the albin 40 north sea cutter is manufactured in china.?good

[i112151]

should i be worried about this? should i be pleased?

[Mariner]

Most of the new boats coming out of the far east are extremely high quality (Selene, for example). Albin builds a good quality boat, and I dont think they'd let that standard slide in an offshore factory. The labor over there is simply cheap, but it's not unskilled, and the QC guys are rarely locals.

[jcollins]

Mariner,
I agree with you but, I have heard some bad stories about the Albin 40. I'm sure others here will chime in so I'll take a back seat to this discussion. (chicken...yeah I know)

[i112151]

i am concerned because i have not been able to find out whether albin has built their own factory to u.s. standards or whether they are simply subcontracting with a chinese company. fleming, for example, builds a first class yacht in their own factory with careful quality control. i wish additional info were available re: the albin operation in china. the initial anecdotal reports are not reassuring. i would like to hear additional experiences before arriving at a final decision. perhaps i should just go for a saberline?

[jcollins]

I still believe that since this boat has some bad press that you may want to consider buying one a year or two old. The previous owner will have, hopefully, worked out all the warranty problems.

[stevefrankel]

should i be worried about this? should i be pleased?

I wouldn't worry about it. I have Hull #11 and they did nearly everything right. Please see my post in the NSC section of this board for details. The finish and paint were beautiful; the only short cuts were no pre-wiring for TVs connected to an antenna on the bridge andcheap doorlock sets on the sliding doors that can't be replaced here; helm chairs on the upper station that are comfortable but no of the quality of the rest of the boat; no table on the upper help station; and tables down below that aren't up to the quality of the woodwork and cabinetry. If you're buying a new one, you should be able to have all these problems resolved for a few thousand or for "free" if the dealer is hungry.

This is the second mainland China vessel I've bought new, and both have been of excellant quality. Frankly, the work is better than that of the 2 Taiwanese vessels I've owned, and MUCH better than the 4 American-built vessels I've owned, 3 of which I bought new.