Saturday morning I was fortunate enough to be able to finally visit and inspect the Aleutian 51 Ketch I’ve been researching online…..
Integrity (Aleutian 51) is on sale now in San Diego and being represented by Yachtfinders and Windseakers Yacht Brokerage, the same brokers who we bought and sold Tulum IV through. As our broker was out actually out doing the very thing for fun that he sells professionally, (racing sailboats); we were introduced to the Aleutian 51 by none other than the owner of the entire brokerage firm, who also happened to represent the listing on the Aleutian. Having him escort us around the boat provided years of insight and knowledge at our fingertips and was pretty impressive since he knows most of the legends in the sailboat world, probably personally. Approaching the Aleutian 51, I was immediately struck by what I call low freeboard. IE, the boat was lower in the water along the main rail than I had seen on most other boats and certainly on a boat the size of a 51 foot ketch. There’s NOTHING wrong with this,,,,she’s slung low and sleek. With low freeboard, stepping on her from the dock was easy and it was apparent she had a nice protected cockpit and easy access to the decks. I’m not going to go into every detail of the visit as you can hit the link above to see pictures of her from the brokers listing, but I’ll detail a few things we noticed, as I go through the pics I took personally. Please look at my pix, look at the pix on the brokers listing site from the links above, and make your own decisions.
This Aleutian 51 is in nice shape and I managed to find one other blogger out there who used to own one, with glowing comments about their trip through the South Pacific on board their boat, which sold in Australia. I was disappointed that the boat doesn’t come with a dinghy or outboard engine; but it does have a nice generator, complete cockpit covers with hard dodger top and nice large anchors. In the end, the boat is from the middle 1970’s and her next forever owner will need to accept this fact to live with this boat. For her age, I think she’s in good shape and will continue to present a great value to her next owner.
18 Responses
Hi, im a novice, but would it work to move the tracks up on to the rails where they are on other boats to make the deck more usable? Seems like with the tracks on the deck like that you will have a hard time moving around the boat while under sail.
I agee, but they’re set up that way for a reason. I like your idea and would like to ask a rigger about it. Sometimes there’s no right or wrong on a boat
I am quite familiar with this boat. I owned the sister ship, “Amnesia” and my wife and I were good friends with the previous owners of Integrity. They did a 10+ year lazy circumnavigation starting around 2000.
In the mid 1990’s we sailed from Seattle to Mexico and spent two years in Mexico. The Aleutian is a very seaworthy boat. We sold the boat in San Diego sometime in the late 1990’s. I know she remained in SD for several years mostly on a mooring. I lost track of her and then just about Christmas two years ago I saw it listed in Ventura as a marina repossession. Someone had abandoned her and the marina gained possession for back slip rent. It was listed for $35,000 at that time. Such a shame. It would be a great buy if a person had
Eventually someone bought her and they were either going to rehab her or sell her. I don’t know what happened to her. Last I know she was in a military part of the marina in Ventura (don’t know anything about the marina or about a part set aside for the military).
If you do ever find out anything about what happened to Amnesia, please let me know.
Here is a link to some pictures of Amnesia. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
https://aleutian51.shutterfly.com/
Mike
Mike, such good info, thank you very much. U just paid off three years of working this blog to connect to someone like u. Thank u so much for the info
I’ve had trouble finding more detailed info on the Aleutian online, do u know where any more detailed info might be?
I found a link to a listing for the Aleutian I used to own. I don’t know if it is still active but you might contact this guy. I talked to him on the phone for quite some time and he has rebuilt several boats and seems very knowledgeable.
https://www.smartmarineguide.com/chung_hwa-aleutian_51-boats-for-sale
As for the deck hardware…. it never was a problem and I assume it was never a problem for Integrity. They sailed from SD to Mexico to Hawaii to Alaska and then to the South Pacific. They hauled the boat in New Zealand and spent 18 months there. They had quite a bit of work done there. Then they goofed around for several more years and went to Phuket Thailand. They again hauled and (I believe) redid the teak decks and rebuilt the Ford Lehman.
I am sure they would have redone the deck rigging if it had ever caused a problem. Mike, the previous owner passed away this past August. His wife lives in the Pacific Northwest. I don’t know if she would be willing to discuss the boat with you but if you want I can ask her.
I believe there were 11 Aleutians built. They were very expensive when they came out. Amnesia had every bell and whistle including a full blown 24 volt Navy gyrocompass. She had in mast roller furling for both the main and mizzen and an old sat nav system way before GPS systems. She cost around $500K in 1978.
There is another Aleutian named Mermaid and one named Pywacket(sp?). Over the years I have seen one for sale in Spain and one in New Zealand.
The boat is heavy and very stable. When we hauled in Cabo, loaded for cruising, she weighed 62,000 lbs. That is about 18,000 lbs of lead in the keel, 435 gals of fuel and 250 of water plus all the gear. However her shape and the amount of sail she carries makes up for the weight. It is not a racing boat. It is a strong safe cruising boat that 2 people can handle.
When Integrity was headed south from Alaska back to Washington state they anchored off a Canadian island at a place called Pender Harbor. In the morning an old guy came out to the anchorage in a row boat. He make a couple of circles of Integrity and then asked the owners how they liked the boat. They said they really liked the boat. He said, “Great, because I designed the damn thing!”. It was Stan Huningford.
He also did the Maple Leaf and several other boats.
Hope that gives you some insight. Great boat. Actually if Amnesia is still for sale and you are really into doing a rebuild, $45K for the base boat gives you a lot of spare change to do a great re-build.
Mike
Wow, Mike, that was more than I could ever hope for. What great info and background. Not only do I appreciate it, but its more than I’ve gotten from anyone else. Thank you so much- Chad
Mike, can I use this information for a post on my blog, I will keep your name out of it-
I purchased Amnesia in October 2016. She was on the hard in Oxnard and and in poor condition, mostly from electrolysis and neglect. Seawater had filled the bilge half way up the main engine and it was shot. Seeing her as a diamond in the rough, I left her out of the water and pulled the engine out. I have a rebuilt replacement sitting on the ground waiting for bilge work and new prop shaft. I am anxious to get her in the water but there is a lot more to do first if it is to be done right.
Hi Greg… I believe we talked on the phone shortly after you purchased Amnesia. I am so happy that you are bringing her back to life. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. We would love it if you would keep us updated on your progress. A person can get pretty attached to a boat and this was the love of our lives.
Mike Fuller
Mike, how exciting that Greg has come up on this site and you can verify that Amnesia is getting well taken care of. So thankful for the feedback from you both-
Hi, Greg, how exciting to find the person who purchased Amnesia after Mike Fuller was her caretaker. I’m so glad to be able to talk to you both and connect you. I’ve heard there’s only been 11 Aleutian’s made, five different owners have come up on this site to discuss them.
Sure. No problem.
At one time, I can’t remember from who or when, I heard that the fiberglass forms for the Aleutian 51 hulls are still at the Chung Hua (sp?) boat yard in Taiwan. From what I understand the reason they only made 11 of these boats is because they were just too expensive.
Send me a link to your blog and if there are any more things I remember I will pass them on to you.
Mike
Mike, this is it, you’re on it, but it’s: LiveFree2SailFast.com
I was shocked to find the posts, not just about the Aleutian, but detailing amnesia herself! Thanks Mike for the details and offer for additional information in the future. I’m going to need all the help I can get. I don’t believe it was me you spoke with on the phone. There was another brief owner before me that to you may have spoken to. This project is huge for me and I intend to document as much as I can as I go along. I have posted a few videos on YouTube under Nostalgic Salvage if you’re interested.
Greg
Wow, Greg, that’s great info. We’re still in the deal for the Aleutian but we’ve got more stuff to work out before actually buying, I’ll post on here as we go.
This is fun. It is like boat shopping and restoration with someone else’s money!
Uhhhh, yeah,,,,my money! Just got approved for the loan, but not sure we’re ready to pull that trigger, I’ll fill you in and let you know