Hi All

[Ed422]

Hello all. My name is Ed. I'm 64, been boating since I was 5. I have crewed on various boats (mostly sail) for years and have owned various boats... from 8' self built boats to a Luders L-16 26 foot cold molded plywood boat that I single handed up and down the Chesapeake Bay for several years. I've spent up to 2 weeks at a time on a boat, and lived on boats docked in boatyards for extended periods. I'm looking at doing the loop with my wife... and my eyes are on an Albin 30 or something similar... not too big, not too small. I'm new to diesel engines. If I have anything to offer, I'll chime in, but I expect I'll be a listener for a while.

Hmmm, that's probably enough for now.

[Patrickgoggin]

Welcome to the AOG! I have a 28TE and love the boat. I moved from sail years ago, first to a larger trawler and now to the Albin.

Feel free to review the past posts in the forum or ask a question if you cannot find it is previous posts.

[BRISWISH]

Welcome to AOG, Ed. I have a 28TE and am based in Middle River. I see your in Dundalk. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to swing by one weekend day and tour my boat. I haven't made it over to Hard Yacht Cafe this season and plan on it, so I may be in your area of the bay soon. It's not for sale, but could give you a different perspective in person vs. though pictures.

There is also an AOG Rendezvous scheduled the weekend of September 10th at Knapps Narrows. Here is the post: viewtopic.php?f=122&t=13627. You could always drive down for the day and check out the various models. Currently there are a bunch of 28 TEs going, a 31 TE, and and 35 TE. Last year we also had a 32+2 join the group. Hoping they see the plans and come again this year.

This community is a great group - knowledgeable and friendly.

[Ed422]

Hi Briswish, I put Dundalk because that's where it'll be when I get it. I live in Baltimore. I may hit you up.

[DesertAlbin736]

Hi Ed, how's life in Ballmore? Welcome aboard!

It's a common refrain we often hear form AOG newbies, "I spent most of my life in sailboats but now I'm older & it's time to move over to powerboats and Albins look like a good alternative". And they are.

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From the smaller A25 & A27 pocket trawlers to the larger trawlers to 28 & 31TE (Tournament Express sport fishers), each holds an appeal to different boating lifestyles. The main thing they all have in common is they are old fashioned straight prop & rudder inboard diesels with skeg hung rudders, no gas engines, I/Os nor outboards. The main differences are in size, power, and speed. The old adage, 'speed costs, how fast do you want to go?' applies. Diesels run at lower RPM than gas but have more torque at those lower RPMs. Also you don't need to have an engine compartment blower that you have to run for 5 minutes every time you go to start start the engine, or deal with risk of volatile fuel vapors with diesel. But diesel has its own issues. One being condensation and bacteria growth in the tank. Another being diesels will not tolerate the slightest amount of fuel contamination. But treat them right and keep up with PMs and they will run for many thousands of hours.

Even though I've been out West in AZ for the past 45 years, I grew up boating on Barnegat Bay in NJ and have done some cruising on Chesapeake Bay, mostly on the middle Bay between Cambridge, Oxford, St Michaels, & the Nanticoke River on the Eastern Shore and Solomons, Patuxent River, & St. Leonards Creek on the Western Shore. First was with a group of Montgomery sailboat owners in 2002 back when I had a Montgomery 15 that I'd trailered out from AZ and again in 2015 when I brought my current boat, an Albin 25, across the country from AZ. The A25 could be a good loop boat if you didn't mind being a minimalist. You could do it in stages, trailering between sections. The loop is a very long, long distance to go by boat. The A25 with engine ranging from 24 to 36 HP depending on model year gets you up to 200 mile range on 20 gallons of diesel.

As always, with any photos posted on this site, to view full size just click on the photo.

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