thinking of buying a 2002 ET

[Robk]

single cat 3126 worried this is not a "true" trawler and will end up costing me lots in GPH !
also love to hear pros and cons of this boat and why it was never too sucessful
thanks

[Lenovo]

Hello Ron,

I have had my twin engine express trawler for a little more than a year. At displacement speeds the economy is definitely there. When a greater turn of speed is desired the economy diminishes in line with the increase in speed. Were economy the only decision point the selection of the boat would still be justified provided I wished to journey only at displacement speeds. The modest dead rise has certain limitations but delivers a reasonable balance of sea kindliness while providing a more comfortable at-anchor experience in protected conditions.

All boats are compromises and the Albin Express Trawler is no exception. The entertainment friendly cockpit, flybridge and salon, the large deck walk arounds, the gradual fully railed staircase to the flybridge and the ample cockpit storage are among the positive attributes. The mechanics appreciate the three cockpit deck hatches that provide near unparalleled engine and equipment access. There are however certain drawbacks of this boat's design. These include a tight but usable head for this size vessel as well as a relatively small galley sink and refrigerator. From my perspective these are reasonable trade offs.

Less than three dozen of these vessels were constructed over roughly a 5 year period and there are differences noted
over the production years. Many were positive and others not as much.

My boating "needs" have evolved over the years. Previous vessels included an open boat, a flybridge sport fisherman and an aft cabin cruiser, most smaller and one larger than the Albin Express Trawler. Each of these boats met our expectations at the time. I have come to recognize the relative benefits of trawlers and express trawlers for coastal cruising and as a weekender and am satisfied with my selection of my current vessel.

Best wishes in your selection process.

Tony
Salty Dog
2001 Albin Express Trawler
Twin Yanmar Diesels

image.jpg

[whwells]

Salty Dog: Very pretty boat. We have a couple of these models up in the PNG and they are indeed a roomy and confront-able boat. Do you have the Yanmar 315's or the 370 series?
Dana Point is wonderful area along the So. Cal. Coast. We have old dear friends in near by San Diego with a Condo on Catalina Island we try to see most years.
They catch the ferry out of Dana Point or more frequently Long Beach.
Your boat must be lots of fun out in the Channel Islands.
whwells "Howard"
2006 35te Sport-fisher/Flybridge Conv..
2004 Osprey Pilothouse 22

[alwsail]

Hi Bobk
There is a great set of excel sheets showing the fuel use of these boats.
download/file.php?id=3059
If that will not open, then look back in the posts and you will see it with an attachment.
Which boats are you looking at?
Al

[joreyn]

Lenovo pretty much nailed the attributes of the 36ET. I would just add a few.

First, they are very well equipped for the most part. The only exception I've noted is that they came with Norcold refrigerators which tend to fail and are expensive to repair. Replace the Norcold with a fridge with a Danfoss compressor. It will be quieter, uses about 25% of the power, and will last. I added an ARB box fridge/freezer for additional capacity. Besides the refrigerator, the rest of the equipment is high quality.

Second, there is no wood to maintain on the exterior. Big deal as far as I'm concerned.

Third, the swim-step. It's integral to the hull which means it is rock steady. It is at the same height as floating docks (almost all docks in the PNW are floating). This means you can easily just step from the swim-step onto the dock. If the boat you are looking at does not have a stout railing system on the swim-step, add one. Ease of boarding and disembarking are huge. I have bad knees so I appreciate this feature, along with the nice staircase to the flying bridge (vs. a ladder).

Fourth, the guest stateroom is set up with a queen sized quarter berth. Excellent use of space. And when we do not have guests aboard, it is a massive storage area.

Fifth, they are a great buy. Comparable boats built during that time period (99 - '04) are above $200,000.

Last, they are beautiful boats to look at. I don't mean to be immodest, but I do enjoy the compliments I get from other boaters while I'm at the dock.

Lenovo is right on as far as the limitations. I agree with him that every boat is a series of tradeoffs. So think about how you would use the boat. It's not a floating living room, it's not good for fishing (although it works fine for crabbing and shrimping). We live in the Pacific Northwest, in the middle of some of the most spectacular coastal cruising territory in the world. For that, it is an excellent choice.

Seaworthy? Yes it is. One of our board members, AK_Albin36, bought his 36ET in the San Francisco Bay area and ran it from there all the way up to Whittier, Alaska. About 1/2 of that journey was in open seas, in the Pacific, with the Western swells on the beam. We've been up as far as Desolation Sound. Crossed the Georgia Straits several times in knarly water. Never a worry.

[Robk]

there are currently 3 on market on east coast two of them are 99's one 2002... i perfer the single screw but open to the twin...the older 99 needs some work but could be a good investment....the 2002 is completly outfited...i have heard about some leaks near port in pilot house and everyone has had to deal with the "cracks" on swim platform but i understand these are cosmetic...

any other advice would be much appreciated


thanks

[joreyn]

The cracks on the swimstep are cosmetic. They can be corrected if they bother you. The leaks come from the flying bridge. The drain on either side at the aft of the flybridge are prone to clogging. When that happens, particularly on the starboard side, water runs down the wiring chase in the area of the galley. There are easy fixes for this problem, but the first step is to keep the drains free of debis and if you have a canvas cover, use it. Or if your flybridge is enclosed, the leaks won't happen unless you are washing the deck down.

Others on this board have expressed that one of the Florida boats is "too much of a project. "

The one in VA and the one in MD have been awlgripped, so someone has spent some moey on those boats. There is also one in Quebec.

[AK_Albin36]

You've had some good advice already on this thread, but I'll add my 2 mpg cents on the 36 ET. I have a single screw Cat 3126B 450 hp, so pretty close to what you're looking at.

Fuel - We average about 2 nmpg at 7-8 knots. With nearly 400 gal of fuel, that's a pretty serious range. If you need to get home in a hurry, you can always hammer down and make 16-17 knots (clean, half fuel) or 13 knots (dirty hull, full tanks), but expect less than 1 nmpg at those speeds. Yeah, most of us are plenty happy at 8 knots.

Seaworthy - absolutely yes. Like any boat in this size and displacement range, forget plowing nose-into into 10 footers in comfort, but we've had ours in 12-15 footers on the beam, quarter and stern. Solid. The single screw version has a 5 foot deep skeg that really keeps her on track down-wave, and also protects the prop from logs and other junk.

Layout - Perfect for us cold climate cruisers. While the covered cockpit makes fishing a challenge, you can't beat it in the rain. The lower helm position has great visibility and rain/fog-free windows due to their forward angle.

Appearance - If you like a rugged, nearly commercial look on the outside with all the creature comforts of a modern cruiser, there really is nothing like this boat anywhere. Impossible to find comparable interior finish on anything under $300k.

The bads - all fixable and already mentioned above.

[Robk]

appreciate all the insight...will take a look at the avail baots once the snow clears a little!