Anecdotes concerning Carl Alberg

Before selling my Ariel to get into the International One Design Class, my wife and I went for a sail with Carl Alberg on his Commander 302 in Marblehead Harbor, MA. We went to his house for drinks and then dinner at the Boston YC. Carl recounted how the Pearsons got a good start in building fiberglass boats with the aid of the Portuguese from the Cape Verde Islands. They had a terrible hurricane that damaged all of their homes so the men came to Bristol, RI and built boats to earn money to go back and rebuild their homes.

He pointed out that the Typhoon had to have its freeboard raised 2 inches so that he could make the cockpit self-bailing at the builders insistence and against his wishes. He thought that that made the boat less appealing aesthetically.

-- Milton Thrasher

My name is Bill Greer. I lived next door to Carl and his wife, Irma, on Walnut Street in Marblehead for many years. Although I was very young and don't know a great deal about Carl, I can provide many details about his house and his routines while at home. He was a wonderful, kind gentleman who took great pleasure in spending hours on his back porch deck observing the boats and activities in Marblehead Harbor. If these types of details are important to anyone, or I might answer specific questions about being his neighbor, my e-mail is datacad@verizon.net.

-- Bill Greer

You can email me with any anecdotes, facts, sources of information (books, people, or other).

Offshore Sailing by Bill Seifert with Daniel Spurr We went to a Windjammers lecture to hear Bill Seifert and I was impressed enough to buy the book on the spot. I've heard a lot of people talk about ways to improve a boat, but I've never heard one person suggest so many good ideas that I hadn't considered. Part of the charm is the specificity of the suggestions. Everyone says you should secure your floorboards, hatchboards and batteries. Bill shows good suggestions on how to do so. The suggestions are very practical for the do-it-yourselfer, too. Many show how to make or adapt inexpensive solutions. Tip #12 on closing the deck blower vents is one that will pay off for me without ever going offshore. I'll implement that one to stop the wintertime storms from finding their way belowdecks. Besides modifications, the book also includes advice for operating offshore, cooking, boat selection, dealing with bureaucracy, and more. Bill Seifert has worked at Tartan, TPI, and Alden Yachts. He's a veteran of many Marion-Bermuda races and now runs his own yacht management company. His tips are born of experience--not of book-learning--and it shows. He obviously knows his stuff. (Note: commissions earned from this link help defray the costs of this website)

• Carl Alberg
• Alberg's designs
• Anecdotes
• Scott Wallace's Good Old Boat article
• Kurt Hansen
• Wooden Alberg designs
  • Alestra or Venture IV or Fortitude
  • Katuna
  • US One Design
  • Wemba