Looking for some specs on the 31TE's

[Gilla Gorilla]

If everything goes well in the spring or early summer our current boat will sell fairly quick, Yeah rite I know it is wishful thinking but hey a guy can dream rite.

We being my dad, brother and I have pretty much narrowed our search down to the 31TE with a single engine. I got on Albins website about 2 months ago and requested a cd for the 28TE and never got one probably because they were already in the process of closing down. I am trying to get some numbers for the interior head room in the cabin and also the pilot house. I am 6'2" and hope to have enough head room in both areas.

Also if anyone can give me some first hand experiences with the boat it would be great. I have talked to Tuxedo's previous owner a couple times on another site about his old boat and have learned some nice things from him already.

Thanks for any info and hopefully in the upcoming season we will be able to start sharing our experiences with owning a Albin.

[Morning Star]

I'm a new owner of a 1997 31TE and have only had it briefly in the water since purchasing it last summer. Have spent the last six months fixing and repairing and learning.

If you would like to know anything about a 31 mechanically or from a systems standpoint, I could probably help you, or at least let you know what to watch out for if you're buying used.

My boat is a twin (Peninsular diesels) with most options such as a genset, radar, reverse-cycle heating, etc. I'd be curious to know why you have decided on a single engine vs. the redundancy of a twin in your purchase decision. I've had a different, smaller boat for the past five years, which was a twin, and I came home on one engine more than once.

[Gilla Gorilla]

We are thinking the single engine because of the initial cost to buy, less money in maintenance and if something happens and we need to repower then we only have one engine to worry about not two to pay for.

We have twins on our 29' W/A now and it seems like half the trips out this summer it has come back to the dock on one engine which I will admit was very nice versus having to be towed in each time.

Do you have plenty of headroom down in the cabin and pilot house when you are standing in there?

We still have not had a chance to look at one of these Albins 31te or even 28te in person yet. But from what I have read and the pictures that I have seen in the last 3 months this seems like a great all around boat for us to use in the lower Chesapeake Bay for cruising and fishing. We would really like to find one with a genset, reverse air and cockpit fridge with maybe the ice maker.

Thanks for the reply

[Morning Star]

I agree with your tow-in comment, especially in our part of the world. We cruise and fish on the coast of BC (western Cda) and many (most) of the places we go are quite remote and the possibility of a tow in is almost nil. That's why the twin is so important to us.

Re headroom; I'm not anywhere near the boat right now, but did plan to measure the headroom in a week or so and let you know. But I'm pretty sure you'd be o.k. at 6-2, especially in the main cabin and at the helm. And the fwd cabin (galley) should be o.k. too, although the head might be close.

Also agree with your comment re what the 31TE offers. Large head, huge cockpit for fishing (high gunwhale for safety), very stable (12-4 wide), extremely heavy construction, and spacious steering/living area in the main cabin were some of the features that impressed us. Also, the transverse berth was important, so the galley table could be used at all times and not used for a bunk.

When you get to the point of looking at boats I'll offer a few suggestions of what to watch for and what a surveyor would not be able to see. And, if you are purchasing in the NJ area, I could recommend a good surveyor who's the one I used when I purchased our 31TE out of Cape May.

Also, if you find a boat w/o reverse air I'll have a system for sale. In our area A/C is not an issue and the need to run the genset is a detriment (all of our nights out are at anchor), so we use passive diesel heat instead, with a hot water coil included.

I also have one of those tuna chair/stand rigs that go in the cockpit c/w mtg base if you have any interest.

Good luck!

[RicM]

Are the twins on your current boat gas or diesel? How old? How often do you run it? What year & engine are you thinking about in the 31TE?
Diesel engines are a lot simpler in many ways than gas (especially outboards). If you give them clean fuel and air I feel they are a heck of a lot more reliable that the 12 year old MercCruiser gas I/O i had on the last boat. I went from a 1995 Proline which got towed in at least once (usually several) a season to a 2003 28TE (knock wood) that performed flawlessly for 230 hours this past season. The reduced fuel burn and maintanence on a single is worth keeping the TowUS membership in my book. Most professional work boats in this size range have single diesels for the same reasons.
The Albins are pretty well designed, sturdy boats, bad fuel or a bad belt or hose is going to be the usual cause of a shut down. A spare fuel filter, belts, and some hose patch will probably solve 90% of problems.

[Morning Star]

Hi Ric - The engines in Morning Star are twin 6.5L Peninsular diesels, with about 600 hrs on the clock. Yes, I can hear what you're thinking, but I investigated long and hard before the purchase and decided I'd give them a try.

The other thing that is a plus is North American mfr of all components, so parts prices are reasonable and any shop anywhere can rebuild any of the components.

They are very simple (no electronics), the support from Peninsular is stellar, and as long as you give them clean fuel and clean oil, and don't run them flat out all the time, I think they'll be o.k. After I get the boat into the water and run them for a season, I'll let you know......

To answer your question about year, etc., our boat is a 1997 model. We'll probably put 200-300 hrs a year on our boat too, since we can cruise and fish pretty much 12 months a year (if you have heat and good raingear.....).

Ours is on the hard right now, and I'm going thru everything mechanical and electrical and making sure things are done right. Yes, I'm even to the point of painting the bilge in most areas......! It's a fascinating learning experience and will undoubtedly be really worthwhile for future trouble-shooting.

[RicM]

Hey, I got nothing against Pennisular diesels, I understand that they had bad blocks for a few years when they were owned by GM but that problem was solved and they are now an independant company with GREAT customer service. I also hear your interest in twins if you are cruising long distance in remote areas. For every design there was a reason. I was trying to quiz Gilla on his(her) requirements and whether twins were really necessary in their situation. I am in Narragansett Bay which, within the bay, you are never more than a half hour from a tow boat. Even when we travel some distance out, it's to Block Island (12 mi), the Vineyard, or the Mudhole for tuna (16mi off shore) there's still plenty of access to towing and plenty of other boats around. When I first considered the 28TE my concerns were the switch to diesel and the single screw in terms of handling. After one season I gotta say I love this boat and the single engine has never been an issue.

[Gilla Gorilla]

It will most likely be a 97 to 2001 depending on price and options. I would prefer the 450hp Cummins over the Yanmar from what I have read and from some people that I have talked to.

We are currently running a pair of 2001 Mercury Optimax's with new power heads from Mercury. There is a TON of things that can go wrong on these engines and I have learned alot about how they operate with the DFI injection system.

Now we just need to get some glass work done on the current boat and get it sold in the spring hopefully so we can start looking for a nice used 31te.

Thanks again

Justin

[RicM]

I guess my point is don't reject a single out of hand. The experience with either a Yanmar or a Cummins diesel will be very different than outboards. Incredibly cheaper to run (I averaged 3.2 Gal/Hour overall last season). Plus if you search the forums here I believe there is some groaning about access to the engines for service on the twin 31TE. We venture fairly far on our single Yanmar and I have complete confidence in it. I'm not knocking the twins, just saying to look at both and the kind of boating you do and make an informed decision.

[Gilla Gorilla]

Ric

Yes it will be a single which makes the most sense for our boating which will be the Middle and lower Chesapeake Bay and Lower Potomac river. We will most likely get a Sea Tow or Boat US tow insurance plan though just in case.

We really are looking forward to a diesel, both my brother and I drive Ford diesels and love them so we are used to the smell of the exhaust. By the way how much exhaust do you smell on your boat when in no wake zones or trolling? Do the women complain about the diesel smell much?

Thanks

Justin

[Morning Star]

Good comments re the single and the access to twin engines on a 31TE. I've spent many hrs lying beside and gazing at the Peninsular twin V-8's in our 31TE and have found access to be quite good, although not perfect.

My original idea at the time of purchase was to chuck the Peninsulars and replace them with six cyl engines, most likely YANMAR's, but access to the outside of the engines would be virtually impossible because of the extra length of the six cyl engine.

Also, when I look at the logistics of a re & re of 1000-lb. engines, I break out in a cold sweat.......big job to be sure.

[RicM]

My wife loves to boat and fish but she does have a "light" stomach. She has never had an issue with our 315 Yanmar. The side exhaust pretty much eliminates the "station wagon" effect. We have a long no wake from the Wickford breakwater to our slip (15 min at 5 kt) and I never smell it. The only time it's an issue is idling in the slip as our slip backs up to a taller building with large boats to either side of us. On a still day the exhaust gets trapped. I am careful to not idle too long on shoving off, and killing the engine as soon as we get the dock lines.

[RicM]

Morning Star:

If you got Penn. diesels that run, let em run! My understanding is that the block issues were all solved long ago. It's a low RPM basic diesel and will probably give you thousands of hours of great service. The Yanmars are a little more high strung, high RPM, high maintenence. The trade off is that most find the Yanmars to a little cleaner and a little quieter (check out www.boatdiesel.com). Don't mess with success. You can get a great Pennisular and a crappy Yanmar or vice versa.

[Morning Star]

Ric - Yes, I agree. I had numerous conversations with Matt Koning at Peninsular before, after, and during the purchase. The combination of his honesty and the previous owner's honesty (Pat Kennedy) gave me a lot of comfort.

The basic thing Matt said is don't run them balls-to-the wall, because the GM 6.5L was designed as a truck engine, not a HD industrial engine like a CAT or a Cummins. A truck engine spends 1/2 it's time going uphill, after going downhill, whereas a marine engine is under pretty much full load all its life.

So Matt's advice was put props on that let them get up to about 3600-Rpm max, and then cruise around 2400-Rpm or so. Apparently they consume about 1 US gal/Nm at that speed, which is about thirsty enough for me.

So in summary, treat them like a woman; keep them warm, don't push them to hard, cherish them, maintain them well, and.....well, you guys fill in the rest about changing oil, etc........

[Denis]

I can pipe in about the Peninsular engine. I have owned my boat for three summers and it has a Peninsular. I think it runs great, granted it is my first boat with a diesel but it starts right up and runs very smooth all the way through to 3,600 rpm and it idles down to 550 rpm. I average about 4.6 gph for the year. There is a little black smoke for about 15 seconds at start up but it is soon gone and runs with no smoke visible. Because of the side exhaust I do not get any smell in the boat at any speed. The only thing I have done to the engine is change the oil, filters and keep the air filter clean. I have called Peninsular a few times to ask questions and I always get a person to answer the phone and answer my questions on the first call. I don't know what else to say but I am very happy with my engine. Denis