The Ariel was designed by naval architect
Carl Alberg
Carl Alberg (11 April 1901 – 31 August 1986) was a Swedish born naval architect known for his influence in early fiberglass boats.
Career
Alberg moved to the United States in 1925 where he began working as a rigger then later as a spar (sa ...
in 1961 for
Pearson Yachts
Pearson Yachts was a sailboat manufacturer founded by Everett Pearson and Clinton Pearson in 1956. One of the first fiberglass sailboat manufacturers, they grew rapidly during the 60s and 70s, while also developing and designing new boats. Howe ...
of
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat buil ...
. The Ariel offered Pearson's early 1960s customers a midsized boat to fill the product line between the very successful
Pearson Triton and the smaller
Pearson Ensign
The Pearson Ensign, or Ensign 22, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Carl Alberg as a one-design racer and day sailer and first built in 1962. It is the largest full-keel one-design
One-design racing is a racing method ...
/Electra. The Ariel shares many of the amenities of the larger Triton including standing headroom (5'10"), berths for four, sink, ice box, freshwater tank and an enclosed head. Other factory options included spinnaker gear and the choice of auxiliary power (
Universal Atomic 4 inboard or an outboard in a well).
The Ariel and a later daysailing version, the
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
share a common hull and rig (the Commander has a smaller, more spartan cabin to allow for a very spacious cockpit). Of the more than 50 boat designs Carl Alberg produced after leaving the
John G. Alden firm to design on his own, Alberg chose the Commander as his personal boat (Hull #302). This boat was named "ALMA" in honor of his wife and for many of his later years was sailed out of Marblehead, Ma.
Although the Ariel was produced from 1962 to 1967 (for a total of 440 boats), the majority remain in service today. While many Ariels and Commanders are used for casual daysailing, an active one design racing community still operates in San Francisco. Several ocean crossings have been made by these boats including transpacific crossings and some Newport-Bermuda runs.
See also
*
Alberg 35
*
Albin Vega
The Albin Vega, also called the Vega 27, is a Sweden, Swedish sailboat that was designed by Per Brohäll as Cruising (maritime), cruiser and first built in 1965.
The design was developed into the longer Singoalla 34 in 1970.
Production
The de ...
References
* "The Lure of Sailing"; Everett Pearson, New York Harper & Row c1965
* "John G. Alden and His Yacht Designs"; Robert W. Carrick & Richard Henderson, McGraw Hill, 1983.
* [note: Carrick & Henderson's book contains several references to Alberg's work at Alden including on page 409 his drawing for the lines of the Hinckley 21, a 28.5' sloop that bears a striking resemblance to his later work on both the Pearson Triton and Pearson Ariel]
{{Pearson Yachts
Sailing yachts
1960s sailboat type designs
Sailboat types built by Pearson Yachts