Newbie with 25 motorsailer, Mobile, AL

[BrookeMarie]

Hi,
I recently bought an Albin 25 motorsailer with a yanmar 2gm20. The boat name is Brooke Marie. I look forward to participating in discussions.

Thanks,
Jim

[Jay Knoll]

Welcome Jim

[BrookeMarie]

Thank you Jay Knoll.

[kerrye]

Is that the one which was on Craigslist being sold by a guy moving to Puerto Rico? I gave some thought to that one but it didn't have a trailer.

[Jeremyvmd]

Welcome! And congrats!

[DesertAlbin736]

Welcome aboard Jim! Always nice to see folks with good taste in boats! What's the hull number on your boat? Should be stamped on a brass plate on the dash board just under the steering wheel. Is the sailing mast set up? Is your engine fresh water cooled? If so that would make it a 2GM20F.

Here's what you can expect: 6 to 6.5 knot cruising speed under power, 4 knots under sail on a beam reach in 10 knot winds if you have the sailing rig set up. This is a displacement hull with about 22 feet of waterline length, so theoretical hull speed is about 6.3 knots. Trying to push much faster than that gives a diminishing return on speed vs fuel consumption. Fuel burn rate is about 0.4 to 0.5 gallons per hour under power. Maybe less with the 2GM20, which is a 16 HP engine. I have a Yanmar 3GM30F in my A25, which is a 24 HP engine and I burn about 0.4 GPH at 6 knots to 0.5 GPH at 6.5 knots & 2,350 RPM. With the standard 20 gallon fuel tank that gives a maximum range of about 195 to 225 nautical miles on 15 gallons with 5 left in reserve, 13 to 15 nautical MPG. Other than a full fledged sailboat, virtually no other 'pocket trawler' of this size gets that kind of fuel economy.

[BrookeMarie]

Kerrye, yes that is exactly the boat. Thee was recently another on CL with a trailer.

Thank you Jeremyvmd! Seems to be a perfect size for hme.

DesertAlbin736, thankyou for all the great info! You have a great looking boat setup. My hull number is 801, built in 1970. The mast is all rigged up with a sail installed. The engine does not have the "F" following the 20. I am certain it is raw water cooled. It has been a freshwater boat most of its life. Thanks for all the info. The efficiency and relaively low operating cost were a big attraction for me.

I am sure I will have many questions.

Jim

[kerrye]

One feature of your boat (if memory serves me correctly) which intrigues me is the universal joint between the engine and shaft. I thought it was an innovative (and inexpensive) solution to an alignment problem without resorting to a constant velocity joint. I'll be curious as to what you think of it after you've had it for a while.

[BrookeMarie]

Kerrye, during my maiden voyage with her I can tell you I am not very pleased with the universal joint arrangement although it may not be the source of the odd vibrations above 1750 rpm's. Above that rpm the cutlass bearing makes a moaning sound (not pleasureable I may add). Around 2500 rpm's the moaning stops and a an extreme vibration seems to originate from the prop end. I suppose the previous owners idea of "good operating condition" is different than mine. Did I mention all the water in the fuel tank? Haha, yes drain and clean tank is my next project. I think the best thing to do with drive train is check everything for straightness and make sure prop is balanced. That will be my next post.

[DesertAlbin736]

Jim,

I'm anxious to hear how well your boat performs under sail. Where does your mast step? Some early models like mine have the mast step right up against the windshield and no compression post in the cabin. Others, mostly later models, have the mast step on the cabin top a couple feet or so forward of the windshield & have a compression post in the cabin located about even with the aft end of the settees.

BTW, I believe hull #801 is actually a 1971 model.

This site talks about the history of Albin 25's and gives a breakdown on the years and hull numbers. Yours is 65 hull numbers away from ours. 1971 covers hull numbers 665 through 1126.

http://www.albinbc.com/home/albin-25-history

I think you're on the right track wanting to get the drive line checked out. But look at the bright side it's much simpler than an I/0 outdrive. Ours tends to have a harmonic whine between around 1500 to 2000 RPM. I never run ours as high as 2500. 2350 is our usual max speed. When ours was repowered with the 3GM30F back in the early '90s they installed a AquaDrive CV joint & thrust bearing.

Also BTW, you may have found this already or have a hard copy of your own, but just in case here's a link to the Yanmar service manual for GM series engines

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/791391 ... tml#manual

That's the pits that the fuel tank had water in it, but I guess Mobile is very wet climate. Wasn't that boat brought down from Kentucky or something?

[BrookeMarie]

Desertalbin736, thank you for the information all of it is helpful. The boat probably is a 1971 model, the KY title says 1970, haha, legally I guess it will remain a 1970 even if it was built in 1971. Our boats may have been under the same roofat the same time, cool. The mast is stepped closely in front of the windshield with no compression post in the cabin. I have not yet sailed her. I want to make sure she can move under engine power before attempting to sail. Interesting that yours is setup the same way.

Harmonic whine maybe what the driveshaft moan is about. Do you recall the cost of the Aquadrive CV joint, that seems like a better solution than the universal joint?

When I get the fuel problem fixed I am content to run her at 1700 rpm but its nice to know she has a bit more power if needed. Yes, this spent most her life in KY I was told. Its a wonderful boat, just needs a little work.
Thank you,
Jim

[kerrye]

There's a post on here or on the Yahoo list by the PO which talks about those odd vibrations. I ran across it when I was considering that boat. One thing I learned when investigating the viability of the universal joint set up is that universal joints are almost always installed in pair to avoid vibrations even if the angle is not large. A single u-joint on a shaft is very rare. Marine CV joints are pretty expensive and a thrust bearing has to be installed. I think I ran across a post somewhere about adopting a much less expensive automotive CV joint to that application. Perhaps it was a VW joint.

[BrookeMarie]

Kerrye, thank you, I will research further. I suspected there should be at least two universal joints to eliminate vibration as well as a thrust bearing. There isa thrust bearing already but I could see quite a bit of movement when in gear. There may be multiple problems with present driveline.
Jim

[2manyboats]

Welcome to the Albin community. These are great little boats, they all need some work after 45 years, but how many Bayliners make it that far.
We have a 25 also and spend winters in the tampa area. I hope to cruise to your local sometime down the road. I've been to Mobile once and thought it looked like a great place to gunk-hole for a week.
Best of luck

Wayne

[whwells]

We all agree the 25' is a lot of boat for the normal price. You regardless of the boat will from time to time face that age old
"another thousand" although for me it now seems like another "2500" but if you can somehow handle boats are a great return on your mental health. There is an alignment issue there on the vibration and you will find it.
Congra's, welcome and best of luck on the project.
whwells "Howard"