An Alberg 30 takes a racing sailor into his cruising years
Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011
When Dave Terrell began the refit of Scholarship II, his 1970 Alberg 30, his plan was to create a cruising sailboat that he could use well into his eighth decade. Dave has been sailing for more than 40 years and during that time has owned eight different sailboats. Prior to the Alberg 30, he owned a Cal 27 T2 called Scholarship. He is a retired college professor and avid sailor and does most of his sailing singlehanded. Dave had spent some time as a club racer, but he slowly came to the conclusion that cruising had much more to offer than sailing around buoys every weekend. That led him to search for a boat that would take him to cruising areas and anchorages that he only dreamed about as a racer.
Dave’s Alberg story began in 2002 when he found an Alberg 30 named Talisman in Cleveland, Ohio. The asking price was $12,000, but Dave was able to negotiate that down to $8,500 because the boat required some serious work (and the owner was in the process of a divorce and highly motivated to sell). He had his “new” Alberg 30 trucked back to Michigan, where Talisman’s rebirth as Scholarship II began.
Right up front, Dave had to address some serious issues. The deck was painted a robin’s-egg blue and had black mold-spot accents, the head and holding tank had been removed, the boat had broken loose at the dock and the port side had been badly damaged, the sail track was loose (preventing the mainsail from being hoisted), and the sail inventory looked as though it might have at one time belonged to a fellow named Christopher Columbus. In spite of all these challenges, Dave saw real potential in the boat.
In line with the “go easy” cruising concept he adopted after giving up his “go fast” racing ways, Dave has made many changes to Scholarship II over the years. In fact, each year that he has owned her, he has made significant modifications.
Setting up to sail solo
Before beginning any work, Dave outlined what he wanted to achieve with the renovation. While his primary objectives were ease of operation and safe singlehanding, he also wanted Scholarship II to be aesthetically
pleasing to all who saw her.
To enhance safety when singlehanding, one of the first projects Dave tackled was to replace the lifelines and run new jacklines along the deck.
In 2003, he added a Profurl genoa reefing system and rewired the entire boat. In 2004, Scholarship II received a new Garhauer mainsheet traveler and genoa-track cars.
After researching the best sail combination for the Alberg 30, Dave learned that, for cruising boats, a larger mainsail and a smaller headsail are a good combination, so in 2005 he made a major revamp of the sail inventory: a new Quantum full-battened mainsail and a new Quantum 100 percent genoa. This configuration made the boat more comfortable to sail and yet drove her fast enough for him to enjoy cruising in her. Other safety and ease-of-handling improvements led to the installation of new running rigging, all of which is led aft to the cockpit. This fit into Dave’s plan to do lot of singlehanded sailing once Scholarship II was ready to go.
Dave discovered that the fuel tank was rusted through, which could have led to explosive bilge problems given that the fuel is gasoline, so that meant fitting a new tank. Finally, hoping to glean a few more years of service from the old “tin wind,”he fitted a new carburetor and fuel pump to the ancient Atomic 4 engine.
The renovation of Scholarship II took another big step forward in 2006 with the installation of a Tides Marine Strong Sail Track and Slide System to improve hoisting the mainsail. Dave also added three new Anderson winches, a #28 for the mainsheet and two #40s to handle the genoa sheets.
The same year, he installed a new water pump on the Atomic 4. However, this proved to be a bit more than the old engine could take. The new, more powerful pump actually blew out the engine’s rusty water jacket. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. When Dave went shopping for a new engine to replace the relic he had been nursing for the past four years, he found another A4 that was 25 years old but had seen only 500 hours of use. The engines were swapped out and the “new” Atomic 4 is still running smoothly today.
In 2007, Dave made some exterior changes. He installed a new anchor windlass, which made hauling the new CQR anchor out of the mud much easier for a singlehander. He also fitted eight new opening ports — four 8 x 22-inch New Found Metals ports in the main saloon and four smaller ports from White Water Marine Hardware in the head and V-berth area. All the ports are solid bronze and give Scholarship II a very special traditional look. That only made it right that the saloon and V-berth should get new cushions to spruce up the appearance belowdecks. Finally in 2007, Dave installed a new 12-volt refrigerator in the galley.
Major cosmetics
In 2008 and 2009, Dave continued his program with more exterior improvements. In 2008, he had Scholarship II’s topsides professionally painted and in 2009, her deck, trunk cabin, and cockpit received the same treatment at his local boatyard. In addition, he installed a full-length genoa track, again to facilitate handling the boat when singlehanded.
One of the most noticeable exterior improvements was the cockpit grating, which Dave had custom made. He had it shipped without the cutout for the rudder head and measured and cut out the opening himself. The result is a truly beautiful cockpit arrangement.
Interior improvements continued, with new bookshelves and a gauge that shows the level in the holding tank. At the same time, Dave added a new combination dining/desk/chart table. This multipurpose table serves as a dining table and has a leaf that folds up to make a sizable work surface, which also makes it a great chart table. It also has built-in storage for charts, navigation tools, and Dave’s computer.
When not in use, the table folds against the main bulkhead, exposing to view a handmade inlaid compass rose that adds a very nice nautical touch to the main cabin. Lowering the table reveals a handsome piece of nautical art mounted on the cabin bulkhead. It’s interesting to note that the table was made for Dave by a friend who had owned an Alberg 30 for more than 25 years.
Ongoing upgrades
In 2010, Dave embarked on more interior renovations, including new storage lockers built into the spaces above the settees in the main cabin and above the V-berth. Although designed to blend in with the existing woodwork, these units almost doubled the amount of available storage space. Surprisingly, this work was performed by a gentleman who is legally blind. Having seen the results, I find it hard to believe that the person who built them could not drive a car because he could not see well enough to obtain a driver’s license. The work is perfect and ingenious.
Another improvement that Dave carried out himself was to completely rebuild the wiring harness on the Atomic 4. He also replaced the old instrument panel with a new system that makes all the engine gauges visible from the helmsman’s seat.
The work goes on. Dave’s plans for 2011 call for repairing the loose rudder, varnishing the interior bulkheads, repairing the dodger, and in his words, “lots of sailing.”
The original design brief for the Alberg 30, which was built by Whitby Boat Works in Ajax, Ontario, was for a boat that would be a competitive racer on Chesapeake Bay. In fact, of the two active Alberg fleets in existence today, one is in the Chesapeake Bay region (the other is on Lake Ontario, near Toronto). Dave has taken the original design and made it into a comfortable, easy-to-handle cruising sailboat that will serve him well into his eighth and maybe even his ninth decade. Scholarship II is certainly ready to take Dave wherever he wants to go and she is getting better every year.
Jim Shroeger has been sailing for 50 years. He began in Jet 14s at the University of Michigan and progressed through a series of small to medium-sized day sailers including a Star. In the early 1970s, he and his wife, Barbara, and their two kids began their summer family cruises on the Great Lakes, which they continue to this day in their current boat, Sundew, a Watkins 27.
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