AKA: The Prettiest Girl at the Dance...

It takes a while for all of the rather unique characisteristics of these lovely boats to register. When one first looks at them one might simply think:

"...Classic Herreshoff lines constructed with state-of-the-art methods and materials."

Which is a fair thumbnail description ... as far as it goes.

But the more accurate way to think about the Alerion Express 28 would be:

"...Classic Herreshoff lines from the waterline up ... AND Express 27 lines from the waterline down; a unique design combination carefully blended and optimized by Carl Schumacher, and painstakingly crafted using state-of-the-art methods and materials."

Read the following description by Gary Hoyt, as well as the Speciifications and Reviews sections of this site and you'll discover a very, very unique, high-performance boat which has been carefully designed to fit a very specific market niche and a very specific and discerning kind of sailor.

-Ed.

By Gary Hoyt
Newport R&D

The name "Alerion" (which literally means Heraldic Eagle) first gained nautical prominence back in 1912, when Nathaniel Herreshoff designed a 26' sloop for his personal use - and called it "Alerion." The timeless appeal of this design has spawned a host of imitations but the Alerion Express 28 is cast in a different mold. Rather than attempting a warmed- over re-creation of an old classic, Designer Carl Schumacher has drawn a yacht that retains the traditional look topside, but is completely modern in rig, underbody and construction detail.

The result is a nimble craft that evokes the past in appearance, but embraces the present in performance. The admiration this Alerion draws at the dock is doubled by the respect she creates under sail. This is a very fast and maneuverable sailboat, which can turn in its own length and is so well balanced it needs only the lightest touch on the tiller.

But while some owners like to occasionally race, most use their Alerions as elegant day sailors. The fact that this classic yacht is easily single-handed has brought many back to the simple joys of "just going sailing" on a responsive, seaworthy yacht - without the hassles of lining up crew.

Many of those who have purchased the Alerion Express 28 are former big boat owners who simply got tired of maintaining a large cruising boat at a time when lengthy cruises are no longer part of their lives. For them, this boat represents a classy way to downsize without compromising pride of ownership.

This is a swift, stable, personal yacht that will turn heads in any harbor, and sails right past most 35' cruisers. When you're ready for the best, there's a graceful Alerion Express 28 waiting for your hand on the tiller.

Things That Separate The Alerion 28 From The Ordinary

Distinctive beauty may be our primary asset. When Sail Magazine asked 5 leading Yacht Designers to select the most beautiful production sailboat of the past 30 years, the Schumacher designed AE28 was cited by two - one being no less an authority than Ted Hood. This is high praise from a high source, and validates our claim that this is "...the prettiest girl at the dance".

Our second asset is the high quality SCRIMP™ construction by TPI (recently renamed Pearson Composites). Most fiberglass hulls are built by hand layup of various layers of fiberglass cloth, each progressively bonded to each other. Then the necessary ribs and supporting frames are glassed into the hull. There is nothing wrong with this except that these secondary bonds can never be as strong as one simultaneous bond. TPI/Pearson Composites has been a pioneer in creating simultaneous bonding with the patented SCRIMP™ system, which infuses all the fiberglass elements in one unified bond. The result is the strongest, lightest laminate available today, which has a direct payoff in performance.

The third separate Alerion Express advantage is the patented Hoyt Jib Boom. This invention, which received Sail Magazine's 1998 award for rigging innovation, is a simple but extremely effective way to make the jib perform better. Basically it does for the jib what the boom vang does for the mainsail - holding the clew down offwind, and reducing wasteful twist, as well as providing a built in whisker pole and the advantage of self tacking. It will make your sailing both faster and easier.

No other similar sized boat offers this combination of advantages, and the result is a premium yacht with superior characteristics in appearance, durability and performance, all backed by TPI/Pearson Composite's 35 years of experience.

The Hoyt Self Vanging Jib Boom (U.S. Patent #5,463,969)

What the boom is:

A free standing, self supporting, self vanging jib boom, swivel-mounted on the foredeck.

What the boom does:

1. Automatically vangs the jib. No serious sailor would ever sail without a mainsail boom vang. Yet up until now, they have been obliged to sail with unvanged jibs that twist off and lose power offwind. The Hoyt Boom holds the jib clew down, thus providing the firm leech control that keeps the entire sail drawing, on all courses.

2. Acts as a built in whisker pole. Downwind, conventional jibs just flap around and make a nuisance of themselves, resulting in a subtraction of sail power just when your boat needs more sail power. A whisker pole will solve this, but setting the pole requires work on the foredeck and every time you want to jibe, the foredeck work must be repeated. The Hoyt Jib Boom is poled out and jibed automatically by the wind - no foredeck work is involved.

3. Allows jib furling and reefing. Being separate from the jib stay allows the convenience of roller furling and roller reefing. Being self supporting obviates any need for a topping lift. This boom holds itself up, while holding the clew down.

4. Allows self tacking and 2:1 or 3:1 trim power. Because a block or blocks can be carried at the end of the boom, jib trimming effort is significantly reduced, and in most cases can be accomplished with one hand - with no need for winching. The jib boom self tacks with no trim required, which is a real boon for single handed sailing.

5. The boom allows jib camber control independent of trim angle. With the conventional jib any easing of the sheet results in changing the angle as well as the camber of the sail. It is often desirable to change the camber of the sail to fuller or flatter independent of the trim angle, and this boom permits that.

How is this invention different from "regular" jib booms? Regular jib booms can be found on many older boats, but they never provided clew control, and would dangerously hike up and lose power offwind (like a main boom without a vang).

Around The Buoys:

Tests with the Alerions have proven that a small jib with the Hoyt Jib Boom will out perform large genoas, because a small jib that works full time on all courses will beat a large, overlapping jib that works only upwind. Once you've tried if you'll wonder why everyone doesn't have one.

For more information on Alerion Express 28s and some outstanding photos of these boats, see the manufacturer's (Pearson Composites) website at:

http://www.alerionexp.com