Thinking of a purchase

[hsagman]

Hi all. I'm thinking of buying a 1986 Albin 27 with an aft cabin. The boat was re-powered a few years ago with an 88 HP Yanmar diesel. I like the idea of a diesel, but 88 HP seems a little light for this boat. Anyone have any insights? Thanks

[Beta Don]

Welcome to the forum! Lots of good info on these boats can be found here if you look around a bit. A27's are quite popular with many folks who want to upgrade and rebuild them and there are many knowledgeable owners here who can answer most of your questions

Is 88 HP enough? Depends on what you want to do with it, but 88 is more than it came with when it was new. A27's are semi-displacement boats which will do 6.5 to about 7 knots very economically - Typically burning around 1 GPH . . . . or they are 10 to 12 knot (depending on the engine you have) 'water plows' which will go maybe 50% faster than 7 knots burning 3 to 4 GPH. Early '84 and '85 models all came with a 61 HP Peugeot Lehman 4 cylinder diesel engine and later '86 and '87 models like yours came with a 78 HP Nissan 6 cylinder diesel engine (the same one used in the Nissan Maxima cars)

If you're not worried about the operating cost and need to go faster, look for an '88 or '89 model. Some of those came with a 100 HP Westerbeke engine and later ones with a 157 HP Isuzu engine. Going 10 knots or faster is really going to cost you though, no matter which engine you have

I had a 100 HP turbo-intercooled Yanmar in my '84 and we very, very seldom ever ran it faster than 7 knots, which your 88 HP will easily do. Once you start making considerable wake, you'll find your fuel costs escalating very rapidly. For every couple knots above 6.5 you'll about double your fuel burn. IMHO, a 75 to 88 HP engine is about perfect for an A27 hull. The 88 HP Yanmar is a valuable upgrade from the stock engine - You can find parts for it just about anywhere which is not the case with the original engines. They were 'marinized' auto engines and many of the unique parts used to make them suitable for use in a boat are no longer available, which is very likely why the boat you're looking at was repowered. I repowered mine myself and it was a very expensive conversion. If the Yanmar in that boat was bought new, it probably cost about $15K at the time

Don

[DesertAlbin736]

Can't help too much (I'm an A25 guy), except to mention it seems 27s I've heard of usually have 100 HP Ford Lehman engines. That said, and I second Beta Don's post, perhaps this calculator site might help.

http://www.psychosnail.com/boatspeedcalculator.aspx

The specs on an A27 here show LWL of 24.3 feet & displacement of 6,500 lbs give or take.

http://cdn.denisonyachtsales.com/boat-g ... ruiser.pdf

According to this calculation, to go 10 knots (semi-displacement hull) would take about 1 HP per 150 lbs of displacement, which works out to 43.3 shaft HP. Divide that by 0.95 to account for BHP losses gives you a figure of 45.6 BHP. Add to that a couple HP to run the alternator would round up closer to 50 HP. So in theory 88 HP should be plenty.

For example in case of A25 early models like ours, full displacement hull speed is about 6.3 knots with 5,000 lb displacement weight, which calculates to 24 HP needed, which is the size engine we have & it does fine buring 0.4 to 0.5 GPH at 6.5 knots.

I'll also second the emotion on Yanmar diesels. Their only drawback is Yanmar's Nazi parts policy, meaning parts can only be purchased from authorized dealers within their assigned territory. And like anything with the word "marine grade" tend to be expensive. Like $600+ for a raw water pump for example. That & some models (or all?) don't have glow plugs for cold weather starting. No bargain hunting online from out of state dealers. They are good running engines though.

[Beta Don]

Can't help too much (I'm an A25 guy), except to mention it seems 27s I've heard of usually have 100 HP Ford Lehman engines.

I'm not aware of a 100 HP Ford Lehman? The Dorset 4 cylinder models were 80 HP and the 6 cylinder models were 120 HP. The Dover models were 90 for the 4 and 135 for the 6. Also unaware that any model of Ford came in any A27, though I suppose a few owners may have transplanted in a Ford or two here or there

The 61 HP Peugeot was standard on the early models and the 78 HP Nissan on the later ones, I think in 88 or 89 there was a 100 HP Westerbeke used and the very newest ones came with the 157 HP Isuzu

Also, you're not going to see an honest 10 knots in an A27 with less than 50 HP - I think you would need very ideal conditions and a stripped down lightweight boat to even come close to 10 knots with the standard 61 HP Peugeot. I think the 78 HP Nissan can do it, but it's about running out of breath to get there and I wouldn't try doing it for very long. 100 HP can *maybe* get you 12 knots on a good day, but that would be running it pretty hard - I never saw 12 with mine, but mine was closer to 8,500 pounds than 6,500

Don

[rnummi]

I vote you buy the boat. Its quirky, its unusual, it has its faults, but boy is it fun. There are plenty of people on the board here that can walk you through a majority of the issues you are likely to encounter. Send us pics of your new boat...

[tego]

You're going to travel at about 6-7 kts whatever engine you have in it! Any engine you put in it gets REALLY thirsty faster than that. If you want a 12 knot boat, don't even think about an Albin 27FC. You want the 28TE or the like. 88 HP is more than enough for the design of this boat. I have the Nissan 78HP in mine and have never felt the need for more. I make 6.5kts @1900RPM with a 4 blade 18X14 wheel, burning 3/4 gph. I feel like I'm flying (ex sailor ya know). Ben

[DesertAlbin736]

I stand corrected on type of engines in A27s. May be thinking of 28TE's or other models?

[hsagman]

Hey, thanks everyone! Really appreciate the replies. Think I may be a new Albin owner soon (not a new Albin, but a new owner!). Definitely glad I found this forum!

[DesertAlbin736]

Great! Just for grins, have you seen this one on Ebay over in East Setauket, NY just across the Sound, hour and a half drive from Norwalk? $18,800 OBO? I'm guessing it's still on the hard, winterized & shrink wrapped.

Ebay listing:
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And brokerage listing:

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1987 model, Nissan LD28 90 HP engine with 1600 hours. From the look of photos the engine is OEM for the boat & unrestored. Throttle/shift controls (old style Morse two handle separate F-R shift & throttle levers) & electronics look a bit dated. Porta potty instead of marine head. Otherwise fairly clean boat as much as one can judge from online photos.

For comparison only, I have no connection to this sale or broker. Happened to run across while surfing for something else.

[JT48348]

Be sure to check out the A27 Buyers Guide prior to your purchase, located in the documents section. Lots of good info there.