My 1977 Albin 25 Deluxe rebuild thread

[hetek]

DA- Ya, the pull handle would be better but I got what I got - a mechanical push button on the end of the shutoff solenoid. If the solenoid fails, you push the button and that activates the plunger that moves the rack to the closed position. Fuel stops flowing. Engine stops.

I’m pretty sure the stuck rack wouldn’t have moved for either of us, regardless of the pull handle or push button. Stuck is stuck. Now that it’s free, the button has a lot more throw and the solenoid now clicks with authority, instead of a wimpy “click”.

I, too, like Hydro Coat. Beside the trailer-friendly use, it also doesn’t smell as bad as the oil based types. I wouldn’t say “wife approved” but rather “wife didn’t complain”. The smell from the oil based paints had a different result from wife.

[hetek]

The mighty Vetus!

In and running great.

https://youtu.be/Ws5AkTNI3XQ

Details in the description.

[ssrig]

Excellent! Great work! Nice to have that part done.
That engine sure is small compared to the Volvo’s.

[WillieC]

I missed the description. We are dying to hear what the throttle issue was all about and resolved.

A couple points. Boat is too clean. Engine has bare metal showing. And….

When are sea trials!?

Oops, I missed your post about the injector pump stuck rack. I had that on one of my VP Bosch pumps. I had no idea what was supposed to move and what kind of force would be needed. All three cylinders were stuck. The rack was not nice at all. Glad I had two spares on hand.

[hetek]

The engine is not only small in size but small on the scale too. The Albin original 36 hp Volvo diesel weighs 640 lbs, while the Vetus only weighs 270 lbs. Less than half!

To see the description on a YouTube video you click on the title of the video. Yeah, I know… not really intuitive.

I’m trying to register my trailer to be legit over the road. My plan “A” isn’t working out so I’m on to plan “B”. If that fails, I do have a plan “C”.

[DesertAlbin736]

What's the problem with the trailer? What was the plan A that didn't work & what are contingency plans B & C? I had a bit of a hassle myself with AZ MVD trying to get my trailer registered & a new AZ title generated when we first brought the boat & trailer home from Idaho. First off Idaho does not title trailers, just registers with bill of sale for transfer while AZ titles all road legal vehicles including trailers. That caused a problem. The original manufacturers' VIN sticker was not embossed or stamped into the frame, just a printed sticker, & the number had long since worn away. I went round & round with MVD (which requires physical inspection for vehicles including trailer coming in from out of state), trying to convince them it wasn't stolen. Ended up having to post a bond & get a new VIN number generated & and MVD issued an new metal embossed sticker with the newly generated VIN number. Once that all got squared away & paid the initial $129 title & registration fee the registration is permanent as long as I own the trailer & does not require annual renewal. On the other hand boats fall under the jurisdiction of the AZ Game & Fish Dept, not MVD & they do not issue titles, just registrations. Change of ownership is done by notarized bill of sale, and when registered requires a physical inspection by the game warden verifying the HIN number molded or etched into the transom. Since my boat is pre-1972 vintage Game & Fish generated & issued an new HIN that had to be etched into the transom.

DSCN3631.JPG

[hetek]

DA - Well, you asked for it. Here goes…

I bought the boat, diesel and trailer from a classic car and boat dealership 6 years ago, complete with all proper bills of sale and titles. There is quite the interesting back story to this but I’ll save that for another day.

The boat? No problem. Fully titled and registered in NY now in my name. 100% good to go.

The trailer? That’s where “Houston? We have a problem”.

I know I received all the proper paperwork. North Carolina only uses a bill of sale for trailers of this size. NY knows that is how they do it and accepted it with my NY forms. All went through OK.

In contrast, NY issues a proper title and registration for a trailer this size. My problem is I can not find either. So…

Plan “A”: I’ll just go to DMV and get replacements. But DMV cannot find any record of it without looking up the VIN. I look for the VIN on the trailer and the plastic label is blank, faded clean away. I call the manufacturer and ask if there is another location to look (sometimes it is stamped in a second location). “No, just the label”. Plan “A” looks like a fail.

Plan “B”: I called the dealer and spoke to the gentleman that sold me the boat/trailer, hoping he could check his records, locate our transaction and simply issue me a duplicate bill of sale. Still waiting to see what he can find out.

Plan “C”: I could register the trailer as a “home built”, but that usually requires substantial receipts for components (tires, wheels, axles maybe, lights, brake parts…) and a visual inspection by a NYS Conservation Officer, I believe. Then they will issue me a new VIN and I can proceed on to DMV for title and registration. Not a fast process whatsoever.

Gonna give North Carolina a call and see if he has any news. If not: Put plan “C” in motion.

Wish me (and North Carolina) luck. Update to follow, and I promise it won’t be this long.

[Burton]

The engine is not only small in size but small on the scale too. The Albin original 36 hp Volvo diesel weighs 640 lbs, while the Vetus only weighs 270 lbs. Less than half!

To see the description on a YouTube video you click on the title of the video. Yeah, I know… not really intuitive.

I’m trying to register my trailer to be legit over the road. My plan “A” isn’t working out so I’m on to plan “B”. If that fails, I do have a plan “C”.

A related possibility:

The previous owner of Slow Motion (A25 Deluxe) installed a 40 hp, 3 cylinder Yanmar, 3JH3E, and I think it is not only much lighter, but they mounted it further aft than the original Volvo. (I'm not sure... but we've got about six inches between the front of the Yanmar and the bulkhead.) For sure, the Yanmar is a lighter. The trim of the boat was poor, with the bow riding higher than it should--both by appearance and the bottompaint waterline. We went two seasons without the freshwater tank filled. Got all that fixed, tank filled up and the boat sits to its lines much better. You may find a similar situation. We plan a short bowsprit with the anchor riding up there, that should help, too.

--Burt

[hetek]

Good point, Burton. You made me go and measure my engine to bulkhead clearance. It’s 8”, but I wouldn’t really say it’s further aft. More like centered. See?…

88EC0ED3-C68F-4FF1-B46B-FCCF196DC4CE.jpeg

I owned a 27’ Seasport Pilot 2700 a few years ago. She noticeably listed to starboard at the dock. Bugged me a lot!

My solution: Fill 5 gallon Home Depot buckets of water sitting under the dinette table on the port side until she leveled out. Then do the math on water weight times gallons. I think it was like 150 lbs!

Next, I purchased 150 lbs of lead shot on Amazon, triple zip-lock bagged it and stuffed them into plastic ammo boxes that I fastened beneath the dinette floor. She sat level and true!

Buoyancy is either a black art or complex math well above my pay grade. I chose the “real world” method.

I read of a guy who built a scale model of a full size boat he was building. He floated it a tub of water and used stacks of pennies as substitutes for loads. 10 pennies was an outboard, 5 pennies was a generator, another 5 was a water tank…. He moved the pennies around the model until she sat level.

No, I’m not building a scale model of my Albin, but I do have Home Depot buckets and Amazon Prime if needed.

[tribologist]

DA - Well, you asked for it. Here goes…

Plan “C”: I could register the trailer as a “home built”, but that usually requires substantial receipts for components (tires, wheels, axles maybe, lights, brake parts…) and a visual inspection by a NYS Conservation Officer, I believe. Then they will issue me a new VIN and I can proceed on to DMV for title and registration. Not a fast process whatsoever.

Gonna give North Carolina a call and see if he has any news. If not: Put plan “C” in motion.

Wish me (and North Carolina) luck. Update to follow, and I promise it won’t be this long.

I took the C path. CT DMV had a list on what was required to do to make it home built I replaced the brake system (badly needed ) and installed new fenders, new lights, modified bunks and booked time at DMV, inspected and registered the same day. Looks like NY registration is a bit more involved. Another path is to register it in Maine, then transfer the registration to NY. OR. Buy any piece of crap boat trailer with registration, get plates for it and do a screw driver transfer.

[hetek]

Looks like “Plan C” it is. No luck with the seller locating a copy of the bill of sale. Rats.

I think I’ve meet the “substantial receipts” mark for home built status - $600 in brake and lighting parts and another $600 in tires.

Seems like a lot and makes me wonder why not just get a new trailer? Well, I have already modified the trailer bunks to fit the Albin like a glove. Don’t want to do that again. And all the components needed are basically boat trailer consumables.

It’s the cost of boating, I guess.

[hetek]

I had nice weather and a couple hours to spare last weekend so I fixed something that has been really bugging me: the pilot house side sliders.

Don’t get me wrong. They are Diamond Seaglaze units which I hear are the Cadillac of boat windows. The problem is the installation was sub par. They leaked around the frame.

I removed the frames and my suspicions were correct - there was no sealant between the window frame and the fiberglass. None!

I cleaned the sealing surfaces, masked off around the frame and laid down a healthy bead of white 3M 4000 UV and stuck the windows back in place. I reinstalled the two dozen screws that hold the inner and outer frames together and scraped away the excess sealant before it dried. I’m sure there will be no more leaks now.

Here it is just before the sealant was applied.

B5B7342C-68C3-4A3B-9AB2-8F2B6A82D0BA.jpeg

Port side took me about 2-1/2 hours, start to finish. Starboard side only 1-1/2. The starboard side went quicker ‘cause I had practice.

[tribologist]

Seems like a lot and makes me wonder why not just get a new trailer? Well, I have already modified the trailer bunks to fit the Albin like a glove. Don’t want to do that again. And all the components needed are basically boat trailer consumables.

It’s the cost of boating, I guess.

Lol! Price out a new nice aluminum trailer with disc brakes etc and it will feel much better to get the old one fixed….

[tribologist]

BUMP!!! Just bringing this back up on top!. How are things on Long Island.. Get that boat in the water so we can have a Rendevoss or what it is now called...

[tribologist]

Bump!! Could use an update. Hope all is ok.