For Sale: 1983 Little Harbor 44 Aft Cockpit $175k OBO for quick sale

[Alaris]

Alice, née Sea Swallow, née Insouciant, née Interlude, is hull #2 of the Ted Hood-designed Little Harbor 44s. 15 were built from 1983 to approximately 1987. With over $200k invested, I am asking $175,000 OBO for a quick sale.

This is an opportunity to own one of the most sought-after Ted Hood-designed cruising yachts ever built. A rare aft-cockpit cruiser when so many Little Harbors are center cockpits, the deck layout and ergonomics just make good sense. The quality of her construction, her seakindliness, and her other excellent attributes (6’8” of headroom!) make her pretty much the perfect yacht. Alice is well-maintained and shows as a 20 year old boat or newer, not a 41 year old one.

Why am I selling after only a year and a half of ownership? My family lost a very good friend last year and we are now the custodians of a Block Island 40 that has tremendous personal and family value and history for us. After a lot of soul searching, I cannot justify owning three sailboats 34-44’ in length and Alice needs to go.

You can read the entire story of my ownership on Sailing Anarchy, the good and the not so good, at https://forums.sailinganarchy.com/th...bor-44.240117/ where my user name is Alaris, the name of our Block Island 40.

About the boat:

This particular boat was delivered in August 1983 to an owner in Cleveland, OH, having been built like the others by Alexander Marine Co. at Kaohsiung Taiwan for the Little Harbor Boat Yard Corporation. In April 1987, she was conveyed to her second owner, first of St. Louis, MO, and later of Miami, FL. Her third owner bought her in December 1995 and took her back to the Great Lakes, but only briefly. Shortly after the purchase they put the mast on the deck and traveled down the Mississippi, turned east, and ended up in Mobile, AL. They left the continental US behind and cruised extensively, including to the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Central America, and the northern part of South America. They lived aboard for seven years while cruising.

I bought the boat in December 2022 and had it shipped from Tennessee to my family’s pier in Annapolis, MD. I have been a 60% liveaboard, and not only sailed extensively on the Chesapeake Bay but done some good-spirited charity and fun racing as well.

Since my purchase in December 2022, the following has been added, replaced, or upgraded:

• All new standing (installed 2023) and running rigging (2024 high tech lines from Performance Ropes)
• New 2024 North NPL UltraX mainsail with vertical battens on Hood Stoway Furler (used twice)
• New Marinaire 16000 btu reverse cycle HVAC
• New Isotherm refrigeration system
• Rebuilt velvet drive transmission
• Smartplug shore power inlet with two cords
• ELCI breaker
• Galvanic Isolator
• All new electronics:
• Garmin 1243 Chartplotter
• Garmin Autopilot with waterproof remote
• 5x Garmin 4” displays
• Samsung Frame TV in salon
• Standard Horizon VHF with DSC
• Vesper AIS
• 5G T-Mobile internet with masthead amplified antenna
• Microwave custom installed
• Raritan Marine Elegance fresh water head with bidet
• 60 gallon holding tank
• Thermostatic shower valve (set and forget at 100º or whatever temp you desire)
• New heater element for 12 gallon water heater
• New 100ah AGM house batteries x3 with room for a fourth
• 32” compact steering wheel for singlehanding (opens up the cockpit-54” wheel included as well)
• Jabsco PARMAX 40psi fresh water pump
• New faucets in the head and galley
• Propspeed prop paint on the 3-blade Maxprop
• Half hull model commissioned by original owner restored and mounted above cabin TV
• Profurl headsail furler rebuilt with new bearings 2023
• LED light bulbs for all external and internal lights
• Rebuilt ESPAR diesel heater
• The list goes on…

Notes:

• Teak decks are in fair condition and will need to be addressed. The boat is priced for this eventuality.
• Awlgrip topsides and cabin top paint is in good condition, with only some minor cracking showing. Should be able to be touched up rather than repainted completely.
• Bottom paint has 1.5 seasons on it
• Cream ultraleather upholstery is in excellent condition
• The 130% dacron genoa is from 1999 and could be replaced. Fine for cruising, holds a shape better than you’d expect for 25 years old.
• There is a 110% dacron yankee jib that I have never used and do not know its condition.
• Storm trysail, storm jib, inner forestay, stainless dinghy davits, bimini, dodger, and winter cover all included. Bimini and dodger were not installed until 2021 and were removed in 2022 and put in storage.
• Stove currently disconnected—propane system needs to be updated*
• Currently no macerator pump discharge for the holding tank because I live in a no-discharge area.*
• There is some evidence of water damage on some bulkheads. At this point I believe we have addressed all of them except for those that occur in truly driving rainstorms.
• Luxury thick foam mattresses for both fore and aft cabins
• Exterior brightwork work has begun, it is almost time. I have stripped the cabin top eyebrow, one of the dorade boxes, and some cockpit trim and applied Semco in the meantime while I decide what to do with it and in between sailing days.*

Items marked * I am willing to address before sale if sold for list price. Brightwork I am willing to strip, so you can finish in your choice of product or leave to age to grey.


From the original listing (notes in brackets):

The layout configuration of [Alice] is shown in the accompanying brochure labeled “Plan B”. She includes many of the Standard Features listed in the brochure plus many extras.

…

• New bimini and dodger with side curtains. Built in 2016 and installed in 2021, [removed and stored 2022]
• New standing rigging [installed 2023] (wire rope shrouds and stay) utilizing Sta Lok terminals,
• New lifelines (uncoated) with new turnbuckles, pelican hooks, and toggles,
• New ball bearings in the traveler,
• New roller bearing in the Hood Stoway mast,
• New electrical wire and coax cable in the mast,
• New masthead tricolor light, new LED sealed beam for the deck light, new LED bulb in the steaming light.
• New electronic control module in the ESPAR D4 Airtronics diesel heater.
• New rebuild kits installed in 3 of 4 PAR pumps,
• New isolation switch for the Maxwell windlass.

Engine & Related Components

The Westerbeke 58 hp. has a total engine run time of 3,354.0 hrs [updated hourmeter reading to follow]. The engine was reported to have been overhauled in 1992. At the time of purchase in 1995, the engine had 1141.72 run time hours.

The engine oil and transmission oil coolers have been removed, cleaned and tested for leaks. The end plates on the exhaust manifold engine cooler were removed to facilitate cleaning of the cooler. New belts and hoses were replaced as wear dictated. The engine was painted for corrosion control and overall appearance. The engine also employs a Groco electric oil change pump for easy oil changes. An extra early warning temperature switch is mounted on the water injection elbow for redundancy. The engine compartment is accessible via a hinged cover which provides full access for service

The transmission is a Borg Warner [velvet drive] with a reduction ratio of 2.57:1. The propeller shaft is 1.25” stainless steel with a conventional stuffing box. Fuel is stored in two integral fuel tanks mounted port and starboard and utilizes dual selectable Racor fuel filters and an Algae-X Magnetic Fuel Conditioner as part of the fuel delivery system. Two 6” hand ways in each tank provide access for inspection. Periodically during layup, one hand-way from each tank was removed and the required amount of Biobor was added to treat the diesel fuel and eliminate the potential for microbial growth.

Electronics and Navigation [all removed]

• Datamarine Corinthian apparent wind indicator, knot log, and depth to 200 ft.
• Additional Datamarine 3000 measures depth to 960 ft.,
• Icom M56 VHF radio at Nav Station,
• SEA 222 SSB with 1612 antenna tuner,
• Icom 706MKIIG Ham radio,
• Kenwood R-600 all band receiver,
• Furuno 208 Weather Fax,
• (2)- Garmin GPS Map 162 (1 at Nav Station, 1 in cockpit),
• Dytek sea water temperature.
• Alpha Marine 4404 autopilot with remote control and electronic compass display at the Nav Station (also includes a spare Master Control Unit & spare linear drive unit for nearly 100% redundancy)
• Aneros bar graph,
• Weems & Plath ship’s clock and barometer. [not removed]

SUMMARY:

I have not been able to make up my mind about placing Alice for sale. It will be hard for me to let this boat go, but again, I cannot justify owning three 34-44’ sailboats. I believe the price of $175,000 is fair given my total investment of over $200k. I am happy to show the boat and do sea trials in the Annapolis, MD area. Alice shows well but has seen a lot of loving use over her 41-year life. If I were to nitpick, the decks needing attention in the next two or three seasons, the brightwork, and the previous water damage would be my only negatives. For a really big (the cabin volume is impressive) and heavy (40k approx wet displacement), she sails beautifully. The 5’6”-10’2” centerboard keel allows for exploring some of the best shallow water anchorages around. The brand new North mainsail is beautiful, battened, and furls well. I will include the 1999 Neil Pryde main as well, but I don’t know why you would use it.

[Alaris]

For clarity, the old electronics were removed. There are all new electronics in their place. Some have misunderstood my ad to mean that no electronics were on board. On the contrary, the boat has a full suit of brand new 2023 Garmin electronics including autopilot, AIS, wind, speed, depth, and a standard horizon VHF with DSC.