Thumper 1975 25’ aft cabin mini pocket trawler

[Thumper74]

P.s. did I mention there are two big solar panels on the hard top?? I was thinking dingy storage up there. Guess I’ll have to tow it behind.

[Thumper74]

Mental note….. person I purchased thumper from in Mississippi, bought thumper from someone down around fort myers area. Could be down south of ft myers Florida. That person was great friends with the Air Force pilot named Tom who passed away. The ft myers Florida guy bought thumper from the family. This person also owns a 25/27??

The guy I bought thumper from mentioned the albin owners group 25/27. Not sure if he meant on Facebook, or this site. One of those two ways, is how Mississippi found the boat. Someone posted it for sale a year or two ago. Then traveled to ft myers Florida ( or a little bit south of the town) bought thumper, brought it to Mississippi. In hopes of bringing it back to life.

I looked on the owners map, in that general area. Didn’t really find anything that stuck out.

So, somewhere, someone has information about thumper…?? Directly from the gentleman named TOM McMurray, that took thumper to the Bahamas every winter.


Does this ring any bells?? Anyone know someone that might know someone, that did know someone, that could possibly give me any history on thumper. I do have the numbers from Florida registration. Also South Carolina registration ( family after Tom passed)

[Dieselram94]

The water leaks through the deck is no big deal. No wood cores as it’s a foam core (maybe divinicell ?)
If it was mine I wouldn’t mess with the Volvo motor at all, I would just install a brand new beta and be done with it. There is nothing wrong with my motor (a Perkins 4.108) but I’m strongly considering a new beta anyways.

[Thumper74]

The water leaks through the deck is no big deal. No wood cores as it’s a foam core (maybe divinicell ?)
If it was mine I wouldn’t mess with the Volvo motor at all, I would just install a brand new beta and be done with it. There is nothing wrong with my motor (a Perkins 4.108) but I’m strongly considering a new beta anyways.

Howdy…. Well at some point in thumpers life it was fitted with a Sabb 10hp “”G””series. An old hand cranker. Mostly used on life boats back in the day. Sooooo….. what’s the saying??? Slow is pro?? Slower than slow??? Lol. A beta is less the weight, same horsepower, and still very economical on the fuel consumption. For now, since I am over 200 miles away from any ocean, ole thumper will be used primarily on lakes. Maybe a few rivers…. But I have to watch the current speeds. I think I’m gonna dance with the lady who brought me, ( the ole 10hp) until I can acquire a few extra Benjamin’s. It will take a few Ben franklins to get that beta….

On another note, I have spotted, a yanmar. 3GM30. Not the “”F”” version. Now there was two factories that made this particular engine. I think I stumbled across the good factory. Although it is a 1999 model. One positive thing I have noticed……. Being so far away from the boating community, except local lakes and muddy rivers, no one really knows what they have. And usually willing to part with it for a reasonable price. This yanmar does crank and run. Price???? Lol…. I’d be stupid not to get it just to have it. Let me just say less than $2,000……. And please don’t ask what I paid for thumper. And it came with a trailer.


I’m diving into the rabbit hole of this whole cruising trawler coastal boating. I’m learning.

[Thumper74]

Wow. Learned a few things. Epoxy on epoxy is great. Polyester on polyester is great. Polyester on epoxy not so good. But…. Epoxy over polyester is safe. Or something like that.

Should I use rubber o-rings directly under the hardware with sealant. Like for cleats, hand rails, etc…. Also for a backing plate what do folks prefer??? I’ve seen 1” washers…. I’ve seen marine plywood coated in epoxy…. I’ve seen some kind of plastic plywood stuff…. I’ve seen 1/4” fiberglass…. It’s down to three weeks before I return home, from driving cross country delivering Americas wants and needs…. I’m trying to get a good game plan in place. But at same time I don’t want to be over whelmed at all the to-dos. This is a project I will see to the end.

“”THUMP THUMP””

[Dieselram94]

You have the epoxy thing right. For all repairs I use epoxy. I like the added strength and adhesion, but not all will agree.

As far as rebedding hardware goes I like to use butyl tape and stainless hardware and backing plates. I would not consider wood or plywood for backing plates as it deteriorates and has too much movement with humidity to reliably hold fasteners tight. Too me one of the best things about these boats is no wood was used structurally.

[Dieselram94]

P.S. for all through hulls I use groco plastic backing plates epoxied down. In fact I just bought a new one for the head discharge tonight. Not cheap but I don’t like to half do things.

[Ambler27FC]

You might consider Nile Caldera’s boat maintenance book as a general reference, and/or a book on fiberglass work. Or a lot of internet research.

O-rings should only be used when there a channel to make sure they are compressed correctly, and not in addition to adhesive. I’ve never seen o-rings on deck HW, but rubber gaskets are used for lightly stressed items like antennas and radars. I prefer butyl tape for most things, but wonder if 3M 4000-series adhesive is preferred for cleats.

Whenever removing deck hardware I always open up the holes on top, hog out the core, and backfill with thickened epoxy for a strong leak proof bond between the inner and outer skin.

[WillieC]

See MarineHowTo for bedding procedure. Read carefully. Agree with other posters. Good advice.

Is Bed-It tape available? Hoping for continuing recovery for RC.

[Thumper74]

P.S. for all through hulls I use groco plastic backing plates epoxied down. In fact I just bought a new one for the head discharge tonight. Not cheap but I don’t like to half do things.

Ahhh. I will be needing this info. I wish to replace ALL thru hulls now. Well, not right this second now. But when I get to that point…. I’ll remember your golden nugget of info. Thanks.

[Thumper74]

You might consider Nile Caldera’s boat maintenance book as a general reference, and/or a book on fiberglass work. Or a lot of internet research.

Whenever removing deck hardware I always open up the holes on top, hog out the core, and backfill with thickened epoxy for a strong leak proof bond between the inner and outer skin.

Thank you for the gem of information. I have hand rails and cleats leaking. So it’s one of my first projects.

[Thumper74]

See MarineHowTo for bedding procedure. Read carefully. Agree with other posters. Good advice.

Is Bed-It tape available? Hoping for continuing recovery for RC.

Howdy Williec….

Did you make a thread on your albin redo?? Or just occasionally post once in a while. Kinda curious to read what all was done on the little boat and learn a thing or two from you ole salts and mermaids.

[tribologist]

Keep the Sabb for the moment if it runs. 10 HP will get you around and in meantime look for Vetus/Yanmar/Westerbeke (no old albin or Volvo, thats for swedes in Sweden that can get parts). Mine have a Isuzu 3CB1 industrial engine. You can steal one of them from a road construction site. Dry exhaust manifold and a wet elbow. ZF10M transmission.

[WillieC]

I haven’t done a thread on the WillieC per se because I do not think I’ll ever finish it. I did post a bit on rehabbing the Volvo Penta, but you won’t need that unless you move to Sweden. If you want, you can search any user’s posts here at AOG

Where do your routes take you? Do you ever get a day off OTR? I suspect not since you just want to get back. If you ever end up close to Seattle, let me know. Tours are free on the WillieC.

[Thumper74]

Where do your routes take you? Do you ever get a day off OTR? I suspect not since you just want to get back. If you ever end up close to Seattle, let me know. Tours are free on the WillieC.

I think I remember something about a three hour tour. You can be skipper…. I’ll be giligan…. Now if we could find the professor.