First Deluxe Model number

[Redjack]

I was wondering if any knowledgeable members know if there is a specific hull number which marks the start of the differentiation between the “25” and the “25 Deluxe”?
My boat is an early 1973, I believe. Hull number 1442.

Here is the stern of my boat which I presume confirms it is the earlier, full displacement model.

IMG_6540.jpeg

[WillieC]

That hull is the original style. Not sure exactly when they started officially naming it the deluxe. The WiilieC had the newer hull form at the stern but I recall it being referred to as Mark 2 or something like that. 1973 vintage also.

Over the years many of us had our fun with Albin one-up-man-ship by bragging about our “classier than yours” vessels. The WillieC had the gel coat finished front cabin lid so I didn’t even care if it was “deluxe”. Loved that smooth overhead! But it also had the less than desirable hidey-hole beneath the head sole. Perfect place for a couple cans of tuna to deteriorate through at least one full ownership. NO AMOUNT of fancy smelling soap was EVER gonna cover that up. That took a while to find.

The hull changed allegedly to bring it up closer to plane, sort of a built in trim tab. What really happened was it brought the nose down. Good improvement but burned a bit more fuel. And more HP was needed and/or justified so they moved up to the 36HP Volva Penta from the AD 2 cylinder engine. Progress, I suppose. This was back in the day when engineers had some say in manufacturing. Somebody knew how to do the required calcs for how many horses were needed to propel these boats efficiently. 36 is still too much. (Said the guy who now owns a little larger boat that sure as heck doesn’t need 115 turboed HP. HEY. IT CAME WITH THE BOAT!)

The newer hulls also got the fixed, no longer hinged, mid boat wall. I must say, I was very impressed with the large feel of the full time live-aboard boat of the couple we met at Ladysmith. When at dock, they opened the wall/door and with the way they enclosed the lid of the aft cabin with isinglass and shades it felt like Taj Mahal in there.

We actually went to Kristinham (Nancy, please correct my spelling. Ok grammar too) a couple years ago looking for long lost forbears and actual living relatives. Couldn’t pass by Mecca without poking around. Nothing left of the factory but we got close to the location. Still building modern boats but in newer buildings. We found the Albin museum but not much about the A25. Albin did much more than make our beloved boats. Driving around the country you see lots of the 25s in plenty of different conditions. We even got out on Lake Vanern on one!

Returning to topic, I hope you can find “The First deluxe” number. The WillieC was in the 1500s so I’m guessing after that. Careful who you bestow bragging rights to. These Albin folks can be insufferable. I should know.

[Redjack]

Thank you WillieC, you are a wealth of knowledge. The ability to open the hinged panel beside the front cabin door really makes the area feel roomier, especially when the helm area is enclosed.

I will have to check the hidey hole area beneath the head sole for any nasty surprises.

Do you happen to know if the slide out coolbox on the port side was included from the factory and whether it is good at keeping things cold?

[WillieC]

No. Rip it out. Poorly insulated icebox was original but there are a few ways to make it better. On the road now. I posted some pics several years ago on my slide out cooler. Several others have posted switching to 12VDC. Then you need to consider electrical upgrades which is necessary regardless.

Btw, the old hulls can go faster.

[DesertAlbin736]

Not much to add to Ricks', aka WillieC', post. As Rick said, from your picture it's the older full displacement version and not the later flared stern semi displacement, fully De Luxe hull. At the same time it must be an in transition boat in that the exhaust outlet is on starboard side to accommodate the switch to Volvo engines instead of the earlier pre-De Luxe models like mine where exhaust outlet is on port side for the older A21 engine. Yet if you have the swing open cabin bulkhead that means they hadn't yet changed the engine box from the stepped design that protruded a few inches into the cabin to the later design that moved the the engine box back enough to eliminate the need for the swing open wall & added a hinged opening in the back half of the box which the earlier boats did not have. Both WillieC and I are no longer Albin 25 owners. Rick has upsized to a Nordic Tug 26 and I've ended my days of boat ownership and "DA'ing". My ex-"La Dolce Vita" is now under new ownership and renamed "Ruby D". It's been in Carson City, NV since last September until recently, but is now on its way to Loxahatchie, FL, a small burb west of Palm Beach. The new owners decided they had bitten off more than they could chew, and as we speak are on their way trailering it to Florida to give Ruby D away to a nephew who's a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, starting a new life on the Florida east coast. Ironically it's "back to the future" for the boat, since back in the late1980s-early '90s an early previous owner once kept the boat in that part of Florida.

You can see in this photo of 1971 Hull #736 how the stern is like yours but with exhaust outlet to port.

DSCN3631.JPG

[Redjack]

No. Rip it out. Poorly insulated icebox was original but there are a few ways to make it better. On the road now. I posted some pics several years ago on my slide out cooler. Several others have posted switching to 12VDC. Then you need to consider electrical upgrades which is necessary regardless.

Btw, the old hulls can go faster.

That’s good to know, thank you. I will look into better cooler box/refrigerator ideas for the space. I have seen some possible solutions on a thread here.

I have seen it mentioned before that the old hull shape is faster. It seems counterintuitive that a “full displacement” hull would go faster than a “semi displacement” one but as you mentioned earlier the reason for the change seems to have been visibility from the helm when under way at full throttle.
A drag race between 2 similarly engined boats with the different hull shapes would be an interesting experiment.

[WillieC]

Drag races can be arranged!!
See you at a rendezvous!

[Nancy]

>>Nancy, please correct my spelling. Ok grammar too<<


I googled Kristinham, and came up with Kristinehamn, Sweden, which I'm pretty sure is what you're looking for.

[Nancy]

>>are on their way trailering it to Florida to give Ruby D away to a nephew who's a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, starting a new life on the Florida east coast<<

What a relief that they found a good solution.

[WillieC]

(Thank you, Nancy! I was posting from my phone and it’s hard to fact check and fat thumb type at the same time.)

[Redjack]

Not much to add to Ricks', aka WillieC', post. As Rick said, from your picture it's the older full displacement version and not the later flared stern semi displacement, fully De Luxe hull. At the same time it must be an in transition boat in that the exhaust outlet is on starboard side to accommodate the switch to Volvo engines instead of the earlier pre-De Luxe models like mine where exhaust outlet is on port side for the older A21 engine. Yet if you have the swing open cabin bulkhead that means they hadn't yet changed the engine box from the stepped design that protruded a few inches into the cabin to the later design that moved the the engine box back enough to eliminate the need for the swing open wall & added a hinged opening in the back half of the box which the earlier boats did not have. Both WillieC and I are no longer Albin 25 owners. Rick has upsized to a Nordic Tug 26 and I've ended my days of boat ownership and "DA'ing". My ex-"La Dolce Vita" is now under new ownership and renamed "Ruby D". It's been in Carson City, NV since last September until recently, but is now on its way to Loxahatchie, FL, a small burb west of Palm Beach. The new owners decided they had bitten off more than they could chew, and as we speak are on their way trailering it to Florida to give Ruby D away to a nephew who's a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, starting a new life on the Florida east coast. Ironically it's "back to the future" for the boat, since back in the late1980s-early '90s an early previous owner once kept the boat in that part of Florida.

You can see in this photo of 1971 Hull #736 how the stern is like yours but with exhaust outlet to port.

DSCN3631.JPG

Thank you for the information and photo of your hull. It seems that the change from non deluxe to deluxe was a gradual process in 1973,
with exhaust outlet changes occurring before hull changes.

The engine that came with my boat, though, I am not sure if it was original, was a Volvo Penta, MD2030 but it was in poor condition. I did consider installing a new Beta or Sole but ended up getting a reconditioned MD2030 for ease of installation.

[WillieC]

The 2030 was def not original. Much later engine.

Your swap makes sense, there is a lot involved in total different engine installation. Think how much you saved on prop and shaft alone!

The original was likely the venerable MD3B. This was the precursor to the 17C, which used almost everything from the 3B but they used replaceable cylinder liners. Oh the heads were different also in how they bolted down, likely related to the replaceable liners. Those old engines were made to refreshed in place by a couple of bored Swedes on a slow Friday night with copious amounts of alcohol at the ready. Yeah they would still leak oil (because they used the old o-rings) and would probably still burn oil because they didn’t care about worn valve stems.

The right way was to pull the engine, arrange a decent stand, light the fire in the shop wood stove then break out the booze. But they didn’t have that luxury because the fish were running.

The 2030 engine is a good upgrade but you need to deal with that integral heat exchanger. The earlier MD engines were designed to be raw water cooled but most of them were converted to FWC with the addition of a Sendure HX and a piggyback water pump. Nice. Easy to service and didn’t conceal internal corrosion. Figure out the required maintenance on that integral heat exchanger and you’ll get many years out of that engine.

[WillieC]

Redjack. Where are you, if you don’t mind letting us know. Vague is ok but not “western hemisphere” vague.

You get us old pharts started, it’s all over.
(Looking at you, Steve.). Ha!

[Redjack]

IMG_6583.jpeg

Hi WillieC, I am based in the north west of Ireland. My boat will be moored on lake (Lough) Erne, which is the second largest river/lake system in Ireland. It in turn is connected by canal to the largest river/lake system in Ireland, the Shannon. It is possible to navigate from Belleek on the Erne and travel south, 160 miles to the city of Limerick and out onto the Atlantic. I often thought it would be fun to complete a “mini loop” south along the inland waters and then north up the Atlantic west coast of Ireland. The Albin 25 would be well capable of this. There is a large hydro electric dam, Ardnacrusha, upstream of Limerick but it is navigable via one of Europe’s deepest locks. There is a short section between the Atlantic at the town of Ballyshannon and Bellek which is not currently navigable due to the presence of 2 hydro electric dams.


I have long been a fan of the Albin 25 but they are quite rare in Ireland. I had purchased a 21 foot Starley Sundowner, which is not dissimilar in principle to the Albin 25. A small, fuel efficient, slow, solidly built motor sailer/trawler type design.
In true Murphy’s Law fashion, a week after I purchased this boat, an Albin 25 appeared for sale on DoneDeal, an Irish Craigslist type website.
I am currently in the process of getting the Albin 25 ready for some summer trips.

[WillieC]

So not Lake Michigan? Holy cow!
So you should be able to scoot over to Kristinehamn on a long weekend? Lots of Albins there.

Very cool.