Sprayhood bow The Albin Vega is very narrow between deck and the steering point which means that you often hold on to the sprayhood, so that you won't lose your balance. The sprayhood isn't designed for this, so in order to save it and to have something steadier to hold on to, the sprayhood bow was made. In front of the sprayhood you also can see the 30W solar cell that is mounted on deck. Also notice that the old wooden railings have been replaced with new aluminium railings.
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The table mounted on the toilet door When I bought my Vega the table didn't have a storing place. I solved this problem by making a mount on the toilet door, so now when it isn't in use we can store it away. The passage to the bedroom is narrower now, but since I and the rest of the crew are fairly thin it works out well.
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Septic tank There was no septic tank for to toilet, so I decided to get one quite fast since it isn't that nice to pump out the "shit" when you are docked and have neighbour yachts next to you. The tank volume is about 20 litres and that means that you can use it four times (eat all you can dumps). There were no tanks on the market that fitted the Vega, so this tank is made to measure for the Vega. I had to increase the height of the washbasin in order to fit the tank behind the toilet. Another reason for this was that I wanted to be able to empty the tank by self drop. Even the water tap had to be moved, so nowadays it is located in the front edge of the washbasin.
The link shows the measures of the septic tank.
Extreme septic tank close up: |
Fridge Waeco's compressor fridge fitted perfectly in the stow to the right of the sink. Even the stow lid can still be used. I hade to remove almost everything at the sink to be able to fit the fridge in the stow, and I got everything back too.
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A pair of additional self drains One of the shortcomings of the Vega is the under dimensioned self drains. Therefore I have mounted a pair of extra 1 1/2" self drains just above the original ones.
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Mast steps In order to fix problems with sails, the rig or other rig related problems I have mounted steps on the mast. The steps are mounted on the opposite side of each other with a 60 cm gap. So now both Captain and crew are able to climb all the way to the top (preferably one at a time).
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Teak set In order to get a more teaky feeling in the yacht I have mounted a custom-made teak set. It became both practical and neat.
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Sea bunks We don't want to fall out of our beds, so in order to prevent that sea bunks have been mounted in the lounge beds.
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A turnable 50W solar cell In the rear I have mounted a turnable 50W solar cell. To steady the solar cell, two struts stabilize the solar cell. You are able to loosen up the struts so that you can adjust the solar cell.
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New Aluminum Windows The original windows of the Vega are not made for crossing oceans. This is due to the fact that they are just fastened in rubber gaskets that easily could be pressed into the yacht if they are subjected to pressure from the outside. If a large wave should wash over the yacht, the windows could be pressed in and the yacht would quickly be filled with water, which probably would lead to disaster. To solve this problem we came up with three solutions. Solution one means that we fit new plastic windows that are larger than the original ones, so that they become attached on the outside. These windows can not be pressed in. Solution two means that we fit wooden hatches on the windows, also larger that the original windows. Solution three is the most expensive one and means that we buy new windows that are built with aluminium frames. We decided to use solution three since it was the most secure one, the most practical and the most aesthetic one. We found a complete set of six windows to the Albin Vega that the Vega Association of Great Britain sells. The set costs 750€. The set contains six aluminium windows with 5mm toughened glass. The finished product is 100% waterproof and certainly improves the looks of the Vega!A link to the Vega Association of Great Britain page about these windows: New windows for the Albin Vega |
Pole in the kitchen I have put a stainless pole at the owen so that you are able to hold on to something steady when you are making dinner while sailing.
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New engine Yanmar 2YM15 When the old Albin O22 engine gave up I finally got the opportunity to install an new engine. I chose a Yanmar with 14 hp (Yanmar 2YM15). It feels really safe to have an engine that you can rely on. It also feels good to have got rid of the gasoline onboard. I have also installed a fuel cleaner (Fuel cleaner QL 140) which decompose the micro organisms in the fuel.
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