A25 vs A27

[Americangunner]

I will be looking for a new boat in the coming Months. Currently the A25 or A27 are at the top of my list. I like the aft cabin layout for my family of 4 it will give my boys their own space and allow some privacy for me and the wife. Initially we will be doing mostly day cruises and an occasional overnight or two on the lower Chesapeake near Norfolk. I am good with the slower speed of the boats. I am curious if you had the option which would you choose and why?

[WillieC]

A25. Easier to trailer. When the windows leak, they don't rot out the surrounding area. Mildly cheaper to run, but running costs are the cheap part of boat ownership.
The aft cabin for the boys will be great, on either boat. The A25's are more roly-poly, so I understand, others have made the comment simply getting on ours.

I am biased, of course, but then again this is our first boat. The trailer issue is huge for us. We went out and bought a brand new trailer for ours which has paid for itself a few times over vs. moorage fees. But we also have backyard access to Hood Canal, with our own ramp.

Find the best one you can afford, with newer engine, maintenance records, decent upgrades all documented and neatly installed. Or buy a cheap one and do it all yourself. I suspect with the two boys, you'll want one ready to go. Those boys will be grown and gone before you get done rebuilding one. Be patient in your search and be prepared to pay for it, once you find the good one.

And welcome to the forum! Keep us posted.

[Beta Don]

I had an A27 for several years and if I had it to do over again, I would pick an A25. Not only are they easier to trailer, but I think the hull is more like a sailboat hull and they perform better in choppy seas. My A27 behaved like a cork, easily tossed every which way by even moderate seas. Coming from many years of owning sailboats, it was the least 'sea friendly' boat I've ever ridden in. If most of your boating is on inland lakes and rivers, I think it would do fine, but we took ours offshore several times and it's not something I would choose to do again. In my experience, the Chesapeake can resemble 'offshore' at the drop of a hat and I don't think a 27 would be a comfortable boat there

We do have several A27 owners here who boat on the Chesapeake, so I'm sure you'll get some other opinions, and many who'll disagree with mine - Lots of owners love their boats and are more forgiving of their shortcomings than I am

Don

[kerrye]

The easy trailerability of the 25 trumps the 27 in my view. The quick access a trailerable 25 would give you to the historic canals on the East of this continent and the cruising grounds of the Great Lakes which are accessible within a day or two's drive of your location make it a much better choice in my view. This is coming from a guy who lives in Denver and trailers everywhere he boats.

[JT48348]

The Albin 27 Buyers Guide has an appendix that addresses this very question: A25 vs A27. The complete Buyers Guide is posted on my website below.

There is a lot of misinformation posted about the Albin 27 by some well meaning people. I wouldn’t trust it. If you see these two boats in person there’s a clear difference and it’s more than “ease of trailering.”

[kerrye]

I'm not sure anyone is arguing that ease of trailering is the only difference between the boats. They're arguing (at least I am) that it's the deciding factor for them.

[tego]

I would recommend you take a ride on both of them. The 27 is much larger internally than the 25 and is a joy to own. I would recommend looking at a newer 27 (mid '87 or newer) as they are significantly different in construction. These boats are 30 years old so I definitely go along with the advice to get one that has been renovated already, with new engine etc. They don't come up as often as the older originals and are significantly more money but they're much cheaper in the long run. People tend to hold on to a good one for a long time. I know I won't be selling mine until I can't operate it any more. Ben

[DesertAlbin736]

I can only echo a lot of the replies above. Much depends on your planned modus operandi, the amount free time you have, and how and where you plan to dock/store your boat. Certainly having a boat in a marina slip ready to hop on at a moment's notice is nice. Especially when you're dealing with dunking a trailer in and out of salt water on a regular basis. Many A25 guys like myself value trailering for the various reasons mentioned above. In your case, the Chesapeake is such a large body of water that being able to trailer to various places would allow you to explore and "gunkhole" in many other parts of the Bay that might not be otherwise accessible on a limited cruising schedule as such you describe. One of my former sailboats back in the 2001 to 2005 time frame was a little Montgomery 15 pocket cruiser. A group of Monty owners on the Chesapeake would do a week long "rendezvous" cruise each year, trailering to different parts of the Bay each summer. I trailered my boat all the way out from Arizona in 2002 to join up with them for a cruise in the middle Bay.

To this day a collection of my photos are posted on the Montgomery Sailboat Owner Group site here:

http://msog.org/trippics/cb2002/cb2002.cfm


For example, if you had a week or two vacation each year you could pick different locations farther up the Bay each year, like Reedville, Crisfield, Solomons, Cambridge/Oxford/St. Michaels, the Tred Avon, Miles River, Kent Island, all the way up to Annapolis & Havre De Grace.

But if your only interest or time allowance is to stay local, then the A27 gives more room to stretch out. Cost wise there's not that much difference between an A25 or A27 in comparable condition. A27 might be just a tad faster than an A25, but not by that much.

If I were in your position, didn't care about trailering, and boat budget allowed for it, I'd also consider and Albin 36 classic trawler or comparable CHB 34 Marine Trader in which you could have a huge salon, both flybridge & inside helm station, a palatial aft owner's cabin and the kids could have the forward V berth to themselves and both cabins have their own head with shower along with 6 foot standing head room throughout. Not only that, it could be equipped with a genset & air conditioning, which having experienced cruising the Chesapeake during hot muggy July weather with our Albin 25, would be a huge asset.

DSCN2936 (1280x960).jpg

[WillieC]

Elsewhere on the forum somebody is suggesting a joint venture. No not that kind. Joint ownership of a bigger boat. Trouble is length of desirable boating season. And actual sharing. We own a remote cabin that way with four partners.
Something to consider, but not hastily enter into.

[Americangunner]

Thank you for all the replies. To add a little information I will be keeping the boat in the marina across the river from my apartment. One of my reasons for keeping the smaller size boats is being in the Coast Guard I could be transferred across the country. Cost and ability to get the boat to my future units is a big consideration. Also the larger the boat means more time maintaining and less time out cruising.

[kerrye]

Hook up with Michael Monteith on Facebook and ask him. We was in the Coast Guard (is a diesel mechanic) and owned an A25 for about 25 years which he trailered all around the country.

[DesertAlbin736]

One of my reasons for keeping the smaller size boats is being in the Coast Guard I could be transferred across the country.

There you go, that's a point in favor of trailerability. The husband of a couple in our local sailing club used to work for the Arizona Game & Fish Dept until he took a job a few years ago with the Coast Guard District 8 HQ in New Orleans as a civilian boater safety consultant. They have a Santana 23 sailboat which they were able to take with them to sail on Lake Ponchartrain, and once he retires & comes back to Phoenix will be able to bring it back here again.

Of course trailering an Albin 25 easier & less hassle than the 27, but an Albin 27 can also be trailered as well, except it takes a bigger truck & possibly wide load permits for the states you pass through. If it's a one time "change of home ports" that's less of an issue than if you plan multiple trips. It'll be much easier to find a 27 than a 25, and on average most 27s you do find will be +/- 10 years newer than comparable 25's. As a Coastie you've probably seen it all & know what to look for in a boat.

BTW, thank you for your service.

PS, there are two A27's listed on CL close by your area, one is a project boat, up on blocks with the included Lehman engine out of the boat, the other a more attractive prospect in Hampton, a pretty much turn-key 1988 with a commensurate price. There's also a fairly decent 1975 A25 down in Morehead City, NC, re-powered with a 36 HP Universal & needs only minor TLC. No mention of a trailer. For what's in it I'd say the asking price of the A25 isn't bad. Those look like your best bets within reasonable distance