Making an offer

[ChrisL]

Hi Folks,

Pending the results of a survey, I am preparing an offer for an 1985 Albin 27 SE. I could use help with a few questions before I make the offer. I've been onboard (entered through the shrink wrap portal). The Albin is listed on Facebook Marketplace: 1985 Albin 27 express $10,900 Barnegat, NJ

1. Is the checklist from motorcityboatwerks the most recent and best "checklist" for a buyer to use, or is there something better?

2. There is some plywood rot on at least two walls between deck lockers. According to motorcityboatwerks, these can be fixed. Any experiences worth sharing?

3. One fuel tank needs to be replaced. Do replacement options (aftermarket or creative) exist online for purchasing? Rough budgets? Is replacement manageable? I have read it can be somewhat of a pain in the butt.

4. There is no seating. Would I find a double seat (GF and me) at the helm? Any idea on budget?

5. Eventually, I would install a bimini over the uncovered deck. Any advice on how much to budget for something simple yet retractable?

6. This engine in this Albin is a -7.3l V8 International diesel engine - 185hp. I've been told that it replaced the OEM engine. Any considerations are welcome on the International engine or engine replacement issues, in general.

I am likely to have more questions. LMK if I am within the SOPs of the forum, or otherwise.

Many Thanks,
Chris

[Burton]

Hmmmm. This sounds on the surface like a project boat. I really don’t know the 27’s we have a 25. Anything and everything is fixable with enough money. So I wouldn’t put much stock in somebody saying something is fixable. There is a huge difference between being able to fix something yourself, and having to pay boatyard prices. It would be wise to talk to someone who has that specific boat model who can speak authoritatively about what you are likely to run into. Figure exactly what it will cost to fix it, then double it. That will be pretty accurate.

[WillieC]

7.3 Powerstroke. Works good in my pickup. That must have been a project.

I know boats are expensive but I think I’d keep looking. Let us know how the survey goes. Burton described it well. Another 10G would sift through your fingers before you knew it.

Spend more time poking around on the forum. Many of your questions can be answered there. Budgeting projects really depends on how much work you plan on and are capable of doing. Double your time estimates, too.

[Dieselram94]

Is the 7.3 the older IDI version (pre powerstroke)? If so I would either just skip it or plan for a repower. At 185hp I would think it’s the old IDI (indirect injection). Those motors along with the 6.9 IDI are notorious for cylinder liner cavitation. Basically they erode pinholes through the bore into the antifreeze jackets. Most people did not do preventative maintenance (adding bottles of DCA60L into the cooling system and using dip strips to measure the protection in the antifreeze). Also the motor is quite large and heavy. I have no experience with a 27 so I can’t speak to how well matched it is to the boat. I would think a Cummins 4bt would be a much better match though. I had a 6.9 years ago in a F250. I don’t want another one. Again that’s basically the same as the 7.3 IDI other than the bore is a different size. Unless it’s very cheap I would move on.

[ChrisL]

Guys, I appreciate the input. Very helpful. I welcome more comments from other Forum members, especially Albin 27 owners. Many thanks.

[WillieC]

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=13317&p=89911&hili ... ems#p89911

See especially Tego's comment. Use the Search feature for lots more info.

[DCatSea]

I don't know the 27SE but assume it's the standard 27 displacement hull. I do know they are presumably "faster" than the FC because they have bigger engines, but I've always understood that with a displacement hull all a bigger engine is going to do is dig a bigger hole in the water and use a lot more fuel once you get over the max. economic hull speed, in this case of around 8 knots (?).
Also, sounds like a lot of work needed on this one.

Pro: The 27 is a real nice fisher as long as you don't have to go 12 miles offshore to find the fish.

[WillieC]

Want a project? Here's one with a new engine.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14160#unread

Looks like it needs a trailer.

[DesertAlbin736]

Chris,

I can't offer any useful advice here, except to note the first 6 words of your post are the smartest and most important, ie "Pending the results of a survey...". A good surveyor will likely give you the straight skinny and honest assessment of the good, bad, and ugly. The only diesels I have any experiences with are the Cummins in my Dodge truck and the Yanmar in my boat. As for the former, I've never had problems with or ever had to have any work done on it besides routine PMs. With the latter it's been a good engine, except over the past nine years I've replaced starter, fuel pump, and raw water pump, plus the usual PMs.

Actually, the only reason I'm replying here is to mention that coincidentally Barnegat, NJ was my original hometown from birth to age 12 when we lived on Lower Shore Rd, a short bike ride down E Bay Ave to the public town dock on the bay. Thence moved to Manahawkin with my mother and stepfather after my birth parents divorced & my mother married the lessee of a Texaco gas station on old Rt 72 between Rt 9 & the causeway bridges. A few years later at age 15 later mother and stepfather up and moved us to Upstate NY between Schenectady & Saratoga during my sophomore years in high school where I finished out high school and enlisted in the Navy in '69. To this day I have framed pictures of the "Old Barney" lighthouse on LBI and and a "Harbor Lights" collectible ceramic piece decorating our living room. In 2002 I trailered the 15 ft Montgomery pocket cruiser sailboat I owned at the time back east from Arizona to Delaware to cruise Chesapeake Bay for a week with other Monty owners & after that drove up to Barnegat to visit my late birth father who was still alive at that time & living in the same house I grew up in. An old classmate buddy of mine & I launched my boat from the ramp at the public town dock, sailed across the bay and ran Barnegat Inlet out past the rock breakwater & turned around & came back in. Later that same summer after returning to AZ I trailered out to Monterey, CA and participated in a fun race event sponsored by Small Craft Advisor Magazine & the Northern Cal Potter Yachters club, thereby having sailed in the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans in the same boat in the same year. Lots of good memories from back there.

2002 Monty cruise.jpg

Barnegat dock2.jpg

Barnegat Inlet.jpg

IMG_0805.JPG

[ChrisL]

DesertAlbin736, That's a great post. I enjoyed reading about your life and experiences! I've been visiting the Barnegat, NJ area, primarily LBI, since 1982 when I was a dishwasher at The Terrace Tavern in Beach Haven. Fast forward to today. My roommate from those times has a summer home in Harvey Cedars and I spend time with him romping around those parts, both on and off the island. Both in and out of the water. Also, I sailed the northern Chesapeake Bay over 2 decades when my parents had a sailboat there. Lots of great memories and I hope to make a few more! Chris

Chris,

I can't offer any useful advice here, except to note the first 6 words of your post are the smartest and most important, ie "Pending the results of a survey...". A good surveyor will likely give you the straight skinny and honest assessment of the good, bad, and ugly. The only diesels I have any experiences with are the Cummins in my Dodge truck and the Yanmar in my boat. As for the former, I've never had problems with or ever had to have any work done on it besides routine PMs. With the latter it's been a good engine, except over the past nine years I've replaced starter, fuel pump, and raw water pump, plus the usual PMs.

Actually, the only reason I'm replying here is to mention that coincidentally Barnegat, NJ was my original hometown from birth to age 12 when we lived on Lower Shore Rd, a short bike ride down E Bay Ave to the public town dock on the bay. Thence moved to Manahawkin with my mother and stepfather after my birth parents divorced & my mother married the lessee of a Texaco gas station on old Rt 72 between Rt 9 & the causeway bridges. A few years later at age 15 later mother and stepfather up and moved us to Upstate NY between Schenectady & Saratoga during my sophomore years in high school where I finished out high school and enlisted in the Navy in '69. To this day I have framed pictures of the "Old Barney" lighthouse on LBI and and a "Harbor Lights" collectible ceramic piece decorating our living room. In 2002 I trailered the 15 ft Montgomery pocket cruiser sailboat I owned at the time back east from Arizona to Delaware to cruise Chesapeake Bay for a week with other Monty owners & after that drove up to Barnegat to visit my late birth father who was still alive at that time & living in the same house I grew up in. An old classmate buddy of mine & I launched my boat from the ramp at the public town dock, sailed across the bay and ran Barnegat Inlet out past the rock breakwater & turned around & came back in. Later that same summer after returning to AZ I trailered out to Monterey, CA and participated in a fun race event sponsored by Small Craft Advisor Magazine & the Northern Cal Potter Yachters club, thereby having sailed in the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans in the same boat in the same year. Lots of good memories from back there.

2002 Monty cruise.jpg
Barnegat dock2.jpg
Barnegat Inlet.jpg
IMG_0805.JPG

[DesertAlbin736]

If you happen to be familiar with another Rt 9 town about12 miles south of Barnegat, namely Tuckerton, which is directly across the bay from Beach Haven & the south end of LBI there's a waterfront subdivision called Mystic Island. It has a network of manmade canals that homes back up to, many homes with private docks. It was built in the mid 1950s, but prior to that it was the site of an early low frequency/long wavelength, long range transatlantic wireless telegraph station that was built by a German company in 1914. It was seized by the US govt during WW1 & afterwards appropriated as war reparations & sold to RCA, which was a spin off from GE created for the purpose taking ownership of that and other Marconi stations. My grandfather Gerald Eshleman, a BSEE graduate of Penn State, was an early employee & was assigned as "Engineer In Charge" from 1921 until the station was decommisioned in 1949 as obsolete & the radio tower demolished in 1955. The land was then sold off to developers. The old power house still stands on Radio Road. There are also three huge concrete blocks 20 ft square that were huge anchors for guy wires, one of which is in the middle of a street. Since my grandfather was from northeast PA near Allentown & raised my father & three aunts in Tuckerton I would not exist but for RCA and that station. So anytime someone mentions Barnegat it gets my attention. It was a great little town to grow up in during the 50s. On my maternal side, my mother was a Barnegat native & her father was a machinist who worked as a civilian employee at Lakehurst NAS (site of the Hindenburg airship crash) during & after WW2.

[Ambler27FC]

ChrisL,

2. Plywood repair should not be too difficult.

3. In 2019 I replaced a fuel tank for ~$500 per custom built. It was a good bit of labor though. I have an FC and don't really know the SC - allot depends on how easy it is to remove the tank. Any differential is in personal labor.

4. Seats: Consider options where you have seating on either side of the engine hatch. Perhaps not as cozy, but more practical for engine access. You could probably buy commercial pedestals and seats for $1000-1500, or go custom with a penalty on labor.

6. There are numerous threads on engine replacement on this site. Recommend absorbing it all and moving slowly.

Very best luck.