KELSEA is an Aloha 34. She has a shoal
draft 4'6". The standard keel is 5'6" which is still O.K. for most of the
Caribbean. Solid (very solid)
fiberglass hull. cored
deck so like any 30 year old, you need to check moisture there. I have sailed her offshore, she's stronger than I am. I lived onboard for 2 years full time and now about 20 weeks per year. Singlehanded her from
Canada (Great Lakes) to
Belize. Never has the boat's integrity been an issue. Ted Brewer design. Fin keel, skeg hung
rudder. All berths are 6'4" long and a respectable width. I'm 6'2". The V-berth fits my 5'5" partner and me without ever bumping into each other (unintentionally). Tons of
storage.
I sailed a Catalina 25 for 15 years while raising a
family. The 30 is a good Catalina and was on my list to move up but it can't hold a candle to the Aloha. I wouldn't even take a
Catalina 36 over my
boat.
Alohas were built by the Ouyang Boatworks in Whitby,
Ontario,
Canada. The guys behind it were a spinoff from the Whitby boatworks that built the Whitby 42 and all of Carl Arlberg's classics (22-37). Excellent heritage.
The
helm is beautifully balanced. Reefing is nice over 15 knots and double reef at 20 knots. Very comfortable. I won our local
regatta this year with a double reefed main and 150% Genny in 20-25 (30 gusts) knots of
wind. She just thunders through it. It's a big, little
boat.
30 year olds do need attention. I spent 8 years refurbishing before I ventured far. Of note, I replaced the leaking
aluminum fuel tank which split a seam, and the
exhaust water trap, all standing
rigging with Haynes
Hi-Mod do it yourself,
furling,
sails, bigger,
self tailing primary winches, port windows, etc. A 30 year old boat needs everything so pay attention to what has been done by the previous owner. In today's market you don't actually pay for all the upgrades that have been done. I'd be happy to share any other info you might want on the Aloha 34 if you can figure out how to private message me.