Decision time on a 2004 or 2007 28 TE

[Pitou]

Does anyone have suggestions on surveyors in the RI area? T

Another for your mix and he's done a number of Albin 28's: Capt. Bob Gallagher; also accredited in engines. He digs deep and usually makes sellers shudder.He will and does go to RI. I sure wish that I could have convinced him to go to Freeport, NY. There was just no easy way to get to the SW shore of Long Islland.

http://www.gallaghermarinesurveyors.com/index2.html

[tshug]

Kevin, the guy that just bought my boat hired Bob Gallagher to do the survey on mine before he bought it. I met him while he was doing the survey and seemed very knowledgable. I asked him if he did engine surveys also and he said he'd take oil samples for analysis but not much more. I have his business card and may contact him. Ken Hilton's brother is also a surveyor in RI and had worked at Standish many years and is also very familiar with Albins. I talked to Ken last week and tried calling him again on Monday, but he's out of town until later this week.

[Pitou]

It is tough finding a general boat surveyor that can do a full engine survey. Many won't even take engine oil and gear oil samples. Just be sure to ask the questions and know what they will do before you give anyone the go.

Most general boat surveyors will only shoot temps of the coolant loop, seawater cooling loop and dry exhaust elbow. Try to find someone who will at least crawl around , use mirrors to view obstructed areas (oil pan) and have a mechanical surveyor in their back pocket for follow-up if they discover something. That's what Bob does and I'm sure Ken's brother does too. Better yet, have a general and separate mechanical survey with someone like Mack Boring or another reputable outfit .. possibly a certified dealer. Nothing is ever 100% as there is not an owner out there that will let you start tearing components off of the engine. If you start and they're around, they'll look like this and then this .. .

All the best.

[JackK]

Ken Hilton was supposed to be back on Wednesday. His brother, James Hilton, is a marine surveyor here in RI. I've met him while he was testing a go-fast boat in the Taunton River. Jim's a nice guy and definitely would know Albins as his father was one of the original partners who bought Standish Boat Yard from the Standish family and he grew up there. I cannot speak for his work because I've never used him.

Here's a link to his website ... http://www.ebcsmarine.com/home-1.html

Hope this helps.

[Tree]

Just for a bit of information - I had Mack Boring conduct my engine and oil surveys before we put down the deposit.

I had Sean Carton at VStar Marine conduct the survey on the hull and performance - he also did a minor engine survey as part of the package.

Sean Carton
V Star Marine Surveyors
1933 Hwy 35
Suite 105-195
Wall, NJ 07719 USA

Not sure how close to you these guys are but the boat was originally at Sandy Hook before shipping to the UK

Both surveys were very comprehensive and with the reports I was able to have $1400 worth of work completed at the vendors cost before final payment.

[tshug]

Thanks Jack and Tree. Jack, I'm going to try to get in touch with Ken's brother over the weekend. Tree, your NJ surveyor would be to far away from RI to travel, but there is a Mack Boring office up this way who I will get in touch with about the engine survey.

[tshug]

Well the decision's been made, we are now proud Albin owners! We ended up buying the the 2004 28TE and brought it up from Bristol, RI to Boston on Memorial Day weekend. The trip from Bristol to Sandwich, Ma on the east end of the Cape Cod Canal was real nice. Spent the night at the Sandwich marina and headed to Boston the next day with the wind blowing at 15-30 sw and 2-4 ft seas. We were really impressed at how well Evening Star handled the trip.

We've received many compliments from our club members on our new boat. Looking forward to a great boating season and with the many new systems for me to learn about I'll be asking a lot of questions.

Ted

[Pitou]

Nice job! Way to pull the trigger and we can now share the secret handshake.