Chesapeake Bay Magazine Review

[jcollins]

The Albin has produced more than 600 of their mid-sized, mid-priced Downeast-style cruiser/sportfishermen, yet John Shanahan, who sells Albins from his Oxford Yacht Agency on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, thought he could make the popular boat even better.


The galley is compact and neatly designed for functional meal preparation whether under weigh on an afternoon jaunt or off on a weekend cruise.


New owner Bill Bass of Annapolis mans the helm with its revised dash layout and custom mahogany wheel.

There are a lot of boaters on the Chesapeake who want to use a boat not just for fishing, but for day-running as well, and by making just a few modifications, Shanahan figured he could take everything that was already great about the Albin 28 and come up with a great boat for short pleasure jaunts. It’s a process he calls “picnic-ization.”

The first thing you’ll notice when you compare the picnic-ized version with the unmodified model is an inviting cushioned bench running the full width of the transom that you won’t find on the standard fishing model. You’ll also note that Albin’s standard, practical, tubular radar arch athwart the hard top has been replaced by a rather yachty-looking, slightly raked mast. Though it’s only a couple of feet tall, this custom-built mast supports an anchor light, running light, cockpit spreader lights, a naval omnidirectional TV antenna, GPS and VHF whips, and the radar unit.

Just as the antennas are neatly arranged up above, so the instruments are neatly rearranged on the helm console, including those that are arrayed on an overhead panel in the standard model. A fairly low-profile engine box in the center of the cockpit comes with a cushion for lounging, or it can be used as a table. Having the engine placed there allows room below for a mid-cabin berth.

Below, the cabin is roomy and has good headroom where you need it: at the galley station. The dinette table is arranged in the bow and forms a generous double berth.

That additional mid-cabin berth is tucked aft under the cockpit sole and has two ports opening into the cockpit for light and air. With 6´3" by 3´10" of space, there’s room for one large adult, or two kids; or it works great as one big storage bin for bulky items. The enclosed head boasts a Vacu-flush toilet, shower and wash basin. The galley, though compact, is neatly arranged and has everything you need in the way of prep space, plus a microwave, butane stove, fridge and stainless-steel sink with a pressurized water system.

The new picnic package appealed to Bill Bass, a retired nuclear engineer from Annapolis. Though his first boat was a sailboat, a Tartan 30 that he and his wife, Courtenay, bought back in 1974, their ALBIN 28 SPECIFICATIONS
Length: (with bow pulpit) 29´11"
Beam: 10´
Draft: 3´2"
Water capacity: 36 gallons

Fuel capacity: 132 gallons

Displacement: 7,500 lbs.

Manufacturer’s suggested
retail price:
(standard fishing model)




$125,500.

You can expect to pay an additional $13,500 or more for the options provided in the “picnic-ized” version.

Albin Marine
143 River Rd., PO Box 228;
Cos Cob, CT 06807
(203) 661-4341;
(203) 661-6040 Fax
www.albinboats.com
second boat was a Monk 36 trawler, "which had a lot of teak in those days," he recalls. "I liked it at first, but after either spending all my time keeping it up, or spending all my money paying somebody else to do it, you could say the word, ‘teak,’ and I’d jump 30 feet in the air. We sold that and spent the last two years without a boat, and then we went to the boat show last fall and saw this Albin 28. We went back and bought it the next day."

In addition to all of its other charms, the Albin 28 is eminently devoid of any teak. Other practical features that attracted Bill Bass was the single 300 Cummins turbo diesel augmented with
a bow thruster. “It’s very attractive,” he says. “It’s pretty in a traditional sort of way, not stream-lined and ‘swoopy.’ I like the idea of being able to get in
and out of the sun, and there are no steps to climb. We’re going to have it in a lift right at the edge of the dock. It’s going to be a lot easier to use than the other one.”

Bill and Courtenay, who have been married 54 years, are looking forward to cruising and fishing with their kids and grandchildren who live nearby. “I didn’t fish much on the trawler, because we didn’t want to get the teak messed up,” he explains.

The single 300 HP Yanmar diesel brings the modified deep-V smoothly up on plane, and you can expect to cruise comfortably at 19-20 knots. The V-drive with its closed couple system provides a reliable, low-maintenance transmission that loses little torque, and it’s quiet enough to carry on a normal conversation whether you’re at the helm under the hard top or lounging on the comfy bench in the open cockpit. There’s a wide variety of other engine options as well.

ALBIN 28 DEALERS
Maine
Waldron Marine
178 U.S. Rt. 1
Falmouth, ME 04105
207-781-7888
fax: 207-781-7555
Massachusetts
Sea Coast Marine
McKay’s Wharf
58 Merrimac St.
Newburyport, MA 01950
978-463-2828
fax: 978-463-4416
Rhode Island
Standish Boat Yard
1697 Main Rd.
Tiverton, RI 02878
401-624-4075
fax: 401-624-3438

Connecticut
Mianus Marine
143 River Rd.
P.O. Box 228
Cos Cob, CT 06807
203-661-4341
fax: 203-661-6040
New Jersey
Sandy Hook Yacht Sales
1410 Ocean Ave.
Seabright, NJ 07760
732-530-5500
fax: 732-530-1323




















Back to Albin News