My 1977 Albin 25 Deluxe rebuild thread

[tribologist]

Mine were pretty sad. Epoxy and clamps, a flat head screw here and there snd caulk... after my wife put the stencil prints on them they are doing the job. The thing i would like to do is repaint the topside. I been watching Andy in “ boatworks today” and he is using a paint that seems to be easy to work with. Alexseal is the brand.

[hetek]

Tribologist - Hey, yours looks like I wish mine could have come out like. Mine were poor replacements made of plywood and stained and just didn't hold up at all. You had a canvas to work with and it looks great.

I went the solid 3/4" marine grade plywood route (15 plys!) with Sapele veneer. The frames were shot so I had to redo them too.

[hetek]

Finished this up tonight.

"Before"...

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And "After"

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Just realized that I have to do better housekeeping if I keep taking pictures of the glossy varnish!

The door and hatch are new Sapele plywood but the bulkhead under the dash is original, just refinished. Like night and day!

[hetek]

More wood! Still can't believe how much wood there is.

The port-side cockpit "cooler" locker (at least it is now)...

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...And the new aft cabin shelves (still raw wood)...

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The cooler location allows the cabin door to open beyond 90 degrees and the cooler lid can be opened 5-1/2", as-is. I thought about sliders but I decided a simple shelf would work fine for me. It's still easy enough to lift in and out to dump ice in.

I would have started varnishing the shelves today but my son took over my garage/workshop with his new car detailing business.

...And I didn't even know he had a car detailing business! I might have to charge him rent now.

[tribologist]

Looks fantastic! Im not up for restoring the wood finish. This winter i think i will redo the canvas. At a minimum i need to reinforce and resew some of it. I need to finish the openable roof, install AC and a few more things. Problem is once its in the water there are so many places to go to.

[hetek]

Thanks Tribologist! The problem with me is I spend too much time working on it and not enough time enjoying it. At least that's what my wife tells me.

Just last week she's finally to the point of being seaworthy where I could take her out for a spin around the bay, but I think that this late in the season I'll just wait until next year before I take her for a test run.

The boat, not the wife.

Besides, the more I do now will mean the less I have to do next spring.

I'm jealous that you've managed to work on your boat AND enjoy it! And not just for a "spin around the bay", either!

[ssrig]

That wood looks great! Nice woodwork too!

Better watch out or you'll have a boat too nice to use and scuff up!

I definitely like working on these small boats, its much more manageable and less daunting than larger ones, sailing around is sure fun but puttering around on them is quite enjoyable.

[DesertAlbin736]

Nice! We use the exact same size, brand, & type of cooler. Can you drain melt water without pulling the cooler out? Since our boat is an early model we have the stepped engine box so there's room to shove the cooler partway under the driver seat, unlike later DeLuxe model years where the engine box was re-designed to accommodate the larger MD3B & MD17C engines. To drain melt water I just pull up the last floorboard & let it drain into the bilge, then pump the bilge. For some reason no previous owners since the boat was new ever used that space next to the cabin door as a place to put a fridge or cooler. Instead we use it for storage, things like shore power cord, spare anchor, engine spares, a 12V vacuum cleaner, various odds & ends. I sacrificed what was a storage bin under the starboard bench seat as a place to relocate the battery banks to make room for the 20 gallon holding tank. Do you have a latch that you can used to hold the cabin door open?

[tribologist]

You should absolutely take it out if you can. Then you get to find the unknow-unknowns and have them fixed before spring. There was several things I noted the few times I got to use it last year that we got sorted out over the winter. The grounding of the oil pressure sensor, voltage meter, chair for the admiral... And it was also very motivational!

Ulf

[hetek]

All good words of wisdom! I need that now and then.

DA - Great minds think alike... and buy the same cooler too, it seems! The sides of the cooler locker are open and the drain is on the right side. With gravity being your friend (sometimes), the water would drain to the bilge. Getting my hand in there to pull the plug might be a different story. I have to double check but even if I have to lift it out to drain it, it's not a deal-breaker. It would most likely be time to load more ice anyway.

With all the woodwork I've been doing lately, I've been waiting on latch placement and selection. Got to be sure about it before I put a drill bit to my varnish! It is on the to-do list though.

Tribologist - I hear you. I did have the engine running and have already sorted the various electrical gremlins (raw water cooling sensor, engine stop solenoid) and gave it a brand new drink of coolant, pressure cap and raw water impeller. And a Hurth gear rebuild. The remainder of the running gear is what will require a bay test to sort, but hey, it's all brand new! What could go wrong?

[hetek]

Just to add... The time stamp on my last post is correct: 2:20 AM. I'm at work. Again.

I've been working double shifts for the past month. That might explain my slow progress, lack of boating time and incoherent posts.

Gotta pay for my boating habit somehow, though!

[WillieC]

We don't have the fancy-shmancy refrigerators that some of you do but we do have a Pelican cooler tucked away in the redesigned old fridge hole, low tech slide out and all. For draining purposes, the Pelican has a plain old hose thread on the drain outlet, to which we have attached a very flexible air hose, a new hi-viz green affair. It is long enough to reach the lifting hole in the floorboard so draining the melt water is a snap. Only problem is the 90 degree dishwasher brass fitting that is connected to the Pelican. Condensation leaves a little drip occasionally that has to be wiped up. But with the Volvo Penta, we are used to wiping up little drips.

[WillieC]

Hetek, just saw your post elsewhere on the forum. How goes the proyecto? I suspect we'll be seeing another full-page spread in a national boating mag like DA's.

"This just in! Incredible Restoration on 45 Year Old Albin! Film at Eleven!"

[hetek]

Willie C -

I'm still here.

Sadly we had an unfortunate event occur in the Hetek, and Albin, family. See separate post in this category.

The boat progress will still go on, with one less very skilled craftsman.

[Jmk2000]

Look great! Keep up the good work and keep posting pics!