LEEWAY II is a 37' Alberg built by Whitby Boat Works in Whitby, Ontario, Canada (yes, you're right we dock at Whitby and she lives within 300 yards of where she was built). Designed by the renowned Carl Alberg, she sports a narrow beam and cutaway full keel with long traditional overhangs and never fails to draw a quick look over our shoulders as we walk down the dock away from her. LEEWAY II is hull # 233 of a production run of 248 and was launched in 1984. She is yawl rigged (for non-sailors that means she has a second smaller mast behind the rudder post at the rear of the boat), has been a fresh water boat all her life and, after searching the entire eastern seaboard for the right boat, we found her within 25 miles of home.

Because our cruising plans are open-ended, we wanted a boat that would take us anywhere and capably handle anything that we could throw at her. But, we also needed to get such a boat at a price we could easily afford. With the Alberg we got both in spades. Designed and built as a racer-cruiser under the old CCA rules she is, by today's standards, heavy and over-built (good characteristics for a cruising boat) but surprisingly fast in light air. The interior is both traditional and, when compared with today's cavernous weekend boats, small but that provided us with an area that we could change for our particular needs without wasting a lot of existing fancy cabinetry. What we didn't expect when we bought her was that many others felt the same way about her design as we did and that there was such an active cult....err....association of passionate Alberg owners. Alberg 37s tend to come up for sale rather rarely as owners appreciate all she has to give and, over the years, we have made many good friends as members of the International Alberg 37 Owners Association.



We truly love our boat and over the past 12 seasons extensively customized her using both our ideas and those of other owners to create a modest but very capable cruising home. While we would love to have a second separate sleeping cabin for guests because we have to use the main cabin for sleeping when friends are staying over that remains the only major thing on our wish list that she doesn't manage to check off even after all this time. For those of you that might like some detail about how we have equipped the boat, here's a list of some of the things we've done.

SAILS & RIGGING
• 140% Headsail (North Sails - age uncertain)
• Hood Sea-furl 3250 on Headsail (roller furling)
• Mainsail (Doyle Sails - 3 reef points & Dutchman flaking system - 2008)
• Mizzen Sail (Doyle Sails - 1 Reef point & Dutchman flaking system - 2008)
• Cruising Spinnaker (North Sails - age uncertain)
• Lewmar Whisker Pole
• Folding Mast Steps (on both main & mizzen masts)
• Tides Track System (on both main & mizzen masts)
• Primary winches are self-tailing
• All lines lead back to cockpit

AUXILLARY ENGINE & PROPULSION
• Yanmar 3JH4E 40hp. 3 cyl. marine diesel engine (re-powered in 2008)
• 1" Martex stainless steel shaft
• PYI PSS drip-less shaft seal
• Vectus water-lock exhaust system
• Luke 15x15x1RH 3-blade feathering prop
• Shaft Razor Line Cutter

NAVIGATION
• ST60 Raymarine Tridata (Speed, Depth & Trip)
• ST60 Wind instrument
• 320 Raymarine Chartplotter/GPS (w/ electronic charts)
• ST6001 below-deck Smartpilot
• ST3000 wheel-mounted Autopilot (back-up)
• ST120 C-Series Raymarine GPS/Radar/Chartplotter (w/ electronic charts)
• Sony Viao laptop computer (running Fugawi ENC 4.5, HF Radio Propogation Predictor, SSM Weather Support software)
• HP Pavilion laptop computer (running the same software as backup)
• Garmin 12XL handheld GPS unit

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS/CHARGING CAPABILITIES
We completely re-wired the boat to modern standards and our system now includes:
• Thornton Marine custom Electrical Panels for DC & AC systems
• 4 6-volt CR-395 Crown Deep-Cycle Batteries for a total House Bank of 790 hrs
• 1 27DC115 Deep Cycle Battery for engine starting capacity of 115 hrs
• Heart (now Xantrax) Model 20-12 2000 watt/100 amp Inverter/charger
• Eco-charge interface for starting battery charging
• Hehr Powerline 120 amp alternator charging the house batteries
• Yanmar 60 amp alternator charging the starting battery
• Aqualine multi-step smart regulator
• 190 watt Sanyo HIP-190BA3 solar panel (we will add another panel of at least 110 watts prior to leaving)
• Xantrax solar charge booster/regulator
• Air-Marine 400 watts wind generator
• E-Marine e1200 wind generator control panel
• ETQ1200 portable gas generator (back-up & emergency generation)

GROUND TACKLE/ANCHORING
• Custom designed bowsprit (for anchor storage & deployment)
• Anchorlift 'Mako 1500' electric windlass
• 45 lb. Trefoil plow anchor on 200' of 3/8" high test chain & 200' rode
• 35 lb. Delta anchor on 100' of 3/8" high test chain & 180' rode
• 35 lb. Danforth anchor on stern with 25' 3/8" high test chain & 150' rode
• FX-16 Fortress anchor (for lunch hook and kellet)
• 3 25'sections of 3/8" chain and various fittings
• Additional sections of rode
• Deck wash system

COMMUNICATIONS
• ICOM IC-M502 fixed mount VHF Radio at navigation station
• Standard Horizon Maxi 862S fixed mount VHF Radio at navigation station
• ICOM remote Command Microphone for ICOM 502 at helm
• ICOM IC-M1V Handheld VHF Radio
• ICOM IC-M802 fixed mount SSB Radio at navigation station
• ICOM AT140 automatic antenna tuner for SSB
• PTC IIUSB Pactor Modem for SSB Radio (giving us email & weather capabilities)

GALLEY
• Force 10 3-burner propane stove & oven with broiler
• E-Z Kold # EK-12CPAW-2 refrigeration with cold plate freezer box (air & water cooled)
• Samsung MU3050W Microwave Oven
• 2 11lb. propane tanks in vented cockpit storage locker
• Hot & cold pressure water in galley & head



CREATURE COMFORTS
• Force 10 propane cabin heater
• Froli Travel Mattress System & 5" memory foam in V-berth
• 14" Toshiba Flat Screen TV with DVD player
• Toshiba SD-P1400 Portable DVD player
• Kenwood KDC-MP642U Stereo Receiver with CD player & USB/i-Pod interface
• Dickerson propane BBQ with 5 lb. tank on stern rail
• Shower with separate mixer in head
• Jabsco manual toilet with 35 gal. holding tank & macerator evacuation system
• Over 80 lockers & cuddys for ample storage
• 3 large stainless steel Dorade vents & 2 Nicro power mushroom vents

COCKPIT
• Teak folding cockpit table
• Bottomsiders cockpit cushions
• Dodger and Bimini
• Cockpit spray curtains on fixed stainless steel lifelines
• Full cockpit enclosure

DINGHY
• 9'3" Avon "Rover" Rigid Bottom Dinghy
• 15 hp. Yamaha Outboard Motor
• Dinghy tow system

SAFETY EQUIPMENT
• 2 Mustang "Airforce" MD3011 & MD3012 Inflatable Life Vests
• Life Sling 2 - Overboard Rescue System
• Man Overboard Pole, Throw-line & Life Ring
• Jacklines on deck

ADDITIONAL GEAR
• 6 5gal. Jerry Cans in custom holders on deck (water, gas & diesel)
• 2 Dahon folding 3-speed bicycles



Hopefully, that gives you an idea of the work we done.

For those of you with a technical bent that would like to see the "hard numbers" here is a synopsis of the Alberg design specifications.

DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Whitby Boat Works, Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Designer: Carl Alberg
Production: 1967-1988
LOL 37'2"/11.33m
LWL 25'6"/8.08m
BEAM 10'2"/10m
DRAFT 5'6"/1.68m
DISPLACEMENT 16800lb./7636.36kg.
BALLAST 6500 lb./2961 kg.
SAIL AREA - Sloop 646sq.ft./60.08m2
SAIL AREA - Yawl 685sq.ft./63.80m2
DISP/LENGTH RATIO 403/ (Heavy)
SAILAREA/DISP RATIO 15.3/ (Low)
BAL/DISP. RATIO .39/ (Low)
US SAILING SCREENING VALUE 1.6/ (Below 2.0 recommended for offshore sailing)
COMFORT VALUE 40/ (High)
POWER Diesel (Re-powered with 2008 Yanmar 3JH4E 40 hp.)
FUEL CAPACITY 35 gal. /159.11 litres (Additional 25 gal/ 113.65 litres tank installed for total of 60 gal/272.76 litres)
WATER CAPACITY 42 gal/236.4 litres (In 2 tanks)
REEFING Roller Headsail/Slab Reefing on mail & missen
CONSTRUCTION Fibreglass
SPARS Aluminium
MAST HT ABOVE WL 48'6"/14.78 m (Plus 4' for antennas)
RIGGING Stainless Steel
HEADROOM 6'2"/1.9 m
BERTHS 6



Still reading? You've got to be kidding! Brute for punishment, eh?! Well, if you'd still like to know more about the design here are a couple of link to articles that you might find interesting. You will need to copy & paste the links into your browser. Happy reading.

http://www.alberg37.org/AmazingGrace-HTML/Amazing-Grace.htm
or
http://www.cruisingworld.com/boats-and-gear/boat-reviews-and-previews/alberg-35-and-alberg-37-201030.html