Patricia, a beautiful AE 28 was recently spotted on San Francisco Bay. The SF Bay fleet would love to know who she belongs to and where she is berthed. Any ideas? Let us know at FleetCaptain@sfbayalerion.com.
Steve Chamberlin was experiencing overheating and related problems with his one cylinder Yanmar. Rather than fight the limited engine access below decks to service the engine, he took a more complete approach to the problem:
From Steve: The long term problem with the single cylinder Yanmar is salt build up between the head and block. The head cannot be removed in the boat because of clearance problems. Bill Ingle (Bill’s Marine Service) replaced my engine with a completely rebuilt unit, $4,500, 4 hours.
In addition to Ted (who’s contact information I posted last week) another experienced Bay Area sailor, John A., is interested in finding a local boat. If you are considering selling yours or know of another boat which may be available and not currently on the market, please be in touch with Ted at i14sailor@gmail.com and John at john.arnold@gmail.com -Thanks!
Rich Baker, former owner of AE28 ‘Lizbeth’ here on San Francisco Bay recently provided a treasure trove of great AE28 photos. I have them in a Dropbox folder now in order to make them available to anyone who has interest…. Take a look at the link, below. Thanks, Rich!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rp2yeminlnx610p/AABCoCKB4F6Vz2Wn_1FHrfGca?dl=0
-Sam
I know….who would ever part with their AE28?! But in the event you are considering making a change, please be in touch with Ted. He is an experienced SF Bay sailor who is contemplating purchasing a 28 to race and daysail. He asked that we put a notice on the site with his contact information. His email address is i14sailor@gmail.com
Thanks!
ALERION 28 2020 Season:
1. Season objective: Encourage and promote AE28 sailing in SF Bay with new and seasoned owners; get as many boats out sailing/racing on a regular basis; make the class as “fun” as possible with RYC being the epicenter of activity.
2. RYC Wednesday Evenings: (APR-SEP) To make #1 possible, we agreed to try to get the boats out sailing throughout the season with the hope of getting our own one-design start for RYC Beer Can (one-design; no kites) or we can start with the other boats (Fred can discuss with Eric).
3. Season events: The following 8 one-design events (no kites) were proposed as the AE28 SF Bay Series (Fred, please set Intra-club dates):
07MAR – Big Daddy (Sat only; cumulative score for day)
16 MAY – RYC Intra-club #1
13 or 20 JUN – RYC Intra-club #2
18JUL – YRA #4 Knox
*29AUG – RYC Intra-club #3
*29AUG – YRA #5 Southampton
26SEP – RYC Intra-club #4
24OCT – Great Pumpkin (Sat only; cumulative score for day)
* – Based on last year’s Intra-club schedule 29AUG is the logical placeholder, but YRA#5 is already scheduled for that Saturday (Fred, please consider moving RYC#3 to 08 or 15AUG). We need to resolve the schedule for August as well as setting the other RYC Intra-club dates.
Note 1: In recognition of other obligations outside of sailing, our 8 one-design season will permit 2 throw-outs (entire day) so only your best six events will count towards the season results. This generous scoring accommodation is designed to help support our season objective of building participation and having fun plus it doesn’t discriminate against Fred/Jennifer who graciously run the Big Daddy and Great Pumpkin events and, in all likelihood, couldn’t race those days.
4. Measurement: I will leave that task to Ron to coordinate. I suggest including Will Paxton in the process since Quantum built the two newest suits of ODR sails (FRANCES & SWEET DE).
5. AE28 Clinic: I’m all for sharing information and wisdom amongst the class. There are lots of ways to do that formally and informally. Rather than schedule another day for a separate clinic, I suggest the following three approaches:
a. After-race beer and discussion
b. More experienced AE28 sailors jump onboard less experienced AE28 sailor’s boats for a Wednesday evening beer can race to coach
c. “Winner of Day” of our seasonal events writes a brief summary of what went right and what went wrong for them on the course that day – Sam can post on our website
6. AE28 Website:https://sfbayalerion.com/ Sam is already doing a great job of adding content (write-ups and photos), but we should all contribute to this effort. I believe that the two biggest factors in improving the Alerion 28 brand (and maintaining the value of our boats…) is having other sailors see 4-6+ AE28’s out racing throughout the season and having a relevant web presence for those thinking about buying a boat and joining the fun.
7. Other racing: Let’s focus on Wednesday nights and our planned Season Events and get out as many boats as possible. But, some of us may also want to do other PHRF events on the Bay like CYC mid-winters, 3BF, SSS, etc. I’m going to try a bunch of these PHRF events and plan to use my kite. We’ll try to keep everyone informed of who’s doing what throughout the season.
8. My contact info: Chris and Denise Kramer [SWEET DE / 254].
editor’s note: we will get a Fleet Captain email soon and put the link here…
The SF Alerion fleet showed well in the Vallejo 1-2 races, with three 28s, (Frances, Sobrante and Zenaida) a 33 (Bella) and a 38-1 (Surprise!) participating. A few photos of the action are posted here…. Conditions varied from mild to (not quite) wild over the two days. Granted, it’s hard to get good photos from the back of the pack…but it was a fun weekend.
A good fleet of Alerions are signed up for the Berkeley Yacht Club Midwinter race series. There are at least three 28s, a 33 and a 38 planning to participate. The first races are this weekend and then continue the weekends of November 9/10, December 14/15, January 11/12, February 8/9 and the the Champion of Champions race on 2/23/20.
Here is the Jibeset link to register:
https://www.jibeset.net/BYC000.php?RG=T005589588
Come out and join the fun. Let’s grow the racing presence of the Alerions on SF Bay!
Peter Johnstone, owner of Alerion Yachts, is working on the AE28 one design configuration. To that end, he drafted the following email which asked for input from AE28 sailors. Please read the email and help if you can. Apologies that some formatting didn’t carry through from the original email.
October 7, 2019
To the core of the Alerion 28 Fleet & Class activity:
First, please update this email list with any new contacts that should be included in an Alerion 28 Class business.
We’ve learned a lot since purchasing the Alerion brand in late 2017. The Alerion 20, 30 and 33 are selling nicely and with clear positioning. The Alerion 28 benefits from recent engineering improvements and engineering, but it feels positioned as too top end. We’d like to reposition the Alerion 28 to be better suited for the one design activity. We believe this can lead to some excitement for the fleets and the class. We’d like your input in our process, and when we are ready, we’d like each fleet’s support and approval for this edition. Many of these ideas have come directly from avid Alerion 28 sailors, so much of these items you may already enjoy on your own Alerion 28’s. Below are the refinements being considered for a new ‘one design’ edition:
5400 lbs Displacement Goal: Based on the SF Fleet’s weights, it appears that a typical Alerion 28 weight range is 5400-5700 lbs. If anyone has further information on actual measured weights, it would be appreciated.
Deck equipment layout:Helmsman led controls:Low windage 1:1 Traveller with 4:1 below deck led to opposite of helmDual led backstay adjuster led to opposite of helm.Port cabin top rigging:Halyard winchMain halyardJib sheet – Fine tune 4:1 purchaseFurling linesStbd cabin top rigging:Jib sheet – Coarse tune 2:1 purchaseJib sheet – Fine tune 4:1 purchaseJib halyardBoom mounted ratchet/headknocker – no cockpit post.Self-tacking jib sheet track and sheet. Optional jib boom. Improve jib sheet trim upwind.
Updates to Keep the Alerion 28 more currentFacnor low profile continuous structural fuller with rod between units. Allows lower tack and foot. Eliminates extruded luff foil.An updated rudder shape and construction. Construction method will be less likely to gain moisture.Specification Changes:Vinylester resin- better adhesion, Reduces risk of moisture in laminate. Corecell foam core for all molded parts. Reduces risk of moisture in the laminate. Anodized spars as standard. Optional paint or powder coat finish.Make Toilet, plumbing, tank, pump-out, and sea cocks optionalMake Galley sink, plumbing, tank, and fill optionalMake Interior lights optionalMake Corian counter tops optionalDelete wooden box for 12V breakers on port side.Delete Plumbing trim boxes forward of bulkheadMinimize electrical wiringWhite extruded plastic toe rail replaces finished teakSS cabin hand rails replace teakLow profile hatchesOptional Torqeedo Cruise 4.0 FP 9kw propulsion in lieu of Volvo D1-10
Can you and your fleets please provide further input and ideas before October 25 for us to consider? We’d like this to be a collaborative and class-wide process.
Take Care,
Peter
Peter Johnstone, Owner
ALERION YACHTS
Charleston, SC
Mobile +1 252 599 0223
www.alerionyachts.com
Proudly Built in Rhode Island, USA!
Minna is now Sweet De. Minna, AE28 number 254 was recently purchased and moved to the Richmond Yacht Club. Hopefully Chris & Denise Kramer will bring Sweet De into the racing fold on San Francisco Bay….
