Purchasing Albin for 2017

[gfuller]

Hello all,

I'm brand new to the forum and very excited to be shopping for a new boat. I currently have a 2005 seaswirl striper 2301 with 250hp Yamaha 4 stroke. I love the boat but my wife and 8 year old daughter have recently taken up a liking of sleeping on the boat at the marina and anchored off islands. We need something bigger. I've searched high and low and the only boat that really meets our projected needs is the Albin 28 TE. I'm very big into offshore fishing as well as the family thing.

I'm currently looking at 3 configurations:

Yanmar powered full keel
Cummins powered full keel
Volvo I/O

I've heard to stay away from the GM powered models unless they are dirt cheap.
I'm aware this is a cored hull and no matter what I'm looking at, I'll have it appropriately surveyed. I'm also under the impression that the 2000 and newer models have a fibercore hull and is less apt to delaminate/rot over the balsa cored models. Is this true? has anyone had any rot or delamination problems. I'd really like to stay under $70k if possible.

Some examples of what I'm looking at (1 for each category listed above):

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I'm mechanically inclined and understand that these boats are worlds different than my current maintenance free outboard setup.

I've been over most pros/cons of Cummins vs yanmar etc... but it was all very low level detailed arguments. I'm not really looking for that right away, just honest opinions, pros/cons at a high level for these different configs.

Normally I would not consider any I/O but the fact that there is no transmission attached to the engine that could possibly fail is appealing, as is the familiar driving style and docking.

Anyway - very excited to hear input from anyone that wants to share!

[WillieC]

Hi, Gfuller.

Welcome aboard! Might be helpful to introduce yourself in new members section. You could miss some folks. You've come to the right place. Lots of info and really helpful opinions from the members. Of course you've seen the swap /sell/trade section? Best of luck!

[gfuller]

Hi Willie -

Good call on both notes! I'll introduce myself and browse the sell section!

Thank you!

[Jeremyvmd]

i disagree with not looking at peninsular boats. as with any engine maker there were a few bad motors in one or two years, and even then very few motors were actually affected. most of the bad press is "a guy at the marinas brothers, cousin, friend from high schools girlfriends dad had a boat with one and it sucked". I have one in my 28 and love it, so much that when i hauled the boat due to a strike issue and had to pull the motor i had peninsular build up a new short block up with all my components rather than put in a different motor. even that motor half dead and poorly maintained (and not maintained or ran for 2+ years) ran great (even the factory wasn't sure how that motor was running). honestly you may not get as much for the boat when you go to sell it, but you will be very happy with the boat while you have it! Don't let a few guys who have never owned one sour you on the motors! honestly i would read up on the exhaust setup issues with Cummins powered 28s and the lengths at least one owner on here went to, to make it work better!

Diesel engines are not the maintenance nightmare you may think they are. clean fuel, clean oil, clean air and your good to go. Much less to break on these motors than an outboard.

that being said coming from O/B powered boats to a strait inboard (ok v drive) i would go that route. your running gear is protected and its very easy to teach yourself how to handle the boat. Fewer parts to go bad, and the reversing trans they use on the albins is much tougher than any i/o setup!

honestly balsa core (done correctly) is perfectly fine. any boat can have delam issues, and yes balsa can rot, but if the boat is maintained, and the core is kept dry the balsa is actually really great stuff. there are high end boat makers today who still prefer it over foam because it leads to a stronger and more resilient hull.

[DougSea]

Hi G.

I haven't had a chance to look over all of your links, but wanted to quickly ad my own 2 cents. I, like many others, owned a GM (Penninsular) powered boat - and I LOVED it. This never ending bad rap is just nuts, especially after all of these years. The issue was a limited number of crack (or prone to cracking) blocks. If you see a boat that you're interested in you can get the engine serial number and give Matt at Penninsular a call. He'll tell you if the engine in question is in the range. And you can follow JeremyVMD's postings about how he's just put a "brand new" Penninsular into his boat! The engine runs strong, is probably quieter than the Yanmar, and is reasonably fuel efficient. And uses easy to find filters, belts, etc!

All that aside - pretty much any 28 you choose will serve you well. There are a fairly small number of sterndrive boats so you'll likely get less feedback on those. It also positions the engine further aft than the original design called for, which may, or may not, affect seakeeping.

What I really wanted to post about though is just how wonderful a step up the 28TE can be. Our family had a 20' CC, followed by a 21' walkaround. Both solid boats but my wife in particular was never really comfortable on board. Especially with the tightly packed waves we can get on Long Island Sound. Then we bought a 1997 28TE and everything changed! The story I always tell is of a late summer trip from Norwalk CT to Cold Spring Harbor NY (About 10 miles across the Sound). My brother and a friend, along with their families, had come across the Sound for a visit. As the day went on the winds increased and the seas built. When it was time for them to leave the seas were much too mean for the little CC they'd come across in. So we bundled the wives and kids into the 28 and my brother and friend took the CC.

The ride in the CC was a chore! They were following us and constantly vanishing in walls of spray and waves. Aboard Sonny III (our 28), well, it was a non-event! My usually skittish bride was happily talking and joking with my sister and law and friend, while the kids cheered every time the CC vanished behind us. Sonny plowed through the snotty conditions with not a care. Completely comfortable, relaxed and confident.

It was a game changer.

My wife went from tolerating boating to really enjoying it! So much so that SHE found the listing for the 35TE that we enjoy as Sonny IV today!

Get the Albin. You'll be glad you did!

[gfuller]

Thank you both very much for your input on this! it's very helpful. I will not cross the GM's off my list. I've heard "bad things" about them but never anything really specific. I've also heard a good share of bad things about the yanmars and Cummins powered 28s.

Great story, Doug - this is sort of the same thing that happened to me. My wife would never leave the harbor and never sleep on the boat until we went island camping with some friends, now it's her favorite thing in the world to do (including offshore fishing). The cabin in our 24' boat is just not big enough for us and our younger daughter. Also, a full head would be very nice. I've yet to find another boat that meets these needs like the Albin. We've also looked at the 31 TE and 35 TE. I think I'm going to start smaller and work up if needed in the next few years. I've yet to own the same boat more than 2 years so hopefully the TE will be a winner!

I'm strongly considering this boat (http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2000/Albin-28-Tournament-Express-2988508/Middlesex-County/NJ/United-States)

it has everything I'm looking for (windlass, autopilot, thruster, etc...) and it's a 2000 which I like as well. What do you guys think about the asking price of $57k? provided it's in great shape and the survey comes back clean. What would be considered a great deal on this boat?

Thanks!

[special k]

we love our 2002 28te w/yanmar 6lp-stp. perfect weekender for a couple and also fishes well. near offshore and inshore. range is a bit limited with the 135gal capacity.

i know i wouldn't part with mine for that price!

[gfuller]

I'm glad to hear that! I've been doing plenty of research on the 6lp engines and it seems like the STE has a pretty significant downfall, at least initially - that being the valves which I'm sure you have all heard of. I actually think they STP was part of this too but only for specific serials. Did you have these replaced special k? I've heard that if they have not been replaced, expect to either do so or repower somewhere between 700-1200hrs.

I talked to the broker and asked if there were any service records of this job being done and he said no. There was a class action apparently and Yanmar covered many of these problematic engines but that is now over and I'd be on my own.

[special k]

bought used in'06 never saw service records indicating valve repairs but when i had valves re=set techs indicated it was done prior. i was unaware as to the recall when i made my purchase. just loved the boat.

cruises in comfort and fishes like an animal.......we really "use"our boat weekending, inshore fishing and offshore. reliable and economical
currently approaching 1100hrs keeping up with all recommended maintenance with authorized yanmar service

cheers!

[Mntry_Goodson]

Just another opinion on an engine. My 1999 28TE has the Yanmar 6LP STE. The engine has 2300 hours of which 1500 hours are mine. I've changed timing belts twice and had zero valve issues. Use wise, I've taken the boat on the 1600 mile run from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas and then up into the north end of the Sea of Cortez. Short fishing trips on the CA and OR coasts are also a regular event. No valve issues.

My research in 2009 (when I bought the boat) on the valve issue was that it primarily occurs when the boat is used for Sunday cruises that rarely reach RPM's above 2300. The engine is designed to run hard and needs to be taken to 3500 rpm for 5 minutes on every trip. The certified Yanmar mechanic in San Francisco tells me there are a number of Albins with 6LP STE's that he services that have over 4000 hours without issue.

I will pass along that I had a sea trial in a 28TE that had the Cummins in it. The Yanmar is much quieter.

[gfuller]

Time for an update....

I took delivery of a 99 with the Yanmar 6LP-STE a week ago. I was able to pull the valve cover and get a look at the valves myself (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9927) and they have been done - this is very exciting.

I've already refinished all of the wood, polished the sinks, replaced drains and faucets (essentially anything I can do in the heated cabin while it's 10 degrees outside). It's been fun. I love all the access on this boat.

Mntry_Goodson - 1600 mile trip down south!? how long did this take you? how, what, when, why??? please do tell more - very cool!

My boat has 1200 hours on it. Planning on doing the ridlyme flush, valve adjustments, timing belt and all of that fun stuff in the spring.

[Nancy]

Time for an update....

I took delivery of a 99 with the Yanmar 6LP-STE a week ago. I was able to pull the valve cover and get a look at the valves myself (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9927) and they have been done - this is very exciting.

I've already refinished all of the wood, polished the sinks, replaced drains and faucets (essentially anything I can do in the heated cabin while it's 10 degrees outside). It's been fun. I love all the access on this boat.

All that work in a week? Impressive! Hope you'll post some photos - we love them in case you haven't noticed.