Design and Construction
Magnusson's hull shows a raked stem with a raised counter and reverse transom, married to a fixed fin keel and a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by tiller. The boat is built predominantly of fibreglass with wood trim, a solid laminate approach rather than a cored layup. Displacement is 4,200 lb, of which 1,653 lb is lead ballast — a substantial fraction of the 8.75-foot beam and 20-foot waterline hull. With a draft of 4.58 feet on the standard keel and a hull speed of 5.99 knots, the 79 reads as a light-displacement planing candidate within its rating rule.
Rig and Handling
The rig is a deck-stepped masthead sloop on aluminum spars with wire standing rigging and a single set of unswept spreaders, a Bermuda configuration anchor. The foretriangle measures 30.78 feet hoist on a 10.17-foot base, while the mainsail luff is 26.63 feet with a 7.83-foot foot for 121 square feet of main and 138 of jib, an upwind area of 379 square feet. Downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker of 517 square feet, or a 258-square-foot gennaker, lifting downwind area to 637 square feet. The 10 hp Volvo Penta MD5 diesel is sized for docking and manoeuvring rather than sustained propulsion, consistent with a quarter-tonner driven by sail.
Accommodations
Below, the single-cabin layout sleeps four to six people with one head. The accommodation is compact but functional for a 25.92-foot hull, and the wood trim carried through the structure softens the fibreglass shell. Berth count outruns the boat's length class, a reflection of the quarter-ton priority on rating efficiency over volume.
The Verdict
The Albin 79 is a purpose-built quarter-ton cruiser-racer from the mid-1970s, modest in production but coherent in concept. Its light build, high ballast ratio, and rule-driven sail plan make it a responsive club racer and economical coastal cruiser, though the small hull limits liveaboard appeal.
Pros
- Designed to International Offshore Rule Quarter Ton specification by Rolf Magnusson
- 1,653 lb lead ballast against 4,200 lb displacement for stiffness
- Deck-stepped masthead sloop with generous downwind spinnaker options
Cons
- Only 25.92 ft overall with one cabin limits cruising accommodation
- 10 hp diesel is for manoeuvring only, not auxiliary passage-making
- Short production run (1974–1977) means limited fleet and spares familiarity
