Triton in the background

dmairspotter · Post by **dmairspotter** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:54 pm

In todays (Sunday/Nov 12) Portland Press Heralds front page, theres a picture of Bruce Schwab Open 60 Vendee Racer..Tied up at the dock in the background lokks like a Triton, maybe even one of "ours?"

link (probably good today only)

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/home.html

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:40 pm

I wonder if it's an Alberg 30 or a Vanguard....

Neat photo, thanks.

bcooke · Post by **bcooke** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:20 pm

The girl who remembers all boats wrote:I wonder if it's an Alberg 30 or a Vanguard....

So the girl that knows all boats thinks these two look the same?!...

Not enough sheer for a Vanguard (IMHO)
Lack of jumper struts and overall slightly beefier look suggests an A30 to me.

-Britton

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 7:00 pm

eh, the fisheye lens might be stretching the proportions, but still I'm gonna go with Vanguard.

bcooke · Post by **bcooke** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 7:21 pm

I did a quick search to post a picture and show you all how wrong you are when in fact... er.... I may have to concede the point. Pictures of Vanguards from the same vantage point tend to flatten the normally very noticeable sheer line and the cabin structure looks identical to this one.

My bad. Not the first time. Not the last time :-)

-Britton

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 8:08 pm

Yep, I hedged because somehow it looked like too much cabintop for an A-30. Like it was a little bit too square on the top and the forward part, ahead of the mast, was just too prominent. And I did think that that angle might have flattened the A-30's sheer even more. OTOH I couldn't be sure, so I didn't want to commit to one or the other. Additionally, I was trying not to sound like a nerdy know-it-all ... <laugh>

Post by **Tim** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:05 am

I would have solved this identification dilemma decisively, but unfortunately the link to the photo is no good anymore, and I don't have a copy of the newspaper, so I can't chime in and put the question to rest.

;<)

Post by **Tim** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:50 am

OK, my bluff has been called and I have received a copy of the photo in question.

I say this is an Alberg 30.

We can begin by noting the reasons why it is not one boat or another, though:

If you follow the headstay line, you can see that it is a masthead rig (which doesn't automatically discount a Triton, but I don't know of any dark green masthead Tritons in Portland).

The topsides are too high to be a Triton, though. There's also more spring to the sheer than a Triton has. Tritons' topsides are higher in the bow than the stern, but the sheerline is not very curvaceous. This one's fairly flat, but has a bit of spring amidships--more than a Triton.

Most (not all) Vanguards have spruce booms; this boat does not. Again, this is not unequivocal, but it's a good clue. Also, the boom length:mast height ratio appears closer to that of an A-30 than a Vanguard. Vanguards have very long booms, and short rigs--more distinct than that of an A-30.

The two forward ports are too closely spaced to be a Vanguard, and are proportionally correct in the cabin trunk. The forward portion of a Vanguard's cabin trunk is rather high, and the ports are small for the height of the trunk. This makes it immediately identifiable to me, and is a feature that stands out when viewing Vanguards.

The sheer is no way extreme enough to be a Vanguard--photo angle or not. Vanguards have one of the most distinct sheerlines out there, and it is very extreme. The biggest clue to a Vanguard sheerline is the dramatic upturn in the stern--very perky indeed, and visible from all angles.

Finally, the boat just looks like an Alberg 30 more than any other. It's possible that it's an Alberg 35, though, which has been visually shrunken by the distance and photo angle. But probably not.

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 10:23 am

You've made a good case, Tim :-) Also, I was reading one of the last few issues of Good Old Boat last night and there was an article on the A-30, with a photo of a yellow one from just the same angle and it looked exactly the same as this boat. I didn't want to drag out the thread any longer with another boring addition, but since people will be clicking on it anyway to read your post, why not.

Nice looking A-30! :-)

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:33 am

My vote is for an Alberg 35.

Its the windows. Although they are hard to see, the A-35s have the oval main portlights, whereas the A-30s portights are more trapazoidal.

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:46 am

Of course, we should bear in mind that all of these design candidates are 40 years old.
It's CRAZY, I know, but there are some folks out there who "renovate" or "rebuild" older boats, and sometimes make changes along the way which might blur the design lineage a bit.

crazy people, every last one.

Duncan · Post by **Duncan** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 1:29 pm

Ceasar Choppy wrote:My vote is for an Alberg 35.

Its the windows. Although they are hard to see, the A-35s have the oval main portlights, whereas the A-30s portights are more trapazoidal.

I was ready to guess the same, but it was the fact that the mast looked tall to me.
Then I "measured" it and unless my estimates were way out, it seemed more like the shorter A30 mast.

Post by **Tim** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 3:56 pm

Caesar Choppy wrote:Its the windows. Although they are hard to see, the A-35s have the oval main portlights, whereas the A-30s portights are more trapazoidal.

True enough, and that's one reason why I mentioned the A-35 too. Of course, the photo is small enough and indistinct enough that those ports could be oval, or trapezoidal.

And to complicate things, a few A-35s have the standard Triton-like deadlights rather than the oval.

OK...who in Portland is going to go down to PYS and find this boat for us? hehe

Figment wrote:It's CRAZY, I know, but there are some folks out there who "renovate" or "rebuild" older boats, and sometimes make changes along the way which might blur the design lineage a bit.

I've heard about those crazies. What a weird group they must be, particularly if they ever got together in one place...

Post by **dasein668** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:22 pm

Tim wrote:
Figment wrote:It's CRAZY, I know, but there are some folks out there who "renovate" or "rebuild" older boats, and sometimes make changes along the way which might blur the design lineage a bit.
I've heard about those crazies. What a weird group they must be, particularly if they ever got together in one place...

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

bcooke · Post by **bcooke** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:44 pm

I'll bring the donuts...