carl alberg sailboat designs

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Carl A. Alberg

Gothenburg, Sweden

April 11, 1901

– August 31, 1986

Inductee Class Of

Carl Alberg designed a series of small cruiser/racer sailboats that have attracted passionate sailors. Over the course of his career, he designed more than 50 yachts – with many still actively being raced today. He was born in Sweden and immigrated to the United States in 1925. Alberg studied naval architecture at Chalmers Institute of Technology. At first, he worked in several New England shipyards before joining John Gale Alden as a rigger and spar maker in Lynn, Massachusetts. Eventually, Alberg moved to Alden’s design staff and worked as a draftsman on wooden offshore yachts and cruising vessels. One of the yachts he drew the lines for was Stagehound, which won the Transpacific Ocean Race in 1953 and 1955. Alberg served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His charge was converting pleasure craft into useful vessels for the war effort. During the Korean War, Alberg joined the U.S. Coast Guard and worked on working vessels for service.

Fiberglass was a new material that was becoming popular for yacht construction. Alberg was turned off by modern yacht design and wrote in Sail Magazine about his concept for sailboats, “My boats are strictly family-cruising boats. In all my designs, I go for comfortable accommodations and boats you can sail upright without scaring the life out of your family or friends. I gave them a good long keel, plenty of displacement and beam, and a fair amount of sail area so they can move.” He was not inspired by fin keels, spade rudders and flat bottoms. His design philosophy was to create boats with long, graceful overhangs, low sheer lines, a narrow beam and full keels. Alberg’s boats were generally heavier than other designs, but he wanted them to be easy to sail in a seaway.

Alberg’s philosophy worked. In 1959, he started a production run of a 28-foot sloop called a Triton. Over the next eight years, 707 Tritons were launched. His Alberg 30 debuted on San Francisco Bay in 1962. An impressive 710 boats were built. A fleet of Alberg 30s still race on Chesapeake Bay and are popular throughout the USA. He joined Everett Pearson on a new one design concept for family sailing and launched the first Pearson Ensign in 1962. More than 1,600 Ensigns have been built – and like the Alberg 30 – are still a popular racing class. His next line of work was for Cape Dory Yachts. Among his designs for Cape Dory was the 19-foot Typhoon and the Cape Dory 28. Alberg wanted boats to look “normal,” be comfortable and sail easily. He insisted that his line of boats was well built and used reliable fittings, rigs and deck gear. More than 10,000 of his 56 designs were built and are still sailing today, which is a testament to this pragmatic yacht designer.

~ Gary Jobson

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The Sailing Museum & National Sailing Hall of Fame

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Carl Alberg (1900-1986)

Alberg's career coincided with the newly developing fiberglass boat-building techniques beginning in the late 1950s, and the founding of Pearson Yachts, one of the pioneers in the field. Thousands of boats designed by Alberg were built by Pearson and others, and most are still sailing to this day. Among his most well-known designs are the Pearson and Aeromarine Triton, Bristol 27, Pearson Ariel, Commander, Ensign, Alberg 30, Alberg 35, Alberg 37 and many of the Cape Dory designs. The vast majority of his designs were built in the US where he spent most of his life. He was adamant about what he considered a good, safe design and resisted the trends toward fin keels, spade rudders and flat bottoms. His designs are typically recognizable, with long, graceful overhangs, low-slung sheerlines, narrow beam and sweeping full keels that are cutaway in the forefoot, designed to the CCA rules of the 1960s. It has been said that Alberg had but one boat design and simply scaled it up or down as needed.

Andrew Vavolitis of Cape Dory Yachts said, "I always asked Carl to design me the beamiest and shallowest boat possible. Then he'd go away, and what he came back with, was what we used. Of course, it was never as beamy, or as shallow, as we liked. He never compromised his design principles." Carl passed away on August 31, 1986 at his home in Marblehead, Massachusetts. His 56 designs resulted in over 10,000 boats. This site is dedicated to Carl Alberg and the graceful, sea-kindly boats the "stubborn Swede" designed, that have brought generations of sailors so much enjoyment.

Carl Alberg's yacht plans and drawings are now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA USA.

Welcome Aboard!

Known Alberg Boat Designs
Owner's Photo Gallery
Maintenance, Improvement, Restoration (MIR)
National Triton Association
Alberg Fleet of San Francisco

Popular design from Carl Alberg

19' 6" 19' 6" 14' 6" 2' 9" 26' 6"

outboard 3 to 6 hp 45%

Carl Alberg

Sailstar Boats, Bristol Yachts

portable portable

Min./max. draft: Bridge clearance: Power: B/D ratio:

Designer: Builder:

Years produced: Sail area: Fuel tankage: Water tankage:

Approx. trailering wgt.: 4,000 lbs.

Over 700 of these shippy-looking little sloops were built between 1965 and the early 1980s. Alberg's designs are so distinctive that his trademark look is hard to miss. For example, compare this boat with a near lookalike, the Cape Dory Typhoon 18 (19) on page 23. The resemblance is striking, at least until one realizes that the smaller boat is not only a foot shorter but also almost 1,000 lbs. lighter. In any case, while not usually seen on the racing circuit, like most Alberg designs, this one is a solid, wholesome, forgiving, and easy-to-sail vessel, great for daysailing and overnighting in that harbor a few miles away from your home base. Best features: The Corinthian's springy sheer, extended overhangs fore and aft, and reasonably good finish make her a pleasure to behold. Her in-the-cockpit engine well (an optional extra when new) offers convenience to the helmsperson, and because of her hull shape , keeps propeller cavitation in waves to a minimum. Worst features: Her SA/D of 15.3 is in the "very low" category, and her D/L of 399 is considered very high, making her relatively slow in light air (but relatively stable in heavy air).

								Avg.	Max.	Motion	Space	No. of	Head-
Comps	LOD	Beam	MinDr	Displ	Bllst	SA/D	D/L	PHRF	Speed	Index	Index	Berths	room
Quickstep 21	20' 10"	8' 0"	1' 11"	2,500	950	17.5	176	279	5.8	12.3	316	4	4' 4"
Halman 20	19' 6"	7' 9"	2' 10"	2,500	1,000	15.8	248	276	5.4	14.0	295	4	5' 0"
Nordica 20	19' 6"	7' 8"	3' 3"	2,520	1,020	15.7	250	276	5.4	14.7	292	4	5' 0"
Corinthian 19 (20)	19' 6"	6' 6"	2' 9"	2,724	1,100	15.3	399	292	5.1	21.6	216	2	4' 2"

Continue reading here: A truly unique design from Phil Bolger

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Sailboat Guide

Alberg 30 is a 30 ′ 3 ″ / 9.2 m monohull sailboat designed by Carl Alberg and built by Whitby Boat Works Ltd. between 1962 and 1987.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
LOA: Length overall in feet
Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

From BlueWaterBoats.org :

“A legend in it’s own time”, that’s the description John Vigor made about the Alberg 30 in his book Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere . And indeed the Alberg 30 has garnered a huge following with an active community of owners in North America. It’s an unmistakably traditional boat with long overhangs, a narrow beam, and a full cutaway keel-attached rudder, a design harkening back to the early 60s that’s forgiving to sail and seaworthy enough to cross oceans. This 30-footer has many circumnavigations to its credit, perhaps the most notable being that of Yves Gelinas, who made an award winning film of his circumnavigation in Jean du Sud .

The Alberg 30 story began, when in 1961, a bunch of Scandinavian style folkboat owners from Toronto’s National Yacht Club got together and approached Whitby Boat Works to design and build them a boat that was bigger. For the design, Whitby Boat Works in turn approached Carl Alberg (1900 – 1986), at that time one of America’s leading yacht designers.

The brief that was given to Alberg was for a boat built from fiberglass that would sleep four. The configuration had to have a full keel, a practical cockpit, and an interior that had full standing headroom interior and a decent galley. The boat that resulted was the Alberg 30 which was introduced in the following year of 1962.

While the boats were being built a group of sailors from Washington DC inspected the Alberg 30 at Whitby Boat Works and left with firm orders for 15. Another group from Annapolis left with orders for 12, the production run continued into what has become a one of the longest runs on record tallying over 750 boats through a 22 year period. Today Alberg 30s can be found scattered over all parts of the world, but mainly concentrating around North America and particularly in Chesapeake Bay where a vibrant owners association has approximately 250 members.

Boat Configuration

The Alberg 30 is classic design from the 1960s period when many boats were transitioning from wood to fiberglass construction. Narrow beam, low freeboard, large overhangs, and a full keel with a cutaway on the forefoot and a rudder directly attached were the order of the day. When looking at the history of how the boat came to be, it’s not surprising the design is heavily influenced by the Scandinavian folkboat style, Carl Alberg himself being a Swedish born American.

By modern standards the boat’s narrow beam and low freeboard means the insides will seem extremely small and cramped however this traditional approach to seaworthiness pays dividends in rough seas with a hull that is ultimately stable and seakindly.

Berths accommodating a crew of four are divided into two areas, two in the v-berth, and two in the main saloon area. In between is the head.

The galley is situated in the well vented space at the back of the saloon below the companionway where the cook can be a part of the social happenings outside in the cockpit when under anchor.

Construction

The boats are solidly built. It was a time when fiberglass was the new wonder material and pioneering a new material meant construction was pretty conservative. That translated into lots of glass fiber and lots of resin. The fiberglass was hand laid and polyester resin was used. Early decks were cored with Masonite , which gave way in favor of balsa after 1970.

The mast is deck-stepped and supported originally by a laminated wooden beam on early boats, which over the years have proven to be a weak point. Boats produced from 1970 changed over to an aluminum beam encased with fiberglass. It’s not uncommon to find early boats to have been retrofitted with aluminum supporting beam.

Though the original design by Alberg called for lead ballast, the boats were instead produced with iron ballast encapsulated inside the keel cavity. This resulted in early boats being quite tender and more ballast was added to subsequent production to correct for this.

The Alberg 30 has been described as a forgiving boat to sail. In its day it would have been considered a relatively quick boat, being designed to be raced under the Cruising Club of America racing rules, but don’t expect modern day performance. The boat will not point particularly high to windward, the best point of sail is reported to be a beam reach to close reach. Expect some amount of hobby-horsing.

As conditions get rougher, the Alberg 30’s seaworthiness starts to shine, with its narrow beam the boat tends to slice through the waves where modern designs which favor beaminess and high freeboard will get thrown around. In more extreme conditions, the classically seaworthy design is well suited for heaving-to or laying ahull without complications.

Buyers Notes

Advice can be sought from the active community of owner associations. Particular areas for inspection are listed below:

Check the support under the deck-stepped mast for signs of delamination. Pre-1970 models were of laminated wood, check for signs of cracking.
Its been reported the forward lower shroud chainplates are not well supported and should be inspected closely for signs of movement or stress.
Check the deck for delamination as well as signs of rot in the coring (creaking sounds).
On older boats, the heel fitting on the rudder may be worn.
The rudders on the earliest boats were reported not to be strong enough with the internal reinforcing parting from the fiberglass.

As of 2010, the asking price of Alberg 30s generally range from $15k-$30k USD depending on their condition as much as their year of build. There are the odd examples that are asking much higher prices having undergone very extensive rebuilds and presenting themselves in “as new” condition.

Links, References and Further Reading

Sailing Magazine, Apr 2002, Used Boat Notebook
BoatUS, Alberg 30 review by Jack Horner
The Alberg 30 Association, Information, reviews, photos and more
Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere by John Vigor , (Ch1, p1-6) an in depth look at the Alberg 30. ISBN:978-0939837328

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Carl Alberg's Yacht Designs

Carl Alberg, of course, started out designing wooden boats , but he was a pioneer in the design of fiberglass sailboats. This list contains all the production fiberglass designs of which I'm aware.

--> Daysailer Weekender
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mfg	loa	lwl	beam	draft	displ	notes

or Venture IV or Fortitude --> --> --> -->

First impressions The Alberg 30 bears the unmistakable signature of Carl Alberg, a look evident in so many boats from this period, including the Pearson Triton, Bristol 27 and Alberg 37. The look, which was modern in its day, is now considered traditional, at least when defined in terms of fiberglass boats. The long overhangs, springy sheer, low freeboard, cutaway full keel with an attached rudder, narrow beam, stair-stepped cabintrunk and moderate sailplan are trademark Alberg. It is safe to say that the Alberg 30 traces its roots to the Scandinavian Folkboat, as most of Alberg's designs do, and the hull shape represents the transition that was taking place as builders switched from wood to fiberglass construction. The Alberg 30 may not be the quickest boat afloat, especially in light air, but don't be misled by the specs. With slack bilges and just 8 feet, 9 inches of beam, the boat is initially tender. The short waterline increases as the boat heels and the Alberg 30 finds its stride when other boats are being overpowered. The boat has a seakindly motion, although it can hobbyhorse in a seaway. The Alberg 30 is a proven blue water cruiser; indeed, Yves Gelinas circumnavigated in one by way of Cape Horn in his Alberg 30 Jean de Sud.

Construction Most Alberg 30s have held up very well over the years, a tribute to Whitby's solid construction. There was nothing fancy about the building process, but like other early fiberglass boats, there was no shortage of material used in the 30's hull and deck. The hull is hand-laid, solid fiberglass bonded with polyester resin. Early decks and cabintrunks were partially cored with Masonite, while those built after 1970 used more common balsa coring. Early boats used a laminated wood beam to support the mast, while later boats were fitted with an aluminum beam encased in a fiberglass liner. Later boats also incorporated a fiberglass pan for the cabin sole and as a base for the furniture. Whitby made similar changes in its other successful Alberg design, the 37. The ballast is iron, encapsulated in the keel cavity. According to some reports, Alberg specified lead ballast and a few of the earliest boats were quite tender until extra ballast was added.

What to look for Like any boat, there are a few items to watch for when inspecting used Alberg 30s. Unlike other boats, however, the Alberg 30's flaws have not only been well documented by respective class associations over the years, but solutions to the problems are just as well documented. If you are looking at a pre-1970 boat, for example, be sure to check the wooden mast support beam. The beam may well be cracked after years of flexing under load, and it is not unusual to find a retrofitted aluminum plate to beef up the support. Be sure to probe around on deck to see if depressions are evident around the maststep. Deck delamination is another problem to watch for, so carefully sound the decks, listening for the telltale creaking sounds that reveal rot in the core. Again, this seems more common in older boats, and don't overreact to a bit of deck delamination as almost every old boat has it to some degree. Another common problem is the attachment of the forward lower chainplates, which are not well supported belowdecks. In fact, Jean de Sud lost her mast in the Pacific when a chainplate pulled out. Naturally, be sure to inspect all the components of the standing rigging, including the chainplates themselves, which can be bent and fatigued after years of hard use. The type of engine may influence your buying decision since the need to repower the boat will certainly skew your budget. In fact, adding a new diesel can cost almost as much as the boat itself when you include the cost of installation. The earliest boats were fitted with 22-horsepower Gray Marine gas engines. Most Alberg 30s, however, came standard with a 30-horsepower Universal Atomic 4 gas engine, the workhorse of the industry for many years. Some of the later boats came with diesels, either a single cylinder Bukh or a two-cylinder Volvo.

On deck The Alberg 30's cockpit is fairly large and the seats are long enough to stretch out on. There is good leg support on either tack, but the mahogany coaming board does get you in the small of the back after a while. Tiller steering was standard, and while there must be some wheel-steered 30s, I haven't seen one. There is a stout bridgedeck, typical of all Alberg designs. Circumnavigator Gelinas notes that he can fit two folding bikes in the cockpit lockers. There is also a lazarette astern. The boat can be wet when sailing upwind and a spray dodger is a useful addition. Like many CCA-influenced designs, the Alberg 30 has a long boom and the mainsheet features end-boom sheeting, usually led to a traveler aft of the cockpit. It's likely the sheet winches have been upgraded, although it isn't necessary as the headsail loads are not overly heavy. The 30 is not a close-winded boat and the headsail tracks are on the rail to clear the shrouds. The single-spreader sloop rig carries 410 square feet of sail, with more than half of that area in the mainsail. The lifelines and low stanchions are not designed to keep an adult from going overboard, but there are teak handrails on the raised portion of the cabintrunk. The nonskid may be worn, and if the decks have been painted they may be slick when wet. The mooring hardware is more than adequate.

Down below The Alberg 30's interior seems incredibly small by modern standards-it isn't much of a stretch to say that there is more room in a new Hunter 260, heck maybe even the 240. But then of course, the comparison is absurd, since the Alberg 30 is a completely different animal. The interior arrangement is straightforward, and nobody will ever accuse Alberg of resorting to gimmicks. There is a V-berth forward with an enclosed head aft to port with a hanging locker opposite. The saloon has settees port and starboard and a clever portable dining table mounted on an aluminum Z-shaped leg. When not in use, the table stows over the V-berth. A small galley is to starboard, usually with a single sink facing aft and a two-burner stove next to it. A good-sized icebox is located to port and early boats had an access hatch from the cockpit. The interior may be small, but the workmanship is good, and it has a snug feeling to it. The large saloon ports keep it well lit although the ventilation usually consists of only the forward-opening deck hatch, which of course is usually secured when under way. There is a lot of storage, with drawers and lockers throughout.

Engine As mentioned earlier, the first boats were equipped with a 22-horsepower Gray Marine gas engines (the infamous Sea Scout). Early on, however, the standard engine became the Universal Atomic 4, which can still be found in many boats. Bukh and Volvo diesels were used late in the production run. Efficient motoring and engine access were not priorities in most Alberg designs, and the 30 is no exception. The engine is accessible from behind the companionway, although not particularly friendly to work on. The stuffing box, on the other hand, takes a contortionist and a special set of wrenches to change the packing, making the 30 a prime candidate for a dripless stuffing box. I would push a boat with a newer, refit diesel to the top of my list when searching for a used Alberg 30.

Under way Older boats that maintain loyal and active followings invariably share one key trait-they sail well. The Alberg 30 is easy to handle, will stand up to a blow and has a nice motion. The boat balances well with the main and working jib, although weather helm can be an issue when flying a genoa. All owners agree that the 30 sails best when the main is reefed early because of the initial tenderness. A rule of thumb is change or furl the headsail to keep the decks clear of water and then hold on for the ride. The Alberg 30 is designed to sail on its ear, yet the boat feels incredibly solid in the water. The old line about sailing on rails is most apropos. Gelinas, who by the way is the manufacturer of the well-respected Cape Horn self-steering vane, has owned Jean du Sud for 27 years and has logged some 50,000 miles. He notes that the boat's hull shape has a great motion at sea, although he too suggests that you reef the main early. Gelinas dispensed with his Atomic 4 engine to free up storage space, and even today only uses an outboard perched on the stern for the rare times he finds powering necessary. Conclusion With prices ranging from just over $10,000 to around $25,000, it's easy to see why the Alberg 30 is an enduring favorite. It's an ideal boat for families wanting to test the waters of sailing, or for singlehanders and couples looking for an inexpensive but capable boat for cruising. Another alluring feature of the Alberg 30 is that with the right trailer and SUV it can be hauled by road to out-of-the-way cruising grounds. "To me the Alberg 30 is very close to the ideal boat: solid enough to sail around Cape Horn but small enough to carried on the road to the cruising ground of my choice," Gelinas said.

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SEA SPRITE ASSOCIATION

For sea sprite sailboat lovers everywhere.

Carl Alberg (1900-1986) Carl A. Alberg was born in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1900 and is the designer of the Sea Sprite 23.

“The harbor was always filled with ships and boats of all kinds and when we weren’t sailing there, the family usually vacationed on an island off the coast where my father, brother and I used to race each other in small sailboats.” He took two years of sailboat design courses at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. In 1925, he moved to Lynn, Massachusetts, USA and worked as a rigger for General Dynamics in Quincy. He moved on to become a spar-maker at the Lawless boatyard in Neponsett. There, he met John Alden who hired him as a designer.

“I enjoyed working with Alden very much. He was a wonderful guy, pleasant, calm, never getting excited, and I learned quite a bit from working with him. His designs were conservative. He concentrated on seaworthiness, comfort and boats that would sail on their bottoms, and that’s pretty much what I’ve tried to do with my boats.” During World War Two, he interrupted his tenure at Alden to work for the Navy at the Charleston Naval Shipyard. After his return, he designed the U.S. One-Design. In 1946, he left Alden for good, starting his own firm. Another short period at the Charleston Shipyard during the Korean War led to a 10-year position with the Coast Guard as chief marine engineer/architect.

Toward the end of that period he met the Pearson cousins, who were kids just hanging around the boats. He asked them about building one of his designs in fiberglass, and, in 1959, both the Triton (28 feet, 675 built) and Pearson Yachts were born.

In 1961, a small group of Toronto sailors approached Kurt Hansen, then of Continental Yacht Sales, with an idea of a 30-foot fiberglass boat for class racing. Mr. Hansen contacted Carl Alberg late in that year.

The design was based on Carl’s design, the “Odyssey,” of which fifteen had been built in San Francisco in 1959. Intended for the heavy weather of the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, the Odyssey had a heavy displacement and a 7/8ths rig. The original Alberg-30 drawings followed this design with 2000 pounds less displacement and 3 inches less draft. By mid-1962, the plans were complete and construction commenced.

Whitby Boat Works came into being. Kurt Hansen changed the ballast from the designed lead to cast iron to hold down the production costs. In some of the early boats, the weight was insufficient and internal ballast had to be fixed in the bilge. Then, after the molds had been made, the syndicate of sailors who had ordered the boats decided they wanted a masthead rig. It was too late to move the mast step aft the 24 inches that was required, so, instead, the mast was shortened and the jib stay was raised. Carl Alberg wasn’t pleased with the decision, but later admitted, “It seems to have worked out ok.”

After several other designs, including the Ensign (22 feet, 1600 built) were launched, he retired from the Coast Guard in 1963. About this time, Andrew Vavolotis asked him to design a 28-footer for Cape Dory. He’d already picked up the mold for the Typhoon from a bankrupt boatbuilder. This began a long association and a period when Carl Alberg designed at least one boat a year. In all, Carl designed 10 boats for Cape Dory, ranging from 19 to 45 feet. Vavolitis says,

“I always asked Carl to design me the beamiest and shallowest boat possible. Then he’d go away and what he came back with was what we used. Of course, it was never as beamy or as shallow as we liked. He never compromised his design principles.” Carl’s own assessment agrees:

“Contrasted to the modern IOR boats where you have six gorillas sitting on the weather rail with their feet hanging outside trying to keep the boat upright, my boats are strictly family-cruising boats. In all my designs I go for comfortable accommodations and a boat you can sail upright without scaring the life out of your family or friends. I gave them a good long keel, plenty of displacement and beam, and a fair amount of sail area so they can move.” In 1979, while those modern boats were capsizing and sinking, an Alberg 25 on it’s way to England comfortably lay a-hull.

“It was really blowing and though they shortened sails and did everything else they could in order to keep going, they eventually took everything off, went below, battened down the hatches and just ate, drank and played cards. When it had blown over they hoisted sail and continued to England, where they were told they had just sailed through the same gale that had taken 16 lives in the Fastnet race. They had ridden out the storm by just sitting in the cabin while everyone else was capsizing.” “There are still some designers around who share my ideas about glass boat design. Everyone else is trying to conform to the new rules. My boats are more designed to follow the waves and stay relatively dry and stable.” Carl passed away on August 31, 1986 at his home in Marblehead Massachusetts. His 56 designs resulted in over 10,000 boats.

Bibliography: The Early Years, Bruce Beckner, 1984. (The Chesapeake Bay Alberg 30 One-Design Association, Inc.)

“Carl Alberg – His wholesome designs sailed us into the age of fiberglass”, Sailing, Brian Hill, February 1984 issue, page 29. (Port Publications, Inc., 125 E. Main St., Port Washington, WI 53074; 414-284-3494; FAX:414-284-7764)

Editorial, Cruising World, Dan Spurr, November 1986. This information is from the Alberg 30 web site.

Alfred “Bill” Luders (1909-1999) Alfred “Bill” Luders was born 1909 and designed every Sea Sprite except the 23′.

Mr. Luders was a world class skipper in the 1930’s in the six meter racing class. Among the many famous yachts Mr. Luders designed was the sloop American Eagle, built for the America’s Cup competition. It was later owned by Ted Turner, the media tycoon.

Mr. Luders’ father founded Luders Marine Construction which produced more than 100 vessels for the United States during WWII. The company built minesweepers, patrol craft and submarine chasers.

After his father’s death, Mr. Luders continued to run the shipyard, building the America’s Cup boat Weatherly in 1958 to the design of Philip Rhodes. Weatherly was not a successful campaigner in that series, but after a redesign by Mr. Luders, she successfully defended the cup in 1964 with Bus Mossbacker at the helm.

Mr. Luders designed , and his shipyard built, many others yachts for owners such as King Olaf V of Norway, actor Yul Brenner, Nelson Rockefeller and the Pulitzer family.

The company closed in 1968 after changing technology and Fiberglass construction did not appeal to Mr. Luders. The last racing yachts designed and built by him were the 5.5 meter sloops, a class used in Olympic and international competition.

The Sea Sprite 34 was Bill Luders last design. He died January 3, 1999.

ArioseNotes

Our boat: the alberg 30.

THE DESIGNER.

Carl Alberg, a Swedish-born American, was one of North America’s most respected yacht designers. The Pearson Triton was one of his notable creations. The Cape Dory Typhoon is another. In fact, he has 47 designs to his credit, some of which continued in production after his passing. His home in Massachusetts, fittingly, overlooked the local harbour.

Not only was Alberg a skilled designer, but it seems that he had a sense of humour too. The Great Lakes Alberg Association (GLAA) has posted a letter from an early owner on its site. This person wrote to Alberg describing several groundings on rock and gravel which resulted in deep scratches. He asked for advice as to the best method to duplicate the boat’s strong construction when repairing the damage. Carl Alberg’s advise? To move to the Chesapeake Bay where the bottom is mud.

BIRTH OF THE ALBERG 30.

The 30 footer is one of the middle children of the large Alberg family. Alberg 22s, 29s, 30s, 34s, 35s, and 37s were produced. A group of sailors from Toronto Yacht Club approached Whitby Boat Works Limited of Whitby, Ontario, Canada in 1961 to design and build a boat to meet their needs. They were looking for a racer/cruiser. They wanted something built from fibreglass (boats were just beginning to transition from wood construction), with a full keel, standing headroom in the cabin, and more. Whitby Boat Works turned to Carl Alberg to design it. Some sailors from the US east coast (Washington DC and Annapolis) also were interested and placed orders. Shortly after, the Alberg 30 was born and the first boat was launched in 1963 (side note: it preceded Shirley’s “launch” by a few months). Subsequently, more than 750 Alberg 30s were produced over a 22 year run.

There continues to be a concentration of Albergs currently in Chesapeake Bay, U.S. and Toronto, Canada, where enthusiastic owners associations keep the vision alive. We’ll include links to their sites at the bottom of this page. Descriptions and testimonials of owners often sound like accounts of love affairs. Here’s why.

DESIGN & TECHNICAL FEATURES.

Melo enjoying guard duty... just don't consider forcing this poodle on board

It does technically accommodate a crew of four (two in the v-berth, and two in the main saloon) but they would need to be a group of exceptionally compatible crew we think for that to work. The head (a manual pump toilet), with an integral holding tank is squeezed in opposite a hanging closet, and these divide the v-berth from the saloon. The minimalist galley is in the aft part of the cabin below the companionway. All Alberg 30s had an icebox. Ours had a cut-away in the counter to house a antiquated looking 2-burner propane stove – we’re upgrading to a new marine oven/stove. I think that is project #37 on the list. A previous owner installed a propane heater which was much appreciated during our early season northern Ontario over-nighters … thanks Jordan!

The Alberg 30 seems to be a perfect combination of sturdy and sweet-sailing. Alberg 30s have a reputation for being solidly built. Whitby Boat Works was a highly regarded company and as with others pioneering in the use of fiberglass construction, they were generous, compared to modern methods, in their use of hand-laid fiber and resin. We’ve come across many accounts of groundings over the years with hardly a scratch resulting. Thankfully, we have yet to have an occasion to support or refute this claim.

A fiberglass composite rudder is attached to the keel, and a 3300 pound iron ballast is encapsulated inside the keel cavity – that should keep it upright! The deck and cabin house are constructed of fiberglass cloth and a core was used in areas for added strength. Boats built prior to 1970 utilized masonite as a core material while those built after used balsa wood. There’s quite a few reports of problems with the masonite getting soft. Some folks have taken on ambitious projects replacing the deck. Our deck seems fine, but we will know better once we open it up to do some other work. Fingers are crossed!

The cockpit and lazarette are at the stern. The mast is deck-stepped. Early boats had a laminated wood beam to support the mast and this has proven to be one another of the Alberg’s few weak points. There have been situations of failure after hard use. Most boats from that era have been retrofitted with an aluminum plate to support that area, and this seems to be an effective repair. In 1970 this was replaced by an aluminum beam encased with fiberglass. The final design flaw we’re aware of is a weakness in the attachment of the forward lower shroud chain plates. A previous owner beefed this up on Ariose … thanks, Bill and Christine!

Of course, most Alberg 30s have some problems as would be expected from the normal wear and aging of any vintage boat. We’re ever so grateful for the good care previous owners have given to our boat. She’s in good shape.

Originally the Alberg 30s were powered by the twenty-two horsepower Gray Marine gasoline engine, and then later by the Universal Atomic 4 engine. In later years of production, diesel engines were available (single cylinder Bukh diesel, followed by two cylinder Volvo Penta marine engine). Some Albergs still have their original engine. Ours has been re-powered with a Yanmar 3GM30 diesel …. thanks, once again, Bill!

Originally, Alberg 30s were outfitted with a tiller, but many, ours included, the tiller has been replaced with a wheel.

DATING OUR BOAT – VARIATIONS OVER THE YEARS.

Our Alberg, according to 2 surveyors who based their documentation on information from the owners at that time, was built in 1971. There is no visible hull number, though, which would give it a positive identification. Its sail number is 392. If that is correct, and this sail is not a hand-me-down from another boat, Cathie Coultis, Commodore of the Great Lakes Alberg Association, through consulting Whitby Boat Works Shipping Manifest & Order Cards, has advised us that #392 was produced in 1969. At that time, the Alberg 30 was going through some changes. The main differentiating features were that the older boats had a laminated wood mast beam, no liner, masonite cored decks, their decks drained directly overboard under the toerail, and the upright icebox was accessible from the cabin and the cockpit. Newer boats had an aluminum mast beam, balsa cored decks, decks drained through hoses to cockpit scuppers, molded fiberglass pan forms cabin sole and support for furniture, and the icebox is top loading from the cabin only. It’s likely that boats starting with #409 were the newer design. Whitby Boat Works made ongoing incremental changes, and there are also a few transition boats (such as #371) that share characteristics of both, with many variations over the years when tailoring boats individual customers. Of course, most boats have had subsequent upgrades and modifications to suit successive owners. It is likely that no two boats are exactly alike.

Our boat leans toward having the features of newer Alberg 30s: mast beam (uncertain, but no signs of stress so either newer or repaired older), no liner that we can tell (older), deck (uncertain, but in good shape, so likely newer – will find out when we install some deck equipment this summer), toerail/scupper drain (newer), icebox cabin opening (newer – much to Tim’s chagrin when he thinks of the easy access to cold beer from the cockpit that he could have had). We’re not sure which vintage of Albergs came with their own standard poodle guard dog as ours does.

So, when we assemble the pieces of this age puzzle, Ariose was built in:

1971 – according to some previous owners
1969 – according to our boat’s likely number
pre or post 1970 – according to its features it’s either a post ‘70 boat or a pre ‘70 early forerunner of the newer models.

No definitive results, it seems. The mystery continues. We’ll stick with assuming it is a 1969 unless new information comes to light… we like the notion of Ariose being born in the same decade we were.

SAILING QUALITIES.

As mentioned before, the Alberg 30 is known to be forgiving to sail and seaworthy enough to cross oceans. It has many circumnavigations to its credit – quite remarkable considering its relatively small size. We’ve come across accounts of 4 solo circumnavigations. We have yet to decide if this breeds confidence for us duo sailers or not. After all, if people can sail it singlehanded around the world, it must be fairly straightforward for two to do some small scale off-shore sailing? Or, does its cozy confines preclude comfortable companionship? We’ll see.

When the Alberg 30 was designed, it was considered a relatively quick boat, but not so much by modern day racing standards. We’re not interested in racing at this time, so that’s okay. The boat will not point particularly high to windward, and we find it seems happiest at a beam reach to close reach. We’ve read that the Alberg 30 shines when the going gets rough as its narrow beam allows it to slice through the waves. Modern designs that boast about ample cabin space will have their crew well tossed when in heavy seas. The Alberg 30 is said to comfortably be able to heave-to to wait out storms, although that’s probably a relative assessment as it’s hard to imagine using the words “comfortable” and “storms” in the same sentence.

Length over all: 30 feet 3 inches
Length at water line: 21 feet 8 inches
Beam: 8 feet 9 inches
Draft: 4 feet 3 inches
Displacement: 9,000 lbs
Sail Area: 410 sqft
Builder: Whitby Boat Works
Years produced: 1962-mid 1980s (various sources indicate 1984, 1986, 1987)

And that’s it from us for now about our boat, Ariose, the Alberg 30.

Happy sailing!

I’m a solo sailing Autistic adult who is exploring this fantastic world on a beautiful 1969 Alberg 30. Come and share it with me for musings about sailing solo and what it’s like to do it on the Spectrum.

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Carl Alberg’s Timeless Designs

Wed tucked into Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, when the pretty green sloop sailed through the narrow slot into the basin. A ballsy kid, he didnt even furl the jib.

I can’t recall his name. He was in his 20s-handy with tools and a brush. The boats coamings gleamed with nine layers of varnish. The boat, I remember well. It was the first time I got a really close look at an Alberg 30. She was, in many ways, the sort of sailboat an elementary school artist might render, if you asked him to draw a sailboat. Deceptively simple. Elegant and well-balanced.

I got the feeling that the designer, the late Carl Alberg, approached this boat the same way the child with a box of crayons would-not too concerned with what was going on inside-how many bunks, how big the galley was, or the amount of storage space. (The kid in the Alberg 30 found more than enough room for his worldly possessions.)

Born in 1900 in Sweden, Alberg grew up in the shadow of the shipyard cranes of Goteburg, Sweden. His first and foremost concern, like that of most Scandinavian designers, was seaworthiness. (The North Sea winters can have that effect.)

While Alberg was surely influenced by the ratings rules of his era, which encouraged yawls and long overhangs, he held a deep conviction that the heavily ballasted, narrow hull offer seakeeping advantages that wider hulls lack. Even Albergs later yachts built for Cape Dory, designed in the 1970s when beam-to-length ratios were still fairly modest, demonstrated an aversion to girth at the waterline.

In his exceptional book on the history of fiberglass boat building, Heart of Glass, former PS Editor Dan Spurr describes Cape Dorys Andrew Vavolitis trying to squeeze more beam out of Alberg to meet the market demands for floating condos. He might give me an inch or two, but that was it, said Vavolotis. After that, Carl would say, If you want more beam, go find another designer. I don’t think thats right.

To loudly proclaim that a wider beam is superior for its initial stability is to simplify yacht design. As any keelboat racer will tell you, a wide flotation plane can backfire when wave and wind conspire to force a capsize. And such statements say nothing about the effect of a wider beam on the way a boat handles.

In our February 2009 issue, we took a hard look at the effect of the modern hull-design trends and helm balance. The article focuses on wide-bodied, fin keel designs and their tendency to round up (even self-tack!) in a gust. While the long-keel Alberg 35 profiled in this issue has its own performance quirks, a tendency to self-tack is not one that its owners have to worry about.

The bottom line in any yacht design is a good sense of proportion. Alberg clearly had a keen eye for this, and the fact that his boats still draw sighs 50 years after their debut shows that his aesthetic sense has endured.

A few days later, the kid steered the green sloop out of Hatchett Bay the way hed come in. Headed south, hed said before leaving. I watched him go with envy. The boat cost him all of $10,000. A hell of deal. I imagine hes still got it today. The kid struck me as the intelligent sort.

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Sailing Hall of Fame 2024 Inductees Announced

By Cruising World Staff
June 17, 2024

2024 National Sailing Hall of Fame inductees

The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame has revealed the names of 12

individuals who will be inducted into its Hall of Fame fellowship this year. This diverse list features Jan C. O’Malley, a three-time US Sailing Yachtswoman of the Year, two-time Adams Cup winner, and the first ever winner of the IYRU Women’s World Sailing Championship; Peter Melvin, a multiple-class world and national champion, as well as an innovative yacht designer; and Charles Ulmer, a national champion and race winner throughout the 1970s and 80s and proponent of the sport of sailing through the many organizations through which he has been affiliated.

The National Sailing Hall of Fame induction committee met numerous times since the nomination process to whittle down the original list to the slate of finalists. According to the committee, while the future inductees’ biographies differ, they are all accomplished and dedicated to the sport and its community. Ten fall into its modern category, while another two represent historic classification.

Honored for technical accomplishment and contribution are brothers Eric Hall and Ben Hall, the late Gary Mull, one of the most prolific and successful U.S. sailboat designers working in the latter half of the 20th century, and the late Carl Alberg, whose 56 designs resulted in more than 10,000 boats.

Others to be inducted in the modern classification in the sailing category are Kevin Burnham, an Olympic and Goodwill Games medalist in sailing; Conn Findlay, a consummate crew member for America’s Cup competitor Courageous and Maxi Ocean Racer Windward Passage, and one of the few competitors to medal in two distinct sports (Rowing and Sailing); and Richard Tillman, the 1965 Sailor of the Year who held National, North American and World titles in the Snipe, Finn, Laser, Sunfish and Windsurfing classes.

Franklin Wood, who founded the Annapolis Sailing School and established the Annapolis Sailboat Show, rounds out the modern classification in the contributor category. Allegra Mertz, one of the two women to be inducted with O’Malley, was elected through the historic classification, along with Alberg.

“The Class of 2024 has left an indelible mark on sailing,” co-chair Gary Jobson said. Their achievements inspire us to explore, innovate and honor the sport. From Olympic champions to boat designers, they remind us that sailing is more than a pastime; it’s a legacy of courage and possibility. Trailblazers like Allegra Mertz, whose skill, determination and love of racing continues to inspire fellow sailors and set a high standard for excellence. Innovators such as Ben and Eric Hall, whose cutting-edge materials and championship-winning rigs have pushed innovation. These inductees are a formidable group. We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments on October 5 at the 2024 Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club.”

“What an honor to welcome these remarkable individuals into The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame,” said Executive Director Ashley Householder. “We take seriously the responsibility of preserving the legacy of our inductees for the countless ways in which each has contributed to the sport of sailing. Please join us as we embark on telling their exceptional stories.”

Each year, the induction committee of the National Sailing Hall of Fame reviews nominations and compiles a slate of those to be inducted into its hallowed fellowship of extraordinary achievement and service. Inductions have been taking place since 2011, when the Hall was in Annapolis. The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame has since moved to Newport, the sailing capital of the country. The number of legends in the Hall will be 135 total with this year’s class.

This year, the Induction will be held at the Chicago Yacht Club Oct. 4-5. For ticket information, follow the Hall of Fame website .

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Melvin, Findlay and Burnham head the National Sailing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024

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NEWPORT, Rhode Island (AP) — Pete Melvin, who helped design breakthrough boats for the America’s Cup as well as the Nacra 17 used in the Olympics, and Conn Findlay, who won Olympic medals in sailing and rowing, head the list of 12 inductees in the National Sailing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

As part of the firm M&M, Melvin helped design the giant trimaran that tech tycoon Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle Racing used to win the 2010 America’s Cup in a one-off regatta against Alinghi of Switzerland’s giant catamaran. M&M also drafted the design rules for the 72-foot catamarans used in the 2013 America’s Cup, which ushered in foiling in sailing’s marquee regatta.

M&M designed the Nacra 17 catamaran that debuted in the 2016 Olympics. For the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, the Nacra 17 added foils. Melvin sailed in the 1988 Olympics and has won numerous national and world titles.

Findlay won a total of four Olympic medals, including a bronze medal with Dennis Conner in the Tempest class in 1976. In rowing, he won two golds and one bronze in coxed pairs. He sailed in the America’s Cup three times, including with winning skipper Ted Turner aboard Courageous in 1977.

Stu McNay, right, and Lara Dallman-Weiss campaign in the mixed-gender 470 category at U.S. Sailing Olympic Trials, off the coast of Miami Beach, Fla., Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. McNay is returning for his fifth Olympics and teaming up with Dallman-Weiss, who competed in the women's 470 in the Tokyo Games, in the new mixed-gender category. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Also entering the hall is Kevin Burnham, who won a silver medal in the 470 class in the 1992 Olympics with Morgan Reeser and then won gold with Paul Foerster in 2004.

In one of the most memorable races in Olympic history, Foerster and Burnham aggressively match-raced the British boat to the back of the fleet and stayed ahead the entire race to win the gold medal. At the finish line, Burnham, then 47, waved to race officials, let out a whoop and then did a backflip into the Saronic Gulf off Athens, barefoot and still wearing his sunglasses. Burnham died in 2020.

The induction will be Oct. 4-5 at the Chicago Yacht Club.

Among the other inductees are Jan C. O’Malley, a three-time US Sailing Yachtswoman of the Year and the first winner of the IYRU Women’s World Sailing Championship; Charles Ulmer, a national champion and race winner throughout the 1970s and 80s; and Richard Tillman, the 1965 Sailor of the Year who held national, North American and world titles in the Snipe, Finn, Laser, Sunfish and Windsurfing classes.

Also going into the hall are Franklin Wood; Allegra Mertz; brothers Eric Hall and Ben Hall; Gary Mull; and Carl Alberg.