alerion 38 sailboat

The Alerion 38 is a 38.0ft masthead sloop designed by Halsey Herreshoff and built in fiberglass by Bristol Yachts since 1969.

The Alerion 38 is a moderate weight sailboat which is slightly under powered. It is very stable / stiff and has an excellent righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a bluewater cruising boat. The fuel capacity is originally small. There is a short water supply range.

Alerion 38 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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Alerion Express 38

• By Mark Pillsbury
• Updated: January 17, 2007

When the Alerion Express 28 made its debut, it created the genre of the modern, elegant daysailer, designed to be easily rigged, simple to sail, and a breeze to put away at day’s end. Well, now her big sister, the Alerion Express 38, is ready to steal a few hearts. The boat is built by Pearson Composites, in Warren, Rhode Island, and was designed by the late Carl Schumacher and the builder’s design group.

On an early fall day on the Chesapeake, the 38 skipped right along closehauled at 5.7 knots in 8 knots of breeze and pushed close to 6 knots cracked off on a reach. Under power with the 40-horsepower Yanmar diesel and saildrive, top speed was about 8 knots. And the boat was nimble, easily spinning circles in less than its own length.

As with the Express 28, a modern underbody is disguised by traditional lines topsides that include a low coachroof, a large cockpit, a deck free of lifelines, and bow and stern pulpits. A carbon-fiber mast is rigged with a big, high-aspect main, and a small, self-tending working jib is set on a roller furler and Hoyt Jib Boom, which keeps it working efficiently when off the wind. Both sails are 3DLs from North.

Belowdecks, there’s a V-berth, settees, a table, a head, and a galley under 5-foot-8-inch headroom. It’s tight for crewmembers of above-average height, but chances are they’ll want to be on deck enjoying the day and the sail this sloop serves up.

Alerion 38 Specs

LOA: 38′ 1″ LWL: 30′ 3″ Beam: 10′ 8″ Draft: 5′ 11″ Sail Area: 711 sq. ft. Displacement: 11,800 lb. Water: 45 gal. Fuel: 26 gal. Engine: 40-hp. Yanmar Designer: Carl Schumacher Price: $314,000 Newport R&D, (401) 683-9450 , www.alerionexp.com

• More: 2001 - 2010 , 31 - 40 ft , alerion , alerion express , Coastal Cruising , day sailing , keelboat , monohull , Sailboat Reviews , Sailboats
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• Sailboat Guide

Alerion Express 38

Alerion Express 38 is a 38 ′ 5 ″ / 11.7 m monohull sailboat designed by Carl Schumacher and built by TPI Composites and Alerion Yachts starting in 1997.

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)

Also available with fractional sloop rig.

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Reinventing the way you sail

the history of alerion yachts

In 1912, Nathanael Herreshoff designed and built for himself a 26-foot mahogany planked daysailer named Alerion III. 75 years later, Herreshoff’s daysailer became the inspiration for Alerion Yachts. In 1988, Ralph Schacter set out to combine the classic lines of the Herreshoff Alerion 26 with the performance of a modern Carl Schumacher design. The first modern luxury daysailer was the result! The Alerion 28. Magazines glowed about the classic looks, the modern rig, hull and performance. Sailing World Magazine anointed her “Boat of the Year”. Holby Marine built seven boats in 1990-91. TPI purchased the molds and rights and produced 25 Alerion 28’s in 1992. In 1994, Garry Hoyt started selling the Alerion 28’s for TPI, and offered the Hoyt Jib Boom for singlehanded sailing ease, and added a keel bulb for added stability. As the Alerion 28 grew in popularity, Hoyt added two more Schumacher designs to the Alerion Yachts brand. The Alerion Express 20 was introduced in 1996 and the Alerion Express 38 was added in 1997.

After Carl Schumacher died in 2002, Garry Hoyt and TPI’s Clive Dent assumed design responsibilities. In 2006 the Alerion 33 was launched. The 33 keeps the heritage of the 28 with similar exterior aesthetics and performance underbody, and features overnight accommodations, including an enclosed head. After more than 20 years of building Alerion Yachts, Pearson Marine Group closed its doors in 2011. USWatercraft took over the Alerion brand in 2012. In 2015 USWatercraft launched the TJ Perrotti and Langan Designed the Alerion 30. In 2016, Perrotti redesigned the interior of the Alerion Express 28 to take full advantage of the resin-infusion construction process used by USWatercraft, adding a structural grid to improve hull stiffness and longevity. In late 2017, the Alerion brand was purchased by Peter Johnstone, second-generation of the well-known sailing family. In February 2018, the first hull built by the new Alerion Yachts was removed from the mold — hull number 471 of the Alerion 28. Alerion Yachts celebrates its 30th Anniversary in 2019.

Alerion Yachts Timeline

Custom Alerion Express 28 (hull no 1), designed by Carl Schumacher, is launched

Sailing World magazine names theAlerion Express 28 “Boat of the Year”

Alerion Express 28 first production runby Holby Marine

Alerion Express 28 molds purchased byTPI. Hulls are resin-infused

Hoyt Jib Boom and bulb keel added toAlerion Express 28

Alerion Express 20 designed by Carl Schumacher

Alerion Express 38 designed by Carl Schumacher

Passing of Carl Schumacher

Alerion Express 33 designed by TPI design team

Alerion 41 designed by TPI design team

TPI, now known as Pearson Marine Group, closes its doors. Assets purchased by USWatercraft

Alerion 41 hull no. 1 launched

Alerion 41 named “Best Boat” by SAIL magazine; Boat of the Year special mention by Cruising World magazine

Alerion Sport 30 designed by USWatercraft design team with Langan Design Partners

Alerion 28 interior design updated by USWatercraft design team; USW closes its doors in mid-2017. Alerion Yachts brand purchased by Peter Johnstone in December

Production resumes in Rhode Island. The first boat out of the mold is Alerion Express 28 number 471. Alerion Yachts prepares to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the brand in 2019

Alerion Yachts Purchased by Peter Eastman December 17th 2019