Aloa 17 Buyer's Guide
The Aloa 17 you meet on the used market is a French-designed pocket sloop from Aloa Marine, introduced in 1974 and also sold as the Jaka 17 or Eauvivi 17. A few hundred were built, so individual boats turn up as aging trailerables whose wing keel and light fiberglass hull make them approachable first boats or tender-sized cruisers rather than passage-makers.
Layouts on the Used Market
No layout tiers or market notes are carried for this model, so treat each Aloa 17 as a single small monohull of 17.39 feet overall with a 6.56-foot beam and a wing keel that draws as little as 1.64 feet. The compact interior of a boat this size follows from the slender 2.65 length-to-beam ratio, and buyers should simply board each candidate to judge sleeping and stowage against their own needs.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
With no equipment brief on file, the only documented rigging data are the original sheet specs: the boat's headstay and genoa sheets measure 17.4 feet by 5/16 inch, the main runs 43.5 feet of that diameter, and the spinnaker gear uses 38.3-foot lines. A buyer should verify that running rigging matches these lengths or has been sensibly renewed, since a too-short sheet is a cheap fix and a too-long one a minor nuisance. Beyond that, assess any added trailer, outboard bracket, or canvas on its own merits rather than as standard fitment.
What to Inspect
The wing keel is the feature to examine closely on any Aloa 17, because the pivot and trunk in a solid fiberglass hull are the points where a shallow-draft boat most often betrays its age. Work the keel through its swing arc and look for water staining or softness around the pivot bolts, and confirm the trunk seals so the boat does not take on water when the foil is raised. Check the fiberglass hull and deck for the usual stress at chainplate landings and shroud terminals, since the fractional rig loads those points on every tack.
Buyer's Takeaway
- Swing the keel and inspect pivot and trunk for leaks
- Verify sheet lengths match the 17.4 ft / 43.5 ft originals
- Confirm hull and deck fiberglass is sound at chainplates
- Note 333 lb per inch immersion when loading for trailering