Alajuela 48
Description
The Alajuela 48 is a robust fiberglass blue water cruising sailboat designed by Raymond Richards and built by Alajuela Yacht Corporation in Huntington Beach, California (early hulls) and later in Taiwan from 1981 to the mid-1980s. As the larger sibling to the popular Alajuela 38 (an adaptation of William Atkin's Ingrid 38), the 48 expands on the double-ender tradition with a cutter, ketch, or schooner rig, emphasizing seaworthiness, stability, and long-range capability for serious offshore passages or liveaboard adventures. With its spooned bow, canoe stern, and heavy displacement, it's a no-nonsense passage-maker—known for its dry ride, directional stability, and ability to handle heavy weather without fuss. Only about 6–10 were produced (hulls 1–2 in CA, the rest in Taiwan), making it exceptionally rare and collectible.
Construction Details
| Designer | Raymond Richards |
|---|---|
| Builder | Alajuela Yacht Corp. |
| Length | 48.000 ft |
| LOA | 53.750 ft |
| LWL | 40.500 ft |
| Beam | 13.830 ft |
| Displacement | 29500 lb |
| Ballast | 10000 lb |
| Max Draft | 6.750 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 55.68 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 25.30 ft |
| p | 53.15 ft |
| e | 17.71 ft |
| p2 | 32.40 ft |
| e2 | 11.13 ft |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55.68 ft | 25.30 ft | 53.15 ft | 17.71 ft | 32.40 ft | 11.13 ft | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 53.15 ft - (16200 mm) |
| Foot | * 17.71 ft - (5398 mm) |
| Leech | * 55.02 ft - (16770 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 87.99 ° |
| Diagonal | * 55.43 ft - (16895 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 478.25 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 48.93 ft - (14914 mm) |
| Foot | * 36.17 ft - (11025 mm) |
| Leech | * 40 ft - (12192 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115.02 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 29.1 ft - (8870 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | * 711.89 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | 58.1 ft - (17709 mm) |
| Foot | * 43.16 ft - (13155 mm) |
| Leech | * 53.38 ft - (16270 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 37.95 ft - (11567 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.01 ° |
| Area | * 1102.41 ft² |
| Sail Type | ASYMMETRICAL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 58.1 ft - (17709 mm) |
| Foot | * 41.74 ft - (12722 mm) |
| Leech | * 53.45 ft - (16292 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 1819 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.