1973 Albin 25 WAS: New member in midcoast Maine

[DesertAlbin736]

Is your rear most crossmember cut and shaped like a U to accommodate the keel? Can’t tell in the pics, also any idea how long the tubes are that adjust your bunks up?

These are the best pics I have of the back end of the trailer (taken as part of a series for insurance purposes). Shows the extent to which the bunks can be adjusted upward, and how far above the ground the rudder skeg is.

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Also shows the problem the bunks would pose for launching & hauling the boat with a Travelift. They make a good argument in favor of rollers vs bunks. Oh to have a home on acreage like this with room to park toys without paying rent to someone else.

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[Dieselram94]

Looks like a nice boat, congrats!

I googled that Perkins and it is listed at 51HP , do you have any idea what size prop you have? I have just recently bought an A25 and it came with a VP55 HP and it needs a new prop, have you had this in the water running yet?

I just measured my prop and it’s about 16”
Can’t rrad all the numbers stamped in it

[Dieselram94]

10knots seems really fast. We have a Westerbeke 42 and haven't seen anything above 7 knots.

Is yours the full displacement model? Speed was shown on the gps. Next time I have it in the water I’ll recheck

[Dieselram94]

Is your rear most crossmember cut and shaped like a U to accommodate the keel? Can’t tell in the pics, also any idea how long the tubes are that adjust your bunks up?

These are the best pics I have of the back end of the trailer (taken as part of a series for insurance purposes). Shows the extent to which the bunks can be adjusted upward, and how far above the ground the rudder skeg is.

DSCN3631.JPG
DSCN3632.JPG

Also shows the problem the bunks would pose for launching & hauling the boat with a Travelift. They make a good argument in favor of rollers vs bunks. Oh to have a home on acreage like this with room to park toys without paying rent to someone else.
DSCN3628.JPG

Thanks for the pics!!! I’ll share them with my trailer dealer. I bought a brand new 2018 Venture Commander 7300# trailer. It can fit up to a 27’ Boat. If my boat hangs off the back much it will look a bit large, I really want it not to hang off though.

[11kolive]

Kerrie, what year is your boat? My understanding is the early year hulls are full displacement and 7 knots is hard to get, but the later years after about 76 there is a hull change to the stern that allows them faster speeds. Though our first A25 was a 1970 and w3 had a Universal 5444 in it at 44hp and cruised 7.5 regularly. So no claim to being anything close to knowledgeable about hull speeds, just repeating what I have been told.

[WillieC]

Mine is 1973, hull 1585 or something like that. With the recurve at the stern. It was called the Mark II before they called it the Super Duper Deluxe. Goes like stink! Sort of.

[DesertAlbin736]

Hmmm...

Nice trailer, but looks like it might need some serious modification of the bunks. The A25 hull is more like a shallow draft sailboat than the typical powerboat hull. If you look at those pictures I posted of the back end of my trailer, the distance from the waterline at the stern to the bottom of the keel & rudder skeg is 2.5 feet. Furthermore, the underbody of the hull has significant "deadrise" curve fore and aft as seen in this photo taken as our boat was off the trailer & being prepped for new bottom paint. Ideally the keel should rest on supporting rollers or boards for as much of the length as possible. Look how much higher that rear hull stand had to be compared to the other two further forward. Of course the semi-displacement DeLuxe version has that flared & flattened bottom at the stern which our boat does not.

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Here was another shot with the rear hull stands positioned all the way back. This shows where the bunks were as I had down as much sanding with the boat on the trailer as possible before pulling the trailer.

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[Dieselram94]

Hmmm...

Nice trailer, but looks like it might need some serious modification of the bunks. The A25 hull is more like a shallow draft sailboat than the typical powerboat hull. If you look at those pictures I posted of the back end of my trailer, the distance from the waterline at the stern to the bottom of the keel & rudder skeg is 2.5 feet. Furthermore, the underbody of the hull has significant "deadrise" curve fore and aft as seen in this photo taken as our boat was off the trailer & being prepped for new bottom paint. Ideally the keel should rest on supporting rollers or boards for as much of the length as possible. Look how much higher that rear hull stand had to be compared to the other two further forward. Of course the semi-displacement DeLuxe version has that flared & flattened bottom at the stern which our boat does not.

DSCN3613.JPG

Here was another shot with the rear hull stands positioned all the way back. This shows where the bunks were as I had down as much sanding with the boat on the trailer as possible before pulling the trailer.
0407161622.jpg

Yes, I am very concerned about the bunks. The dealer tells me he has plenty of keel rollers in stock. However they are very hesitant to supply taller bunk brackets as they are afraid of raising the center of gravity. I’m trying to find bunk brackets like you have but I’m not having any luck finding them that tall. I may be on my own for fabricating some.

[Beta Don]

IMO, you're going to require the services of a good welder to fabricate supports to modify a trailer designed for a flat bottom boat to make it match your curved bottom boat - Not just the side bunks, but the keel supports also. Your trailer was designed for an outboard powered boat and not an inboard with a fixed rudder. The back 3 or 4 feet of the trailer are going to need redesigning too. Unless you got a really good buy on the trailer you bought, you may end up with more $$$ in it than if you had just bought a trailer designed for your boat, especially if you get the new pieces galvanized to match the rest of the trailer

"However they are very hesitant to supply taller bunk brackets as they are afraid of raising the center of gravity." - A ridiculous statement if ever I've read one - The boat is going to sit on the trailer however high is necessary for it to fit, and installing brackets to hold it there have virtually nothing to do with it's center of gravity - It sounds to me as they are telling you their trailer wasn't designed for your boat and they want no part of making it fit your boat

Don

[kerrye]

Ours is the later Delux semi displacement version

[kerrye]

It doesn't look to me as if the supports for the bunks on our trailer were custom made. They are just tall bunk board supports (2x2 or 3x3)held to the frame with U-bolts. You'll need a V-bracket at the bow and rollers in the middle. It will take a lot of work to get it to fit. I'm guessing the boat is going to have to be held above the trailer with a crane or travel lift to get the bunks in the appropriate position unless you can find another A25 trailer close by which can be copied. The last frame rail on our trailer does curve down in the center. I posted a link to Owen Marine above. I assume they still have the dimensions for the trailer they built for our boat and copy it if you decide to go that way.

[kerrye]

Here are some pictures of our boat being fit to the trailer

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[kerrye]

I'll add that you need to be careful to assure that the rudder and its strut are well off the ground when the boat is resting on the bunks as when you go thru a dip in the road, like entering a gas station, that strut will be the first thing to hit.

[DesertAlbin736]

Kerry, your trailer is much like ours, except for the frame not extending quite so far back as ours. But similar idea with the adjustable bunks. That, and our bunk struts sit a little further out towards the frame rails.

But Dieselram, that's pretty much what you're looking for. So actually something like a tandem axle version of the trailer pictured next to yours at your dealer would be more appropriate. If you were out here in the West I'd point you toward Pacific Trailers. In any case dealing with an outfit that's familiar with sailboat trailers would help. Otherwise pretty much ditto everything Kerrye & Beta Don said.

https://www.pacifictrailers.com/

[Dieselram94]

You guys are awesome, I really appreciate all the help and pictures!

I stopped by and looked at my trailer and the sailboat trailer next to it. Dealer wasn’t open, but after a bunch of measuring, I’ve decided I can just purchase the bunk hardware that’s on the sailboat trailer next to mine and install those with keel rollers, after removing the large bunks currently on my trailer and keeping the target bunks. I priced out the hardware online and it’s actually not that expensive. The rear most bunk bolster/bracket on the sailboat trailer measures 30” and is very rugged. That combined with the existing V of my crossmembers should work very well for the Albin.