Ballad #332, new owner

[dahlke]

Hi Guys

I thought I'd say a quick hello as I'm new to this forum and the Ballad.

Three weeks ago I made a decision. It's properly either going to be the best or the worst decision I've made in a long time. After being in love with the Ballad for a couple of years I finally found one that was priced very reasonably and seem like a good deal. Long story short, I'm now the proud new owner of Ballad #332. She was build in 1973 so this year she celebrates her 40 birthday. Considering that she has been racing a lot the first 30 years of her life she is in pretty good condition. She needs some love but structurally she seems fine. In 40 years she has only had two owners. The previous owners turned out to be very nice and we even went sailing for a couple of hours.

My plan is to spend the next two years redoing the interior and getting her ready for cruising. I sailed here from her old port and to her new "home". A truly wonderful two day trip (110 nm). She was a complete joy to sail even with her semi-ragged old sails. There was a couple of problems that became apparent on the way home but all in all a wonderful trip.

I have uploaded a couple of pictures of her and the trip home: https://plus.google.com/photos/11578993 ... ZKQ7oaNngE .

I'm looking forward to sharing my progress

Oh by the way I'm located in Denmark (near Aarhus and Randers).

[Bob McGovern]

Welcome to the Ballad and the forum! We are in the same place -- brand new owners, not yet even sailed the boat, looking forward to three or four years of total refitting. This site has been helpful with advice from long-time owners. Will you be keeping the boat on land, or in the water? The first thing that caught our eye was the type and condition of the original seacocks: all brass or bronze gate valves, on the verge of failure. The raw water intake valve snapped off under modest hand pressure



and the galley sink inlet was cracked



The others were seeping, or corroded to the point of not closing. So replacing those became a first priority. Are your valve original to the boat?

Welcome to the Ballad Exchange & please post lots of questions, observations, and photos of your progress.

[dahlke]

Thanks Bob

Luckily my front yard is just big enough to squeeze a Ballad in there. My boat is still in the water but should find her way here in the next couple of weeks. I'm really looking forward to get started!



I will definitely take a close look at the seacocks. Thanks for the warning. They appear to be the original ones. Better replace them to be on the safe side.

It seems we have similar planes (all work and no play). I too am looking forward to seeing photos of your progress Do you post pictures here, a blog or somewhere else?

[Bob McGovern]

I'd post photos of progress here if I were making any. Ashamed to say, we have gotten almost nowhere on the refit this first summer. It's been long hours with the business. Have not had any of our three(!) sailboats on the water yet. Unlike Denmark, Wyoming often has no water at all: our lakes are pretty empty this year.

One advantage is parking space, tho. And no worries about trees falling on the boat!

[dahlke]

Very beautiful landscape Are there any big lakes near by?

Three sailboats must be a lot of work What kind are the other two boats? I think I'm going to stick with just the one for now . Seeing as I'm single with no kids one boat should be just the right amount of boats for me

[Bob McGovern]

We also have a Chrysler Buccaneer 18 racing dinghy -- very similar to the original Flying Dutchman -- and a San Juan 21, a small protected-waters keelboat. We would sell the Bucc18 except it is easiest to launch and sail when water levels are low; it is quite fast but too difficult to handle in our crazy winds. The SJ21 is a splendid little boat for its intended purpose, but it is tiny inside and really not intended for rough waters. Both small boats are getting neglected this year. Three is too many, and we will need to focus our time and money on the Ballad refit. We estimate $10-12,000 USD, and that doesn't include major engine work. The hard part will be keeping up morale as we expend money on effort on a boat we cannot even sail until we are done. The little boat(s) will let us sail our lakes as we work.

Wyoming has few large lakes, and most of those are made by dams, and most of that water belongs to farmers downstream. So unless our mountains get lots of snow, we can't keep the melt water. But when they are full they are really pretty lakes, similar to those in the Alps. This is Fremont Lake in Western Wyoming:


The Ballad won't fit on these lakes, though. It is for the US West Coast and Mexico. What are your longer-term cruising or racing plans for your Ballad? It seems like you could spend a lifetime just exploring the fjords and coastline of the Baltic!

[dahlke]

Sounds like you have been sailing for a long time

My long term plan/dream is to cross the Atlantic and spend a year or two cruising. I develop software for a living and as long as there is a decent internet connection in a port I could work (clients back home) for small periods of time to help cover the cost. It's not going to happen any time soon tho. Maybe in 5 or 6 years time. My plan is to first spend one or two years restoring the boat. Then do a LOT of cruising in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian waters while adding equipment as needed. I'm really looking forward to the Norwegian fjords (west coast) - very beautiful! What are your long-term plans?