Bringing her home & replacing the shaft log A27

[ChrisP]

I motored the "ANNIE H" 260 long, cold, slow miles last week from her slip in Clinton CT up to Albany NY. I then had her trailered another 60 miles further north to my house for some much needed repairs. Amazing trip. My two teenage kids wont soon forget going under the Brooklyn Bridge and seeing the Statue of Liberty in all of its glory. After a loop around Liberty Island we headed up the Hudson River. Eighteen hours later we were in the Port of Albany. Total fuel consumed, 45 gallons.

Now some questions on the repairs:

Some previous owner had replaced the log shaft with a piece of schedule 40 PVC pipe. According to the maintenance records this has caused a lot of issues and costly repairs (usually including a tube of 5200) over the years. It appears that nothing ever truly "stuck" to the PVC to properly bond/seal the hole. This allowed severe leakage over the years.
Can someone who has replaced the shaft log offer some insight? Source for materials?
I will also be either repairing or replacing the prop shaft and installing a new cutlass bearing as the shaft is worn .015" Can anyone offer a source for the shaft?
Any guidance is much appreciated.

[Dieselram94]

I have been looking at deep blue yacht supply as a possible source for my shaft if I decide to replace it. You can spec out a shaft online and get immediate pricing.

[WillieC]

I have seen videos of shaft log replacement on the interweb. So sorry someone thought Schedule 40 was a good idea. All that trouble when a fiberglass tube could have been used. Water under the bilge! Nothing that money can't fix. Do you plan on tackling this yourself? What an education awaits! Do keep us posted.

The WillieC is an A25 and the log has to be at least 4 feet long. I think the A27 is much shorter, having read some posts here about bolts coming loose or some such thing. Nothing like the 25. One of the fixes I vaguely remember reading about involved the use of a holesaw with a clever guide that ran inside the existing shaft, which kept the cutter from wandering. Sure, you'd have to spend half your time, or more, withdrawing and clearing the holesaw, but every inch is progress! Then it's just a matter of using the right stuff and getting things aligned. Actually an interesting project.

What a great trip for your kids! We live WAY out west, and I have been to NYC only twice. Once was in and out of the airport returning from Africa, another story. I was in Manhattan 9 days before the towers were hit. My host and I didn't want to waste our one day in The City standing in line to go to the top. Next time... I hope to make it back to that great city. She won my heart in one short day.

[WillieC]

Here is some light reading and viewing I found in a few minutes. Hope yours is not this involved. Keep looking, there is a ton of info out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL2RstpwwVA

http://www.bwi.org/bwicontest/files/2395-sterntube.pdf

http://cruising.coastalboating.net/DIY/ ... ement.html

[Beta Don]

Wow!! - A27FC Hull #1

No doubt, you have a one of a kind boat there. As you probably already know, the first 100 or so A27's were not built by Albin, but were made under contract to test the viability of the design before Albin committed to going into production. I had hull #16 and I've seen a couple of the other early ones - All of them were a bit different in one way or another, usually small things that got changed as they went along to simplify construction

I can only imagine how 'one of a kind' #1 must be - I've never heard of a 27 with an Isuzu C240 before - Any sign she's been repowered? Could be the original engine I suppose, but shortly after, they went with the Peugeot/Lehman 4D61, which is a repurposed automobile engine

Your rudder, shaft, log and everything in the engine compartment may be quite different from other early boats and for sure are different from any later ones built by Albin. I cannot imagine anyone going to all the trouble to get the old shaft log out, just to replace it with something made of PVC. Any chance that might be original too?? Who knows what they tried for #1?

There is epoxy which sticks incredibly well to PVC. West System G Flex does and I've used it. Not sure it will cure your present problems, but if something that sticks to PVC is all you need, that's it

https://www.westsystem.com/plastic-boat-repair-kit/

Don

[ChrisP]

Don,

All of your scenarios are a possibility given this is hull #1. When I figured out I owned hull #1, I was less than ecstatic, as I myself have worked on countless new product development and R&D projects over the years.
I cant imagine any boat builder using a length of PVC for the shaft log? It has been in there for quite awhile though and I don't see any remnants or indication of the "flaring" of glass that would typically come off from the stern end of the keel where it attached to the original log. I just know this has been a leaking problem around the log for a very long time. I sealed it up with 5200 at the beginning of the season and reduced the leak to one drip every 5 or so seconds. This obviously was only intended to be a temporary repair to get me to haul-out.
At any rate the log has to come out. The original builders used a wooden block for a backer plate for the cutlass housing bolts to tighten against on the inside of the keel. This wooden block was glassed into the keel. Years of dampness and leaking has resulted in rotten wood. Nothing for the nuts to tighten against. I have to remove the log to build this area back up & will be replacing the PVC pipe with a fiberglass tube. I was hoping someone on here had done this before and could point me in the right direction for materials.

As for the Isuzu C240 engine, I assumed it was a re-power but who knows? It was a popular industrial engine in the late 70's early 80's. It runs perfectly. The boat never had an hour meter (It will have soon) so I couldn't tell you if it has 300 or 3000 hrs on it.
One thing that's different than on the production A27's is my fuel tank seems original but is only a 37 gallon tank. I believe its original because the manufacture date is 6/82 & the framework around it appears original. Again I would assume that the original tank would've lasted many years and the owner replaced it with a new-old tank? I'll never know.

The boat itself has been an absolute pleasure to own thus far even with all of it's "unique issues".

More to come!

[DesertAlbin736]

That must have been so awesome to go up the Hudson from NYC all the way to Albany (41 years ago I used to live up near Saratoga before moving west to Arizona)! Yes your kids will never forget that trip, as I will never forget the times I spent as a boy with my dad fishing and crabbing on Barnegat Bay in NJ before we moved to New York.

Perhaps one last ditch attempt to repair your existing the shaft log before doing major surgery to replace it might be to try some West System G Flex thickened epoxy gel/adhesive, which can bond both to PVC and fiberglass. It comes in various size containers from small tubes all the way up to 50 gallon drums. The small tube kit would probably be all you need & is available at any West Marine store.

gflex.jpg

https://www.westsystem.com/specialty-ep ... ned-epoxy/

https://www.westsystem.com/specialty-ep ... sion-data/

[DCatSea]

Wow indeed Hull #1. Love to see a lot of pix of this rarity.

Sounds like a really cool trip, in more ways than 1; I hope you have wheelhouse heat and an Alaska.

[Mainer]

Chris,

Great story about your voyage to Albany. I bought my Albin 27 in Addison, VT at the Champlain Bridge a few years ago. I desperately wanted to bring it down the Hudson to New York, then up to home base in Maine.

Ultimately friends and my more safety minded spouse talked me out of it, and I had it trucked to Maine instead. Certainly had some twinges of regret, but in retrospect it was a good decision.

Your story was a treat to read and a great reminder that our boat ownership is really all about the adventures we have with family and friends.

Thanks for sharing, and best of luck on the shaft log project.

Dick

[ChrisP]

Thanks for the responses. I have shaft out and cutlass bearing off. I am pondering trying the West System epoxy as some of you have suggested. As you all know it is tight down in around the shaft and there is virtually no way to see what you're doing underneath the shaft other than gooping it up and hoping you have an adequate seal.

DesertAlbin- I too grew up in the Saratoga area out in the country, right on the Hudson River. Small world.

DCatsea- No heat or enclosure on the wheelhouse. Long underwear, down jackets and winter hats, made the voyage comfortable. We did have a portable generator on board to run electric cabin heaters if needed, but we never used them. I did fire up my Little Buddy propane heater both mornings and on the second raw afternoon to take the chill off in the cabin.
As far as pics go and what she looks like, I believe the only physical difference from the other A27's is like the other early (1983) boats, she doesn't have the rudder support shoe coming off from the bottom of the keel & her rudder is fiberglass. I looked at several other A27's before purchasing her and most other things appeared the exactly the same.

Mainer- I wouldn't hesitate to make the trip from Champlain up to Maine. Though there is no need for you to ever make the trip now.
The first day of our voyage we left the dock at 5 am. There was a gale warning the day before and a small craft warning that day and for the next day as well. Wind gusts were out of the NW (we were heading west to NYC) up to 35kts. Waves were 3-6'. We ran 2-3 miles off from the shore of CT hoping the land would minimize the wind which it did to some extent. The old Albin handled it great. Never a nervous moment (my kids were nervous that they would get seasick, they are both prone to it). We had been out fishing with her in super rough (for us) seas before. Other than water leaking into the wheelhouse from the center and side windows, all was well. Even going into the wind we still averaged 6.25kt for the 80-mile trip. What a lumpy ride it was! The only other boats we saw the whole day were two oyster dredgers near Norwalk.
We finished the voyage in Albany and the river was like glass.

[DesertAlbin736]

DesertAlbin- I too grew up in the Saratoga area out in the country, right on the Hudson River. Small world.

More specifically we lived out in the country between Ballston Lake & Jonesville. Moved there in 1967, up from southern NJ. Graduated HS in 1969 from Shenendehowa in Clifton Park. After hitch in the Navy moved out to Phoenix area in '77. Best decision made & never looked back. Parents, both now deceased, left NY when they retired in the early 1980s & moved to Delaware for cheaper cost of living, so I don't have any family living in the Albany/Schenectady/Saratoga area anymore.

[ssrig]

Great story here, hull #1 and a great trip that those on the west coast will never do.(maybe)

Take pictures and post them of the boat and your work please!

[Beta Don]

I added 4 inches to the front of the fiberglass rudder and also added a stainless rudder support off the keel when I was re-powering mine

P1000084,jpg

Don

[ChrisP]

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[ssrig]

You had some beautiful weather for your trip! That is a really nice looking Hull #1!

Odd to not see any sort of cover or bimini top over the cockpit, most get something over it during their life span.