Alberg 37 for Sale, a Used Buyer's Guide to Carl Alberg's Ocean Classic

Alberg 37 for sale, and what that money really buys

Search for an Alberg 37 for sale and you will find boats from the late 1960s to the late 1980s at prices that look almost too low for a 37 foot ocean boat. They are low because these hulls are old, and almost every one needs money somewhere. What you are really buying is a nearly indestructible hull and a seakindly long-keel shape. Everything bolted to it is a negotiation.

The Alberg 37 was designed by Swedish-born Carl Alberg for Kurt and Doris Hansen's Whitby Boat Works in Ajax, Ontario. Whitby built 248 of them between 1967 and 1988. Alberg's name is better known on the Alberg 30, and many buyers who start looking at an Alberg 30 for sale end up stepping up to the 37 for the extra waterline, tankage and interior. Both share the same philosophy: narrow beam, long overhangs, a long keel and a hull laid up with the generous scantlings of an era when builders did not yet trust fiberglass.

Proven the hard way, from the Fastnet storm to a Pacific reef

The Alberg 37's reputation is not marketing. During the August 1979 Fastnet storm, the Fowle family were crossing from Massachusetts to Ireland aboard the Alberg 37 Arion and reported towering seas and winds to 76 knots. Practical Sailor recounts a Vancouver singlehander whose 37 sat on a coral head at the entrance to Palmyra Atoll for three days before the tide floated it off; he sailed on to Tahiti and the hull never leaked. Florida sailor Mark Phelps completed a seven-year world voyage on hull 42, built in 1968, and Wikipedia notes several circumnavigations.

An owner who had a new 37 built in 1982 sent two core samples cut from his own hull's through-hull holes to a lab, and the report called them state-of-the-art fiberglass work. That is the asset you are buying.

Long overhangs, short waterline, kindly motion

Below the water the 37 has a cut-away forefoot on a relatively short keel, with a large raked rudder hung from the keel's trailing edge and the propeller in an aperture. Above it, low topsides, a long narrow cockpit and a well-proportioned coachroof give the boat its unmistakably classic profile.

The numbers explain both its strengths and its limits. On a 37 ft 2 in hull the waterline is only 26 ft 6 in, and the beam is just 10 ft 2 in, so the boat is heavy for its length, with a displacement to length ratio of about 403. Hull speed is roughly 6.9 knots and light-air performance is modest. In return you get a gentle, predictable motion and a capsize screening value of 1.59, comfortably inside the usual offshore threshold.

Mk I or Mk II, and does it matter?

The Mk I was built from 1967 to 1971 and the Mk II from then until the factory closed in 1988. Doug Stevenson, who sold Whitby boats from 1981 until the end, summarized the changes for Practical Sailor. The Mk II swapped the wooden toerail for fiberglass, molded a dodger splash guard into the cabin top, enlarged the portlights (with fewer opening), and used interior space better for a larger head and galley and longer berths. Structurally, the biggest change was a molded cabin sole support and overhead liner in place of the Mk I's wood, which cut build time and improved durability.

In practice the condition of the individual boat outweighs the version. A Mk I avoids some liner-related access problems; a Mk II is generally drier and roomier. The yawl rig, coveted in the 1970s for its looks, adds a mizzen to maintain but gives a useful balancing sail at anchor and in a blow.

A spartan interior built for sea berths, not parties

Practical Sailor described the interior as modest, almost spartan, with square corners and little fancy joinery. Past the offset companionway you find an L-shaped galley to starboard tucked under the step, a forward-facing folding chart table to port with the quarter berth's leading edge doubling as its seat, facing saloon settees with a drop-leaf table beside the keel-stepped mast, a small head to port with lockers opposite, and a V-berth with well-finished storage bins along the overhead.

It is small by modern standards, but it works at sea. The quarter berth and a settee with a lee cloth make genuine sea berths, and nothing is so wide that you get thrown across it.

• Fuel 35 gallons and water 60 gallons per sailboatdata, enough for coastal hops but light for long passages
• Usable cockpit locker aft for deck gear
• Deep cockpit with high backrests for long watches

Repower first, then decks and rigging

Whitby fitted the 23 hp Volvo MD2B or, on most Mk II boats, the 27 hp Volvo MD11C, with a 40 hp Westerbeke 4-107 as an option. Practical Sailor's verdict on the original Volvos is that they are aged out, and access behind the companionway steps is tight. Many owners have repowered with a 28 hp Beta Marine diesel, which Practical Sailor calls a popular and sensible upgrade. If the boat still has its original engine, price a repower into your offer.

Practical Sailor suggests budgeting anywhere from $10,000 up to $50,000 for a full refit. The usual list: bulkhead and cabin sole tabbing that has separated from the hull, delamination in the balsa-cored decks, crazing and leaks around stanchion bases, and hatches, hardware and portlights that need rebedding. Standing rigging of unknown age should be replaced before any offshore passage.

The wheel pedestal sits hard against the bridge deck, which keeps the helmsman dry behind a dodger but hides the engine instruments and makes fitting a modern chartplotter awkward. Plan where electronics will go before you buy.

What it costs to keep one sailing

A 37 ft slip is the largest line item. Outside premium Northeast and South Florida marinas, budget roughly $7,000 to $16,000 a year for slip or mooring, insurance, haul-out and bottom paint, engine service and a sinking fund for sails and rigging. Insurers may ask for a recent survey on a boat this age, and some want proof of rewired electrics or a repowered engine before writing an offshore policy.

The good news is that nothing on an Alberg 37 is exotic. Rigging, sails and hardware are standard sizes, and the owners association and online community have decades of fixes documented.

Who should buy one, and who should not

The Alberg 37 suits a sailor who wants an offshore-capable hull for under $100,000 and is willing to put in time and money to bring the systems up to date. It is a strong choice for a couple heading to the Bahamas, the Caribbean or across an ocean on a modest budget, and for anyone who values motion comfort over marina speed.

It is a poor fit for families who want space, sailors who expect to win club races in light air, or anyone hoping to buy a turnkey boat cheaply. A cheap Alberg 37 is rarely a cheap Alberg 37 a year later.