275 Walkaround Shaft and Prop Specifications

[chris panza]

I am a pleased owner of an unusual 27.5 1999 Walkaround , the boat is very similar to the 28 Tournament except it has a cuddy in lieu of a cabin.

I had an unfortunate instance the other day and my shaft sheared off right above my Prop.

The problem is - no one seems to be home at Ablin anymore and I was hoping someone out there has the same boat and could help me with at least the prop size and pitch, and/or the shaft specs (unlikely) and i can match that if necessary

The boat has a Yanmar 300 HP 6LP

thanks for any help

[TheJudge]

I am sorry that I do not have the answers you need but being relatively new to Albins myself, I would be interested in hearing what is up with Albin the company. I keep reading these references that one is wished "good luck" in trying to contact them or get any help. So if anyone knows the real story on the business please enlighten me. A suggestion on your broken shaft. Obviously your boat is out of the water now so you can mic the shaft for size and pull what is left out and look it over. There may be some marking to indicate the length. As to the prop I would rely on the advice of those who own 28's or consult a good prop repair shop. I would also expect the ose units for your size boat.manufacturer of the engine could give you a hint as to what they recommended when they supplied those units for your size boat.

[RicM]

Chris:

When you say a 27 Walkaround are talking about a 27 center console? I have never heard of an Albin "WalkAround". In any case, if it is indeed similar to a 28, the shaft is 1.5" Stainless. Where are you located? There is an excellent prop/shaft fabricator in New England that I have had friends bring their old shafts to and they fabricate a perfect match from raw stock. I will get the details if you are in this area.

[RicM]

As for what's up with the Albin company, they shut down operations in CT & Portsmouth, RI (where the TE series was manufactured), maybe 1.5, 2 years ago. They sold the name and molds to Bladen Composites, who also made Shamrock boats in NC. Bladen made 1 or 2 boats (badly by most reports) then went under when the credit crisis hit the fan. Word is that the molds and name are now back in Bristol, RI were the TE series will start up again sometime this year or early next year. This is a tough time for the marine industry, I have heard reports that some very big brands sales are down as much as 50%. The little guys were just crushed over night. There are tons of posts available (search function) on this site about the whole thing with more detailed info than my very short synopsis here.

[RobS]

I am a pleased owner of an unusual 27.5 1999 Walkaround , the boat is very similar to the 28 Tournament except it has a cuddy in lieu of a cabin.

Please post some pictures of your unique Albin

The problem is - no one seems to be home at Albin anymore and I was hoping someone out there has the same boat and could help me...

If Albin were around they'd likely be of no help anyway. They were excellent builders, poor supporters.

....the prop size and pitch, and/or the shaft specs (unlikely) and i can match that if necessary

The Yanmar 28TE's have 1.5" shafts turning LH19x19 4-blade nibral props with approx a 5 cup. Was she ever surveyed? Could you find the prop/shaft specs there? Why did the shaft shear off? Sounds like it was right at the cutlass bearing - is the bearing wasted?
The props were outfitted for Albin by:
http://www.hhprop.com/contact.html
Much of the drivetrain hardware was produced by:
http://www.buckalgonquin.com/pages/Cont ... actUs.html

[TheJudge]

Now RobS is the kind of guy you need when you have a question. That is a shame about Albin's demise or dissolution. There will certainly be much reorganization in the boat business because luxury items at the very high in are not so much affected by an economic downturn but the medium priced boats get slammed because people retract their unnecessary spending in the Albin range.

[RicM]

I have read somewhere that about 50% of boat sales before 2007 were financed with a home refi or a home equity line of credit. When the price of residential real estate tanked the funding to buy boats directly and through equity cash outs on said real estate simply stopped.

[RobS]

There will certainly be much reorganization in the boat business because luxury items at the very high in are not so much affected by an economic downturn.....

I guess you mean boats like these. Hmm maybe I'll refi and get one ! Click on the first picture and look at the 40 something foot flybridge pilot house in front of the yacht, that should give some reference to appreciate the big guys.

I took these last week at Paradise Island in the Bahamas. That's the marina at the Atlantis Resort. I was told that the yachts are those of the owners and executives of the resort.

[chris panza]

Thanks for the support.
The shaft snapped right at the keyway - it is a miracle that no other damage occured

I did run aground on sand this summer and pushed through - this may have weakened the shaft but I am not sure.

I will look at the link offered on the 28, but i did have a 3 blade, not a 4 blade prop.


The bottom does look very similar to the 28 (less the prop

sellfish.jpg

sellfish2.jpg

[RicM]

Questions from the curious...was the shaft always zinced? Although stainless is pretty brittle, I would think you'd have to whack something pretty hard to snap 1.5 inches of it unless there was some corrosion, a flaw or some other degradation. Corrosion can get going between the shaft & the prop, and even a small amount of etching of the surface would form a weak point. Think of how monofilament line is weakened by just a tiny nick in it's surface. Could you find the prop? Once again, I could not determine what area of the country you are located, but there are some excellent fabricators around here that could probably look at the two halves and give you an idea of why this happened. You will most likely have to have the new shaft fabricated from stock, as these are not usually available as a part with a number.

Even with similar specs if this boat is 5000 pounds lighter than a 28 TE (hard to believe, a new 28TE is listed at 8500 pounds, older ones more like 6500-7000) with the same hull & power it would have to have (or should have had) a completely different prop to push the boat to proper RPM's at WOT. Any good prop service will be able to calculate that back from the weight, specs of the engine etc. within 10-15% then adjust the prop as needed to get it right on. Propping a boat is 50% art & 50% science. See boatdiesel.com for discussions on over and under propping and the effects (not pretty).



Would still love to see a picture of the topside of your boat.....

[RobS]

Wow, almost looks like theft/vandalism..

From the look of the leading edge of the skeg she looks to have been grounded pretty good at times.

I would call the two vendors I linked above as I feel they should have specs on our boats. Can't hurt.

I've never heard of a Yanmar Albin with a 3-blade prop. Was the Yanmar a repower or original?

[RobS]

Just a reminder - this should be covered by your insurance. Be sure to report it right away.

[chris panza]

thanks for your input it was grounded on sand once this summer and that may have been a contributing cause , the boat has been zinced since i purchased it and yes I did report it to the insurance company

I contacted the prop mfg that someone sent me on a link and I am pretty sure that they provided the prop and shaft and I may be incorrect about the 3 blade prop.

Thanks for everyones help. I will let you know how it turns out