Alajuela 33

[jb-one]

First off thank you to all of you in this forum for your suggestions and inputs. I have been listening and looking about as for what monohull would be a good fit for me and am now the proud owner of an Alajuela 33!
(a birthday gift from my wife) We have been sailing a Clipper Marine 26.
"GALAVANT" is clipper rigged and in very, very, good condition for her age, her previous owner loved her well. I would greatly appreciate any advice in any regard to these vessels.
It is my goal to sail her in the Puget Sound for September (I live near Olympia, WA) head to Neah bay and wait for a good window to head out and down to Westport. (a harbor on the Washington coast) Keep her there and take her out off the coast through the winter as weather allows to get a good feel for her in the ocean then late may early June make a passage to Hawaii.

[Jon Neely]

I sailed on a 33 and it was highly enjoyable! Great strong boats. The things I found on the boat I sailed was that between the teak rail and the fiberglass that is the hull there is a wood separator joint of some other material other than teak. In this case it was rotten so it looked like the necessary steps to seal the wood where not taken on this boat. Others than that I loved the layout. I'm 6'4'' and I never felt cramped. All in all I feel they are an "A" class bluewater boat. by the way what a killer present!

Cheers,
Jon

[brutb]

Congradulations on your new boat. Nice lines..happy sailing.

[Ironhorse74]

Congratulations on your new boat. How familiar are you with the marina at West Port? It is a heavy commercial fishing port. Because of that there are more crapping seagulls there than any place I have seen in the PNW. I am moving my boat this weekend. It is covered a 1/4" thick in gull crap after 30 days there. Tokeland does not have that problem and is considerably cheaper too.

Just my .02

[Cheechako]

That is one sweet boat. I've heard nothing but good things about them over the years. Not an option one thinks of often when comparing Westail 32's and other "big" small boats..... and should be. You have an ambitious schedule! I hope you are experienced if you are going to use Grays Harbor in the winter as a testing ground!

[Billy Higgins]

Congratulations on your new boat!!
However, I do not recommend your plan to test sail your boat in the winter out of Westport, Washington. I spent parts of two winters in the early 90's working on a dredger in Grays Harbor that dumped spoil offshore. So I got to know that nasty little piece of water fairly well. The bar is dangerous in the winter, and Grays Harbor itself is full of shoals and not really suited to cruising. Instead, try Port Angeles or Port Townsend. Either of these are near enough to the sea for winter test cruises, and offer far better shoreside facilities, not to mention at least 50 inches less rain over the winter months.

[Billy Higgins]

jb-one, Please do not feel obligated to answer this post, but as I am in the market for my next boat right in this size and condition, I could use the information. Would you mind letting us know about what your Alajuela 33 cost? Or about the range of prices these can be found? I apologize for the personal nature of this question, but a lot of us would be interested in what these fine boats are selling for these days of lower boat prices. Again, feel free to ignore this if you wish. Thanks.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Billy Higgins

Congratulations on your new boat!!
However, I do not recommend your plan to test sail your boat in the winter out of Westport, Washington. I spent parts of two winters in the early 90's working on a dredger in Grays Harbor that dumped spoil offshore. So I got to know that nasty little piece of water fairly well. The bar is dangerous in the winter, and Grays Harbor itself is full of shoals and not really suited to cruising. Instead, try Port Angeles or Port Townsend. Either of these are near enough to the sea for winter test cruises, and offer far better shoreside facilities, not to mention at least 50 inches less rain over the winter months.

I couldnt agree more. You can get plenty of rough weather in the Straight of Juan De Fuca when the tides running against a 35 knot gale to suffice! and you wont have to deal with 30-35 foot ocean waves and crossing the bar.... I guess I'm getting old!

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Billy Higgins

Congratulations on your new boat!!
However, I do not recommend your plan to test sail your boat in the winter out of Westport, Washington. I spent parts of two winters in the early 90's working on a dredger in Grays Harbor that dumped spoil offshore. So I got to know that nasty little piece of water fairly well. The bar is dangerous in the winter, and Grays Harbor itself is full of shoals and not really suited to cruising.

Amen. Many years ago I went offshore salmon fishing in Westport, WA in August and even in Summer with a 60+ ft power boat whose captain was local, crossing the bar was an interesting experience.

In those days you could take your catch to the cannery and get 50% of the weight back in canned smoked salmon. Maybe the cannery still does this.

[SkiprJohn]

Congratulations on a good choice.
kind regards,

[jb-one]

Thank You all for the kind congrats.

Jon Neely:I did in fact check for just that thing. The 38's had the same rot issue.
Iron Horse74:I haven't been in there for a long time. Thanks for the tip.
Cheechako: Ambitious schedule, yes. It will take a lot of work and focus to pull it off. It's good to have a goal to strive for.
Billy: sent you a PM.
Honestly? I was looking for a port closest to home. I don't think there is a port on the Washington (or Oregon for that matter) coast that isn't a real bear cat and demands more than just a little respect anytime of the year. More so in the winter of course. I have also seen them pretty tranquil at times. Winter? mostly not. But it wont happen (Hawaii) without putting in the time over the winter. Not being a big fan of measurable birdsh*t per month, or parting with more dinero than necessary, I'm thinking that Tokeland is going to get a visit, along with Pt. Townsend and see which one takes the least time to get to from home. Tokeland is a bit closer but Townsend would give more opportunity to get out and sail I'm thinking. Great suggestions, Thank You.

[Cheechako]

Port Townsend is a great little boating community too. The annual wooden boat show is the first weekend in Sept I think. A lot of fun. Also, if you go, try dinner nearby in the little berg of Hadlock at the Ajax cafe. Great place.

[jb-one]

I was up there just last weekend to catch the Coupville ferry. Didn't have time to wander around though.