Need advice re-buying Albin 36 Classic

[harlie]

Good morning! We were sailors and now wish to move into a trawler. After looking at many boats on-line an Albin 36 Classic between 1978 to 1988 seems to meet our needs. What are some of the problem areas we should be looking for? Very difficult to shop on line so we want to be quite sure before we go to look at a boat. We live in Nova Scotia, Canada. Thank you ; looking forward to your advice .

[Boatmon]

First of all, Welcome aboard! this is really a great group.

I'm sure others will have things to add but here's my two cents worth;

-Shop around, see what's out there, go look at several boats, and then when you find of of much interest, spend the money and get a full survey first and foremost, their importance cannot be over-stressed. You will have a much better idea of what you have. Sure they may miss a few items but over all it's money well spent.

-Trawler windows leak, they just do. Because of that you need to look closely at the core and paneling for damage from water intrusion.

-Teak decks leak, teak decks leak, as I stated in earlier posts, we spent all winter cleaning, repairing and improving many things on our new 36. Only to find with the first rain that the bridge deck leaks terribly! A real bummer but something that we will deal with this fall. For now a real concern and inconvienence.

-Look all the systems over closely, we're talking about a 30 year old vessel, things will need work and maint. You need to decide if they are things that you are able and or willing to deal (or have dealt) with ie. fuel tanks, engine(s) & transmission(s) generator, plumbing and electrial, prop and shaft, steering etc.

-The fact that there are as many Classics around as there are, says alot about their original construction! Sure some have been babied from day one, while others have been abused from then. But there are alot out there yet!

-We are also reformed sailors, and have nothing bad to say about trawlers or Albins. It's very different, but all good so far.

-The AOG is a great source for information and Ideas!


feel to contact me if there's anything I can help with,

[harlie]

Thank you for your advice; we were going to do the teak decks on our sailboat with a product called Coelan made by Premapro. Have seen the result it is amazing but very bright. We planned on using the product with any trawler we bought. We do see a few without teak decks; is safe to say they were removed by some owner; they did not come out of the factory that way? Thank you and look forward to your response

[Boatmon]

Harlie,

It's hard to say who did it or when they would have been removed, to my knowledge the teak was standard with a pretty substantial up-charge for just glass. I know some of the guys here have don't them and some do, hopefully they'll chime in at some point.

Prior to our Albin we looked at a Marine Trader (I've mentioned this in other posts too) that had a beautiful job of removing the teak and adding non-skid done. The problem was that the plywood core was not allowed to dry out, thus 34% moisture in the core with nowhere to go. So if it's done properly I think its a good thing, if you ask a Grand Banks owner they would tell you that a vessel with no teak on the decks will have the price reduced to reflect the installation of new teak. That I'm told is between 30 and 50k in todays market!

We Love our decks, but they leak and have leaked. This means damage that will require removal to be dealt with properly, the constant question is "do we glue them back down after the repairs or simply go the non-skid route??" I may not know the answer until we are well into it.

All that aside, we LOVE our Albin and plan to continue the improvements and upgrades as well as anything else that she may need.

12 025.jpg

The Lass first days 121.jpg

May 20, 21 047.jpg

[harlie]

WOW!! The deck looks great!! Did you use chemical/sanding or heat to remove old material?? The product I mentioned in the other post will fill gaps up to 1/8 of a inch; hence the interest I had in it. It would have been great for my sailboat. Teak; I must admit although work intensive is very pleasing to the eye. Thank you for the info. We have narrow our search down somewhat but do not want to fly down south till we have a few boats to look at. And we must be pretty sure of their shape before we go. We could only find 1 Albin 36 up here in Nova Scotia, which was not for sale. Thanks again

[jleonard]

We re caulked our entire flybridge last summer, and a small section of the aft deck. It was not nearly as bad of a job as I have heard about.
A few simple tools are needed. One is the boatlife hot knife. That made a small job out of removing the old caulk. Then I made up two scraping tools by bending screwdrivers and grinding an edge. Those two tools make removing caulk pretty easy.
Send me a private e mail to the address below and I'll send some pics if you're interested.
jleonard@usa.norgren.com

[Boatmon]

We HAD to sand the decks and most everything else. There really wasn't other option in our case. Some of the other stuff like the doors, hatches and wheel were chemical stripped and then sanded.

Like I've said over and over (as much to remind me as to inform everyone else) there is still a long way to go. This is only the first season of at least three (and maybe more) but she's in the water and we are really really enjoying it!

Ultimately I think the decks will be glued back down after the repairs are made, leaks are fixed, a new layer of sealing glass is down, and all the decking has been run through the surface plainer and thru-bunged.

I just don't think that I can give them up for non-skid.....

[harlie]

Thank you for your kind offer re- the pictures, but we live in a very rural part of NS without highspeed internet and to download pictures is a very pain full process. A couple of pictures would be great!! Thank you for your advice.