Repowering an Albin 25

[deryk_the_pirate]

I have been looking at Albin 25's online for a while and was wondering, typically what does it cost to replace the diesel with a new model (and all the related things that go with it, I guess 18 or so hp). I am recovering from a spinal fusion (workman's comp injury) and I know when all is said and done I will becoming into a small settlement and want to blow it on a trailerable pocket cruiser. My Nissan Frontier can tow 6500lbs so The Albin 25 is a good match, just me, maybe occasionally a friend and her young son. I still have a dozen years till I can escape early and retire and would love to hook up the trailer, head to work, get out and head away for a week or so at a time drop the boat in the water and go explore.

[kerrye]

Expensive enough that it's worth looking for a boat on which it has already been done. Mine had a Westerbeke 42 with less than 200 hrs, one of the main reasons I bought it. That and the fact that it also had a new trailer. I'd figure at least $12k for a repower if someone else was doing the work. Few people would recommend an engine as small as 18hp. I'd say 24hp minimum myself. My 42 is overkill I think. You'll be right at your max towing with the Frontier and the A25.

[WillieC]

Kerrye nails it again. Though the 12 Large is just a number. An old boat that needs a new engine will likely need a tiny bit more. Electrical, plumbing, tanks, canvas, and just general love and attention. Keep looking for the boat that all this has been done on. Somebody is going to get a killer deal when I finally bite the dust. I seriously think the only way to do it is to give it away, so the next guy can put 15K in a new engine and end up with a boat worth 15 or 20K.

[Beta Don]

I agree - If you can't do 90% of the work yourself, a repower project can quickly escalate in price to be where you already have more in the boat than you could sell it for . . . . and you haven't even begun to do all the 'nice to have' things like new electronics and refrigeration

Find one which has already had all that done and pay a premium price for it . . . . and that price will probably be about half what you would have spent doing it yourself

I also agree that if you plan any long distance trips, you'll want a 3/4 ton or larger truck

Don

[DesertAlbin736]

deryk,

OK, where in New Jersey are you? I"m an old Barnegat Bay native myself, turned AZ desert rat by way of Upstate NY 40 years ago.

That said, seeing as how much of the Jersey Shore's waters, Barnegat Bay, Egg Harbor, Great Bay, etc has lots of shallow waters, it might be heresy to say it here, but you might consider also looking at Nimble Nomads, which are a sharpie hull design, outboard powered & totally beachable. Or if you wanted to go the motor sailer route, maybe a Nimble Kodiak.

Here's a review

http://www.boats.com/reviews/nimble-nom ... qc-0yjwbcs

Prices are not much different than what you'd spend on repowering an Albin 25, especially if you find an older Nomad, as they've been around since the first ones were built in 1990. By contrast, the newest Albin 25 you'd likely find would be 1978 or older, since they weren't imported after 1980. If I had not found the boat we have, a Nimble would sure be on my list. More so in your case where you can do a lot of ICW.

Certainly don't want to scare you off of Albins, just saying if you can't find an Albin then a Nimble is not a bad choice (If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with).

[deryk_the_pirate]

oh yeah the Nimble Nomad/kodiak are on my list... just not a lot of them out there, and the vagabond, I think they only made 30 of them. If I was going to liveaboard again I would consider the 32 wanderer...has a real nice layout.

I am fairly handy and can do most of the work myself... leveling an engine I would leave for the pro's but most of the rest of the work I can do. My last sailboat had like 5 thick coats of bottom paint when I bought it, to cover the cracks in the fiberglass keel...took a few months of opening the keep up, letting the cement dry out and re-glassing, barrier coating, then bottom painting... when sandy wiped her away, I was there when the Boat US appraiser was looking at my boat, and he did not notice the fiberglass job I did so I guess my work isn't half bad.

[WillieC]

Handy is good. I consider myself handy, but we had never owned a boat, so I didn't know what I was looking at when we bought our A25. Fortunately it WAS an A25 so no major hull issues. The rest of it is just nuts and bolts and a dizzying array of every type of screw head known in this sector of the Federation.

I had absolutely no experience with fiberglass, but I created an educational opportunity for myself one unfortunate day at the boat ramp. Now I know about fiberglass. We'll try to keep that to a minimum. Leveling the engine? Pfftt. Goggle the youtubes and take your time. Besides you should also check it in the water and what if it needs adjustment? Help yourself out with a flexible coupling/shaft saver. Since you are repowering, you will have every opportunity to see everything that is involved in that process and will have all under your control. Be bold. You'll be fine.

(I was trying to edit this post and may have inadvertently Reported the previous post! Absolve me! No harm intended!)

I was just re-reading the OP and see you mentioned spinal fusion. I must say that the most unpleasant part about all this boaty stuff is having to work on stuff beneath your feet. Especially in the engine compartment. Your situation compounds that, I would imagine. Since yours is a full on project, it will definitely help having everything stripped out of the way. When I swapped engines, I had the fuel tank, batteries, subfloor, (of course, seats, table and doghouse) shaft, bilge pump(s), muffler...everything, out of the way. Then you get to kneel on curved surfaces and you are still working under your feet. But you are closer to your work and it is easier to retrieve dropped stuff.

[DesertAlbin736]

So, you still didn't mention what part of New Jersey you're from. I have a half brother who still lives in Manahawkin off Rt 72 in Ocean County, and another who used to do boat wiring work in the Barnegat area before moving to Florida in 2000 to take a job at the Pursuit Boats factory, where he still works to this day.

As for fiberglass quality on the A25, my 47 year old A25 still takes a mirror wax shine on the original hull gelcoat. Two years ago I stripped off several layers of old bottom paint before applying Pettit Hydrocoat ECO copper free ablative, and the old paint looked like this. Nasty job I don't care to repeat, but there were no signs of cracks or osmotic blisters under the paint.

DSCN3614.JPG

..took a few months of opening the keep up, letting the cement dry out and re-glassing, barrier coating, then bottom painting... when sandy wiped her away

As a young kid I lived through the Ash Wednesday Storm of '62, aka "The Great March Storm of 1962", which was as bad or worse than Sandy. Always wondered about all those high priced homes on LBI, what would happen the next time a big hurricane or nor'easter hit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wedne ... rm_of_1962

[deryk_the_pirate]

So, you still didn't mention what part of New Jersey you're from.

Sorry, I am in Edison. I lived aboard a 27 foot sailboat for close to 10 years before Sandy... but as much as sailing is nice, I honestly would prefer a trawler.

Yeah, I am a fan of technology because there is a wealth of information on Youtube and I have taught myself more then a few skills from watching a video or 10.

[DesertAlbin736]

Sorry, I am in Edison. I lived aboard a 27 foot sailboat for close to 10 years before Sandy... but as much as sailing is nice, I honestly would prefer a trawler.

That is quite a bit up north from where we were. Seems a lot of former sailboaters have migrated over here & transistioned to "The Dark Side".

Most Albin 25's are straight power only, but a few came with or were modified later to carry small sail rigs, although strictly for motor sailing mode. Sort of a poor man's trailerable Nauticat.

20180312_080838_resized.jpg

[Andrew cook]

Our 72 A25 was purchased in 1982 it came with the 22hp albin diesel. I stumbled across a Craig’s list jackpot in 2008, A Volvo md 11 . This 22 hp never installed or run engine sat in a barn in upstate NY, on the shipping pallet with the instrument panel plugged in. Every spring and fall for years the owner turned it over with the manual crank.

The owner bought it for a sailboat that never saw the water. It was so hard to believe that I told him that if it started I’d pay cash and take it, if not I didn’t want to talk about it. He asked for his purchase price , $5200.

I brought a liter of diesel in a plastic coke bottle, a 12v battery, and jumper cables. It started, he used the tractor to put in the truck and off I went.

I believe (please correct me if I’m wrong) that Albin sold the patent on the 22 HP engine to Volvo who then essentially reproduced that engine in a few variants. The md11 was a “heavy duty” variant.

Because it was a duplicate of the original it dropped in, same footprint, same mounts. Because it came with the instrument panel which dropped in (and I did the work alone) there was no additional cost (Required!).

I’d recommend a rebuilt original, or replacement match. This will reduce the cost more than anything else. I was very very lucky, there must be albin or Volvo rebuilds out there.

Best of luck. I’ve never met anyone that regretted owning an A25.

Andrew

[deryk_the_pirate]

heh yeah I can see how a lot of sailors would switch to the dark side, especially as you get older. Well add in half the time the weather isn't always ideal to sail. I have seen a few pictures of Albin's with a mast up but other then helping bring a dinghy out of the water...I would rather not have the rig set up lol.

[DesertAlbin736]

We have Garhauer lifting davits for our 8 ft Gig Harbor Nisqually hard shell dink.