My Albin, tell us about yours

[ben2go]

Not as easy when living aboard...

Yes,that would be an inconvenience.

 

[Jim Westpfahl]

Good grief! I am amazed how "difficult" it is for brokers to reply to my inquiries and requests to see a boat. I've left phone messages and/or emails to fairly well-known firms and quite shocked that days pass without a reply. I'd heard this is a "buyers market," so I have to wonder if its their indifference, or are they just sooooo busy they can't call or sit at a computer. Oh well; it gives me time to start looking to find web sites that offer supplies and equipment specific to Albin and Grand Banks. Any suggestions?

 

[jleonard]

Albin Owners Group • Index page

Here's a link the the Albin owner's site. You can ask there for specifics once you decide what you want to try to find.

 

[oenghus]

In October 2012 I bought "No Strings" a 1981 Albin Trawler. Some minor cosmetic problems and some small deck leaks. Major problem to be repaired is a leaky muffler. I am the fourth owner but the engine has only around 1900 hours on a Ford Lehman.
I'd like to get some ideas on salon treatments. She came with carpets in the salon, a lovely teak coffee table, a settee, a small folding table, and a wicker arm chair. I find the settee is too low for comfort and would like a larger table and some additional seating to replace the settee. Would like to get some ideas.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I think these little Albin 27 trawlerettes are COOL!


-- Edited by Old Goat on Wednesday 29th of June 2011 07:14:57 PM

OG funny you should say that. My last boat was a 25 Albin and I named her ... Trawlerette .... Meaning (to me) small trawler. It wasn't a well liked name but at least her name was about the boat and a very pronounced feature of the boat. Very descriptive of what she was as a boat. I have little respect for boat names that are a joke. It's bad enough for most boats to be named after some woman even if the boat is cranky like the woman. My other boat over 20' I named Easy Rider because it was designed to be easy riding.

But you calling the smaller Albin's Trawlerette's just shows to me that I didn't do too bad after all. Thanks

 

[Jim Westpfahl]

Congratulations on your "new" Albin 36. I purchased my "new" 1984 Albin trawler in October also. We got her back to her new home in Amityville, Long Island just two days before Sandy visited the Island and damaged many boats in the boatyard. Ours was spared because we had filled the 400 gallon fuels tanks and had topped off the water (150 gal.). The weight kept her from being lifted by the storm surge. Other boat around her were less fortunate.
I suspect our boat layouts are essentially similar. The previous owner to Meander, Ron Cyr, had kept up with the maintenance of the boat and went about many a project to make her more comfortable and seaworthy. I/we fell in love with the boat at first sight. If pictures are worth a thousand words I'd recommend you Google "Albin 36 trawler Shelter Island". There may be some ideas you might find appealing.
I do wonder why your previous owner carpeted the salon floor. Our floor was maintained with the use of a water-based floor finish from Home Depot. It looks great and hasn't been done in 2+ years. There is a shelf that was added on the bulkhead adjacent to the stove. It is removable and I guess it eased the prep of food in the galley.
Should you wish to discuss anything just keep this posting going.

 

[JCDSAIL]

My Albin

Hello Everyone


1980 36 DC
HULL NUMBER #36273
Lehman 120 with 1800 hours
Kohler 4kw generator
Vetus bowthruster
Both fuel tanks rebuilt 2012 due to leakage
Replacing holding tank in spring of 2013 leaking

JCDSAIL

 

[Daddyo]

Congrats! We need more boat porn however.

 

[moonstruckmantis]

Our 34 Albin is currently on the hard having its engine replaced ( long sad story ) at any rate my question is this, previous owners enclosed the back area with wood trim and sliding plexiglass. The problem is that there is always standing water on the trunk. I have removed tons of caulk and resealed everything that didn't help. I sirt of feel as if the area was not designed to be enclosed so will never be 100% right. thoughts? We have the hard top removed so I thought now would be the perfect time to redo this area. Any suggestions/ideas on a better way to this?

Sent from my iPhone using Trawler

 

[Conrad]

Over the years we had a 50' Albin, with 17' beam, 4'8" draft, and was amazingly light at approximately 8000 pounds displacement. Twin hulls & engines, two helm stations, two heads, two aft cabins, two galleys, and two cockpits. Had a lot of fun.

Oh wait; I think it was two Albin 25's.

 

[oenghus]

Sounds complicated.

 

[Conrad]

I guess I should have mentioned that the two Albins were owned 20 years apart.

 

[karmaf16]

"Actually, for you geeks out there, here is a complete explanation (as I understand it):

AUL = Albin
43 = Model
245 = 145th built - Albin always started production with hull 101
h = Month Hull molded - August (h is 8th letter in alphabet)
7 = Year Hull molded - 1987
88 = 1988 Model Year

August 1987 seems early to be molding the 1988 model, but that is how I read the HIN.

JC"

JC: Can you help me decipher mine? (1981 Albin 36')

HHG36306M81A
HHG: ?
36: Size
306: Hull #206
M: 13th month of the year?
81: 1981
A: ?

 

[brian eiland]

Mine had severe hydrolysis of the hull, rotten decks, rotten cabin sides, rusty fuel tanks, non-functional heads, no electronics worth a hoot except depth finders...but other than that she's not too bad.

Were the cabin sides and decks cored structures, with balsa that they would rot??

Are the 43' the same construction?

 

[psneeld]

Not really all cored...glass over teak ply on cabin sides, main decks look like teak ply with glass top/bottom, cabin roof was a mosaic of small teak blocks sorta in a poly resin...horrible construction.

The stuff was soaked but not rotten...some rot around the widows. Hull solid glass (well not so solid).

Have no idea about the 43...

 

[brian eiland]

WOW, and in those early days I don't think the 'plywood' quality was so good in that part of the world.

And if it was really 'teak plywood' that could be even worst as teak wood has some oils in it that can prohibit adhesive bonding between the plywood layers.

 

[ROCOU]

Re: My Albin,tell us about yours

Although I own my boat since 2003,only now did I find out this thread.Better late than never I guess.
The boat is a sundeck model,43 with the serial No AUL43250F889, and is equiped as follows: twin Cummins diesel 6.5btm, 210hp turbo, transmissions Twin Disk transmissions reduction 2:1,4 blades prop 24x21,2'' shafts, microcommander controls,bowthruster.6 120 amps house batteries ,2 engines batteries, 3 solar panel 130W+regulator MPPT,inverter -charger Xantrex 2012,supported when needed by Honda 3000 portable generator, espar diesel heater.
Am the 4th owner. Engines had 1200hrs when bought,have now 3200. No problems with engines nor transmissions except change this year of raw water pumps .
Decks and sundeck in teck. Had to redo some seams . Handrails in teck ok. Fiberglass ok,no blisters, except for sundeck roof that I had redone in 2006. Boat was very well maintained when bought, and I continued the practice. Inside, were some leaks at port door and one port in the aft room when bought. I did repait them ,but seams have to be checked periodically.. Have travelled quite extensively ( Florida, US East Coast, Georgian Bay, Saguenay River,Thousand Islands,Hudson) We have spent the last ten entire summers on boat with no assigned marina, always at anchor . Boat very comfortable with great autonomy, and plenty of room for friends and family, especially with protected sundeck. Spend average of 3.5 Gph at 1450RPM,7.5kn with no current against.

 

[brian eiland]

No Marina Queen

....Have travelled quite extensively ( Florida, US East Coast, Georgian Bay, Saguenay River,Thousand Islands,Hudson) We have spent the last ten entire summers on boat with no assigned marina, always at anchor . Boat very comfortable with great autonomy, and plenty of room for friends and family,

Are there anymore observations, details, or advice you could offer for a real stand-alone /self-sufficient vessel??

 

[brian eiland]

Albin 43

Mine had severe hydrolysis of the hull, rotten decks, rotten cabin sides, rusty fuel tanks, non-functional heads, no electronics worth a hoot except depth finders...but other than that she's not too bad.

Would you say that some of these problems were from lack of maintence by the previous owner, or mostly inherent with the builder of early boats? What year was yours??

Hiro, the Albin's are solid, sea worthy, time proven designs from a company that has been building boats for over 100 years. Most designs had long production runs and they cost quite a bit more than others of similar design but they also hold their value extremely well "if properly maintained". Unfortunately, despite their reputation they are plagued by all the same problems found on just about every make of trawler out there, that being leaky windows, rotted fuel tanks and hull blisters. They addressed some of these issues on later models from about the late 1980's and up by eliminating the teak decks, encasing tanks in fiberglass and using high quality aluminum framed windows but many of the newer ones still have blisters. (Incidentally I have the new windows and they still leak during very heavy rainfalls). Also like many others, Albin's quality control ran from one extreme to the other and resulted in no two boats being exactly the same..... regardless if it was built in the USA or Taiwan.

That said, get a good surveyor that you pick yourself, "not the seller or the broker". Pay special attention to leaks. The albin 43 is a beautiful boat and a proven design but the make and model are less important than how it has been maintained over the years. Fuel tanks can be replaced and blisters can be repaired if they bother you but leaky, poorly maintained windows, fittings and decks "destroy boats".

From the sounds of these 2 quotes it sure raises a LOT of questions about purchasing one of these used, particularly an older one?

 

[Capt Kangeroo]

Hi Brian, don't let me put you off Albins. I've owned many boats over the last 50 years and it has been a long expensive learning curve leading to our ideal "final" boat..... an "Albin". I just like to complain. Make no mistake, every make and model of boat out there has the same old problems, albeit some to a greater or lessor extent. You can read about them here on TF nearly every day, primarily the big three being leaky tanks, rotted wood and blisters. Regardless of the make/model your choices are to find one which fits your needs that has had these faults corrected & pay fair value, or buy one discounted appropriately & do the work yourself. I chose the latter, hence my feeling the need to unjustly gripe to anyone who will listen.

If you accept a level playing field with regard to the same faults/defects being common to all trawlers, then the major decision becomes which make/model/size best suits your needs. In this the Albin met virtually every point on our very demanding wish list. I should add I also drew substantial comfort buying from a company that has been building boats since the days of the Tall Ships and therein was the #1 requirement on my wish list. ie: a long history of proven, solid, "seaworthy" designs.

All that said, and despite the fact I'm certain you already knew all this....... speaking of great boats, I'll trade you my Albin for your DynaRig MotorSailer design, fully built and ready to sail away of course.

So much for last boat eh?

 

[brian eiland]

Do you currently own an Albin,....what size??

I imagine those teak deck problems and those fuel tank problems can add up to some healthy repair monies?

I've also seen a number of people talking about the ports leaking, and some difficulties with doing a 'proper' repair?

I'm looking for something fairly easy to handle by myself since my Thai wife is not a boater at all,....and that we can live on doing those periods of time we live in the USA verses Thailand.....a floating home/cottage we can move to a few different areas at various years.

That Dynarig catamaran would be a very special project that needs quite a bit more research, but I thought I would throw the idea out there since no one else was putting up many alternatives when Tom Perkins went so boldly forward with that project.
Review: Perini Navi 289' Clipper Yacht "Maltese Falcon" - YachtForums.Com

I've developed a few ideas as to how we might do such a rig with least mechanization....an economy model you might say.

 

[psneeld]

Decks and fuel tanks aren't necessarily expensive if you can do some/all of the work...I did both for under $1000 in materials but I'm sure it would have been 10K if a marina did it.

 

[jleonard]

I've also seen a number of people talking about the ports leaking, and some difficulties with doing a 'proper' repair?

There are many ways to do "proper" repairs on almost everything so I'm not sure what you are saying here.

 

[brian eiland]

Decks and fuel tanks aren't necessarily expensive if you can do some/all of the work...I did both for under $1000 in materials but I'm sure it would have been 10K if a marina did it.

Removing the old tanks is one of the major concerns I would think. I doubt the original builder provided access 'holes' to do this, so I would imagine a lot of the interior of the vessel would be significantly 'disturbed'.

Tearing off the old teak decks is likely not that much of a problem, but repairing/replacing the water soaked core material is a big problem,...one that can grow in expanse just as does the repair of rot in wood vessels,...very often more extensive that first imagined.

Neither of these jobs sounds inexpensive when contracted out.

 

[brian eiland]

There are many ways to do "proper" repairs on almost everything so I'm not sure what you are saying here.

On several occasions I have read in particular where some owners have tried on multiple occasions to 'get it right', only to have failed with execution and/or proper sealant.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Capt Kangeroo wrote;
"Make no mistake, every make and model of boat out there has the same old problems".
Perhaps you just made a mistake. The real Albin made in Sweeden called the Albin 25 Deluxe has no such problems.

 

[psneeld]

Removing the old tanks is one of the major concerns I would think. I doubt the original builder provided access 'holes' to do this, so I would imagine a lot of the interior of the vessel would be significantly 'disturbed'.

Nope..just cut them up and take'm out in pieces...it's actually pretty quick too...now depending on what you whant put back in is a big question......


Tearing off the old teak decks is likely not that much of a problem, but repairing/replacing the water soaked core material is a big problem,...one that can grow in expanse just as does the repair of rot in wood vessels,...very often more extensive that first imagined.

Actually tearing of the deck and getting out lots'a screws is actually very time consuming. On my boat the decks were teak blocks and were wet..but not rotten so the main just got recovered in cloth and resin, the flybridge had a 3x7 area replaced with ply as I didn't want to rebed all the teak blocks.

Neither of these jobs sounds inexpensive when contracted out.

doing the grunt work would save tons...depending on what tanks you want back in and how you want the deck refinished could be relatively inexpensive too.

 

[brian eiland]

You mean there are torch men out there that don't have qualms about cutting up fuel tanks,...particularly ones containing fuel residues??

Couldn't up-size that 'teak block' photo, but do you mean to tell me these builders actually placed old blocks of teak wood in as a core between layers of glass skins?...as one might do with balsawood cores?? WOWee, what a lousy construction!

 

[psneeld]

You mean there are torch men out there that don't have qualms about cutting up fuel tanks,...particularly ones containing fuel residues??

Couldn't up-size that 'teak block' photo, but do you mean to tell me these builders actually placed old blocks of teak wood in as a core between layers of glass skins?...as one might do with balsawood cores?? WOWee, what a lousy construction!

Sawzall..... right to a fuel tank with fuel still in the bottom..no issues...torch sawzall blades/no flaming ones...

yep...people that think production boats are made well need to disassemble one or watch at the factory closely. If the blocks had been set in epoxy and the entire flybridge not full of holes from screwed together construction...it may have lasted much better.

Since the mid-90's I'd say most boats are built much better but before then only a rare few were...