How Popular is the Albin30FC?

[johnmurray]

I have noticed some comments on this site over the past few weeks about the Albin30 Family Cruiser. As an early owner (I have hull#15) I am interested in what others think, and what are the longer term prospects for this design.
As probably most people know, the A30FC was intoduced by Albin in 2004 as a "streched" version of the A28TE. The front three quarters of the boat, as well as the power and other systems are identical to the A28, but there is an aft cabin similar in design to the long standing A27 that was discontinued in 1990. As a consequence of the aft cabin, there is a great deal more inside space along with two-cabin privacy, but the cockpit is smaller, and not very suitable for sport fishing. The price of the A30FC is about the same as the A28TE.
In a conversation with an Albin factory sales person last year he told me that they had built about 40 of the aft cabin versions up to that time. I do not know what that number would be now, but that suggests a rate of about 20 per year. By comparison, I understand they have built about 900 A28s since they were introduced in 1993 for a rate of about 70 per year.
My previous boat was an Albin 27 Express, a smaller and lower powered forerunner to the A28TE. It is interesting to note that the A27 also came in an aft cabin version, and that version accounted for most of the A27 production. There were thousands of A27s made, but comparatively few in the express version.
There is no question that the A28 has been an extremely popular boat for Albin and I would expect the current high rate of production to continue indefintely. I understand that the boat has a particular appeal to the sport fishing market. I am not a fisherman however and what attracted me to the A30FC was the added inside accommodation and there appeared to be nothing else in the marketplace that offered that much space in a 30 foot boat. So far I have no reason to regret my decision.

[chiefrcd]

John, you made your own case. Sounds like you are very satisfied with the FC30, it's practical for you, good looking and I'm sure as sea-worthy as the 28 TE. For me, a diehard fisherman, the 28 is the perfect boat. Safe, large cockpit, seaworthy with the appropriate amenities. I would think that the 30FC would be a popular boat for those folks who like Albin lines and want that little extra room for cruising.

[jcollins]

John,
In another post Veebyess mentioned how popular the A27 was. And, still is. I see the 30 as a "souped up" version of the A27. The speed and power of the A28 WITH the aft cabin.
Take a very popular boat (A27) and add the features of another very popular boat (A28) you get the A30. Almost like a 27+2.

[tomcat rio]

26 kts looks a little optomistic for a top speed. very nice craft.


Click here
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http://newimages.yachtworld.com/1/5/3/2 ... 6623395000

[johnmurray]

On the delivery trial my boat (with the Yanmar 315) maxed out at 3860 RPMs and those RPMs achieved a speed of 24.7 knots. The boat was lightly loaded but had four persons on board. The sea state was a light chop with a wind speed of 10 knots. At 3277 RPMs it did 20.3 knots. The dealer (who sells mainly 28TEs) said that he thought the A30FC was slightly faster than the A28TE because of the longer waterline.
Last summer I noticed that at WOT I could hit 4000 RPMs and easily achieve 24 knots, but I do not think I ever have gone faster than the 24.7 knots achieved at the delivery trial.

[Veebyes2]

The aft cabin versions of the 27 & 30FC seem to have a love/hate viewpoint from boaters.

The gofast crowd seem to think that they are downright ugly. Those of us who own or have owned them think that they are just great. That aft cabin is the designs biggest asset & also the worst liability. No other design give a true second cabin in such a short length. That cabin top makes for a great sunpad. Tie a couple of beach chairs to the handrails
& you have a great perch to sit in & see 360 deg around you. That cabn also makes for getting to the transom for line handling or the platform a pain in the a$$.

Oh well! Can't have it all. We kept our 27AC for 13 years, That should tell something about the boat.

The basic layout is nothing new. European waterways have been crawling with aft cabin pocket cruisers for decades. Things cost alot more over there so people have to extract alot more out of any given length.

Terry Compton, an Englishman, did a great job redoing the A25 to create the 27. The 28 is another of his creations as is the 32+2. He also designed some great boats which were sales flops in the US. Among them was the 34 trawler which looks like an A27AC on steroids, one ugly but very practical boat. 2 heads in it!!! From that hull came the 32+2 which has been a success.