window leaks

[okelley]

I am looking at Albin 27's and 34's, never owned one. Recently read an article by a surveyor commenting on the poor engineering of modern motorboats. One of his pet peeves was that flybridges on many trawler and other type boats are not adequately supported (mainly it's the windows holding up the roof), and that loads (overloads) on inadequately supported flybridges lead to leaks that couldn't be permanently fixed. Leaking windows could be caulked, but stresses put on the upper deck would cause leaks to reopen, ruining interior woodwork. Does anyone know if Albins have this problem?

[RicM]

Let me guess, you've been reading David Pascoe, right? If so, remember he is a bit of a curmudgen, occaisionally bordering on the alarmist. I'm not really sure he would classify the 27 as "modern" anyway. If I remember correctly he was railing against the "bubble boats", and you would certainly not classify the 27 or the 34 as bubble boats! Anyway, I do remember some posts about leaking windows on the classic Albin forum, try:
AlbinCruisers@yahoogroups.com

Ric

[okelley]

It may have been Pascoe, I'll have to find the article. His main concern seemed to be the extensive damage (water traveling behind wood panels, rot etc.) that was caused from a simple problem, but one that couldn't be remedied because of poor design. I think one of the boats may have been an Albin 43, but not sure. He posted pictures, really sad looking. I think I read somewhere about the Albin supports being reinforced, but aside from that it does appear the flybridge is supported mostly by windows, which Pascoe(?) said was bad. His topic was mainly that older boats were more solid and well thought out than some newer ones. I'll post the article if I can find it. I haven't heard of any window problems on this site.

[Mariner]

There are certainly a lot of the older Albin trawlers out there with leaky windows, but I think this is due more to the fact that they have wooden window frames that have rotted and cracked, than to a lack of support for the flybridge.

This is an issue on a large number of "Taiwan Tralwers" that were built under a multitude of different brand names in the late 70's and 80's.

[okelley]

It was Pascoe, and it was an Albin 47 he mentioned, along with a Chris Craft, among others.



http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Windows.htm

[Mariner]

It was Pascoe, and it was an Albin 47 he mentioned, along with a Chris Craft, among others.



http://www.yachtsurvey.com/Windows.htm

I find it interesting that he singled out the Albin 47 and talked about the inferior design of American products. Am I incorrect in thinking that the 47 was a foreign built boat?

[Mariner]

And inward opening doors may let in rain water, but they are also a lot easier to open when the boat is sinking and the door is partially submerged.

This guy raises some good points, but also ignores some others.

[okelley]

Regarding the open door, I guess it depends on your point of view..haha