ALETHEIA is a 36-foot junk schooner with a Hassler/McLeod rig designed by Tad Roberts and constructed on the venerable Allied Princess bluewater cruising hull after her original rig dismasted in early 2012. Hull construction date is 1978, built in Catskills, NY.
She displaces 16,000 lbs and has a beam of 11 feet. She sails beautifully - I’ve singlehanded her from Houston, TX to her present location in Halifax, NS, Canada.
I'm offering her for sale because I really want a smaller boat - I bought ALETHEIA with a partner with the goal of round-the-world sailing and while she's terrific for that purpose - easy to sail and quite roomy, I find my solo self wanting a much smaller craft suited for different purposes. There's absolutely nothing wrong with her - she may not be everybody's idea of "spit and polish" but she's quite well maintained, most everything mechanical or electrical is new or new-ish, and I have labored long and hard over whether, or not, to sell her. But the truth is that I'd be happier on a smaller boat, and life is short.
So, on with the details!
She features two ~370 sq. ft. junk sails made from dark blue Odyssey III cloth with a jaunty bright red high-vis panel near the top, flat-cut, single-sheeted - a rig extremely similar to Badger’s but scaled slightly for the larger hull. Her sails, rigging, masts, and hardware are new as of early 2013. Her primary winches - though usually they aren’t needed, are 2012 series Lewmar 46 self-tailing series - fantastic when you really need the power. All lines lead to cockpit and can be handily managed from the companionway - perfect for single- or short-handed crews. She easily stows a dinghy up to 8 feet on the cabintop - dinghy is not included but we can talk.
She is US flagged and USCG documented.
She comes with three quality anchors: A 20kg Rocna is her bower anchor on 100 feet of G4 high-strength 5/16” chain and 300 feet of heavy 3/4” 8-plait nylon rode. Her backup is a 35lb CQR on 50 feet of the same chain and 150 feet of 6-plait 3/4” rode. Her kedge is a Northhill stainless aviation anchor - very lightweight but extremely strong and perfect for rowing out in a dinghy and as a solid but easily retrieved lunch hook. I have had her on the Rocna in 40 kts sustained winds gusting MUCH higher for 24 hours with heavy inshore chop and no dragging - it is an excellent anchor for this vessel.
Powered propulsion is via an Electric Yacht 9kW electric motor with a huge 48V, 220AH bank of Lifeline high-current AGM batteries. Installed in 2010/2011, this is a fantastic electric propulsion unit with a LOT of torque and near silent operation. She charges overnight and is ready to go the next day.
The 48V battery bank is switchable into the 12V system using a high-current solid-state DC-DC switchmode power supply to provide redundancy - the 48V bank becomes a massive 880AH 12V powerhouse if necessary.
A 2kW 120V pure-sine-wave inverter runs off the 48V bank as well, making for extremely high efficiency 120V power for tools or other implements.
12V power is provided by 440AH of Lifeline AGMs installed in 2009. Charging by a 270W Kyocera solar array and Blue Sky SB3024iL MPPT charger. Panels are permanently and conveniently mounted atop the NEW (2013) hard dodger and structural cockpit arch. Tested in high winds on the open ocean, this dodger construction is extremely solid, yet lightweight. It fully protects the companionway and helps keep the interior dry and cozy in even the worst blows. I’m 6’ 2” and there is ample clearance to get belowdecks and move around the cockpit while the dodger is low and streamlined enough that any additional windage has not been noticeable.
Other features and amenities include:
- 8-person AVON liferaft in canister on deck - needs inspection but canister is in good shape.
- Brand new CPT wheel pilot - extremely powerful and very energy efficient.
- 2kW Yamaha generator provides backup charging and 120V power.
- Massively overhauled electrical system - 2009/2010 complete replacement of all wires with new, heavy gauge cable and simplified wiring. Much easier to access, simpler, all connections adhesive-heat-sealed and all cable tinned copper marine grade and oversized.
- Electronics included: iCom M502 VHF with deck remote, Furuno GPS, Uniden handheld VHF backup, high quality multi-stage battery chargers and advanced monitoring for both banks.
The usual stuff:
- Stereo,
- 3-burner propane stove in galley,
- Room for cooler or powered portable fridge box,
- 36 gallons water tankage in new non-leaching food-grade poly tanks,
- Simple foot pump fresh and salt water taps in galley, freshwater in forward basin,
- 80 gallons of unplumbed original fiberglass water tankage still integral under v-berth,
- Nature’s head composting toilet (clean, simple, and legal EVERYWHERE),
- “Hobbit” wood burning stove - proven to keep cabin cozy in -15C!
- Alpine Glow warm dual-color Fluorescent and LED fixtures throughout cabin - amazing warm inviting light at extremely low power draw.
- BEBI and Aqua Signal LEDs for navigation, masthead, steaming, and anchor lights.
- Cockpit light doubles as backup/lower anchor light.
- Beautiful HUGE bookshelf in main cabin.
All required safety gear for a singlehander is aboard plus a generous helping of extras. Since she has a lovely woodburning stove, there are ample fire extinguishers, a CO detector and smoke alarm, and a propane sensor and remote shutoff switch. Her bilge pumps are both new in 2010/2011. She has two manual Whale bilge pumps also - one belowdecks and one in the cockpit.
Ample spares for all critical systems are included.
Cosmetically she is in “good” shape - her decks were last repainted (with Kiwigrip - fantastic grip and barefoot friendly) in 2012 with a touchup in 2013, her cockpit could use another touchup but the paint is onboard (waiting for warm weather). Most everything on deck has been gone over thoroughly. Her lifelines are Spectra (SK-75) 1/4” and will NOT ever chafe or cut your foulies. They are in very good condition. Her teak is gray, but in good condition if you want to take it back to bright.
Interior she is mostly original, with a few modifications to allow for the junk rig conversion - heavy structural bracing in the keel and new ring frames in the cabin trunk were added to take the additional loads and the deck core was strengthened in the broad area of the mast partners. These areas are unfinished. Otherwise the interior is the 1970’s wood-grain laminate with hard- and soft-wood (largely teak and mahogany) trim. She could use a refresh if that’s not your look, and some of the trim pieces have over time been damaged, but she’s entirely solid and excepting some trim and needing a varnish in the galley and companionway area is in structurally excellent shape.
She’s priced to go: $29,900 USD as-is, where-is. Other arrangements may be able to be made, just ask! The smart ones among you may realize I’m basically just asking to cover the cost of re-rigging the boat … everything else is effectively free.
I also have her Hydrovane for sale, separately, for $6,500 including shipping to most major destinations. It's a 2010 model VXA2D, standard vane, high performance rudder. I am willing to make a deal combining the boat and the vane.
You can see full details of the boat, maintenance history, dismasting and new rig, construction, execution, sailing, etc. over the five years I’ve owned her here: http://gallery.studiodc.org/v/useralbums/dc/Princess/
She’s a beautiful boat with lovely lines, docile handling, and plenty of room while being seakindly, durable, immensely strong, and always attracts positive comments and attention from salty beards, other boaters and dock-walkers alike.
You can contact me at studiodccreative (at) gmail (dot) com.
[EDITED to add why I'm selling]