The Alberg 35 bears a striking resemblance to the earlier Triton. Its 1967 sales brochure described it as a “proven ocean racer, cruiser,” and it was the smallest Pearson to which the word “ocean” was attached at the time.
Design and Construction
The Alberg 35 has a handsome sheer that was fairly flat for its day, though it looks old-fashioned and springy beside a modern hull. A low, rounded cabin trunk, slightly raised doghouse, and long, almost perfectly balanced overhangs fore and aft complete the profile.
The hull is a heavy, uncored fiberglass layup. It isn’t especially stiff or strong for its weight, but it is easy to repair and relatively foolproof. A single chunk of lead sits inside the hollow fiberglass keel molding. The wooden rudder blade is bolted to a heavy bronze rod shaped to the aft edge of the propeller aperture.
The decks are fiberglass with a balsa core. Early boats were frequently built with edge-grain rather than end-grain balsa, a detail that can lead to problems discussed below.
This long-keel hull displaces 12,600 pounds and carries 5,300 pounds of internal lead ballast. Beam is 9 feet 8 inches, and the waterline measures 24 feet.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
Pearson offered the Alberg 35 as either a masthead sloop or a yawl. Both versions have simple, fairly heavy aluminum masts. The standard main boom was varnished spruce with roller reefing, and the original rig had no mainsheet traveler.
With the rudder canted well forward, the boat can require considerable helm to hold course while reaching in a breeze. The large, low-aspect-ratio mainsail adds to the weather helm. That forward rudder position, combined with the propeller-in-aperture arrangement, also makes the Alberg 35 poor at backing down. Owners nonetheless report that she tracks well, a quality missing from many newer designs.
Despite a 42-percent ballast-displacement ratio, the narrow, slack hull heels quickly. Upwind in 15 knots true, it will sail at close to 30 degrees of heel. Yet the narrow, deep form provides about 135 degrees of positive stability and an easy motion in a seaway.
By current standards, the Alberg 35 is slow for its length, with a typical PHRF rating of 198. Even so, an Alberg 35 took top honors in a Puget Sound winter-spring series, while Adelante repeated as the first-place winner at the Maple Bay, B.C. regatta.
Accommodations
Pearson built the Alberg 35 with two interior arrangements: a traditional layout and a dinette version. Both have a large forward cabin with V-berths, a hanging locker, a bureau, and drawers beneath the berths. Two bronze-framed opening ports and a hatch provide light and ventilation.
Headroom is 6 feet 0 inches in the forward stateroom and 6 feet 4 inches in the main cabin. The main-cabin berths measure 6 feet 4 inches, while the forward berths are 6 feet 5 inches.
Immediately aft of the forward cabin, the head spans the full width of the narrow hull—a sensible arrangement on a boat this slim. It has two opening ports and a pair of Dorade-box cowl vents. The Alberg 35 was also one of the first boats of its size to offer standard hot and cold pressure water and a shower.
In the dinette version, lowering the table creates a double berth. Two quarterberths extend beneath the cockpit and can serve as sea berths. The original stove well accommodated a three-burner gimballed stove with an oven.
The conventional layout instead has an aft galley with a two-burner alcohol stove and a small single sink. Because of the boat’s low freeboard, the galley counters are quite low. Ventilation in the main cabin is limited to the companionway hatch.
Teak and mahogany warm the interior. Both cabins have dressers, and numerous large lockers provide stowage for gear, sails, and oilskins.
Known Issues
Practical Sailor’s survey found that several owners reported crushed deck coring beneath the mast, allowing the top of the cabin to compress. The edge-grain balsa used in some early decks can also flex enough to break the bond between the core and the fiberglass skins.
Large cockpit lockers to port and starboard have poor locking arrangements and drain directly into the bilge. Some boats also have a void along the bottom of the keel, between the lead casting and the fiberglass shell, which leaves the shell vulnerable to damage.
Early hulls reportedly had galvanized fuel and water tanks that will eventually rust through. Late-production specifications instead list an integral 48-gallon fiberglass water tank in the bilge and a 23-gallon monel fuel tank beneath the cockpit sole.
Refits and Ownership
Several owners have added bowsprits and converted their boats to cutter rigs with a yankee and staysail.
Every Alberg 35 left the factory with an Atomic 4 gasoline engine. Universal Motors offers a Mini 4 diesel that is a literal bolt-in replacement. There is also ample room in the engine box beneath the companionway to install a new diesel.
The standard tiller takes up considerable cockpit space, but most survivors have the optional pedestal wheel steering.
The Verdict
The Alberg 35 is a period Carl Alberg cruiser with genuine ocean-racing pedigree, an easy motion, and a hull that tracks well. The trade-offs are equally clear: she is narrow, heels quickly, requires plenty of helm when reaching, and feels cramped beside modern 35-footers.
Pros
- Easy motion and about 135 degrees of positive stability from the narrow, deep hull
- Tracks well and qualifies for major offshore races
- Simple aluminum mast
- Bolt-in diesel upgrade path
- Two interior plans
Cons
- Heels quickly and requires plenty of helm when reaching
- Backs down poorly
- Risk of problems with edge-grain deck core and crushed coring beneath the mast
- Cockpit lockers drain into the bilge
- Cramped interior with low counters
- Weak aft-galley stove
- Limited main-cabin ventilation
