Alberg Design No. 22 - Precursor to the Sea Sprite 23

[Case]

Thought I will do my own bit to keep this forum alive... its been dead lately...

I own a Sea Sprite 23 and came across this old picture in a Canadian boating website. It is the design that ended up being the Alberg 22. But what struck me about the original design as Alberg envisioned it, was that it looked amazingly like the Sea Sprite 23.

The Sea Sprite 23 was design no. 22 and this one was design no 20.

Alberg Design No. 20



Alberg Design No. 22



Interior Layout of Alberg No. 22



I wish that the SS23 had the same layout as Design no. 20... 2 berths are far more useful than 4 berths in a boat of this size! Plus, having the head right at the cabin entrance means there's more headroom while sitting on the head... Also, having nothing up at the bow means the SS23 would sit on its lines better - they tend to be bow-down. More space for anchor and rode!

Marketing, that's why. I remember seeing the layout of the Hinckley 20 which often are considered the design Alberg based the Triton on... it had only 3 berths and a larger galley (if memory serves me).

One last comment... Design No. 20 clearly shows that Alberg is from Sweden, note that one piece coaming/cabinsides. The forward edge even extends forward of the cabin! I generally only see this feature in Swedish designs or at least Scandinavian designs.

- Case

[Arcadia]

Case,
You have great taste in boats! We owned a Seasprite for about twelve years. Great Boats!
Ours was Ryder built, and we made some modifications for cruising(such as you can with a boat that size) adding locker/seat backs in place of the quarterberths, using the built in ice box (useless) as dry food stowage, and carrying a good portable icebox in the aft end of one of the quarterberths. Cooked on a kerosene sea swing stove. No head. We used to go away for a few weeks at a time in that boat, even after our first son was born up until he was about five. Sailed all over Long Island Sound and Buzzards Bay. Great Boats!!
I often thought of redesigning the interior completely, but it worked OK for us as it was, and there was no real pressing reason to tear apart a perfectly good boat at that time. I always wanted to put a small diesel in though...we carried an out board on a stern bracket so as not to be dragging it along in the well.
Design No. 20 looks like a beautiful little boat, and I especially like the continuous cabin side and cockpit coaming that you mention. As much as I like the open fore deck, I always felt the SS cabin was just a little too high and boxy for my taste, and the forward extension alleviates that. I ended up putting an eyebrow moulding on to visually lower the cabin top.
We finally bought a larger boat to go cruising, and thought about keeping the Seasprite but couldn't justify it at the time. It was shame really, as we ended up getting an old Bristol Corinthian, also an Alberg design, about ten years later for the kids. I wanted them to have a boat to really learn to sail, and larger boats are not always the best for that. They sometimes take off on an over night on their own, usually anchoring near us in the big boat, just in case they forget something. The Corinthian needed some work and the Seasprite would have been the perfect boat.
Great Boats! ( Did I say that before??) Hang onto yours!
Chris

[Tim]

I remember seeing the layout of the Hinckley 20 which often are considered the design Alberg based the Triton on... it had only 3 berths and a larger galley (if memory serves me).

Here are some drawings of the Hinckley 21 which support your recollection of the layout.



While there are some incremental differences, the resemblance of the H-21 to the design that became the Triton is obvious. Even the transom shape is similar, though the H-21 is a little narrower, a little deeper of draft, heavier, and has a bit more curve to the sheer.



These images, and much more good information, are available at the following link for those interested in more:

Link: Voyageur, Hinckley 21 Site

[Al]

How times have changed! Adjusted for inflation, the Hinckley that cost $6,000 in 1946 would be a real bargain today at $64,959.