Alden “O Class” Specifications:
LOA: 18′ 01″ / 5.51m – LOD: – LWL: 15′ 05″ / 4.70m – Beam: 06′ 08″ / 2.03m – Draft: 01′ 01″ (Board up) / 0.33m – Ballast: 550 lbs – Displacement: – Sail Area: 192 sq ft – Yard Number: 188 – Hull material: Wood construction – Rig: Fractional Sloop Rig – Designer: John G. Alden – Built by: – First Year Designed: 1924 – Number Built: 600 – Restored By: – Current Name: – Original Owner: – Contract Price: $650.00 – Current Owner: – Sail Number:
Historical:
In terms of numbers, the O class is the most popular, designed for a group of Marblehead, Massachusetts, yachtsmen, as trainers for teenage sailors. Two variations were built, one for moderate weather, and the other for heavier winds. For safety and comfort, the boat was given plenty of freeboard, a deep cockpit with coamings, and a watertight bulkhead forward to prevent the 550 lbs of ballast from sinking her, in the event of capsize.
Comments
Gerardo – January 14, 2015
Dear sirs. I just recieve the photo colección SaIling 1917 -1934
I want to confirm if the 4 boats with an “O” on the sail correspond to the Alden ” O boats”.
Photo reference is :
File name: 08_06_012708
Title: Sailing
Creator/Contributor: Jones, Leslie, 1886-1967 (photographer)
Date created: 1917 – 1934 (approximate)
Physical description: 1 negative : glass, black & white ; 4 x 5 in.
Genre: Glass negatives
Subjects: Sailboats; Sailing
Notes: Title from information provided by Leslie Jones or the Boston Public Library on the negative or negative sleeve.; Date supplied by cataloger.
Collection: Leslie Jones Collection
Location: Boston Public Library, Print Department
Rights: Copyright © Leslie Jones.
Preferred credit: Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
I’m colecting data and photos of 12 O boats Alden design built in Quilmes , Argentina in 1931.
Regards Gerardo.
Admin – January 15, 201
Designed in 1921 for Marblehead MA sailing conditions.
Two design references in the Alden index:
169 – LOA: 18’2″ x WL: 15’6″ x Beam: 6’2″ x Draft: 1’0″ x 200 sq ft x 450 lbs (inside ballast)
188 – LOA: 18’1″ X WL: 15’5″ X Beam: 6’8″ x Draft: 1’1″ X 550 lbs x 192 sq ft (inside ballast)
Some clubs choose to switch sail plans to suite their requirements, adding to some confusion. The picture you are referring to, shows all boats sailing together with the “O” lower on the sail, with the sail number higher.
In reference to the collection there is another photo that shows all boats racing together with O’s higher and lower, and also sail numbers within the O’s, so in our best opinion the picture shows the John Alden “O” boat, and placement of the O’s was the sailmaker/owners choice, and possibly by logo upgrades as the years passed.
Kenneth Rolt – August 1, 2020
The sail insignia and # depends on the sailmaker, but also depends on the YC. In the early to mid 1920s, the “O” Class were sailed by a large fleet in Marblehead, as well as smaller fleets in Cohasset and in South Boston. #10 Gosling of the South Boston YC was the SBYC title winner in 1926, the last year SBYC owned the boats. They sold them to Hingham after that, to be replaced for 1927 by new Squantum Marconi dories, a.k.a. Indian Marconi class boats. That was also the first year for the 5-YC interclub Mass Bay Indian Association. I can’t for sure ID the boats in this Jones’ photo as SBYC, there isn’t enough information yet. However, the skinny guy on the helm sure looks like my grandfather, and he was the main stickman for the SBYC Gosling in 1926, and in the SBYC Indian Marconi in 1927 that won the Mass Bay Indian title. The 30 Aug 1925 Boston Herald has a nice photo of the “O” Class on page 8 B (which is the 24th page), and shows an inset of both the winning boat for that day, Gosling, and its crew. Cronin does not look happy, my grandfather does.
Kenneth Rolt – August 1, 2020
The lead boat #11 is labeled as Debutante on the transom. That probably makes this a Hingham YC event, because the 26 June 1932 HYC race had #11 Debutante as the winner and #10 Gosling was 6th (source: 1932 June 27 Boston Globe p10). R. Cutler Lowe Jr was listed for Debutante and Richard Bisbee for Gosling. Debutante was probably renamed because it didn’t appear in earlier year O Class races. The photographer Leslie Jones didn’t start taking photos until the 1934 season, so chances are this one is 1934+ with the same fleet. The sail arrangement with the big O under the #s was probably a feature of the new suits Hingham bought when they got South Boston’s boats, including the Gosling. HTH.
Kenneth Rolt – August 1, 2020
There is a restored Alden O Class boat the the Mystic Seaport Museum. http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?109593-Charles-W-Morgan-Restoration-A-Volunteer-s-Perspective-1/page70&highlight=O+Class+Mystic
Juan – November 7, 2021
We have one that we hace restored in Uruguay.
Mark F – February 13, 2023
There is a small fleet of O-boats racing on Upper St Regis Lake in the Adirondacks. I believe they are the 450 lb/6′ 2″ beam version. Some are original 1920s (with many refurbs over the years) and some were built more recently in Maine.