Alden Challenger on eBay

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Quetzalsailor
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Boat Name: Quetzal
Boat Type: LeComte North East 38
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Alden Challenger on eBay

Post by Quetzalsailor »

I think this one has been around before. Perhaps this time, she'll get lucky.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1962-Joh ... otohosting

Too bad about those ports!
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Rachel
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Post by Rachel »

Edited to say: I'm sorry, I cannot figure out why this is stretching out so far to the right and making everyone scroll. The image urls are short. Huh?!

The listing says it is 1 of 24 built in Sweden. Were there non-Halmatic Challengers built there? Perhaps with a fiberglass coach house and/or different ports? It's hard to tell from the photos. Maybe it is wood, but just painted on the outside. Here, those ports almost look original, although I suppose it could be a nicely done change-over just as easily. Seller sounds pretty up-front.

Image

It's a nice boat, but the ports really take the "I want it!" out of it , for me. (Probably just as well :D)

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Tom Young
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Location: Rockport Maine

Post by Tom Young »

[quote="Rachel"]Edited to say: I'm sorry, I cannot figure out why this is stretching out so far to the right and making everyone scroll. The image urls are short. Huh?!

The listing says it is 1 of 24 built in Sweden. Were there non-Halmatic Challengers built there? Perhaps with a fiberglass coach house and/or different ports? It's hard to tell from the photos. Maybe it is wood, but just painted on the outside. Here, those ports almost look original, although I suppose it could be a nicely done change-over just as easily. Seller sounds pretty up-front.

Image

It's a nice boat, but the ports really take the "I want it!" out of it , for me. (Probably just as well :D)

Some of the info sounds dubious Rachael. We're pretty sure (a small group of owners) that around 52 Challengers were built. I never heard of one finished in Sweden, but that may be. Most were finished nearby in Denmark.

Also, all the hulls and decks were laid up at Hallmatic in fiberglass. Then the boats were shipped to other builders for the finishing.

The ports could possibly be original but I've never seen or heard of any built that way. One boat was built without the raised dog house as the owner was short and didn't want it. I've seen the boat as it's kept in Maine.

I've never heard of a Challenger cabin finished in glass either, but this one could be painted, quite a few are after years of use. The interior finish is a little different and does look a bit Swedish. I notice the handle rail below the ports is a flat piece, not the shaped piece I;m used to. I've not seen th ports framed on the inside, only rabbited for the glass. However, the hanging lockers are finished exactly as Molich in Denmark used.

At any rate, the big ports are a good example of what doesn't look quite right. Not only that, I think one reason for the curves were to reduce some stress on the wooden cabinsides, at least I would think so.
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