Alajuela 48 History

[Mark Welther]

Can anyone give me a history of the Alajuela 48? (and is Rod Jermain still on this group?) I heard that there were only three or four built, and perhaps a bare hull and deck somewhere. I know it was designed by Raymond Richards and have seen old Cruising World articles/ads. How is it to sail?

Thanks,

Mark

[Robert Briggs]

Hi Mark and fellow Alajuela aficionados

I have owned an Alajuela 38, and currently own a 48.  I know of 4 A48’s that were factory finished, and I had heard that there may be a number of hulls that were not factory finished.  The boats were manufactured between 1981 and 1984? in costa mesa CA and were discontinued when the boat market tanked with the luxury tax in the 80’s.  If you look for Alajuela 48 on youtube you will find a few very short clips of us sailing in the bahamas.  

We all know how nice the A38 sails.  In my opinion the A48 is a much better blue water boat and a better sailing boat.  She is nimble, fast, and solid.  She weighs approx 34000 lbs, and has a 6’-9 inch draft.  The ketch configuration is easy to balance.  Out of the water, the boat is a true beauty.  The keel has an airfoil shape, but no-one would ever consider this a fin keel given the 12,000 lbs of lead in her and the fact that the keel is over 12 feet long.  The rudder is also airfoil shaped and perfectly balanced on a skeg.  These boats were built to Lloyds of London credited standards.

The A48 also has much more room below than a 38.  The two main cabins are situated on either side of the main mast for ease of motion at sea, and the galley and salon are well laid out for entertaining.  I have a gazillion pictures of Julie Ann, and a few of the other A48’s out there.  I have a full set of drawings that were used in her construction, all hang on the wall worthy.

Now for the interesting part.  I am one of those crazies that buys a boat before selling the previous one.  I did that when I got the 48 12 years ago, and I have just done it again to get a Shannon 50.  As such Julie Ann is soon to be on the market.  I have not listed her yet.  She is very well fitted out for cruising.  The following is an incomplete list of her features

Lofrans Falkon 1500 W windlass, new motor 2013, Gypsy for 7/16, plus gypsy for ½ inch HT chain

60 lb CQR Anchor

Large Fortress Anchor

150 ft 7/16 BBB chain

Small Bow Sprit for asymmetric spinnaker

Assymetric spinnaker

Profurl Furler on Genoa

Staysail

Main (Fully Battened), slab reefing

Mack Pack main sail cover with lazy jacks

Mizzen (Fully Battened) slab reefing

Mack Pack mizzen sail cover with lazy jacks

All new standing rigging 2013

 Hydrovane self steering

Audiophile cockpit speakers

Stereo plus amplifier

Bimini

Shade awning

Swim ladder

Edson Wheel

Garmn HD 24 Radar new 2013  (may not be included in sale as I can use it on my new boat)

Garmin 5212 touch screen chart plotter, new 2013

Garmin VHF with AIS receiver, plus remote mic new 2011

Garmin remote display

Simrad AP 28 autopilot with largest amp computer head unit

Raymarine linear actuator (24v)

ICOM SSB

2 AGM group 31 batteries new 2013

2 AGM Lifeline group 8D batteries, new 2013

Shore charger (Charles?)

130 W Kyocera solar panel plus Blue Sky charge controller (new 2013)

Perkins 4.236 main diesel (runs very well, just rebuilt injector pump, many spares)

Westerbeke BCD 7.6 kW generator new 2011, 400 hrs

Corian countertops

4 hp Mercury 4 stroke outboard

Ray Richards writeup here:

 

 

[glenn gelhar]

Congratulations on the purchase of the Shannon! Another fine boat!
I sold my 38, Vindsang, after 19 great years of sailing, five circumnavigating the Pacific from Bellingham Washington.
Would love to learn more about Julie Ann. Maybe it's time for another Alajuela.
Glenn

Sent from my iPhone

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> If anyone is interested, I am extremely motivated to sell ;-) and have not listed it with a broker yet. You can email me at rjohn...@gmail.com<mailto:rjohn...@gmail.com>, or call me at 561 301 8574. The boat is in Stuart Florida. I can share photo’s if desired, but please don’t put me through this if you are not truly in the market.
>
> I apologize if anyone is offended that I used our forum essentially for a classified ad, but hey, we don’t see too much email traffic anyway.
> thanks and regards,
> John
>
> BTW, the A48 can sail circles around a Shannon 50 and is much more fun to sail.

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[Mark Welther]

I believe Rod Jermain passed away in 2013, correct. I also read on Bluewaterboats.org's Alajuela 38 write-up that Don Chapman stayed on when Alajuela changed owners and went on to develop the Alajuela 48 designed by Ray Richards." Does anyone know if Don Chapman or his wife Betty are still around?

Mark

[Sam (Le Bateau)]

Hi Robert,

Is Julie Ann still on the market?

After over 3 years of refitting, repowering, replacing all the tanks, seacocks, electronics, electrical and plumbing systems, and equipping it for cruising, I finally set sail with my family on our A33 this September. We made it to Panama City, FL on October 9th just on time to meet hurricane Michael. We prepared and tied her the best we could before evacuating but unfortunately, although most of our lines held, the marina's concrete pilings and most other boats didn't, and she sustained some heavy damage that our insurance company deemed irreparable. She was declared a total loss and we are back to square one.

My family grew since I first purchased Le Bateau, so I am now looking for something roomier to continue cruising, especially as we are planning on doing so for a few years. I love the Alajuela style and wouldn't mind taking a look at the A33's big siblings.

Please let me know.

Sam

[John Briggs]

I am sorry to hear of your boat woes. That can be more than a little stressful. 

Yes Julie Ann  is for sale and located in ft pierce FL. She is listed on yachtworld. Let me know of any questions you might have. 

John 

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[Paul Miles]

Hi Sam,

Sorry to hear about your A33.  My A33 LOKAHI is going on the market this week in Honolulu.  You are welcome to email me if you’d like to know more about her.

Aloha,

Paul

[Carl Gaines]

Sam,

Diva A38 hull 61 is for sale & berthed in Tampa Bay. Her distinguishing characteristics are:

Full, hard wood cockpit enclosure; 56 HP Isuzu diesel; self-tailing winches; teak hatches (classic fidley over saloon); folded, bulkhead-mounted dining table in saloon replacing the original pedestal-sole-mounted table; Icom 802 SSB & Pactor modem; Simrad digital-hydraulic autopilot; 110 gallons diesel tank capacity; 40 gallons water tank with plumbing for watermaker; KISS wind generator; AIS receiver; VHF; 16-mile radar; and other cruising items. We cruised her full-time for 11 years out of Florida from Nantucket to Panama. 

She is worthy of her name & reputation and served us well as our home on the sea. We would love to show her to you. 

Best regards,

Carl Gaines

813-720-6777

cgai...@yahoo.com

Sent from my iPhone

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[Pierce Ostrander]

Hi Sam,

Pierce Ostrander here. Our Alajuela 38 Wabi-Sabi (hull #63) is also for sale.  I have a multi-page list of equipment and upgrades that we have made over the years.  We are not looking to make a lot of money, just to pass her on to her next custodian.  Send me your email if you'd like the list.  We have been seasonal Sailors for several years having made 5 trips to the Bahamas and back.  "In season" for us is the winter, which is when we are normally in Florida and the Bahamas.  

Wabi-sabi is currently on the hard in Green Cove Springs Florida.  All of her interior soft goods, sails, dingy etc. are in climate controlled storage nearby.  That is the way we have always kept her in the off-season.  

We have decided that we will not be making another extended sailing / cruising trip and our selling her with all goods and equipment including a long list of spares and other useful goodies (handheld depth sounder, glass bottom bucket, fishing knives, charts Etc) for whatever we can get, with the goal of parting with her by the end of spring.

Let me know if you'd like to take a look.

Pierce

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[Sam (Flying Whale)]

Thank you all for your offers, we decided to purchase John's 48 and we're really excited about it. We'll resume our trip up the east coast in march.

Sam