The Ballad Exchange

I also would like to hear from Boomkicker owners. :) It is preferred to a rigid vang on our Ballad due to an additional deck hatch. K800, or K1000 model best? They are the same except for rod stiffness, so you can swap rods if needed to get the force correct. I also like the idea of quick-releasing ...

Some galley stuff. tops1.jpg tops2.jpg tops3.jpg tops5.jpg IMG_20231115_115934_564.jpg frontal.jpg That ladder, BTW, is a very cheap Vevor aluminum dock ladder -- chopped down, bent, and painted. https://www.vevor.com/aluminum-dock-ladder-c_10407/vevor-dock-ladder-removable-5-steps-350-lbs-load-capa...

Some of the bulkheads have been sanded many times, so the face veneers are almost gone. I may apply PSA veneer, or just cover the burned-thru areas with a magazine rack or mirror. :lol: These photos mostly pre-date stuffing the cushions with quilt batting. IMG_20231115_115625_599.jpg main bulk.jpg f...

Finally took most of last summer off work to push along Ballad #18, Fionn . I still need to add a few pieces of deck hardware, but it is mostly complete. bow shot.jpg rails2.jpg IMG_20231115_111614_096.jpg Of course I ran out of one component of the non-skid paint mix, so the hatch covers are a litt...

The Scampi has its fans and is still sailed hard all over the world. Nose-down trim, tho, is part of what made late-period IOR boats so terrifying downwind in a blow. As beams got wider, sterns got narrower, and CofG was raised (to the point racers were gluing lead bars to the coachroof for ratings ...

Glad for you and your family! Good luck! How would your compare Ballad to Albina Scumpi 30, for example this one ? Scumpi has a deck-stepped mast, so one problem less, fin keel and ruder on a skeg which is good. Why Ballad is more popular? As I understand the history, Magnusson built the S30 (Joker...

That's really useful, to see a galvanized (later sail #) truss out of its encapsulation. It looks pretty good! Astonishing they didn't galvanize the early steel. We haven't launched yet, but I believe any mast step solution that drains away water and allows air circulation will last forever if built...

There is a mild steel 'clavicle', or curved transverse beam, running from side to side almost the full width of the main bulkhead. The mast support truss bolts through it, and it is the thing you step over to enter the V berth. There have been reports of this beam failing at the center, again perhap...

Hrrrmmm. Hrrmm? Looks for all the world like either the boat backed hard into something, folding the rudder to the side and levering the skeg forward -- or the rudder got bounced on its bottom a few times. Any corresponding damage visible on the rudder blade itself? Have a peek at the flat bottom of...

Lovely photo essay, Nick. We enjoy the playful colors you find in the Med, the Caribbean, and places like Mexico where we are going. One reason we're tarting up our boat with colors like lime, apricot, chartreuse....I think color makes cold places feel warmer and warm places feel cooler, too. The Ba...