Sea Sprite 23

The Sea Sprite 23 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Carl Alberg as a daysailer and cruiser and first built in 1958.

The design was built in two versions, the Daysailor and the Weekender.

It was also called the Alberg 23 in 1970 when produced by C. E. Ryder.

Production
The design was built by American Boatbuilding, Wickford Shipyard, C. E. Ryder, the Sailstar Boat Company and the Beetle Boat Company in the United States, but it is now out of production.

Design
The Sea Sprite 23 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a fractional sloop rig; a spooned, raked stem; a raised counter, angled, transom; a keel-mounted rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed long keel. It displaces 3350 lb and carries 1400 lb of ballast.

The boat has a draft of 3.10 ft with the standard keel.

The different builders incorporated different features in the design. Ryder's boats had an outboard motor well under a lazarette hatch cover, while Sailstar's used an open well. Ryder also used encapsulated lead ballast, while earlier builders used external, bolt-on lead ballast.

The boat is fitted with an inboard diesel engine of 7.5 hp, or a small outboard motor for docking and maneuvering. The inboard version's fuel tank holds 8 u.s.gal and the fresh water tank has a capacity of 9.5 u.s.gal.

The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 264 and a hull speed of 5.4 kn.

Variants

 * Sea Sprite 23 Daysailor
 * This model has a smaller cabin with two settee berths, but a longer cockpit. The cockpit has wooden seats and is not self-bailing, but the boat is equipped with a mainsheet traveler and a cabin-top stepped mast, with one set of lower shrouds.


 * Sea Sprite 23 Weekender
 * This model has a self-bailing cockpit, with molded fiberglass seats. It is not equipped with a mainsheet traveler. The mast is deck-stepped, forward of the coach house and there are two sets of lower shrouds. It a cabin with a companionway and steps. The cabin has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow and two straight settee berths aft. The galley is located on both sides, just aft of the bow "V"-berth and is equipped with an ice box to port and a sink to starboard. This version was first built by Beetle Boats.

Operational history
The boat is supported by an active class club that organizes racing events, the Sea Sprite Association.

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "worst features: The somewhat shallow draft of three feet detracts a bit from upwind performance, although reaching and running is unaffected."