Albin Marine acquired and refined the design in 1971, renaming it the Ballad. Production continued through 1982, with roughly 1,500 hulls completed. Practical Sailor’s used-boat review identified performance, durability, and seaworthiness as the Ballad’s hallmarks, borne out by hard racing in its early years and demanding coastal cruising in later decades.
Design and Construction
Albin Marin had a reputation for quality construction, and the Ballad was strongly built in Sweden. Below the waterline, the hull has a broad, swept-back fin keel and a large, skeg-hung semi-elliptical rudder. Practical Sailor and a separate review both describe this combination as advanced for its time.
The 3,417 lb of lead ballast is encapsulated in the fiberglass keel, eliminating keel bolts that could loosen or leak. At 7,275 lb displacement, the Ballad is fairly light for its era and class. Its ballast-to-displacement ratio of 46.97 suggests a stiff boat. A slightly flaring, knuckle-shaped hull profile amidships, just above the waterline, adds to that stiffness and widens the beam to 9.71 ft.
The hull laminate began with fiberglass mat and two layers of woven roving. Thickness ranges from 5/16 in. above the waterline to 3/8 in. below it, reaching as much as 15/16 in. at the keel’s lower extremities. The decks use a sandwich construction, with thin skins around 9/16 in. of divinycell. At the hull-deck joint, a butyl gasket is secured by more than 130 stainless bolts spaced 5.1 in. apart. Plywood bulkheads were bolted to a molded GRP web rather than glassed to the hull sides.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The Ballad is an IOR masthead sloop with a keel-stepped aluminum mast. Its 472.54 sq ft sail plan combines a small 149 sq ft mainsail with a massive 346.5 sq ft, 150% overlapping genoa. The mainsail originally rolled around a round, crank-operated roller-reefing boom.
Eight ¼-in stainless stays support the mast. Ambau or Proctor supplied the spars through 1978, after which Selden supplied them. The rig is robust, but one review notes that the large genoa calls for powerful winches or a strapping crew, and that roller-reefing is essential.
Owners report that the tiller-steered Ballad is very nimble. Its slim hull is well balanced and easily driven, with a surprisingly easy motion in a seaway. It can, however, be wet when sailing upwind in a chop and a handful downwind if overcanvassed. The low freeboard also keeps the crew closer to the water.
Accommodations
The Ballad’s sleek deck lines come at the expense of headroom. There is 6 ft 2 in. at the companionway, falling to 5 ft 6 in. at the front of the salon and 4 ft 10 in. in the forward compartment. Four fixed salon windows provide good light, but original ventilation was limited to the forward hatch, companionway, and passive vents.
The interior is basic, with fiberglass soles and mahogany plywood used for the bulkheads, berths, navigation table, and locker. The port berth is 6 ft 6 in. long, while the starboard berth measures 6 ft 2 in. A separate review counts six berths in two cabins, including two awkward pilot berths.
The galley combined an ice box, a small sink with fresh- and seawater foot pumps, and a two-burner cooktop. Some later boats received a gimbaled stove and oven, but there was no provision for refrigeration or a propane locker. A two-leg, split-fold dining table bisected the salon, but it was heavy and difficult to stow.
The head occupied a tight two-foot closet and included a manual toilet and slide-out sink. Holding tanks were not standard.
Known Issues
Early boats built from 1972 through early 1974 have a mild steel mast truss beneath the cabin sole, on top of the keel ballast. This truss carries mast and stay loads and is mostly encased in polyester resin. Nearly a score have rusted and failed, sometimes loosening the mast and, in rare cases, splitting the keel’s leading edge. Almost all problems recorded by AB Survey involved 1972–73 boats below hull #200. Albin changed to galvanized trusses in early 1974.
A separate review cautions that original deck gear and spars should be treated carefully because most Ballads have a hard-racing background and may still show bruises. The boat also has no bow anchor locker.
Engines, Refits, and Ownership
The Ballad’s original engine fit changed several times during production:
- 10-hp Volvo Penta MD6A, 1971–75
- 10-hp MD6B, 1976–77
- 13-hp MD7A, 1977–78
- 17-hp MD7B, 1979–82
As many as 25 post-bankruptcy boats were built under contract, mostly in Denmark, and usually received the 18-hp Volvo 2002. Hundreds of owners have since repowered their Ballads with 16–21 hp diesel inboards.
The Ballad remains sought after as both a sporty family cruiser and a cost-effective club racer.
The Verdict
The Albin Ballad 30 is a well-built, stiff, and nimble small racer-cruiser. Its encapsulated lead ballast and robust rig suit coastal passage-making, while its performance, durability, and seaworthiness have been borne out by hard racing in its early years and demanding coastal cruising in later decades. On pre-1974 boats, however, the early mast truss requires careful survey attention. Original deck gear and spars also warrant caution because of the model’s hard-racing history.
Pros
- Encapsulated lead ballast eliminates keel-bolt failure paths
- Stiff, easily driven hull with a proven racing and cruising record
- Strong hull-deck joint
- Advanced fin-keel and skeg-hung rudder arrangement
Cons
- Pre-1974 mild steel mast trusses are known to rust and fail
- Low headroom and a basic, dated interior
- Original deck gear and spars may be fatigued from racing
