Design and Construction
Ortang's hull is solid fiberglass, and the boat's displacement of roughly 6,945 pounds is anchored by about 3,100 pounds of ballast for a 45 percent ballast ratio. The keel itself is iron rather than lead, a choice that keeps foundry cost down but invites the corrosion story any used example will eventually tell. With a length-to-beam ratio of 3.44 and a displacement-length ratio of 307, the Alo 28 is categorized among heavy cruisers, and her 8-foot-4 beam gives her the sectional stability those numbers imply. The fin keel with bulb draws between 4.99 and 5.29 feet depending on load, which keeps her within the draft limits of most marinas while preserving a useful righting moment.
Rig and Handling
The masthead sloop carries a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 15.3 on the ISO reference sail and 18.2 with a 135 percent genoa, and the rig compares unfavorably with the broader fleet: she carries more rig than only 46 percent of similar sailboats, which marks her as slightly underrigged for her displacement. Her theoretical hull speed is 6.2 knots, and the capsize screening value of 1.75 indicates that by that formula alone she could be accepted to participate in offshore evaluation. The Motion Comfort Ratio of 26.5 and a Relative Speed Performance of 24 describe a boat built to settle into a sea rather than sprint across it. Standing and running rigging are sized for a small crew: halyards run 24.1 meters at 8 mm, sheets for jib and genoa are 8.8 meters at 10 mm, and the mainsheet is 21.9 meters at 10 mm.
Known Issues
The iron keel is the structural weak point owners should expect. Because the keel is iron rather than lead, prolonged exposure to water intrusion at the hull-keel joint invites rust jacking and loss of fastener integrity, and any brokerage example deserves a close look at that seam. The wetted surface of about 215 square feet means a full bottom job is a non-trivial annual cost, and the 630 pounds-per-inch immersion rate tells you how quickly added tankage or gear eats into her freeboard and performance.
Refits and Ownership
With under 200 boats built and a production run that opened in 1972, the Alo 28 is a small class whose spares market is thin. Her rigging diameters let an owner reorder halyards and sheets without measurement, but the iron keel and solid-glass hull mean any structural refit centers on corrosion control rather than core replacement.
The Verdict
The Alo 28 is a modest, honestly built Norwegian cruiser whose heavy-cruiser numbers and fin-with-bulb keel make her a predictable sea boat for coastal and modest offshore use. She is slightly underrigged for her weight and carries an iron keel that demands respect, but her shallow-enough draft and known rigging spec make her a practical small-boat ownership proposition.
Pros
- Heavy-cruiser displacement and 45 percent ballast ratio for settled motion
- Fin keel with bulb draws under 5.3 feet loaded, suiting most marinas
- Fully documented rigging sizes simplify replacement
Cons
- Iron keel invites corrosion at the hull joint
- Slightly underrigged versus peer sailboats
- Small class with under 200 built limits spares availability
