Backing Albin 27 Express cruiser

[jgilman]

I am the new owner of an 1990 Albin 27 (9000 lb) model.
The boat is powered by a 6 cylinder Isuzu Diesel. The boat is extremely
responsive when going ahead, but is virtually non response to rudder control when backing down. Best results seem to be giving SLIGHT rudder
when going astern, hard rudder backing down gives VERY little back control. I don't have a bow thruster. Any hints on how to get better control when backing, or, am I going to have to deal with this as a characteristic of this boat? The trim tabs are up and level, so the tabs
are not a factor in this I think. Should trim tabs be able to withstand
backing down with tab(s) down, because the first time I back down a bit hard one of the hydraulic arm bolts broke off the stbd tab and the tab
when straigh into vertical postion like a water brake. BUT I removed the
tab and will have live with only one trim tab until the boat is pulled end of season.

Thanks,

Jeff Gilman
603-2167670

[RobS]

I was with an owner of a 27 this weekend and he had no thruster. He had to fwd and reverse quite a few times and his main assist was from knowing and utilizing the stern walking to port when in reverse. It took a bit of back and forth with the fwd and rev but he was in total control the entire time and did it in one attempt and it was a tight slip. Factoring the stern walk into the manuevering of the boat into the slip is key. For the 28TE the stern walks to starboard and I always try to use that to my advantage which makes the use of the thruster that much more effective. If I am reversing with the stern walking to starboard and use the thruster to move the bow to port she spins nearly as tight as a twin screw.

[Veebyes2]

Compared to most single IBs the Albin 27 is VERY responsive when going astern. It has a huge rudder for its size. The trick is to turn things like stern walk, wind & any current to your advantage.

Don't be bashful about giving the boat a good jolt of power to get the stern going in the direction you want. It takes time but the 27 is one sweet boat to handle. Had mine for 13 years & put over 1000 hrs on it.

[jcollins]

Welcome to AOG!
The first time I backed a single screw into a slip it was a daunting task. I learned some tricks from the more experienced around here. Now I am comfortable and have learned that it just takes time and practice. This season I am cutting down on the bow thruster use only to be prepared for the day it doesn't work.
The rudder on your boat is larger than mine and from what I have read that helps alot.
I have noticed that many of the A27s around here dock bow-first.

[Mariner]

I am guessing that this is your first inboard boat. Yes, backing any single inboard will be tricky. But it's something that, once you get the hang of it, you'll be doing all the time.

Our boat has a bow thruster, but I rarely use it. I'm not bashful about it's use for convenience or safety, but I do generally try to only use it when I feel that I can't achieve the same thing another way.

Prop walk will be different, depending on which way your propeller turns, but puting it in reverse and goosing the throttle for a second or two, will pull it to one side. The larger the propeller in relation to the size of the boat, the more pronouced the effect will be. Albins have pretty big propellers, so they will prop walk pretty hard. Use this to your advantage, not disadvantage. I can pretty much turn my boat on it's axis, without using the thruster. Ours pulls to starboard, so it usually ends up a bit to the right of where I started, but it will turn 360 degrees by putting the wheel hard to port, and alternating between forward and reverse. If I incorporate the thruster, can make it walk sideways into, and away from the dock. To starboard is easy, to port is harder, but it can be done (less throttle in reverse, more in forward). Backing a straight line without a bow thruster would be next to impossible.. or at least a straight line down the axis of the boat. It will tend to crab walk to one side (in our case, starboard). If you practice a bit with this away from the dock, you may be able to get a feel for how much of an angle off center it will go, and what rudder imputs will do. I've never bothered on our boat because we have the thruster. Backing a straight line is as simple as giving it a little bit of port rudder (to offset the prop walk), and steering with the thruster.

[Dave]

I purchased my 27 last year and after much practice I am getting better but it still challenging, no problem when there isn't any wind but around my area it is windy a lot and backing up is very challenging. I find that you have to use the wind and waves to your advantage and giving the engine a few good short shots will get the boat turned. Practice, practice, practice...

[fairtide]

Like another contributor to the single screw backing issue, I try to use the thruster on my 28 only as needed rather than as a constant aid in getting into and out of a slip. I find that with bow in docking and having some room to starboard aft, I can back out using prop walk and rudder. Then when almost at the end of the room I have, I put the rudder hard over to port and goose the Yanmar to put the bow into the fairway.
On returning to the slip at minimum speed, I do find that even with reversing to get the stern slewed to starboard, I do need help from the thruster. The thruster on the 28, I have found is not a luxury, but a necessity for close-quarter maneuvering. I am a bit timid about keeping the motor running for more than about 5 seconds at a time, but this may be my concern about what Vetus advises. Of course, a quick change of thruster direction is a no-no, we all know. Shear pins are not easy to change while docking.
If any of you have been harder on your Vetus units and have had no problem, please let me know. Maybe you will give me the confidence to work it harder.

[NJRobert]

I am the owner of a 2007 28TE Newpot. This past spring I switched from a 3-blade to a new 6-blade Vetus bow prop. It's still noisy but indeed a bit more responsive. My slip requires backing in btween dock pilings with only about 6 inches or so to spre on either side. I've got it down to where I can manuever into position and only use the thruster in sort bursts for about three seconds at a time. It's there to use and indeed a "plus" on any boat. I just try not to abuse it.

Where I come from, if the boat never had a thruster, I wold have chosen another company. A single screw Albin is not a "graceful swan" when trying to dock stern firs with wind and tide against you.

[RicM]

One thing that gets left out of the discussion is momentum. Once you get the boat rotating on axis, keeping it rotating is easy. Start rotating with helm hard to port with a good shot of power (forward). Then apply just enough reverse to stop forward motion (don't turn the helm, rudder will have no effect until the boat starts moving backward through the water). Another shot of power forward will start to build momentum in the counter clockwise rotation. Repeat.
Power astern (actually moving backward through the water) will tend to kill that rotation momentum. Thinking about rotating and backing as 2 seperate operations might make it easier.

[RobS]

Do you think the fuel fill was put on the starboard side of the 28 since the stern walks to starboard in reverse and makes for an easy starboard tie?..... nah, we probably just got lucky with the 50/50 odds.....

[Mariner]

On our boat, everything that you would want on the "dock side" is on the starboard side of the boat. Both helms, the shorepower connection, the water and fuel fills, the waste cap, the water hookup...all of it. And the transom door is on the port side, but it opens to port, so that it is not in your way when boarding from the starboard.

I find it quite convenient and I'm sure this was intentional. Albin did get a lot of things right.

[svpp10]

I know I'm a little late on this post but after owning a Pearson 35 sailboat for twenty years I feel I have something to add. Getting Perfect Partner into or out of her slip was not fun with a cross wind. Then a friend suggested using the spring line to the mid-ships cleat to swing the bow or stern as needed, adjusting the length as necessary to swing bow or stern. I hope this helps.
Paul