61 Pearson/Alberg One-Off Ariel/Commander Hull #12 "Village Maid"

[Warm-south-winds]

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Village Maid is a cutter rigged masthead sloop/

Her layout/coachroof is similar to an Ariel though her galley is midship with more open Port-Starboard settees/quarterbirths. She's built simple without brightwork focus yet solid/robust for bluewater cruising.

Would like to know more about hulls history as mine was built in 61 before the production run started, any help be greatly appreciated...

[Rico]

Wow! I'm sure someone here will have some details...
(But will surely need more pictures! - Or at least the rest of us will!)

[ebb]

#12 would mean there are at least 12 of these babies.
Do you have any paper for your boat?
First production glass boats were the Alberg/Pearson Triton of that time, a 28'.
There were EastCoast, WestCoast and French versions.
The Ariel/Commander, so far as I know was only built in Bristol RI.
This class is a kissing cousin to the Triton, with simlar proportions.
The trunk cabin/coach roof on yours looks very different than A/Cs or Tritons built in the 60s
Looks like it has 6' standing inside.

Looks like your boat has a pronounced sheer. The 60s A/C have flat sheer.

BUT I have never seen a lines drawing of the A/C that did not have a curved sheer.

So it is entirely possible that the very first first Ariel/Commander production runs were models
with pronounced sheers AND pronounced coach roofs.
Hard to imagine Pearson retooling their molds once they got production going. However it
certainly is possible.

Are you sure it's a Pearson? I wonder if it's an Alberg?
An easy check: A/Cs are exactly 8' at the widest beam.
The hull of an Ariel/Commander is easy to ID as an Alberg, there isn't much to change there except the rudder.
What does your underbody look like?
But it could be that the whole deck - or maybe the coachroof - was entirely remade on an Ariel hull.

(Now that I study the photo, a lower angle view might reveal a hull having a nearly flat sheer.)

[Bill]

Have you contacted the Alberg 30 site's Web Master? They list all Alberg designs, but indicate that their list might be incomplete. Here's the listing site: http://www.alberg30.org/CarlAlberg/designs.html

They may have information on your boat, or you may be able to provide them with information on something not in their list.

[Bill]

BTW - It's not Ariel #12. That boat is located in Canada. The cabin trunk would indicate it's not a Commander. The rounded front hatch would indicate that it's not likely of Pearson construction as they used rectangular designs throughout their line during those years.