The Amazing Adventures of the Mighty Houdini

It seems logical that a blog about a boy and his boat should include some information about the boat--perhaps more about the boat than about the boy.
About the Pearson Ariel. As I recall, the Ariel production run lasted from 1961 through 1968. I believe about 600 were built. Nowadays they are found in various states of repair as far away as Australia--though there may be even more exotic anchorages sporting the fine lines of these little boats. These venerable little ships certainly have big trips in them, as many ocean sailors have proved.
The Ariel is a little masterpiece of sailboat design from one of the gods of naval architecture, Carl Alberg. Too, they are lucky technological accidents, in a way, since they were built before the technical data on fiberglass tensile strength was well known. As a result of this information shortage, the hulls were built to thicknesses that would have been used if the boats had been destined for wooden construction.
That means these hulls are really thick--and therefore incredibly tough and stiff--and certainly long-lived. By contrast, modern sailboat hull thickness is a fraction of what you'll find in the old Ariel or her big sister Triton, or that other luminary in the Pearson Sailboat roster, the Vanguard (designed by another naval giant, Rhodes).
Compared to modern designs, Ariels are narrow in the beam (appr0x 8 ft), but they are heavy. Houdini weighs approx 6000 lbs at 26 ft in length. The Ariel draft is about 4'. Because of their design and comparatively heavy weight, Houdini (as do all Ariels) shows wonderful sea-keeping qualities. Ariel owners report going to sea (for example a trek from San Francisco to Hawaii), having storms fall upon them with 20-foot waves, heaving-to and feeling safe as pelicans while the ocean raged all around them--all because the boat is so stiff and stable. They just don't make 'em like that anymore--unless you want to pony-up $135,000.00 or so for the newer designs in boats of approximately the same size.
For now, the inestimable Houdini (Ariel# 407) is docked at Watergate Marina in Kemah, TX. I sail her on Galveston Bay, with the occasional trip into the Gulf. We'll do more of that as the Executive Officer (and NearlyPerfect Wife) gets more comfortable with the notion of being on the briny well beyond sight of land. When not sailing her (the boat, that is) I am pampering her. She gets new varnish regularly, the engine is kept to original standards, the lines are replaced as a matter of routine--and all the other little things that make her the local flagship of these fine boats get their turns under the Captain's watchful and obsessive eye.

posted by The Captain @ 2:57 PM