A-25 Barn Find

[mkh8911]

I just purchased Hull #1574. It is a 1973 Albin Deluxe motorsailor. Its a real project. The story I got from the seller is that the boat was purchased new in California near San Francisco. The owner used it in that region for around 20 years. He retired in the early 1990's and moved back to the family farm in Kansas. The boat was used for another year or so in the Lake of the Ozarks area (Table Rock Lake?). It was then stored in the guy's barn for 18-20 years untouched. The guy died and his son sold the boat to a local who did nothing to it. The boat had a 1/2 inch of grain dust all over the interior when I got it. It had rats nests or some other large rodent nest in every nook and cranny (ask me how I know). I am posting some pics because people would not believe it unless you saw it. I've started by vacuuming and disposed of about 3 13 gallon trash bags of whatever kind of nests these were. Still not sure I found them all.

The engine is a Volvo MD36B. My plan is to pull the engine, pull the injectors and scope the cylinders to see how much rust is in cylinder chambers. Not sure if it was winterized but it had a block heater attached for at least a few years until the rats ate the power cord so it is a remote possibility that enough water evaporated that the block is not cracked (I may be on crack for even considering fixing this power plant...). I priced a Beta Marine engine from Joe Demeers.

Boat is filthy but in good shape otherwise, being somewhat preserved by its time in the barn. The cushions are gone but all of the cabinetry is good and not rotted.

Drum roll please...

[Robdog.1]

Hope you got her cheap! Total re wire and plumbing job coming your way, plus the rebuild or repower. Not trying to rain on your parade, I bought a project with a new Yanmar for $9000 on a good trailer and dropped another $11,000 on her. Love the boat and nothing can touch her for seaworthiness and efficiency.

When you're finished, you'll love telling the before and after stories!
Post pics as you progress!

[jleonard]

That's looks like a neat project. For power, you might even consider an outboard.

Are you talking Joe DeMers from Sound Marine Diesel in Connecticut? I am located fairly near him (if he is still out of the town Plainville), and I have had some friends do business with him and they were not totally happy customers. Just sayin'.

Best of luck on your project! Keep posting progress pics!

[RobS]

....... The boat was used for another year or so in the Lake of the Ozarks area...

Well at least she had a one year long bath in fresh water before going to bed.

[don123]

Excellent project assuming you got her cheap enough

I bought a 34' sailboat for $7K in 1994 and after a couple years of extensive work (and about $10K) I had a great boat which I used for the next 6 or 7 years. Eventually sold her for $35K

My own A27 is almost as hopeless as your A27 project - I'm in the middle of an extensive overhaul/repower/rewire/replumb now and it's beginning to look like I may have a nice $25K boat when I'm done . . . . I'll likely have lots more than that in it though and no telling how many man hours

If we get to do the loop in her though, all will be well worth it

Don

[mkh8911]

I did get her cheap. Actually, this is the condition I like to get boats. This way I know every nook, cranny, bolt, thru hull, wire fuse, etc and I'll know what to do when it breaks. JLeonard, I think we are talking about the same place in Connecticut. I just got prices over the phone. I will look around for a deal on a Yanmar or Beta if it comes to it. I look forward to getting insight from everyone on these boats.

[don123]

I did get her cheap. Actually, this is the condition I like to get boats. This way I know every nook, cranny, bolt, thru hull, wire fuse, etc and I'll know what to do when it breaks.

I agree 100% - There's nothing like the feeling of sailing on a boat that you're confident you can fix no matter what may go wrong. If you don't mind doing the work (for me, that's half the fun) then it's a great way to get an excellent boat for a great price . . . . plus you can customize it to be exactly what you want while you're putting it all together

Don

[Treeman]

Couldn't agree more. I kept plodding along fixing bits on my AD21 feeling like I was biding (or possibly wasting) my time repairing things and cringing at the next thing. I finally put the engine on a stand and inspected, replaced or rebuilt everything. New rings, head gasket, seals/bearings/or-rings, hoses, wires, injectors, pumps, exhaust elbow. Just about to button her back up with confidence!

[Robdog.1]

I have the 39hp Yanmar 3JH4E 3 cylinder. Runs 7kts at 2150RPM, .7GPH
Love it!

Those batteries in your boat don't look 18-20yrs old.

I'm posting some pics of my A25 on my "A25 on the Loop" thread.
Have fun and good luck!

[mkh8911]

Robdog, good eye. I thought the same thing when I got enough of the rats nest off of the top of the batteries to see them. I just pulled them out tonight. I'll check the mfg. code tomorrow and let you know how old they are. I know its premature but I'd like to find out more about your A/C install sometime. Hope to pull the engine next week and update everyone on its condition. In the meantime I'm still cleaning up rat dung. Still have the rear cabin to clean. Plan to finish cleanup, remove engine and remove the top so I can get the boat in my shop. Should have put in a taller door!

[Robdog.1]

MKH,
A/C unit is a Dometic EnviroComfort reverse cycle 10,000BTU heat/cool unit.
I had it installed under the starboard bunk in the forward cabin. Large duct up through the hanging closet to a discharge grill, and I ran a 6" insulated duct down the starboard side to the aft cabin shelf area with a directional round discharge.
If you do this install, just make sure the thermostat is located somewhere that isn't directly in front of the air flow but also isn't somewhere too hot. Mine is above the pantry, so the back side of thermostat is in the electrical cabinet in the head. This is convenient but not ideal, the thermostat senses too much heat from the helm area. This makes the a/c unit keep running. The fix for me is a small fan blowing cool air into the cabinet.

[mkh8911]

The receipt for the batteries was in a plastic pouch stuck to the side of the battery. Batteries were purchased 5/16/1998. So what do I make of that info? Who knows. The story I got does not jive exactly with the purchase date of the batteries. Why would you purchase new batteries and put the boat in storage? All I know for certain is it was in a barn. Have the grain dust and rat turds to prove it . I've got the engine ready to pull. What a mess I'm making, both in the boat and in the yard as I throw stuff overboard. Any guesses on what the red tank was for? It says Yanmar on the tank and it was tied into the fuel system so I'm guessing a fuel return tank or a day tank. Hard to imagine needing a day tank on a boat this size so I'm going with fuel return tank. Why not just return the fuel to the main tank? Anyone else seen a similar arrangement? Fuel tank is full of very, very old fuel. Guess I'll dump it but I'm tempted to polish it with my Gulf Coast filter and add it to my diesel truck a couple of gallons at a time. My luck I'll ruin my trucks fuel system. Since I just spent $2k on injectors for the truck I had better just dump it.

[Robdog.1]

Looks like a return tank, mine is port side in the cabinet. I don't really know the physics of that tank, it just works!

I'd dispose of the old diesel, not worth the risk of funking out an engine to me.

Are you going yo overhaul or repower?

[Vic K]

Last month marked the begining of the 3rd year on my redo of an'84 27. I'm getting close to launching. Everything on the boat has been replaced, rebuilt or modified with the exception of the engine. That has been gone through plus new hoses,alternater, starter and all new wiring. Lucky it's in my back yard and my shop is in easy walking distance.
Had I known what I was going find I doubt seriously that I would have taken on this project. There is a lot of rot in these old Albins they were not sealed very good. At least not the one I got. Now I'm glad I did. I can say that this is "my boat'. I've touched,sanded,rebuilt,painted,glassed, replaced and bled on every part.
Basically I bought the engine and the rest of the boat was thrown in. The owner even covered the cost of bringing it out to my place and setting it up. All I can say to those that take on these project boats is that you better enjoy the trip. I have.

[mkh8911]

I pulled the engine (Volvo MD3B) out and put it on a stand in my garage. Pulled the injectors and tried turning the engine over by hand. Rotates easily thru about 200 degrees then stops abruptly. No give at all. Borrowing a friends scope tomorrow to see what I can see in the cylinders. So far I know I'll need a starter and alternator. Is the MD3B worth spending time and money on? Can I still get top end overhaul parts, gaskets, etc.? Found a Yanmar 3JH2E w/ tranny and 1800 hrs for $2500. Needs injector pump rebuilt but other than that its supposed to be good. Tempted to wait till I'm finished w/ cosmetics and repower with a new Beta 38 or Yanmar. Of course the Admiral will have a hissy fit if I spend $8-10k on an engine. Decisions, decisions. Any input will be appreciated.