America has been blessed with a multitude of talented yacht designers, but standing out among these are a few giants who have created the trends and written permanent chapters in the history of yacht design. Some of these leaders who come immediately to mind are Nathanael G. Herreshoff, Olin J. Stephens 11, Philip L. Rhodes, and certainly John G. Alden. During his lengthy career from the early 1900s to 1955, Alden and his stable of gifted designers supplied the American yachtsman with thousands of excellent boats, varying in size from dinghies to large, offshore, cruising yachts. He had the ability to create smart-performing, attractive-looking craft that could be built soundly at a price affordable for sailors of modest means. His ocean going sailing yachts were first and foremost able, sea-kindly, stable, and comfortable cruisers, yet the Malabar’s and many others proved that boats designed to this healthy concept need not be slow.Excerpt from John G Alden and his Yacht Designs, Robert W. Carrick & Richard Henderson.

Alden Schooners on the West Coast:

Curlew                         273 B   1926    Dana Point, CA

Dauntless                      458      1928    San Diego, CA

Lord Jim                       476      1930    Sausalito, CA

Dirigo 11                      693      1939    Long Beach, CA

Of Note:

When & If                    669      1937    Martha’s Vineyard, MA

(Built for Gen. George S. Patton by F.F. Pendleton)