question on buying an albin

[Serenity]

The Boat US website has a free service for determining the value of boats

[snoedevil]

Thanks for the lead rockhall http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2001/Albin-TE-TOURNAMENT-EXPRESS-2349316/MYSTIC/CT/United-States
but I looked into it and it is a disaster.. It had the bottom skeg and prop ripped off and has had over 40,000 dollars worth of repairs. I talked with the broker and lawyers are involved and the boat looks like a train wreck . There was one listed which looks clean and has low hrs and says it is in great condition. I gave him a call and we will see where it leads.
Thanks serenity I will take a look

[jcollins]

Be prudent and use reasonable caution when dealing with this broker.

[snoedevil]

crossed it off the list already. I want to find a private party sale. At least you deal with the owner / operator of the vessel. Still looking for real world thoughts on 31te.. from someone who owns or has owned one.

[RockHall]

This is our third season no our 31 and we couldn't be happier with it. It has the Cummins 450 single which for us is ideal. Backing into a slip was tricky at first but with some practice and help from posts on this board has become more of a fun challenge. We cruise at 17 kts and can run up to 22kts WOT at 2400rpm on empty tanks, trimmed, etc. seems slow but when there is any chop to speak of we are as fast as other faster boats and a whole lot more comfortable and drier. We don't stay on it often but it has plenty of room when we do. We have averaged about 6-7 GPH over the last three seasons. This includes a fair amount of trolling using the trolling valve we had installed.

No engine or mechanical problems to speak of. We replaced the regulator on the alternator which was bad when we bought it,had to rewire a few things that were removed for transport, new batteries, VHF antenna, etc.

The big beam 12'4" gives the boat s ton of room and stability. Our mechanic calls it a big little boat and says he has never seen a 31 built like it.

It does draw a lot. 4' is about our limit, but the plus is that the keel on the single bumps first and prevents damage to the wheel.

The pilothouse extends our seasons on both ends. Ther are times on nice days that an open boat would be nicer, but there are plenty of cold wet days when we use the boat only because of the hard enclosure.

We are looking to add a genset and will eventually awlgrip the hull but other than that the boat is just about perfect for us.

Take your time and look for a good deal on a 31. It will last you a long time. Dont count out the singles. Much cheaper to run and maintain and if they are good enough for 50' sport fishing boats running out of Oregon inlet . . .

Good luck.

[whwells]

A 31' with the twin Cummins is pretty rare. Usually you will find the Yanmar 315's as twins in that size boat. Most people say the Cummins is an easier engine to get worked on/ and for sure parts prices are lots less than the Yanmar. I bought with twin yanmars because I liked the boat, but my choice all things being the same would have gone with twin Cummins. Have heard they are a little tight to work on, but don't know that to be a fact. If the boat is clean and low hours you don't want to wait too long.

whwells "Howard"
"Nibbles" 2006 35TE Conv. twin yanmars

[whwells]

Rockhall: Was just reading your comments on the boat. You have plans for adding a gen set. Have done some checking and the prices get really spendy. I was looking at the Onan 5.2 Marine but by the time the boat is made ready including electrical and cooling it is big costs item. Keep me in mind as you progress. Would like to see if you find any short cuts.
whwells

[tbnolin]

Be prudent and use reasonable caution when dealing with this broker.

I know of this first hand

[snoedevil]

I have aquired a survey on the 31te I have been looking at and have a few questions for the board and what it means.
1. there is a 12 inch piece of gelcoat and frp that had been scraped off and he pointed this out that it should be ok but will need a little fiberglass work when pulled out.
2. where the swin deck struts attach to the transom there is a rust stain and he questions if water intrucion may of occured but probbaly ok if it was installed at properly. ( i would have to believe it was done at the factory)
3.port and starboard propellars show signs of extreme galvanic corrision and props should be removed and shafts inspected for possible replacement.
4. the engine survey shows they are in good condition but a vibratin from the motor mount and may be out of alignment in addition posible cutlass bearing showing sighns of wear.

The biggest concern the surveyor said was the gavlanic corrosion was real bad even the engine fittings and crimped metal show extreme sighns of it along with the prop findings. There is a bonding system problem in his opinion. I have no knowledge about what he is talking about here and need to know how big of a problem this is and if the fix for the galvanic corrision is a big deal and what will need to be done to correct the issue.
Has anyone here had any of these problems and what do you think? are these big enough problems to walk away from working out a deal or if fixed properly would the problems be solved for good.

[Dexter]

Be careful if there is bonding problems. Problems with stray current will actually eat away at your fittings as well as the shafts. Sometimes the integrity of the fitting is compromised but you cannot see it easily. If there is stray current the surveyor should be able to test for it, he should have the equipment to test how much current is leaking. Another way to test if there is stray current is to check the amperage draw from the batteries when everything is off on the boat. There should be no amperage draw on the battery when all your electrical stuff is off. If there is ANY amperage draw there is a leak. The fun part is finding it. The most likely culprit is bilge pumps. I had a poorly wired bilge pump. I diagnosed it with an ohm meter. Put the black lead to known good ground. Put the positive lead in the bilge water and ran the pump. I had about 1 volt leakage. When i removed the electrical tape from the wiring, yes there was electrical tape, the positive lead was completely corroded and fell apart in my hands. The corrosion was also migrated to the negative wire. And all this mess was laying in the water. If your surveyor tests for large current leak you can use this as a bargaining chip because your probably going to need to change all the through hull fittings. This is for safety. There is no way to see if the fitting is sound. The only way to know is to remove it. If it is removed you might as well replace it. I'd hate to be offshore and have a partially corroded through hull fitting give out. You know Murphy's Law. One clue is if the fitting has a greenish coating on it. If you are will to take on a challenge, you may get a great deal on an Albin.

Good luck

[Dexter]

Oh forgot to mention, the galvanic problem may not be from your boat, it may be from one of the boats in the marina or from the marina's shore power. If your surveyor cannot check, you may want to hire a good marine electrician to check.

[Dexter]

The problems can definately be solved. It all depends on how much work you want to put into it. Is the price for the boat low? If the boat is a bargain then it is worth it. I had a problem on my boat. What was happening was my shore GFI tripped every time I plugged my boat in. I know it wasn't a problem with the GFI because my other boat did not trip it. When I plugged my boat into a non-GFI breaker everything was fine, but this is very dangerous. For all I knew I could have been leaking 120 volts into the water and we all know what will happen if someone were to take a swim in 120 volt charged water. I looked very carefully at the wiring of the 120 v side and noticed that the small indicator lights at the circuit breakers had broken insulation. When I looked further I had six of them that had broken or crumbling insulation. What was happening was these little lights were grounding and tripping the GFI. I disconnected them and put shrink tubbing around each one and the problem was solved.

[snoedevil]

Thanks for the explanations. Stll not sure if I want to deal with all of this. The boat seemes to have had a lot of work and issues for only having 400 hrs.

[DougSea]

Is the galvanic corrosion issues the main problem? If so this is a problem for the current (oh look - a pun!) owner. One possible path is for you to hire an good marine electrician, with the cost picked up by the seller, to definitively see what's going on. A friend of mine took this path with an engine specialist and the owner, knowing the issues were going to be a problem for him regardless of who bought it, agreed to pick up the cost. He ended up getting a very good boat for a very low price.

It all depends on what your comfort level is. Good luck.

[sweetwater]

Snoedevil, I made the same switch from a parker 2520 to a 28 albin... happy to answer any questions...Its a big change.