Alerion Express 28 and small kids

[UrbanChicago]

I have lately been toying with the idea of a used Alerion Express 28 as a day sailing boat here in Chicago on Lake Michigan. It seems like a good choice:
1) Under 30 feet = the cheap rates in the harbor system
2) Set up for simple and easy sailing
3) Good looking
4) Good build quality
5) Low maintenance
6) Looks like it holds value pretty well

One of the things that I wonder about is that these boats rarely have lifelines - the jib boom makes it pretty hard to have them. We have a toddler. In all of our sailing so far, we have had him in a lifevest whenever he is in the cockpit and he has always been supervised by an adult that has no other responsibility. The other boats we have sailed on have always had a tethering point on the cockpit sole where we could allow him to walk around a bit while in the harbor with no chance of leaving the cockpit, let alone falling overboard.

I am asking for comments and opinions, both on the boat in general and on the idea of having a small child aboard with no lifelines.

Thanks!

[sailingdog]

No boat is LOW MAINTENANCE... except maybe a sunfish or laser daysailer.

I'm not a big fan of the Alerion Express boats. I think they're overpriced for what you're getting.

[Faster]

Yeah, I have to agree - pretty, nice sailing boats but WAY to expensive.. Look at what else you can get for that kind of money and it's an awful lot of boat.

You can save a lot of bucks if you simply want a responsive sub-30 footer by looking at others like a J30/J29, Laser 28, or something along that line.

[tommays]

I like the looks but find the lack of and enclosed head in a expensive 28' boat to be a killer right off the bat

And as far as quality there built by the same people who built a lot of Jboats in the past and i see no reason why the same long term issues with deck hardware leaks into the core would not show up as one example

[UrbanChicago]

A problem I have with the Laser 28 and the J boats is the traveler cutting the cockpit in half.

I am open to suggestions for alternatives, but the idea is really just relaxed day sailing with friends and family.

[UrbanChicago]

One of the other alternatives that I am considering is a Schock Harbor 25, by the way.

[sailingdog]

The Olson 25 is a pretty nice little boat. The Gary Mull designed Rangers are too.

[MarkCK]

An Alerion seems to be a pretty good fit for what you are looking for. Nice boats set up for easy daysailing. Its a good looking boat and I hear that they are built to a fairly high quality. You can probably get lot more boat for the money as others have mentioned. But sometimes that is besides the point just depending on who you are and what your budget is.

The Harbor 25 also falls into the same category as the Alerion.

[Faster]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

The Olson 25 is a pretty nice little boat. The Roger Mull designed Rangers are too.

.... uh, SD... that would be GARY Mull.... just sayin..

[imiloa]

You might want to look into an Ericson 27, 28, or 28+. Well-built, comfortable, good-sailing vessels and there are quite a few Ericsons on Lake Michigan. One of, if not the biggest, Ericson dealer (when they were still being produced) is located about 30 miles north of Chicago.