Having fun refurbishing an Albin 25, was “Catching up on a few years lost maintenance on Driftless”

[tribologist]

Good points! The relays dont carry current when running so I think i will be ok but i will have a spare onboard. Maybe see if i can get a soft mount. My hX is also mounted to the engine. I been thinking of moving that to the rails. Im going to take a look when i get her back in water to see how much vibes are there. I have full acces to data systems for vibration measurements so i might make a little ”science project” out of it

[tribologist]

The heatexchanger comment gave me some inspiration/fear. The hx on Driftless was mounted to the engine and had two strong vibration modes that was within running rpm so i moved the mount to the rail as suggested. No more bad vibes!!

Ulf

[ssrig]

I love the way you can access the whole front of the motor!

[tribologist]

I love the way you can access the whole front of the motor!

Lol, everything but the bottom! Mine has the oil plug on the bottom... I'm considering putting a quick drain fitting on there. For now we sucked out of the dip stick and that worked ok but a bit slow.

Ulf

[WillieC]

Looks good! A little creativity goes a long way.
The newer models don't have full frontal access, having a fixed bulkhead/wall. I had to modify mine through the back of the pantry closet for access.

[DesertAlbin736]

Lol, everything but the bottom! Mine has the oil plug on the bottom... I'm considering putting a quick drain fitting on there. For now we sucked out of the dip stick and that worked ok but a bit slow.

Our Yanmar doesn't even have an accessible drain plug. I use this 5 quart Attwood oil change pump. It's not the fastest on earth, but the engine only holds 2.5 quarts. You can get a cheaper 12V pump, but this one puts the oil into this sealed tank & less chance of spills. Also has a vacuum break valve on the tank.

AA Oil Extractor.jpg

[WillieC]

Putting a low point oil pan drain fitting is no problem.

Step one: Remove the engine from the boat.
Step two: Remove pan, clean, degrease, Ospho, prime and paint after installing fitting.
Step three: Futz around with engine in shop for three months fixing anything else you might think of.
Step four: Replace engine in boat. Check for leaks.

IMG_0507.JPG

[ssrig]

Looks good! A little creativity goes a long way.
The newer models don't have full frontal access, having a fixed bulkhead/wall. I had to modify mine through the back of the pantry closet for access.

Yeah I may be doing that too, the water pump is in the worst spot with maybe 3-4" between it and the bulkhead, had to use a mirror to check it out and getting it out of there would be a challenge.

[tribologist]

Really! Wounder why they changed that?? I cant imagine a better engine installation than the one they had on the -71

I can reach the plug so it woukd be easy to put a banjo there but a better oil sucker would do to. Just remembered i have a electric vacuum pump laying around. I need to take a peak at that and my wandless garden sprayer that was supposed to become brake fluid changer..

By the way, have you guys any idea on what this filthy foam moster is supposed to do in the engine bed? Found it in some water on the port side when sticking my hand into the hole

[WillieC]

"Really! Wonder why they changed that??"
We Mark II folks get the added benefit of the pantry cabinet on the galley side of the earlier hinged wall. I could go with either arrangement, as long as you don't have to open that hinged wall very often. Although we cram a lot into that little cabinet. The full-time liveaboards we met in Ladysmith have the hinged wall, which was open while they invited us aboard. It really made the boat feel bigger, but they also had the single helm seat instead of the '52 Plymouth Savoy style bench seat we have.

As to the wadding find, what an oil suck! Mine came, at no extra charge, with fully saturated sound insulation on the lower, stationary sides of the engine box. Nothing like reaching your arm down there and coming back with oil soaked fiberglass shards in your arm. Really makes you feel like a true mariner. Put it back in and enjoy the multi-sensory retro vibe!

[tribologist]

I already knew why they put a full bulkhead in.. i just banged my head so many time i don’t remember much anymore.....,

[WillieC]

The only improvement I could suggest to the head banging issue, is to wear a hardhat, thereby guaranteeing that EVERY time I descend the step into the galley I will compress my vertebrae. Instead of every other time. Would it be wrong to take a sawzall to the whole thing and put an extra bubble in the windshield? Or just buy a 36 footer.

[DesertAlbin736]

I imagine the reason they changed the engine box & cabin wall arrangement was probably due to a combination of owner feedback on the hassles of having to move the seat & swing the wall panel open just to check oil, plus the change in engines from the early AD21 to later Volvos. One of the previous owners of our boat cut out a rectangular access hole in the top starboard side of the box so you can at least check the oil and even add coolant to the HX as seen here without opening up the whole box. They glued a piece of veneer plywood to the piece they cut out (not shown in this photo) so it could be removed & put back in easily.

DSCN3424 (1280x960).jpg

I hadn't really paid much attention to the fact that your hull number is just one off from ours. Makes your thread even more interesting. Too bad you didn't own Driftless three years ago when we had our boat back East & spent a week in Weekapaug, RI with the boat docked at the Norwest Marina on the Connecticut side of Pawcatuck River near Westerly, RI. Would have been fun to compare boats.

[tribologist]

That would have been great fun! It was on a trailer at that point right on the Mystic/Groton border.

We actually to her out for a shorter trip on the river last afternoon. I wanted to make sure trailer was doing good so i rode in the boat going home on the highway and it was surprisingly smooth. The roof lifts in the back creating pretty low pressure inside the boat. I need to do something about it since it pulls the canvas top in over the railing. Adding some fasteners would help too. Do you ever trailer in rain? I would think that it would leak in quite a bit of water in heavy rain? Would almost need a fitted cover over the whole cabin. Alternatively make a cover from the inside that drain to the bilge and just wipe down the dirt getting in?

CC67DF62-79DC-47A0-839C-6A6E7E87B240.jpeg

My neighbor (that helped on trailer) his son and my son Z enjoying the quiet front deck.

Need to get GPS closer. I have a RAM mount in the other boat that i need to transplant over.

Ulf

[tribologist]

New shiny wood wheel installed. Works good with the Sportpilot since it is flat. Getting closer to whe we wanted to be a month or so ago... we actually got a full day out in Long Island sound last weekend and this Saturday our older son took it for a trip down Connecticut River. While doing so he measured the temperature around the engine. Near the intake it’s around 50C/122F and right above the manifold its 68C/154F so i will put some insulation (graphite felt) around the non-cooled part of the exhaust to bring it down a little. ABYC has 60C as max engine bay temperature so that should be within reach.
On a different topic, i like to replace the rubber snaps holding the door. Are they original? Any ideas for good replacements?