Review of Alden 50
Basic specs.
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The Alden 50 has been built with more than one type of keel.
One option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.
Another option is a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.13 - 2.23 meter (6.99 - 7.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Westerbeke diesel engine at 70.0 hp (52 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.8 knots.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 568.0 liters (150 US gallons, 124 imperial gallons).
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Alden 50 is 1.38, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.7 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Alden 50 is about 240 kg/cm, alternatively 1348 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 240 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1348 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Alden 50 is 58.1.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Alden 50 is 4.31.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Alden 50 is 459 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 43m2 (462 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jib sheet | 15.2 m | (50.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 15.2 m | (50.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 38.1 m | (125.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 33.5 m | (110.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.
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