What is the standard rig and sail inventory for an Albin Ballad?
I've just bought a 1976 Albin Ballad and need to replace the standing rigging and mainsail. Can you give me the exact standard rig dimensions, wire sizes, and what sails these boats originally carried? I want to know what a standard setup looks like before I start ordering parts.
Answer
The Albin Ballad features a deck-stepped masthead sloop rig designed by Seldén for heavy North Sea weather. The standard factory sail inventory includes a slab-reefed mainsail, a 150% overlapping genoa, a working jib and a symmetrical spinnaker supported by 1x19 stainless steel wire rigging.
Mast and Standing Rigging
The original mast is a silver-anodised Seldén extrusion stepped directly onto the coachroof. A mahogany compression post in the saloon transfers the rig loads to the keel. The standing rigging uses 1x19 stainless steel wire throughout.
- Forestay, Backstay, and Cap Shrouds: Standardised at 6mm wire. The backstay often features a mechanical tensioner to control forestay sag.
- Lower Shrouds: 5mm wire. The Ballad uses a four-point lower shroud system (two forward lowers, two aft lowers) to keep the mast column stiff and prevent pumping in heavy seas.
- Turnbuckles: Originally 7/16-inch or 1/2-inch bronze-bodied Hasselfors rigging screws. Original bronze screws must be replaced. A complete standing rigging replacement costs £1,000 to £1,300 in materials.
- Halyards: The factory specified wire-to-rope spliced halyards leading to mast-mounted winches. Owners now upgrade to 10mm polyester or 8mm Dyneema halyards. This upgrade requires swapping the original masthead sheaves to suit rope.
Mainsail Dimensions
The Ballad has a high-aspect mainsail easily managed by a short-handed crew. The standard rig measurements are a P (luff) of 10.20 metres and an E (foot) of 3.10 metres. This geometry yields a mainsail area of 15.8 square metres.
Factory mainsails were cut from 7 oz to 8 oz woven cross-cut Dacron and featured short leech battens. They came with two deep slab reefs. Many offshore sailors add a third reef. The mainsheet traveller sits on a bridge deck in the cockpit. This position gives excellent control over the boom but restricts crew moving below. A new fully battened mainsail with a stack-pack system costs £1,200 to £1,500 and improves handling.
Headsails and Spinnakers
The small mainsail means the Ballad relies on its foretriangle for power in light airs. The standard foretriangle measurements are an I (height of forestay) of 11.50 metres and a J (base of foretriangle) of 3.80 metres.
- Genoa 1 (150%): 32 square metres. This sail keeps the 3.3-tonne boat moving in under 10 knots of wind.
- Genoa 2 (130%): 28 square metres. This sail acts as a practical all-rounder for coastal cruising.
- Working Jib: 18 square metres. Used when the wind reaches Force 5 and above.
- Spinnaker: A 70-square-metre symmetrical spinnaker flown from a mast-stowed aluminium pole.