New boat - Allegro 27

[SeaHusky]

Finally, after many years of dreaming I have got a boat!
It is an Allegro 27, a classic, Swedish double ender design and well proven sea going boat.
First launched in 1970, incidentally the same year I was born.
Masthead rig with genoa on rollerfurling, diesel inboard, good heatingsystem, refrigerator, solarpanel, simple "chemical" head.
Some things I want to fix but all in all in very good condition.

[Jim_ME]

What a beautiful boat! Congratulations. :)

Just looked at the specs page...
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_ID=3222

Really like the straightforward interior layout, full keel, double-end with outboard rudder...traditional salty character. A fine boat.

[Frank]

Great looking and capable boat!  Congrats

Interior pics when ya can   ;D

[Captain Smollett]

Nice!!

[SeaHusky]

Thanks!
Here are some interior pics that the seller took for me and one of the boat on land:

Charttable. Refrigerator is underneath.


Seaberths on both sides.


Galley.


Head and kerosene heater with 12v water circulation pump.

[jotruk]

Very nice and congrats on the boat

[Cruiser2B]

Fine boat, Well done! Congrats!  What are your plans with her? Long distance cruising?

[SeaHusky]

My plans are first to learn to confidently solo sail her and then explore the Baltic sea and all the countries only a few days sail away. Then we'll see...   :)

[w00dy]

Nice stern! ;D

[matt195583]

Awesome! Fun times ahead there.

[SeaHusky]

Sailed her home!

My friend Tommy and I drove up to where she was moored, went threw her with the very helpful seller, and had a great two days sailing her south to her new homeport.
First day was windy with 15-20 knot winds and we had some nice sailing working out how the reefing was set up and how to handle the running rigging.
The first moorings we intended to use were already taken so we had to motor up a narrow bay to find another sheltered mooring (the Swedish cruising association has a number of buoys scattered around the coast for its members to use at their convenience).
The second day started out nice and sunny so we motored back out to the fairway and learned a lesson. The channel started to look intimidatingly narrow and I couldn't see the next marker on so I idled the engine and consulted the chart. It turned out that I had missed a turn and the "marker" I was heading for was not a marker at all but some unknown pole with a box on top stuck on a rock in the middle of nowhere...
Lesson learned we motored back to the fairway and then had to make a choice, follow the inner fairway which was closer but meant motoring into the wind or take the outer fairway which meant, longer passage, open sea, stronger winds and beating against the wind. Well we had time and were out to sail and I was eager to try my new boat so we opted for the outer route.
It started as fine sailing with 20 knot winds and occasional sunshine but as the hours passed the wind picked up.
We took turns taking a short nap but mine was cut short as we had to take in the third and final reef in the main and roll in more of the genoa which turned out to have "bulge compensator" (correct term?) so it works well without much flapping even when reefed.
Eventually we were beating into 30 knots of wind with even stronger gusts, heavy seas and getting occasional rainshowers.
A lot of bouncing, healing and spraying but at no point did it feel stressinducing. The boat is evidently designed for rough weather and handles very calmly even in rough seas. One thing we learned was that as she is a heavy and wide longkeeler she looses speed rapidly when turned into the wind and in heavy winds you need to really push her over through the tacks or she will just stop pointing to the wind.
Finally we realised that if we continued like this we would not get home until after dark so we reefed the genoa completely, started the engine and motorsailed for a few hours against the weather. This is a great way to find out if you have algae in your diesel tank but the engine worked perfectly all the way and I appreciate the 16 hp over the normal 10 hp for this size of boat.
During this time we got some real squalls and passed threw the edge of a really nasty thunderstorm further inland (we were later told it had made the cars in town stop due to zero visibility) which would have been in the center of, had we chosen the inner fairway!
However when we were nearing our destination the wind died down, the sun came out and we took out all the reefs, completely unfurled the genoa and managed to dry out the sails before sailing into "Mikaja's" new home port and finding my designated slip.
After fixing all new mooring lines it was in for a pizza and then to bed but I found it hard falling a sleep after all the excitement.
To conclude she handles very well in rough seas but will also do OK in lighter airs. The sails are good with functional reefing and the engine works great.
I am VERY happy with my new boat!

Happy boat owner!




Doing good speed even when reefed and Close hauled.


Tommy at the helm looking salty.

[Frank]

Congrats on getting her home. Glad you had a chance to experience her in varied conditions and are satisfied. Keep us posted on future adventures or upgrades. Have fun

[Jim_ME]

Yes, congrats on sailing her to her new home. Thank you for sharing the experience, including the photos. Nice to have a boat sail as well as she looks!  :)

[SeaHusky]

I bought the boat loaded with some equipment and ready to sail so now I've spent a couple of days clearing out and cleaning the boat so see what I have. Some things are useable and some are past their working life or not to my liking and will be replaced.
I pretty much new the condition of the boat and even had her surveyed before buying her and the most urgent issue was: Old hoses and rusty clamps - should be replaced, and the cockpit drains lack valves.
When I had emptied the cockpit lockers of anchors, lines, jerrycans, cockpit table, bow ladder and an assortment of other things, I was able to maneuver out the pieces of plywood cut out to fit around fittings and shapes creating a flat bottom in the lockers.
It was now possible to closely inspect the threw hulls.
If you look closely you can see a crack in the hose just above the screw on the clamp.
When I touch the hose water seeps through!
I was hoping to get some sailing, and a little fixing done before I lift her for the winter but I will have to reprioritize and lift her a s soon as possible.

[CharlieJ]

THAT needs some sort of seacock. Hoses should NEVER be clamped to threaded fittings, especially under the waterline.

Yes, I would for sure haul the boat and fix that

[SeaHusky]

I am not sure if the fitting is threaded or flanged for a hose. Either way it is long overdue for replacing and I will put in threaded brass threw hulls with valves. Then I will make sure these are easily accessible even when the locker is loaded.

[CharlieJ]

BRONZE, not brass. Brass has no place in fittings like that in salt water.

[SeaHusky]

Typo, but thanks for the reminder!

[Jim_ME]

If you look closely you can see a crack in the hose just above the screw on the clamp. When I touch the hose water seeps through!

Yikes...that you were at sea with those.

If there will be any delay in hauling out, you may be able to plug/cover the through-hulls from the outside and at least replace the old hoses and clamps as soon as possible.

As a precaution, you might want to keep a tapered wooden plug nearby and ready to drive into the inside of the through-hull...until you get a seacock installed?

[SeaHusky]

That is an option, thanks for the tip.

As a precaution, you might want to keep a tapered wooden plug nearby and ready to drive into the inside of the through-hull...until you get a seacock installed?

That was the first thing I did!