Sparrow is a 1974 Balboa 27 masthead sloop. She is 26'6" long, her mast is about 36 feet high, she draws approximately 5 ½ feet, and weighs about 6000 lbs. Her beam is 8' and she has a fixed cast iron fin keel. Most Balboa's were equipped with a swing centerboard and were made to appeal to the trailer sailor market of the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest in the mid 70's. Coastal Recreation in Costa Mesa California was her manufacturer and Coastal Recreation is no longer in business. Her hull is solid fiberglass and her topsides were constructed with skins of fiberglass covering plywood with a steel mesh stiffener.

In sailing literature and on the Internet I've found references to only the swing keel Balboa's. I do not know if Sparrow came from the factory with a fixed keel or whether she was an aftermarket modification. I do see references to Balboa 26's and Balboa 27's out there. Balboa's where considered fast family cruising boats in their time. They have quite a bit of interior volume for their length and they are comparable to Catalina 27's, Hunter 25's, Cal 25's, Ericson 25+'s, and etc.

Her mast is not the original mast, but a bendy rig. This is a performance modification. I can see where the holes for the original chainplates entered the top of the cabin. The original masts for the trailerable version of the Balboa where made to be easily stepped (or removed) for transport. Sparrow's mast is not easily removed and is a much stronger mast. It's made to be slightly bent or curved according to the prevailing wind conditions. This allows the main sail to be trimmed to a wider variety of wind conditions without being reefed. Her boom does have a dent close to the attachment point for the boom vang. I've never had a problem with this, but I did purchase a smaller vang than normal figuring I'd rather have the vang break than the boom.

I know the previous owner replaced her rudder and rudder post.

When I bought Sparrow much of the deck equipment on her did not work or was unsafe. I've either replaced or repaired all of these defects. Sparrow's main problems are cosmetic at this point. I made the conscious decision to sail in a cosmetically challenged boat rather than spend the time and energy fixing her up.

Four years ago her stern pulpit was damaged in a hit and run collision at Whittier Harbor. I replaced the stern pulpit with a custom made 316 stainless pulpit that includes seats and rod holders. This has effectively made it comfortable exterior seating for 6.

Coastal Research's Balboa's where designed by Lyle Hess. Here is a URL for a biography of him

Here are two web URL's for some owner reviews on Balboa 26 and 27's.

Fiberglass sailboats made in the early to mid 70's used a chemical formulation in their fiberglass that seems more resistant to hull blistering than later models. The problem in the chemical composition of fiberglass resin wasn't found and cured until the mid 90's. Sparrow has had no problems with blisters that I know of.

I purchased Sparrow from a fellow out of Seward who seemed a bit down on his luck. He claimed he made his living as a crewman on crab boats most winters. He spent the bulk of his summers traveling around Southeast Alaska in Sparrow. And several friendly neighboring sailors have told me that Sparrow was often seen sailing all over Southeast Alaska and into the Gulf of Alaska at that time. I know almost nothing about Sparrow's other owners. This fellow did say one previous owner had sailed her to Hawaii in some sort of race. I believe him because I found a very tattered and oil soaked offshore life vest buried in her bilge when I was cleaning her out. This type of PFD was quite expensive and would likely only be purchased for offshore racing, as it was a requirement for those types of races. Plus, I can see where she was rigged for a special type of storm sail.

While I came out of the sailboat club racing community myself, I would not have taken her on such a race. She's just too small to be safe in those types of conditions. But, she is a fine coastal cruiser and has many more years of life in her if she is well taken care of.

Existing stuff (it all works unless otherwise noted):

• Kerosene two burner stove top.
• Force 10 kerosene cabin heater and tank/pump.
• Raritan marine head. (no holding tank - plumbed to through hull fitting)
• Twenty gallon water tank and small sink with fresh water hand operated flipper pump
• Sails: main, 165 genoa, 140 genoa, 120 jib, 110 blade, 3/4 oz. downwind spinnaker, reaching spinnaker, and etc. All well used, but still fine for cruising use. (One genoa needs minor repairs to luff tape)
• Speed foil for forestay.
• Six Barient winches and two winch handles. Primaries are two speed. ( While Barient is no longer in business, springs and prawls from Lemar winches fit just fine. I got all the winches unfrozen and replaced the springs and prawls shortly after I purchased her … it was a major chore to get them unstuck!)
• Two six gallon gas tanks with correct fittings for new Suzuki outboard.
• Dodger and complete weather canopy for cockpit. (I removed this because it was made for someone shorter than I am. If I keep Sparrow I'll likely put the dodger back on. It will need a small amount of alteration to fit properly.)
• Mid 90's era Apelco VHF radio.
• 1992 Mariner 15 hp two stroke outboard with alternator.
• Two interior halogen lights and small fan.
• Stern mount Magma propane barbecue.
• Two danforth anchors with chain and nylon anchor line.
• Guzzler Manual bilge pump with valve to allow pumping out cockpit hold and cabin hold.
• Two compasses.
• Electronic Tiller Pilot self steering unit
  

New stuff:

• Standing rigging (wire) and turnbuckles were completely replaced two years ago.
• Most of her running rigging (ropes) was replaced 5 or 6 years ago.
• Block and tackle boom vang.
• 1999 Suzuki 15 hp long shaft 4 stroke outboard w/alternator. It has approximately 20 hours on the engine. It has 2.5 gallon gas tank and a new power prop that hasn't been mounted yet. (The cover has some cosmetic scratches - I got a $100 off the purchase price when I bought it if I took the scratched cover)
• 1998 Garmin chart plotting GPS (model 135 - similar to model 185) and fishfinder was purchased three years ago. I have the data chips for Prince William Sound and Seward areas.
• Standard Communications tri-data instrument package. They are new in box and unmounted.
• Tricolor/Anchor Masthead light.
• New wiring (I have all the tools and materials needed to completely rewire her)
  1. Link 10 battery monitor
  2. Battery switch
  3. Fuse panel and wiring blocks
• Twin Lead Jib blocks
• New bronze sink through hull
• Mini B 121.5 ACR EPIRB

Needs attention:

• Halyards need replacing
• Lifelines need replacing (I have the 7 x 19 stainless wire, parts, and tools needed for this)
• Lifeline stanchions need to be rebedded with shims to make them vertical. (One stanchion needs to be welded or replaced)
• Forward windows in head area need to be rebedded.
• All cushions need replacing (I have all the originals, which can be used for templates … otherwise they are moldy and smell bad!)
• Electrical web needs replacing (it was all rotten and I tore it all out. The mast has all new wiring.)
• Needs new battery bank (use two 6 volt golf cart batteries from Sam's Club @ $47 each. Existing deep cycle marine battery is in storage and is probably permantly dead.)
• Interior needs various small holes and nicks fiberglassed. Entire interior needs to be power washed, sanded, and repainted.
• Topsides need to be sanded and repainted. Some minor fiberglass work needs to be done in motor mount area and where some deck hardware has been repositioned.
• Hull needs to be sanded and repainted with two part epoxy paint and then bottom painted. Bare metal on keel needs to be sealed.

Potential modifications:

When I purchased Sparrow the interior was coated with moldy and burned carpeting. I tore it all out to fix a bad smell problem. This left a layer of flaking adhesive visible. Once her interior is cleaned up and repainted I would suggest her interior be insulated with a thin foil and bubble wrap product made for insulating RV's or house heating ductwork. I would than screw ¼ inch cedar strips over this. This would go a long ways towards solving the condensation problem inherent in all small fiberglass boats. The insulation keeps the cold out and the uncoated wood absorbs any water vapor that does get inside. This makes for a much warmer and comfortable boat.

Her bulkhead needs to be tabbed to the hull and topsides. Once this is done I would likely add a stiffener to the bulkhead around the mast step. While her compression post seems to be holding up well this would forestall any problems in the future. While I'm at this I would add a couple of fiberglass transverse stiffeners elsewhere on the ceiling to provide a place to screw the wood cedar ceiling to. This would provide a gap for the foil and bubble wrap insulation to fit into.

Her bulkhead is very cosmetically challenged. Its possible to replace it, but I would rather sand it down and stain it. Than I would likely make a fabric cover for both sides of this. These could be easily taken on and off with metal snaps whenever they needed cleaning. Other areas not covered with cedar could also get this fabric treatment. I have all the old wood trim pieces and they can be easily cleaned up and varnished. I would suggest removing all the small doors and just stringing shock cord or making fabric covers/doors to keep stuff from rolling around.

I would suggest removing the head door and just making a fabric curtain. The existing door is a pain and doesn't really provide any more privacy than a curtain would.

I would suggest having all the running rigging terminate at the cockpit. Currently the halyards must be worked from the deck top. Proper turning blocks and rope clutches can be found used. This would require fussing with the dodger, but it certainly makes for a dryer and safer sail in nasty weather.

Currently the table folds down to provide a bed surface for two. I would suggest making the entire cabin from the cockpit enterance to the bulkhead a single bedding surface.

I would suggest installing an interior gas tank and blowers below the cockpit. This would obviate the need to carry jerry cans.