Albin's choice of power for the 27's?

[hetek]

Was wondering...

Why did Albin put the lower horsepower engines in the Family Cruisers and the higher in the Sport Cruisers?

I see FC's with 61hp Lehmans, 78hp Nissans, 77hp Yanmars...
and SC's with 157hp Isuzus, 210hp Cummins...

Some possibilities -

- Higher HP engines would be a waste in an FC, but could be used effectively in an SC.
- SC's are designed primarily for fishing and fisherman like to get to their grounds quickly (the need for speed).
- FC's are made for relaxed cruising and anything more than 78hp is not desired. If you wanted to go fast, you got a SC.
- Is it a matter of space? Having not seen a SC up close and personal, I cannot comment on this.

I thought about the weight factor of the FC's aft cabin but the SC actually weighs more than a FC - most likely the aft cabin doesn't add that much weight afterall and the higher horsepower engines in the SC's do weigh significantly more.

The big question: What would happen if you put a 157 or 210hp engine in a FC? Anyone try?

Thoughts?

[Fortunate]

There are some folks that have repowered with larger HP engines in the FC. I believe Veebyes had a 27FC that came with a larger HP engine, maybe a Westerbeke 100. I'm sure he will chime in. I am not sure of the reason for the trend of larger HP for the SC, but I don't think it gained anyone much speed. You might pick up enough to cruise at 12knts, but I don't believ you will ever see 18knts cruising like you see in the newer Albins. The hull just was not designed to go that fast.

There is a thread on this forum that talks about 27 speed -vs- hp. I think the consensus is these boats are not meant to go fast.

With that said, 12 knts is double what a 61hp lehman typically cruises at, so it does make a difference. I am not sure the cost is worth it though.

[Veebyes2]

Yep, I had the Westerbeke 100hp. Great engine. No regrets for orering the bigger motor. I could slow cruise at 8kts turning 1800 or fast cruise at 10kts turning 2200, two 'sweet spots' for the boat. WOT lightly loaded, clean bottom, it could do 13-14kts.




WOT

[sail149]

Why the small engines?
Price simple as that. The 27AC was a cheap boat trying to stay under the $30,000.00 new cost. Which it did.
To be fair the buyers for the 27AC were probably not the speedy types, maybe looking for a bigger version of the A25 or moving from a Sailboat so again speed was not the driving factor (price was).
The clever thing was that with the smaller power plant probably stopped the boat being pounded the death and has contributed to the 27ac's longevity. The reliable Lehman engine helps too!
Of course having the ability to push ahead at a faster speed to get home would be nice but that won't happen with the Lehman.

The Sport model which came a little later was not aimed at the same market so needed a 'sportier' engine package.

The other Interesting thing was that despite it's displacement type hull it was found that the hull could be made to run quite a bit faster with more power, if probably a little sacrifice in ride and comfort as well as noise.
Mind you, Veebye does look good at WOT!!
Warren
27AC Lehman