How does she handle in various conditions?

[Elizabeth Ann]

I've been thinking about asking this for a while and I never got around to it. JackK's recent post in the picture board sparked the thought again.

JackK, I'd particularly like to hear about your ocean trips, good or bad, since I do a decent amount offshore too (although not yet in the Albin).

Anyway, I find the 28 very hard to handle in following and rear quatering seas. I know following seas are always poor conditions, but I've heard their particularly more difficult to contend with when the boat has a keel.

What are everyone elses experiences and how do you deal with the less than perfect conditions?

[Mariner]

I have yet to be out in much of anything rough in our 36'. But what I have been out in, makes it clear to that the boat handles seas better than our last boat. Not just because it's bigger, but because of the hull shape. Our Camano had a semi-displacement hull and the stern was rather flat. This gave it an undesirable tendency to pitch violently when in a following quartered sea. The Albin, with signficantly more deadrise in the stern handles these conditions much better.

I'd be curious to see some hull models for each of the various Albin boats.

[chiefrcd]

I've included a picture that a friend of mine took just after he and his dad purchased a Albin 28. These are 10' seas and if memory serves me, I think the trip was about 300 miles. I'm not sure how much of it was this bad. This is Pacific Ocean waves. In the bay even the big waves are much closer...and a 5 or 6 foot sea is called a chop...and that's about what it does...chop you up and spit you out. I've been out in 5 foot bay chop and no issues at all. The boat will take a lot more than these old bones will. The guys who delivered my boat from Virginia Beach left Lynhaven at the mouth of the bay in 8 foot seas...and had 6 to 8 foot for most of the trip. He said the boat did great...
I've never liked running in following seas but each trip out for me is a trip back usually one way or the other I'm in following seas. I just set the throttle to match the seas and set the auto pilot cause it will steer the boat much better than I can.

Anthony Warren's picture:



I've often wondered....is a 10' sea to a 28' boat as a 100' sea is to a 280' foot boat

[Elizabeth Ann]

That picture is great - thanks Chief.

Anyway, The boat handles like a dream in head seas, no doubt about it. When we brought her from CT to Long Island we were in 6-8' head seas and she handled well. For some reason in following seas she is a pig - she seems to slip and slide. Maybe it's me, maybe I have to adjust the throttle more or less. However, I have handled other keel type boats in similar conditions - some of them better, some worse. I'm just wondering what others have experienced.

It's my understanding that a partial keel boat tends to be influenced more then a full keel boat

[JackK]

I should first say that my 28 is my first boat. I've been on a lot of others but never at the helm in seas.

I'm very comfortable with the way the Albin handles seas. Like Chief said, match the speed of the seas as best you can. Too fast and you ride right into the back of the wave in front. I've buried the bow into a 6 footer and taken green water over the pilothouse. That made we wish I was playing in the tub instead of offshore.

Too slow and the seas catch up and the ride is on. I kind of like the feel of surfing the waves but a little more or less throttle can keep you more in control. I think the keel helps a lot rather than hurts. I've been on other boats that tend to feel like they are slipping sideways in a following sea. Broaching is not a maneuver I wish to add to my list of accomplishments.

One other thing I have noticed with my Albin. Carrying a full fuel tank helps especially in following seas. I don't know what the extra weight does but I find it much less squirrely with a full tank.

As for offshore adventures...

I ventured out of the Sakonnet River after one of the Hurricanes last year just to see what 10' seas looked like. They were very large swells rather than breaking waves. Again, adjusting throttle to stay in the trough, the Albin handled it with no problems. We noticed another boat and told my brother's wife, "look we're not the only idiots out here. Look at how small that boat is." Then it rose out of the trough. It was a 50' Sportfish boat and we had been seeing just his tower.

Last August I went out one Saturday in search of tuna. We hit 5-6' chop before we even left the river. Just about ready to give up when my brother spotted a patch of water ahead that looked to be foaming. It was hundreds of 30 - 50 pound tuna leaping completely out of the water. I still have dreams of the sounds those fish made. For the next two hours, we had the school of tuna with just one other boat nearby. How's that line go ... it don't get no better than this.

We hooked four and kept our limit of one. I did make the mistake of bringing the boat to a stop to help land a fish. I was almost tossed overboard by the next series of waves that rocked the boat violently. I learned to keep her in gear to maintain course.



Jack

[gerygarcia]

In my experiences, the Albin 28 handles very well in rough seas, although I find the ride to be very wet at times.

I have had her almost completely out of the water coming out of Newport because of 8-10 ft head on swells that were so close together it was like being in a washing machine. No other boats were out there except a large Grand Banks. We were making better headway than him. The Albin hull is very solid, it can take more that hard pounding. I believe it can take a few on the chin if needed.

In a huge following sea, it takes a little practice to "surf" the waves, but once you have the right speed, you can really take advantage of the increase in speed. It's a little nerve wracking at first, but I found the Albin to respond very well after getting used to the wave action.

I think I would rather be in this boat than a Sea Ray twice the size in rough conditions.

It's low center of gravity really helps as well. I've been in rough conditions where there was no pattern to the swells. Keeping it straight on course was a challenge, but I felt safe because we never felt like we were remotely close to capsizing.

I did a lot of research before buying an A28. There are many testimonials contributing to it's ability in insane predicaments. It sold me.

The one thing that keeps me from venturing out further, during rough conditions, is not the riding characteristics of the Albin, because I truly think it can take alot more than your body, but because of the single engine limitation. What happens if you have a engine problem out in the deep blue? I feel better keeping an emergency life raft on board on big trips knowing it may be option "B". A EPIRB definately helps also!

Gery Garcia
'Resolution'

[jcollins]

Gentlemen,
I will defer to your knowledge on this one. I have not had the chance to go offshore yet. Possibly this season. I'm still a bit timid with this boat since it is new to me. But, I will say that I too did alot of research before the purchase and kept coming back to Albin because of the way it handles. The worst I have been in has been a 4-5' chop on the bay. Coming into Middle River the water is all churned up because there are two rivers and the bay and quite a bit of boat traffic all coming together. My passengers and I got wet. Our normal is 1-2' But, in a following sea this boat handles much better than my last one. (Sunrunner)
I am curious - In a following sea what are your RPMs?

[Elizabeth Ann]

Just to clarify, I am not saying the 28 is a poorly handled boat. I wouldn't want anyone to get that impression - especially someone who is considering a purchase and finds this website.

I'm heading back up to NY next weekend for a blue water tourney. I'm sure after that weekend I may feel quite different.

[chiefrcd]

I didn't take it that you thought it was poor handling....I don't think I've ever seen any boat that was " great" heading down seas. I've been on Ocean racing sail boats and they sucked too in a following sea. Just some boats seem to handle them better than others. The Albin 28 is one of those boats if you can match the seas in speed, not too fast and not too slow.

[tomcat rio]

..in the case of an engine failure in rough water.

[chiefrcd]

Never had it happen in a power boat but in my sail boat in the bay {pretty shallow}, I just dropped anchor and let the bow turn into the waves and wind. Not the most comfortable ride, but safe. I would imagine that the same thing would work for a power boat. I do know that what you do not want to do is get sideways to a big wave. Will just roll you over. Sea anchors work well, always from the bow in deeper water.

My Albin has a tendency to turn sideways to the wind when drift fishing, 2 to 3 foot chop in the Chesapeake is very uncomfortable while drifting sideways...