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Thread: An Ariel in every Port... or, A-238 and A-268 My Ariel Fleet

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    14

    An Ariel in every Port... or, A-238 and A-268 My Ariel Fleet

    Hello everyone, thanks for having me! My name is Greg and I am an Alberg-aholic.
    I can't remember when I first saw an Alberg designed sailboat, or even when I fell in love with them. What I can tell you is in one short year I went from ZERO sailboats to TWO!
    Both Ariels.
    The story of the first one is pretty straight forward if you don't take into consideration all the coincidences and "Wow small world!" moments. Seems these little boats have a lot of friends.
    I had been following along on several sites looking for an Alberg boat for a few years when I noticed this nice looking Ariel that was for sale on Craigslist. The kicker was that it was located up in Puget Sound Washington State. Now I have nothing against that particular area. As a matter of fact, I lived up there for a while years ago and it is one of my most favorite places. But, since I call San Francisco home, it was not very practical. Yet poor judgement led me to follow every price drop for several months.
    I have a few friends with whom I ask advice and one is a Captain who works tour boats in Alaska and spends time down in Puget Sound when it's off season. I had helped this guy sail his 50' Bill Tripp designed boat down from Astoria, Ore. a few years ago and had become great friends. I remember he had told me that he had an Ariel years ago over in Hawaii. I called him up and told him of my interest in an Ariel in Washington. He shared all his info he had about the boats and of course gave a glowing endorsement, specially for a first boat. He asked where in Washington she was located, and I said she was out in Port Orchard. He laughed and asked what was her name, I had the ad up and could read "Spirit Wind" in one of the photos. He exclaimed he knew the boat and had had several conversations with owner. It seems my friend had had his boat in the same small marina for two years just up the dock! He said the guy was always taking care and taking it out. He said it was in pretty good shape. I started to plan.
    Well, my poor judgement(on a few different points) led me to a plane trip to the Pacific Northwest and a date with Spirit Wind A-238. I cannot lie and tell you fine readers that I didn't have an envelope with clean, fresh U.S. currency inside it. There was just enough for the asking price. I hadn't made up my mind of course, but I was prepared.
    I met up with the owner and we had a good long look at her. She was clean, good deck, standing and running rigging was newish, outboard in the well that ran like a top. Sails a little dated. Below she was very nicely appointed. The bright work in the cabin was great, and one of my favorite points was that the bulkhead and locker wood paneling was gone. She had shimmering white laminate that matched the cabin ceiling. She was very bright inside.
    I could tell in his eyes he did not want to sell this little boat. His story sounded familiar. Boat vs. Wife.... Wife was winning. Oh the humanity.
    I said that I would get a hotel for the night and then we could both have time to consider the transfer. I had already watched the price drop $1500 dollars over the last couple of months and knew he wasn't going much lower, specially if he didn't really want to see it gone. I just had to see if I was willing to pay the price.
    After a nights rest and some more quick research about these boats on line I called up the owner and said I was still very interested and we could meet down at the boat to make a deal. He was game.
    So early July of last year(2016) A-238 "SPIRIT WIND" became my first boat.
    I spent from July to October sailing her around Sinclair Inlet, near the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wa. I knew no one and therefore coincidentally started my solo-sailing career at the same time. I will always look at this time as a truly great experience and my decision to buy this boat as one of my best ever.
    I sailed her out of Port Orchard with trips to Seattle's Bell Harbor Marina as well as Shilshole Bay Marina and Blake Island Marine State Park.
    This past month I was finally able to get up and get her outfitted for a two week cruise to the San Juan Islands. Which as anyone who has been knows, is an amazing cruising experience.
    I will save that story for another time, as well as the story of how I came to own yet another Ariel here in the Bay Area. (It was easier than one might think!)
    I look forward to exploring the forum here and hopefully getting to know other Alberg fans.
    Thanks for reading, if you made it this far.
    Have a great day!
    g

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    14
    Photos to come when I figure out how to get them turned the right way!
    Attached Images          
    Last edited by GSGardner; 07-24-2017 at 02:01 PM. Reason: pictures oriented wrong

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Santa Cruz
    Posts
    190
    Welcome to the Ariel club. Look forward to hearing your story. I have somewhat of a connection to Sprit Wind. My wife {then girlfriend} was a previous owner back in the 80’s. At the time it was a San Francisco boat. We can share stories later but I can tell you that the little yacht has been through a lot and is a survivor

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    14

    and then there were two... A-268 Kuan Yin

    So now I will relate a little bit about Kuan Yin, A-268.
    After buying and sailing A-238 all over Puget Sound last summer, I was back home in San Francisco with far too much time on my hands. I had acquired an extremely bad habit of searching craigslist far and wide with only one inquiry, "Alberg". Why would someone do this, you ask. I already had one Ariel and I was extremely happy with her. Did I want a bigger boat? Maybe. Or was I just torturing myself with all these beautiful boats? Definitely.
    It was on craigslist that I come across an ad about an Ariel in Point Richmond. "Not so far from home!" the little devil on my shoulder whispered. The angel replied "You already have one, no one needs two Ariels!" That sentiment was also reaffirmed by my girlfriend... We all now know who I listen to...
    Anyways, the post said something like "I have this boat and I don't want it anymore. I don't want it trashed. I don't want it to go to some yahoo who is gonna use it as a white trash trailer and live in it until it sinks or they abandon it. If interested please tell me a little bit about yourself and what you want to do with the boat." Something like that.
    So I send off an email with words of encouragement and a photo of my A-238 Spirit Wind as hopefully a boost of support for maybe sticking it out and trying to fix up the boat. Of course I put my # in there as well.
    By weeks end we had planned to meet up and have a look at Kuan Yin. I will be honest, she was a wreck. It seems the mold on the inside was thicker that the fiberglass. Only rivaled by the suspended jungle of weeds and shellfish on her bottom. Crazed gelcoat that almost looked intentional. Topsides that looked like they had run into everything around them and these wildly oversized combings that were in desperate need of?????
    So yeah, a wreck. Yet I still saw her beauty. Maybe I was missing my sweet Spirit Wind up north. I told him how the boats were different and how they were not. He told me of how he acquired Kuan Yin and how he had planned an ill fated sail to Hawaii.
    He asked if I wanted her. I couldn't answer. I hesitated. He said that I was perfect to take over. That I knew the boats and that I cared about what becomes of them. I agreed with the latter. He said he would give her to me, he had the paperwork over on his new boat. Before I knew it I had signed on the dotted line.
    As the old saying goes, "there is no such thing as a free boat!".
    So yeah, now I have 2.
    I have taken her out of Point Richmond twice since being her new owner. She sails like a dirty charm. We have cleaned up her insides and Emily(my girlfriend) has painted the main cabin and has made new cushions for it. I have started removing hardware and sanding the deck. The main sail and boom have been unshipped, as well as the stern pulpit. She will be getting paint all the way around and new non-skid on deck. I've already redone the running rigging(learned to splice double braid!) as well as replaced dock lines.
    We plan on selling her when done. As we all have heard before, there is no reason to have two Ariels. But when done she will be back to her original beauty with new hardware and paint. Someone will see her and fall in love.
    So yeah, that's the story of my second Ariel. I hope you enjoyed it.

    Oh yeah, shout if you're looking to buy a boat!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    14
    Kuan Yin was hauled out today and will get a cleaning and a new coat of bottom paint.
    Somebody is gonna want this boat!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Winyah Bay, SC
    Posts
    605
    Don't feel bad - my Ariel sits right next to my A-30...
    Kurt - Ariel #422 Katie Marie
    --------------------------------------------------
    sailFar.net
    Small boats, long distances...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    6

    #268 Kuan Yin is still alive and currently looking for love- for sale on Craigslist.

    Quote Originally Posted by GSGardner View Post
    Kuan Yin was hauled out today and will get a cleaning and a new coat of bottom paint.
    Somebody is gonna want this boat!

    Kuan Yin is still alive and currently looking for love (or at least a new owner...):
    https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/boa/6520470035.html



    BTW- Greg/ GSGardner is a great writer ! I hope he continues to buy more Ariel/Pearson/Alberg Designs and shares more of his affliction stories...!!

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