Portland, OR

[J0k3r]

I signed up on this site when my wife and I started seriously considering an Albin a little over a month ago. Have been getting a lot of good information from all the posts here. As of sometime earlier today we are now the owners of an Albin 49 Tri-Cabin. It is a bit of a fixer but we should have it up to speed with the major issues resolved in the next month or so. Wife is absolutely ecstatic and cannot wait to go on an adventure. She has zero boat experience. I was in the Coast Guard on a 378 between 1991-5 out of New York so this is a bit of a downsize from that perspective, but this is also the first boat I have owned.

[catalina_mike]

Congratulations on the new purchase. The number one rule for boating is Happy Wife "Commodore" Happy Life! If she wants to put down new flooring and redo all the cushions do it!

[tbnolin]

Congrats to you both!!! Our son lives in Portland and we have walked along many docks/marinas in the city. Good luck to you both and send us some pics!!!

[DesertAlbin736]

Congrats! As Albins go, unless I'm mistaken you've probably got the biggest type they made. Sweet looking boat judging from some online sister ship pictures. Should be no problem crossing the Columbia River bar with that baby!

[whwells]

Welcome and Congra's and what sounds to be a great fine. You will have room to run and stay in a boat of that size. Just to let you know we have a fine and active NW AOG that meets annually in Wash. We have had boaters most years from NW Oregon as well. Looking forward to pictures of the boat and your partiicpation both in the National AOG as well as the local group of your area.
We recently downsized from a 42 Sabre to our 2nd Albin a 36 Albin Express 2005 trawler. The larger boat will be missed but overall and for many reasons the 36et will do us well.
whwells "Howard"
36 ET Albin Trawler 2005
Former: 35 TE Flybridge 2006

[DesertAlbin736]

PS, we drove though Portland in early August (towing our A25 on its trailer behind us) on our way back to Phoenix from our recent San Juans/Gulf Islands/Sunshine Coast cruise. We spent a couple nights visiting my wife's sister and her husband who live on a 5 acre property out in the country in Deer Island not far from St. Helens. Nice area, at least during the summer. I think if I had a boat like the 49 tri cabin I'd want to do like Howard does & keep it as a 2nd home somewhere up in Washington like Anacortes, Bellingham, or elsewhere in the Puget Sound area. Puget Sound & the Salish Sea is such a great cruising ground & so many places to see. In all we visited 16 different islands between the San Juans in Washington & the Gulf Islands in British Columbia. Of course we can go a long way on a small amount of fuel, we did 570 NM on 44 gallons of diesel. That's right, 13 nautical MPG. But that would be a long run downriver from Portland, across the bar and up the Oregon coast to the Strait of Juan De Fuca which can be some pretty rough seas until you get into the sheltered waters of the Salish Sea.

As an aside, home beer and ale brewing is a popular hobby up in those parts. Said sister & brother in law are active home brewers, even grow their own hops & are involved in a local club. Although lately they've branched off into kite flying out on the Oregon coast beaches. Here's their website:

http://www.deerislandbrewery.com/

[J0k3r]

We spent the long weekend going over what we could in preparation for the move to Portland. Changed engine filters, 'tested' the heads, and brought it out to the appropriate distance from shore to complete the head testing (pumping the holding tanks) and give it a quick run. Some take-aways from this experience.
1) A saltwater flushing head produces a distinct odor after not being used for who knows how long.
2) Engine makers and boat builders seem to have little regard for where the oil filter location is.
3) Docking is probably a lot easier when the starboard prop is not stuck in reverse when the transmission lever says it is in neutral, but is good entertainment for the campers on the other side of the spit.