Gatsby

[JC78]

Total novice here, my wife and I are considering buying our first boat. For a variety of reasons, we have almost narrowed it down to an Albin 28 vs a Mainship pilot 30. The Albin has the "lead" so far, particularly the Gatsby model (my wife likes all the small nice touches). Only real difference I can see is the cockpit bench. Any thought or experiences on the choices or the Gatsby in particular?

Thanks,

JC

[chiefrcd]

When I bought my 28 a dock-mate two boats down had a fairly new Mainship 30. We both fished and he felt that the the Mainship's hull design ( not sure of the beam ) caused the boat to roll worse than the Albin. We do a lot of drift fishing so you are at the mercy of the wind and tides. The Mainship does have more room down below and was laid out nicely. He did have a smaller Yanmar and his speeds were several knots lower than the Albin. Both are great boats and it would be a tough decision.

[jcollins]

Hi JC,
Welcome to AOG. Are you looking at this one?
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/ ... d=955&url=

The seats are the most noticeable differences but I'm sure there are other niceties in there.
You can compare the above link with the "regular" TE here.
http://www.albinmarine.com/yachts/28tou ... ament.html
The Gatsby is sometimes confused with the Newport.

Albin also had a 23' Gatsby prototype. I thought it was a great boat. I think they were trying to revive the interest in the A25.
This one is in the U.K. I have no idea how many were built.
http://www.rightboat.com/Albin-Gatsby-L ... -12106468/

[JC78]

Yes, that was one of the ones I saw. Nice touches, and better suited for us, since we aren't fishermen. But the price differential seems more than just a bench added in. But I could be wrong, as I said, we are total novices.

[jcollins]

If you click on the link in my signature you'll see that when I replaced my bolsters a few years ago I used the Sunbrella striped canvas. Close, but not the same thing. The previous owner's wife was a interior designer. She replaced all the interior cushions.

Santa also brought me a "Gatsby" wheel one Christmas.

You mentioned that this is your first boat? An inboard can be a little daunting at first. Search for Ricm's post "how to dock an Albin"

[OldDemps]

I have a 2000 28TE Gatsby . I love my Albin. The boat looks sharp with the cushions in place and I get a LOT of compliments. It's very comfortable for many passengers (8 to 10) which I take out a lot. But if I were to do it again I would go for the standard Albin layout and have the flexibility of fold up deck chairs or a hinged fold down Rear bench seat rather than a fixed bench for two reasons. 1) The outboard sides of the bench get wet while underway so the cushions have to be stowed and 2) it's difficult to access the rear mechanicals (rudders stock, overboards Etc) because you lose the three access panels in the standard layout. A few disclaimers. I fish so I favor bigger cockpit and I'm usually in rough water (outside Pacific ocean) so I get more sea spray on the boat and cushions. IM me directly for questions or come for a ride on my boat in San Francisco anytime. DEMPS!