A25 engine

[Surveyor]

I am a new member an am currently land locked. I enjoy this site very much, as I hope to move to some open water in the future. I had been a liveaboard in New England for 20+ years and life's funny turns has me in the Great Plains for now.
I hope to return to boating with a smaller cruising boat and have been researching the Albin 25.
I've seen them with all sorts of power, with or without sail and have a few questions?
How bad were the original A25 marine engines and if one was rebuilt, would it be worth keeping?
Is it really worth the extra trouble to have the sailing rig strictly as a steadying device and/or backup power source?
Any thoughts would be great,
Thanks,
Rob

[Surveyor]

Sorry I meant the Albin A21 engine.
Thanks,
Rob

[NickScheuer]

I've been sailing a string of small boats for over 60 years, and converted to an Albin-25 Motor Cruiser just 3 yrs ago. Based on the performance of the original Volvo-Penta MD17C 35-hp motor, I would consider the A-21 engine too small.

And based on my sailing background, I considered the Motor Sailer Albin-25 just that, a "Motor Sailer", and not worth the trouble erecting the rig.

We have been quite pleased with our 1976 Albin-25.

[Treeman]

I still run the AD21 and like it. I had persistent cooling system troubles but finally had a custom exhaust elbow built and no problems since. I can maintain 7 knots to cruise and a little more in a pinch and I don't burn 1/2 gallon an hour. There's an AD21 Facebook page and the fellas (mostly Swedes) are very helpful and parts are readily available. Don't dismiss the AD21 out of hand!

[Surveyor]

Thank you for the replies, it really helps the research.
Treeman, are you using your sailing rig or have you converted to strictly power. If you do sail, what are your thoughts on performance strictly as a steadying device as well as a back up power source?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Rob

[don123]

The big concern I think is, how much longer can a 40 year old, raw water cooled engine be classified as 'dependable' . . . . even if you 'completely' rebuild it?

Raw water cooled engines were engineered to be 'disposable' and the designers probably never dreamed someone would be considering rebuilding a 40+ year old one. If they thought anyone might still be trying to use such an engine after all these years, they would likely have invested the few extra dollars back in 1970 to make them freshwater cooled, so the salt wouldn't be rotting out the engines castings

As most of us have seen, the castings used for exhaust elbows on FWC engines seldom last half that long. I changed two exhaust elbows on a FWC Yanmar in a sailboat I used to own. The first one failed (rotted out) shortly after I bought the boat and I used up the second one by myself over the course of about 10 years and 1500 engine hours

If I owned a 40 year old raw water cooled engine and wanted to go cruising very far from home, changing it for something newer would be a priority I think and if I was going to spend the money, it would be something fresh water cooled

Don

[Treeman]

Don, my AD21 has a factory heat exchanger. Unlike the exhaust elbow, it's a pretty good design. It's set up such that I can bead it out as needed.

Surveyor, my boat never had the sail package.

[denchen]

For what its worth a guy at our club has a A21 in a Albin 25. He has been wondering if to up grade but has finally thought it through and had the motor out and fixed a couple of oil leaks and put the engine back in. I have a Albin 25 with an old British BMC 1800 diesel 4 cyl. And have just upgraded to a modern gearbox. For what I have seen the A21 is not and never will be a racing engine, but if it is in good order it will not let you down. My friend and I cruise The North Sea and when the waves get that big you cannot see over the top of them, a 200hp engine would not get you back in any quicker. At 37 hp at 2,500 revs and a gallon of diesel every 2 and a quarter hours, I`m keeping my old reliable motor, my mate is keeping his. If your old 21 is a good one, my advise is it could be a lot better than some of the modern stuff on the market. It might not be quite' as fast by a knot or two, but it is in balance with the boat and will always get you home with enough left in your wallet to buy a beer or two at the bar later.

[Surveyor]

Thank you all for your replies. I know the Albin 25 and the old A 21 engine are old technology. I've always trusted in old "glass " boats and still think the old over engineering of dated engines can win out.
I'm landlocked for now, but have better direction for future plans.
Thanks again
Rob