Alerion 33 Express

[GIOVANNl]

What is the worst wheather this sailboat can sail in without flooding water into the cockpit, breaking the mast, or hurting the hull.

Thanks,
Giovanni

[boatman61]

From what I see in Sailboatdata she's a 1000kgs and a bit lighter than the Contessa 28 and 360 odd kgs less ballast so will be a bit more skittish and you'll need to reef in earlier.. no bad thing.
As to the kind of sea's.. well that all depends on where your sailing her.. in the Med..? the Gulf Stream in a N'ly..? kinda hard to define.. depends on wave formations and interval.
Definitely less capable than a Contessa but just as wet.
Would I sail one across the Atlantic.. in the right season why not.
My 0.0000005 cents.

[GIOVANNl]

Thank you for that reply. I will most likely be sailing this boat along the west coast of the United States. Just out of curiosity, what would make this boat less capable than the contessa? When I looked at sailboat data it is much heavier than the contessa 28. Could you be looking at the Contessa 32?

[CarlF]

This boat structurally could handle just about any weather you throw at it. It's from a top builder who didn't cut corners. The rig is conservative. The hull is infused - very strong. A good ballast ratio and low cabin would give her excellent righting characteristics. Her narrow hull and low cabin would keep her speed up in large waves that would slam many designs. The cockpit is large but not that deep. It would drain quickly - just be sure to keep the boards in the companionway. You could roll her over and she'd come right back up. Although you might not still be aboard.

Crew comfort would be a bigger issue. This type of boat is fast but wet. There's nothing much to stop the waves rolling down the deck. And the tiller makes it difficult (but not impossible) to fit an autopilot. There's very little tankage and you'd ruin her performance if you loaded her with a lot of cruising stores. And no standing headroom would make long distance cruising uncomfortable.

[boatman61]

Opps.. my bad.. pulled up the Alerion 28 specs by mistake so compared them with the Contessa 28..
Have just corrected my error and have the Alerion 33 at...
Displacement:
8700 lbs./ 3946 kgs.
Ballast:
3300 lbs. / 1497 kgs.

Contessa 32 at...
Displacement:
9500 lbs./ 4309 kgs.
Ballast:
4500 lbs. / 2041 kgs.

So the weight difference is still more in the Contessa by 400 and 500kgs.
But she should be fine for your needs.

[Don C L]

This caught my eye because I saw photos of the Alerion a while back and thought she was really a pretty little boat. Haven't seen one in person though yet. My first question is, when you say "west coast" which part do you mean? Even in my neighborhood, south of Point Conception, she'll be a wet ride. She'll need big cockpit drains. On the plus side, for the local islands, she'd be great. Fast, easily sailed in and out of anchorages and with a tarp thrown over the boom for shade, a joy to sleep out in the big cockpit on a warm evening (if those are 6' seats.) Pricey little thing though.

[GIOVANNl]

That is great to know. I am referring to the express which means this particular model would have a wheel. What would cause this boat to roll? If it did and I was harnessed in, I know I would probably not be in the best shape, but what condition would the boat be in it the companionway hatchboards are in and I had the sails up. Would the cabin fill with water through the hull to deck joint, companion way, sinks, or any other unexpected places. Would any standing rigging break from the blow?

The sailing will be anywhere from San Francisco to Alaska.

[Don C L]

For me, for this boat, go out and turn left from SF, not right, unless you add a nice hard dodger. It was built to be a really nice daysailer. Are you talking about actually going from SF to Alaska or sailing for short stints somewhere on the coastline between SF and AK?

[GIOVANNl]

I am taking about sails that should not last longer than three or four days all the way up to Alaska.

[Don C L]

Hmmm, with a hard dodger, good self-steering vane, late summer, picking your weather well, no fixed schedule and someone with you who doesn't mind a good deal of pounding and getting cold and wet at times, I could see it. But listen to what Carl F said. You'll be doing quite a bit of motoring too, so you'll need an adequate supply of diesel. I think it is not what the boat can take, but what you will be willing to put up with and for how long. Oh and if it has the wheel you'll likely not get much protection from the dodger. Well, if you don't mind that kind of thing, it could be a fun ride! Search the threads here for those that talk about going up from SF to Seattle in particular.