ALDEN YACHTS 55  Now under construction, the first of these limited-production 55' sloops is scheduled for launch in June 2006.      For more details, please see aldenyachts.com                          

Principal Dimensions:

LOA 54'6"; LWL 44'8"; Beam 15'6"; Draft 6'9"; Sail Area 1404 sq. ft.

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Whizzbang

The 53' motorsailer Whizzbang was built by Lyman Morse in Thomaston, Maine and launched in 2000. She is owned by a very experienced couple, with five transatlantic passages under their belts, and another planned for 2001 in the new boat. This boat was designed around the concept of passagemaking in comfort, and combines a good turn of speed under sail when the wind is up, with ample power and 1500-mile range under engine. In a review in Sailing, Bob Perry said, "some of you will consider this boat an old man's boat. But others, including me, will consider it a smart man's boat."

Construction is foam-cored fiberglass, with teak trim on deck, and an interior of exceptionally handsome birch. The engine is quiet and slow-turning 130-horsepower diesel, and she has the usual labor-saving devices including generator, watermaker, electric winches, bow thruster, and in-boom mainsail furling. Tankage is 490 gallons of fuel and 200 gallons of water. We presently have two slightly larger boats of this type in the design stage, one with a center cockpit, and one ketch-rigged.

Caroler

We designed the 58' Caroler for a client who had owned a Concordia yawl and wanted to create the same "classic" look in a larger boat. Her construction is all wood, with the hull being cold-molded over laminated backbone and frames. The deck is teak planking over plywood, and even the spars are spruce. Notably, she was built by the owner at his house and must be one of the finest examples of "amateur" construction. In addition to her classic lines and superb finish, she is fast under sail and in 1986 won the New York Yacht Club's Astor Cup.

Andrea

Andrea was our first offshore cruising design, launched in 1981. She is a sloop-rigged center cockpit design, built by Hank Hinkley. In addition to cruising, the owners raced a number of the major East Coast distance races, including Annapolis-Newport, Marblehead-Halifax, and Newport-Bermuda. They also did a great deal of cruising with family and friends, first in New England, and then into the Canadian Maritimes, once sailing as far north as Baffin Island. Andrea was sold to a new owner in 1996, and he has continues the pattern of adventurous family cruising, having sailed across to Europe, and spending the last four summers cruising in Scotland, Ireland and Scandinavia.

Duende

Duende was the first of the Ocean Cruising 52's built by Hank Hinkley. Both center-cockpit and aft-cockpit versions have been produced.

This computer model shows a rederning of a design for a 102' sloop.