YACHTING November 2002
Alfa 51 is the first yacht of G. Brillakis" efforts as head of Alfa Sailing Yachts, an architect who works in the construction and repair of sailing yachts since 1978; and shipbuilding inspector N. Kondilopoulos founder of Neck Design and inspector of IMSI. Although it is a cruiser yacht (flat deck- absolutely ergonomic deck for sailing) it is obvious from the first glance that it is a sailing yacht of high standards and records. The cockpit, the place where basically one lives when traveling, especially in Mediterranean countries, is the largest in its category (the largest in size among all yachts up to 56 feet, which have been built up till now).
All instruments are operated very easily using the five self-tailing winches, even when the yacht is sailing with high inclination. The anatomic sofas in the cockpit are designed in such a way that one can be seated with absolute safety even when sailing with high inclination. The deck is made of sandwich balsa and lined with teak in order to insure the maximum possible endurance and insulation in combination with minimum weight. The hull unlike most mass production yachts is reinforced with independent girders which are installed and with G.R.P. up to the hall web deep frame.
This type of construction produces not only a very strong hull but also a boat that can be easily repaired in case of accident, without affecting its initial structure. The hull is surrounded by stringers, tightening it all around, which being fixed to the deck and not only fastened with screws, as it is usually done for faster and easier construction) makes the yacht absolutely inflexible. The must is connected to the hull with 3 cm thick which in turn are directly connected to the frames of the hull with rods (25 mm diameter), a system that holds up to 28 tons of weight transferring all the sailing forces to the yacht" s girder system minimizing to zero the pressure on the deck.
When rigging the must with the stretches you get the feeling of standing on a "cement basis" and non on the deck of a sailing yacht. The keel is equipped with bulb at a depth of 1.80 m from the water line, resulting in a total draft of 2.10 m and transferring the center of weight of the yacht at the lowest possible point. It is designed in such a way that gives the keel special inclinations at the lower end and at the wings, helping the yacht instead of "going down" when sailing up-wind, like most sailing yachts, "go up" thanks to its perfect hydrodynamic design. In order to satisfy all demands the shipyard gives a choice between two riggings.
For an exclusively cruiser yacht the spar craft roller must and a roller genoa is the indicated solution For a cruiser racer we propose a Performance Spar craft must with a system or automatic reefing. The boom is increased and reaches 6.10 m instead of 5.60m and a roller with dividable drum the R300, Facnor's special design is installed in the prow. To make it even more easily operated the must is equipped with a ride with trolleys with balls torlon, Facnor' s Facslide Hi Load System. The sail is completed with a full batten main sail and a system of lazy-jacks. In this case the halyards are spectra type minimizing stretching (?)
For the interior there is also a choice between two different arrangements. A five cabin one with three toilet cabins and one with four cabins and four toilet cabins in the central space with another completely independant cabin, that is with separate shower and toilet in the prow. In both cases the quality of construction is apparent due to the abundance of teak, which prevails, giving together with the impecable finishing and the excellent equipping the warmth of a traditional sailing yacht.
The water tanks made of stainless sheet-iron 316, 2mm thick, of 1100 liters total capacity, as well as the 350 liters fuel tank are located in the centre of the lower part of the yacht underneath the floorciling. The yacht has a Yammar 100h.p. engine, which easily reaches a cruising speed of 8.8 knots.