Alden Corinthian One-Design

Cori 1 represents an opportunity to own a piece of sailing history. This 1912 25ft Alden Corinthian One Design class sloop is believed to be the earliest know John G. Alden designed boat still actively sailing today. Click on full specs for complete details. 

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Description Full

Cori 1 represents an opportunity to own a piece of sailing history. This 1912 25ft Alden Corinthian One Design class sloop is believed to be the earliest know John G. Alden designed boat still actively sailing today. Cori 1 has been lovingly cared for and sailed each season since 1998 by her current owner. Her hull has been West System Epoxy coated and finished with Awlgrip for a durable and useable finish with minimum annual maintenance required. She comes complete with an adjustable painted cradle/ trailer for easy transport. There are two sets of sails, outboard motor, motor bracket and additional equipment. She also has been upgraded to feature a 12 volt electrical system enabling use of a VHF radio and running lights. Cori 1 is stored in an inside cold storage building and is confirmed ready for inspection. Why pay $150,000 or more for a "new classic daysailer" when you can purchase a piece of "Sailing Art" and add your imprint on the impeccable history of this fine yacht. 

Owners Historical Commentary as per Classic Sailboats.org

Historical:

 – I am presenting the following history of the sailboat that Brenda and I named “Cori 1”, the last remaining Alden Corinthian class sailboat, as it was relayed to us by the prior owner, Dr. Ross, then of Sandusky, Ohio. Some of the history is based on written documentation, which is attached. Some is based on verbal history passed down through the prior owners, of which Brenda and I are the current owners. Brenda and I cannot vouch for the degree of accuracy of the verbal history, but instead of risking its loss, I am passing it to you as accurately as we remember it.

During 1912 John Alden designed a knockabout sailboat as a fleet racer for the sailors of the Corinthian Yacht Club of Marblehead, Massachusetts. He named the sailboat design the “Corinthian”. It was initially designed as a gaff rig sloop and was identified in Alden records as design #20. Sometime during the construction process a decision was made to construct some of these boats with a Marconi rig. The Marconi rig Corinthian was given a separate design number, this being #31. In 1993 correspondence to Dr. Ross, an Alden Co. representative indicated assigning a separate design number based on rig type for the same hull was not “customary routine”. Regardless, a number of the Corinthians were constructed with the Marconi rig including Cori 1. For both designs, the large area of the mainsail resulted in a mainsail boom that extends beyond the stern necessitating the use of running backstays. Accompanying this history are the design #20 and #31 drawings. Both show the use of a block system to release and tighten the running backstays. However, Cori 1 employs a bronze running backstay track with a track car and a car lock. Since she is the last surviving Corinthian we assume that some of the other Corinthians also employed this running backstay track design. It may also have been a later upgrade that was acquired by a subset of the Corinthian owners.

Based on verbal history relayed to me by Dr. Ross, sometime thereafter (most likely during the 1930’s) the General Electric Company (GE) bought some of the remaining Corinthians from the Corinthian Yacht Club boat owners and transported the boats to a GE corporate retreat located on Lake Champlain. The boats were made available for use to those people staying at the retreat. Given the Corinthian’s club racing roots it seems inevitable that the sailing characteristics of the Corinthian would eventually exceed the capabilities of an unfortunate person at the tiller, and as a result, the boat (or possibly some boats) sunk. To prevent this event, or events, from happening again, GE constructed flotation tanks for the Corinthian(s). Two elongated tanks were placed in the stern on either side of the rudder post, and one flotation tank was placed forward of the mast. These tanks made the Corinthian unsinkable. Copper was used to construct the tanks. We acquired Cori 1 with it’s three copper flotation tanks. One of the stern tanks has a dent in it but is still sound and watertight.

As relayed to us by Dr. Ross, he came upon what turned out to be the last remaining Corinthian at a farm near Lake Champlain. The owner had used Star class sails as replacement to the original sails. In addition, the owner had used a Star tiller handle. The copper flotation tanks were found stored under the front porch. Dr. Ross bought the boat and proceeded with his restoration efforts. As we understand them, these restoration efforts included replacement of rotted boards, chinking, new decking, new sails, and painting and detailing. A motor mount was also fabricated and a motor added (British Seagull) to better negotiate the boat through modern docks and marinas. Dr. Ross also converted a mobile home trailer to become a mobile cradle for the boat. With this mobile cradle he was able to transport the boat to different locations, including various wooden boat shows. During the early 1990’s Dr. Ross sought information from the Alden Company regarding the history of the Corinthian. In its responses (attached) the Alden Company indicated that this was the last remaining Corinthian, that is was Alden’s Design #31, and that it was likely the oldest remaining Alden boat design still in active use.

Brenda and I first saw the Corinthian in the “For Sale” pages of a 1998 Wooden Boat Magazine. We had been wanting to experience some of the “art” of sailing and immediately appreciated her lines. We eventually purchased the boat, and all related equipment, from Dr. Ross. We, with the help of so many others, worked to further restore and maintain Cori 1 and her mobile cradle. We made the six cradle supports fully adjustable to allow for easier completion of yearly maintenance work and to better balance storage and transportation pressures on the hull. Shortly after our purchase we discovered small areas of rot and knew this would be an ongoing problem, made worse by her new location in the colder freshwaters near our then hometown of Bay City, Michigan. In consultation with various people knowledgeable in boat preservation we decided to employ Gougeon “West System” epoxy techniques specifically designed for carvel planked hulls. A two part epoxy paint (Awlgrip) was used as the final outer coat. These actions have worked perfectly to protect her over these past 18 years of use A new tiller handle was also made for her. Upgrades were made to bring electricity on-board which allows for night sailing, marine radio, and party music. As a knockabout no seating was designed into either version of the Corinthian. Since we have aged with Cori 1 we decided to add bench seating. We were able to design and construct mahogany seating that non-intrusively “clamps” to Cori 1’s mahogany floorboards. These seats can be removed and reinstalled as desired. Attached are pictures taken of her during last year’s sailing season (2015).

As you may be aware the Alden Company is no longer in business. We learned that M.I.T. maintains a collection of Alden Company documents and designs and a registry of Alden boats (the Hart Collection). We also learned that the registry has the Corinthian boat that Brenda and I named “Cori 1” listed as being named “Dingbat”. As indicated in one of the attached documents a Corinthian Marconi rig sloop is identified as being named “Dingbat” (an old loggers tool). We discussed this matter briefly by email with a representative at M.I.T. Based on that discussion we cannot see any facts that directly link our Corinthian to the one in the picture so we continue to know her as “Cori 1”. However, for similar reasons our “Cori 1” is identified as “Dingbat” in the M.I.T. registry.

As stated previously, this presentation represents our current understanding of her history based on written and verbal information provided to us. We hope that additional information may become available in the future that will better clarify and provide additional accuracy to the history of the last remaining Corinthian, Cori 1.

Included Equipment

• Year 2000 Nissan 4 HP Four Stroke outboard
• Bronze outboard motor mount
• 12 Volt navigation lights
• Battery
• Battery maintenance charging system
• VHF radio
• Main with two reef points Nat Wilson 1991
• Self Tacking Jib and jib boom  Nat Wilson 1991
• Older Main and Jib from a Star Class boat- back up sails
• Spinnaker Pole
• Whisker Pole
• Custom tiller with hand carved tiller handle 
• 3 copper floatation tanks- uninstalled
• Custom tandem axle cradle/ transport trailer- adjustable popit pads
• 2 trailer cargo storage boxes
• Boom Tent
• Jib and Main Cover

Disclaimer

The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.