ALEMBIC

Sparkman and Stephens designed the 48’ auxiliary cutter ALEMBIC to give her maximum windward ability (design #1479). Built by Chapman and Kalayjian, in Costa Mesa, CA, she was launched at Newport Beach in 1960, for the original owner, Dr. Gordon Alles.

Construction is mahogany, strip planked, over white oak frames. The box-beam mast is Sitka spruce and the boom Douglas fir. Original trim is Honduras mahogany, much of which has been replaced with Sapele. She is bronze fastened and has bronze floors atop the deadwood. Decks are fiberglass covered ⅝” plywood. Below deck, ALEMBIC has been repowered with a Beta 43 hp diesel and carries 60 gallons of fuel and 140 gallons of water in monel tanks. Pulpit, pushpit and stanchions are all monel on bronze bases.

After an successful racing career in Newport, CA, ALEMBIC relocated to the San Francisco Bay in 1963, upon the death of the original owner. Although she moved north, ALEMBIC made many trips south in the 1960s and 1970s to race in southern California and cruise Mexico, as far south as Zihuatanejo. In the 1970s and 1980s, ALEMBIC made multiple trips to Hawaii while continuing to race and sail the San Francisco Bay. In the mid-1990s, she set out for a South Pacific cruise. Jumping off from Isla Socorro in Mexico, she reached the Marquesas and Fiji before heading back to the San Francisco Bay via Hawaii.

In 2017 ALEMBIC headed north to Port Townsend for multi-year refit, including replacing the stem, rebuilding damaged deadwood in the keel, rudderpost, and a new rudder. Multiple frame ends were replaced, along with the top 12” of the hull planking. The foredeck framing and decking was rebuilt to accept a new windlass. New Sapele toe rails and Dorade boxes were installed, and a new Sapele skin installed over the cockpit coaming and cabinsides. A portion of the mast (~30%) was rebuilt, including a new fiddlehead and rebuilt spreaders. The standing and running rigging were replaced along with a new jib furler. The winch package was updated and a new (to us) suit of sails was brought aboard. A new boom was built and installed, and a circa-1960s helm was acquired, modified, and installed. The electronics package was updated and ALEMBIC now has a new battery bank, power distribution panel, and wiring. She was refastened below the waterline and is under a new full canvas cover. In 2026, she will get 14 frames replaced and the hull strips splined below the waterline.

ALEMBIC has accommodations for seven, with two in the owner’s stateroom forward, and full berths for five guests. In the galley, which is situated aft on the portside, there is a propane stove with an oven, and an ice box. The light build, simple interior and expansive sail lockers are indicative of the owner’s focus on ocean racing. Dr. Alles, a research chemist, named the vessel for the ancient tools of alchemists called Alembics. These were used to derive the essences of perfumes from flowers or spirits from wines. Similarly, ALEMBIC will serve to distill the essence of sailing for all those aboard.