Review of Alden 52

Basic specs.

The Alden 52 is a large sailboat designed by the American maritime architect John Gale Alden in the late eighties. The Alden 52 is built by the American yard Alden Yachts Inc..

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Keel

The Alden 52 is equipped with a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.83 - 1.93 meter (6.00 - 6.30 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Alden 52 is 1.63, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.5 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.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Alden 52 is about 356 kg/cm, alternatively 1994 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 356 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1994 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.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Alden 52 is 43.9.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 86% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Alden 52 is 3.69.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 62% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Alden 52 is 38%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 62% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Alden 52 is 302 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

14% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Alden 52 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.1.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 21% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 70m² (753 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.

Rig

Dimensions of sail.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

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.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	49.3 m	(161.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	49.3 m	(161.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	49.3 m	(161.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	16.1 m	(52.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	16.1 m	(52.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	40.2 m	(132.0 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	35.4 m	(116.1 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	5.5 m	(18.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	11.1 m	(36.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	11.1 m	(36.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Alden 52 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.