same problem and
replaced the original cars with these and two end pulleys and am well
pleased as I can adjust the car position from the cockpit quite easily .

David
V1696
 
B

bbach1949

.
Apr 30, 2000
197
Someone mentioned using Barton genoa cars with the existing bronze t-track.? The Barton cars are aluminum.? Have you had galvanic corrosion of the aluminum cars?? The only other option I can find are Schaefer stainless standup blocks, but at a higher price and lower load rating.? I really don't want to replace the entire t-track but just want to drill pin stop holes for easier lead adjustment.? Bill Bach V1071
 
F

fotofundi

.
Oct 30, 2019
80
My 'T' track is stainless steel and the cars don't stay in one place
for very long during the sailing season so I have not experienced any
galvanic problems. I remove the cars when the sails come off for the
winter, give them a good clean and put them away.

I have found that the steel track gets a bit sticky with salt and
needs washing/scrubbing quite regularly during the season to keep the
cars sliding freely - about once a month in my case. This also cleans
off any salt on the cars which probably keeps galvanic action to a
minimum anyway.

David
V1696 in Sunny Cyprus
 
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