1967 Karlskrona-Viggen Nr83

[River Wytch]

designed by Per Brohall who also designed the albin-vega,the viggen looks like a vega with four feet missing from the middle . . .
from sailboatdata.com . . .
"The VIGGEN was built by Karlskrona until 1971 (aprox.300 boats), after which they were built by Albin."
albin built another 1460 viggens . . .
i wanted nothing to do with this boat when i first ran across her in craigslist,she had many things going against here . . .
i thought i was going to do nearly all of my sailing on the hudson river, so i thought something with a shoal draft,swing keel or centerboard was the only way to go . . .
and 1967 . . .
that's kind of old,isn't it ?
well anyway,my first three choices fell through and all there was left was this viggen,even then i had to go look at her three more times before i decided to buy her . . .
the price was right and i was already making plans to go below with a chainsaw and gut her and make her into something like my idea of what a dreamboat was at that time . . .
sort of like what i've seen in photos in trailer-sailor where people have done very bad things to columbia's and o'day's . . .

the gods intervene . . .
over the winter,with the west marine and defender catalogs at my side, i was also searching the net looking  for the specs on my boat because some of the stuff that i knew i couldn't live without,they needed to know how big something or other was and all  . . .
the next hurdle was,everything i found was in SWEDISH . . .
then the googler brought me to "viggenklubben", a owner/fan site devoted to karlskrona/albin viggens and here's where all my plans got derailed . . .
after looking through the viggenklubben website,i found the "gastbok" and figured i'd take a chance and ask in english if anyone could give me some information on my boat and i included the hull number and my e-mail address . . .
the next day my in-box was off the hook . . .
ever wonder how it must feel to be one of those guys who found a morgan or an e-type in a barn ?
i can't tell you how it feels myself but i can tell you how it must feel like to be the guy who found the morgan or jaguar in the barn but didn't know a thing about cars . . .
i was totaly clueless . . .
i was contacted by people from the "Tekniska Kommitt?n" it turns out that they were VERY excited to hear from me . . .
i was told among other things,that my boat was one of the three karlskrona-viggens shipped to the US back in 1967 . . .
the other e-mails i received were from other viggen owners with links to their blogs and webpages where i saw some very lovingly restored viggens . . .
looking through the photos,i was able to tell that "augusta" is 95% original,very little has been changed on her since she left sweden and now i'm going to feel like a total dick if i do anything but restore her . . .

i have no idea as to how many owners "augusta" had in over forty years but she seemed to have been well cared for,the cabin looked to be in better condition than quite a few five year old boats that i've been on and the deck and mast has some worn paint but in general,she's a very clean boat given her age . ..
so now i'm "stuck" with this damned boat, because i now feel responsible for her well being . . .
i don't even think i could sell her without a thorough background check on the person buying her just to make double sure that she's going to a good home . . .

so now,after a season of sailing "augusta" on the hudson,i feel miserable about my first impressions of her.
she's built tough,everyone marvels at the amount of fiberglass they used to build her,i would say that she's the "B-Model Mack' of sailboats. . .
as far as handling goes,i'm a newbie, so i can't tell whether i'm a getting good at sailing, or it's just a good sailboat doing it's thing . . .
so now i have a "mission" in life that i didn't ask for and i'm not minding it one bit . . .
i now feel no need to buy all that cool stuff i was drooling over in the catalogs last winter . . .
i want to do the "folkboat" thing like my new friends in sweden do . . .
go primitive baby !
and i really know how to pull this off too . . .
my lightbulb moment . .
i'm not a sailor,i'm just some stupid truck driver who owns a sailboat . .
so i "got real"
i spent a good chunk of my life living on the road, so i was used to not having alot of room to work with and the viggen has way more room and places to keep things than a truck sleeper has . . .
and a sink and stove too  !
so my thinking changed from "yacht club" to "truck stop" . . .
as a trucker you're either driving the thing or sleeping in it and i found the same goes for single handed sailing and a twenty-four foot boat is more than enough for myself and all the poop i thought i needed to bring along . . .
i thought at first,that the v-berth would be the "cat's ass" to sleep on,it only took two trips find the side berths to be much more comfortable and i only use the v-berth when ms.cynthia comes along,otherwise it's only used to store the jibs . . .
now that i'm a "sailboat driver" i'm enjoying this alot more, once i finally got the notion of what most of the sailing websites told me i NEEDED to have to go sailing out of my head . . .
i'll just be happy to do the work that's needed to restore"augusta" so that everyone in sweden,probably even the king, can finally sleep peacefully knowing that Nr.83 found herself a good home. . .

i wrote this just to start a thread . . .
i'll write some more about what i've done to/with "augusta" later,she was just taken out of the water last friday(the last sailboat on catskill creek) and there'll be lots to do over the winter,including spending alot of time going through all the sailFar post . .
i'm glad i found this site !

Dennis

[Captain Smollett]

Wow, Dennis...good stuff.

It sounds to me like you two were 'meant' to find each other.  I've heard it said that one measure of knowing you bought the right boat is that you get that little pitter patter in your heart every time you first see her.

That's how it is with my boat - no matter how aggravated I get about what she does not have or is not or what project needs attention FIRST, before all the others, every day when I first lay eyes on her, I cannot help but think she's the most beautiful boat in the marina/anchorage/world.

May that feeling never go away!

Welcome to SailFar and have a grog to settle in and tell us some more stories.   ;)

[Tim]

Yep, welcome aboard.  Great to hear about yours and Augusta's beginnings, looking forward to more.

[s/v Faith]

A man and his shippe.... it is a beautiful thing!

   ;D


Dennis, I am glad you found SailFar... Welcome Aboard!

  Look forward to hearing (and seeing) more.

Here is a grog from me too. 

[skylark]

Nice looking boat! got any interior pics?

[Oldrig]

Great post, Dennis.
Welcome aboard!
I'm also waiting for those interior pix.

Best,
--Joe

[ThistleCap]

once i finally got the notion of what most of the sailing websites told me i NEEDED to have to go sailing out of my head . . .

Great story about your boat.  And congratulations on learning the lesson above early.  There are people that have been around boats 20 years that haven't figured that out yet.  Distinguish between what you want and what you NEED, keep it simple, keep it foolproof and dependable, and you'll find much greater happiness in your sailing IMHO.
Welcome aboard and best wishes,
Jim

[jotruk]

Nice looking boat looking farward to more pics. I understand about everone telling you that you need a lot of stuff and a large boat to go out cruising. I have a very good friend that has spent a lot of time out off shore in the islands and he insists that I need at least a 38 footer to even leave the harbor. I found that you can listen to what they have to say and learn from it and then go and do what you need to do on your own. still want to go on my 27fter

[River Wytch]

i'll be posting more photos from my cell phone since they seem to be the perfect size to post on sailFar anyway . . .
i'll be sure to get some photos of down below too . .
right now,i have photos posted on facebook but truthfully,i took way more photos of the river than i did of the boat . . .
i also started a blog but that too,is more river related . . .
here's the facebook links,i hope that you will be able to see them without signing up.

dennis

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026358&id=1024503243&l=c730c16528

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016015&id=1024503243&l=c303249da0

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2034048&id=1024503243&l=5530763a2f

[Pablo]

What a great boat.  I love the stories you tell.

Grog!

[nowell]

Nice boat! Augusta and Aquila might have shared some floor space at one time! I am lucky enough to skipper a 1968 Vega! (I say that because I can't tell if I own her, or she owns me!)

Great boats tho! Brohall definitely knew his stuff! I have no intentions of ever leaving the decks of my Vega unless the sea takes me.

Looking forward to more stories/pics as well!

*Edit* Its nice to have another Albin fan to compete with all these Ariel guys as well!  ;D I mean, they still don't understand we obviously have the sexist boat lines evah!!!

[newt]

Welcome aboard Dennis. You can share your addiction with the rest of us loons. I am glad Augusta found a good human to replace her previous humans and keep her immortal. She looks cute- look up "ten reasons boats are better than ex's" for a laugh.
Newt

[AdriftAtSea]

Welcome aboard.... It is nice that you found out all that before firing up the chainsaw. :)  She looks like a solid little boat.  I look forward to seeing more photos of her.

[CapnK]

Dennis - Good to have you and 'Augusta' with us - she's a fine looking vessel, and I think you've found a great resource in the members here. :)

Nowell - It was only through swift intervention and the use of some influence that I was able to plead the members of the Alberg 'Family' into recalling a 'crew' which had already been dispatched to your location.

That said - If the boys don't get word of the recall before they get to you, then please understand; their intent is only that you should show more respect to the memory of The Swede. They don't take any pleasure from the inflicting of pain, it's just a disciplinary action for them, ya know...

;D

[River Wytch]

CapnK:
thank you very much . . .
i've already been learning alot from looking through the threads . . .
well, half learning and half confirming what i was already suspecting all along . . .

Nowell :
you bastage !
what have you gotten me into ?
i looked up this Alberg guy . . .
we're in BIG trouble !

http://sailboatdata.com/view_designer.asp?DESIGNER_ID=16

it says that he was designing boats from 1935 to 1996  . . .
but he DIED in 1986 !
and now because of you,i'm now expected to help you fend off a gang of zombie sailors . . .
ok . .
guess i'm stuck with you now . . .
i'm going to re-watch "the night of the living dead" eleven more times . . .
maybe i'll have "a plan"

dennis

[nowell]

No worries mate, zombies can't swim. Just anchor out!  ;D