New 27 owner

[96flht]

I'm new to this board and new to Albin boats, but wanted to say hello and get some opinions. I just purchased an 86 Albin 27 with a 78hp Nissan engine. The boat needs cleaned up and some minor repairs but the hull and engine seem fine and the bottom was just painted in April. I took her out for a couple hours yesterday and made about 5 kts at 1400 rpm and 7 kts at 2200 rpm. I think bringing her up to par will require more elbow grease than money. Two questions. First is $7500 a reasonable price for this boat that has been a live aboard for a couple years and needs a good cleaning, and second, how difficult is it to build, modify, or buy a trailer and can Albin 27s be launched from a ramp or is a lift required. Thanks for any information.

[Fortunate]

$7500 seems very fair. A trailer can be custom built for the AC27, I believe Veebyes has some info from his AC27. Mine is launched from a ramp every season.

[DougSea]

From Panhdjoe on « Sun Jun 12, 2011 8:36 pm (I think he hit the wrong button when he went to post this!)

Congratulations on your purchase, i belive you bought at a extremely low price we paid a lot more for a simalier boat.

[Dave]

$7,500 is a steal, most of these boats are in the 20-38 range. I have a 27 which I built a trailer for but it is only to launch and haul out in a straight line about 100 feet each time but it beats hauling it up on a wooden crib. I believe the 27's are too wide to trailer on the roads without a permit. Enjoy you boat!!

[leprof31]

Congratulation! and welcome abord! 7,500$ is a great deal if the engine work fine.

[96flht]

I have been in Colorado for a couple weeks and have only had the chance to take 'Slow Pace' out once. We did a trial for a few hours a couple weeks ago and other than slow starting the engine was smooth and quiet. There may be a glow plug issue or maybe the engine hasn't been run much lately. Either way I don't think there are any major issues and I plan to go for another quick spin tomorrow. A 120 mile round trip to Ocracoke Island is already in the planning stage.

[Veebyes2]

$7.5K looks like a steal if all it requires is a good dose of cosmetic work.

I used to trailer my A27, also a 1986 hull, every year. It was a seasonal launch & haul. I used a proffessional hauler with a hydraulic trailer.

[Panhdjoe]

I have 2005 Float on trailer that was costom made for a 27 family cruiser. I bought it from another List member that had sold there boat. i have only loaded my boat on it once but had no problems at all. My F 250 super duty pulls it no problem. I would recomend nothing less than a 3/4 ton class truck.
My Boat also has a Nissan 78 hp engine. i have done extensive maint. and gathered a list of part numbers, I have a # for champion glo plugs.
I have an engine manual that I got with the boat, it is for the Industral version of the Nissan LD28 I doubt any marine specific manual was printed. I would like to scan and post it in the documents section when I can take the time to figure how to do that. or if anyone could offer some help on that project it would be aprectied. I am a much better mechanic than computor guy or writer.
If I can be of any help on you engine issues please let me know.

[96flht]

Panhdjoe,

Thanks for the info. I have a two wheel drive F250 and regularlly tow a 10,000 pound horse trailer. My only concern was getting traction to pull up the ramp after the boat is loaded. There is a guy in Georgia that will build a trailer for about $4000 ($4600 galvanized). Right now I have a slip and am having too much fun to worry too much about trailers. The engine is starting easier, I think it just takes some getting used to. I'm fairly computer illiterate myself, but if you ever get the LD28 manual scanned I would love to see it.

[Panhdjoe]

I hold the glo plug button down for about 15-20 seconds in warm weather and 30 seconds in cold weather. Whe i first got the boat I was pushing on the fuse holder that is to the left of the key. the actual glo plug switch is above it. The way it is labled on my boat makes it confusing

[jcollins]

I have 2005 Float on trailer that was costom made for a 27 family cruiser. I bought it from another List member that had sold there boat. i have only loaded my boat on it once but had no problems at all. My F 250 super duty pulls it no problem. I would recomend nothing less than a 3/4 ton class truck.
My Boat also has a Nissan 78 hp engine. i have done extensive maint. and gathered a list of part numbers, I have a # for champion glo plugs.
I have an engine manual that I got with the boat, it is for the Industral version of the Nissan LD28 I doubt any marine specific manual was printed. I would like to scan and post it in the documents section when I can take the time to figure how to do that. or if anyone could offer some help on that project it would be aprectied. I am a much better mechanic than computor guy or writer.
If I can be of any help on you engine issues please let me know.

Panhdjoe,
I'll help any way I can. If you get it scanned, email to me and I'll get it posted in the document library.
Or, mail the manual, I'll scan, and return.

John

[96flht]

Panhdjoe,
As it turns out I may need some mechanical advice and you might have a quick, easy answer. Over the weekend I went out for a couple hours, shut down for dinner, and started up again. After about a mile the engine quit. The boat was running smooth at 1600 rpm and it stopped so fast that I thought a crab pot rope fouled the prop, but this wasn't the case. When trying to restart the engine it would not try to turn over. Would an electrical problem shut down the engine or is it more likely somehow mechanically locked. The oil level was fine and everything seemed normal prior to the shutdown, except the batteries seem weak. Any help would be appreciated.

[leprof31]

Can't be an electrical problem with diesel.

[96flht]

leprof31, that's what I thought too. Diesels are pretty simple and once running you have to shut the fuel supply off to stop the engine. As it turns out, there is a lift pump in the fuel tank to supply fuel to the mechanical injector pump on the engine. Lose power, lose lift pump, and lose fuel supply to injector pump. I learn something new every day, unfortunatly I forget two things!!

[tranmkp]

welcome to the group - a reminder, there is also a Albin Yahoo group that is a wealth of information.

On what you paid. You stole the boat.

On what happened. You say it was a livaboard? Was it ever taken out? Mine was a livaboard for a while. First thing that comes to mind is the fuel. Regardless if you put in fresh fuel - I bet it is really filthy. You are going to have to use elbow grease and clean the fuel filter - sorry to say - you should pull the fuel tank and clean it out - lots of ways to do this. You are going to have to remove the fuel pickup tube because it will be all boogered up with gunk. Check you fuel lines also.

Keep us informed.

MKP