The Commander shares its hull with the Pearson Ariel but has a longer cockpit and shorter coachroof. It was essentially the more Spartan, daysailing version of that earlier boat, and it remains a stout, sea-kindly small ship.
Design and Construction
The hull is a single skin built from multiple layers of 1-ounce mat and 24-ounce woven roving. Its thickness varies from 1/4 to 7/8 inch, depending on location, and it is stiff enough that it doesn’t flex visibly on poppits or when rafted under load.
The deck has an end-grain balsa core. The hull-to-deck connection is a simple butt joint that is taped, glassed, and sealed with durable caulk, though it isn’t mechanically fastened. A stainless-steel rub rail is screwed into the joint.
There are no keel bolts. The hull comes from a single-part mold, with 2,500 pounds of ballast added after fabrication and held in place by a layer of fiberglass. Total displacement is about 5,400 pounds.
From the outside, the Commander looks long and lean, with generous overhangs, a cutaway full keel, and low sheer. The design owes much to the Nordic Folkboat, and Practical Sailor noted that its appearance and hull are eerily similar to those of the Hinckley 21.
Rig and Handling
The Commander uses the same mast spar as the larger Pearson Triton. It is deck-stepped over a compression post that ultimately bears on the keel. On most boats, the step is laminated wood with a cross-shaped cutout underneath.
As on many Alberg designs, the mast stands well forward and the mainsail is large. The resulting sail area/displacement ratio of 16.8 keeps the boat moving in light air, especially with a large headsail. In a blow, the prudent approach is to reef the main before reducing the headsail, helping to avoid weather helm.
The narrow beam can make the Commander feel tender at first, but her high ballast ratio settles her down even in a fairly strong breeze. Period advertising described her as stiff, able, comfortable, and fast. A former San Francisco Bay owner reported that she was among the last boats to reef the main in that area’s consistent 25-knot breeze.
Backing down is squirrelly because the outboard sits close to both the rudder and the full keel. Under power, however, a modern 6-horsepower outboard will push her at hull speed in light conditions, though backing down is squirrelly because the outboard sits close to both the rudder and the full keel.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The manufacturer described the Commander as extremely comfortable and roomy for family daysailing, with enough flexibility to become an overnight or weekend cruiser when fitted with a few options. Her nine-foot, mahogany-trimmed, self-bailing cockpit has bench seating for eight or more people in comfort.
Below, there are four bunks and 5 feet 1 inch of headroom. The cabin sole and interior trim are teak, while the bulkheads and cabinetry are finished in faux-teak plastic laminate. The settees, sink, and cabinetry are plywood taped to the hull.
The original straight-in/straight-out head and the water tank are beneath the V-berth. An anchor locker lies forward of the berth, but it can be reached only from inside the cabin because there is no deck hatch.
Early boats had no bridge deck. Pearson added one around hull number 224 after the open arrangement was judged unsafe.
Known Issues
The hull-to-deck joint is generally durable despite its lack of mechanical fasteners, but leaks have been reported where the caulk has dried out. This is the joint’s one noted weakness.
Because the deck is balsa-cored, boats fitted with lifelines are prone to deck rot if their stanchion bases haven’t been re-bedded over the years. None of the Commanders have bulkheads separating the aft lazarettes from the main cabin. In a broach, water can therefore pour through an unsecured lazarette and into the cabin. The bridge deck added late in the production run was a response to that risk.
The original wooden mast step is often ugly if it hasn’t been meticulously maintained, though poor appearance doesn’t necessarily mean it has been compromised. Original replacements are no longer available. Some owners have reproduced the wooden step, while others have machined aluminum replacements.
Rudders have been lost after bronze shafts failed. If a shaft needs replacement, bronze must be used to match the shoe and original tiller head.
The backstay chainplate is through-bolted to a small hanging knee, which is tabbed to the stern but not to the deck. An oversized outboard in the lazarette can scrape fiberglass from this fitting.
The clamshell vents on the aft lazarette don’t ventilate the engine adequately, so owners generally motor with the hatch open. The original head system is now illegal in most harbors.
Engines, Ballast, and Owner Modifications
Most Commanders were ordered with an outboard engine well. On those boats, two lead pigs in the bilge compensate for the absent inboard engine. Owners who want a livelier feel often remove them, accepting a more tender boat but reporting no other ill effects.
The wooden mast step can be reproduced, though aluminum has become a popular owner-built alternative. A failed rudder shaft, as noted above, must be replaced with bronze to remain compatible with the shoe and original tiller head.
Offshore Record
In the 1990s, Zoltan Istvan sailed the Commander The Way from California to Greece. The voyage crossed the Pacific and Indian Oceans, continued up the Red Sea, and entered the Mediterranean.
The boat survived a mid-ocean storm and twice bounced across a reef off Vanuatu. The voyage provides evidence of a design that the builder described as taking to blue water as though she were twice her size.
The Verdict
The Commander is a thoughtful Alberg daysailer built around a proven hull and an honest, low-maintenance structure. Its main shortcomings are a handful of dated details and the open drainage paths between cockpit lazarettes and cabin, which a careful owner can address.
She rewards coastal and bay sailing more than offshore romanticism, but her record suggests she can take more than her length implies.
Pros
- Stiff, sea-kindly behavior, with a high ballast ratio that settles her in a strong breeze
- Durable single-skin hull and an unfastened but sound hull-to-deck joint
- The same Alberg hull as the Ariel, paired with a roomy nine-foot cockpit for daysailing crews
- Proven blue-water survival during a documented voyage across the Pacific and Indian Oceans
Cons
- An open path from the lazarettes to the cabin can allow flooding during a broach, particularly on boats without a bridge deck
- Risk of rot in the balsa-cored deck around lifeline stanchions that haven’t been re-bedded
- Original head system is illegal in most harbors, and engine ventilation is inadequate
- History of rudder-shaft failures, with original mast-step replacements no longer available
