New Member - Taggteam

[taggteam]

Good evening, folks. I've been "lurking" here for some time....as I've been diligently looking for an Albin 28TE.
I've recently entered into contract on a 28TE, powered by a Peninsular. I've looked at at least 6, some advertised here on the forum, and found this boat (which was not listed here) to be the absolute finest condition Albin 28 TE, whether for sale or not. I've looked at Yanmar powered boats.... Peninsular and Cummins power plants (notice there is no G...that drives me crazy...people calling them "Cummins").
Having done my homework....here is what I've found.
Cummins and Peninsular are pretty noisy engines......but give a better cruise speed for some reason...with excellent efficiency. Yanmar's are super quiet....smooth and efficient...but I've not seen one cruise over 18kts. In my opinion....that doesn't warrant the 20K street price difference I see.

I've read and read and read the negative info on the "Beast" engines. And... read about and talked to those who've owned them with no issues....as well as spoke to the factory folks. Bottom line is, I'm not one bit afraid of a Peninsular. Parts are readily available and cheap. Replacement engines are a 3rd of the cost of a Yanmar....so...it just makes sense to me. Did they have some issues? Yep....what engine manufactured has not? I see a dock mate of mine working on his Cats weekly....not doing maintenance...FIXING them. CAT, Detroit, Cummins, and Yanmar all have had their issues....so....that's my .02 cents.

What I just don't understand is how these boats are so "all over the place" in terms of numbers. Some report 15kt cruise....some 20...and everywhere in between. I suppose it's just how they are set up. Regardless, my sea trial went well with the boat cruising at 20kts....effortlessly...and topping out at 25+.

In any event, I'll be posting some pictures of the new rig once I take delivery at the end of Sept.
She's a gem....wish me luck with the 160 mile run home!

[Mark Deeser]

Welcome to the form, sounds like you have done your homework. Looking forward to the pictures, you will have a great cruise home, nice distance to get settled in with your new boat.

[Nancy]

Welcome aboard, Tagg! Great post! Can't wait to hear more about your fine new boat, with photos of course!

[RobS]

....wish me luck with the 160 mile run home!

from where?

[catalina_mike]

Welcome to the forum. I did 130 NM the last time out fishing. They are great boats and whatever engine you get if you take care of it it will take care of you.

[DesertAlbin736]

Welcome aboard! TE's are not in my bailiwick, but always glad to hear of more Albin owners joining AOG.

Cape May? I grew up in Barnegat up until my folks moved us away to Upstate NY in '67 & I came out to AZ in '77 & been here ever since.

But here's our Albin 25 on the Cape May-Lewes ferry when we trailered to the East coast last year on the way to our launch point on the Nanticoke River in Seaford, DE for our 2 week Chesapeake cruise. Did 5 days on the Erie Canal in NY too. 18 - 20 kts? Ha! We're a 6.5 knot boat but we do that on 0.4 to 0.5 GPH. Did 573 NM this summer in NW Washington State & coastal British Columbia on 44 gallons of fuel.

[taggteam]

Thanks for the welcome, folks. the run home will be from CT....around Montauk and down to Atlantic City..then possibly to Cape May. We may stop in Montauk at a transient dock, and fish a day or two...we'll see how we time it. We'll at least stop there to top off the tank.

130NM round trip...may I ask what power you have and the fuel burned on that trip? I'll be likely be occasionally targeting the canyons out of Cape May once again, which is a similar distance...I am thinking I have plenty of fuel....the run home will tell if I'll be investing in a small bladder tank.

[catalina_mike]

I have a inaccurate fuel sender per PO and I agree it is not accurate. So I started logging my NM with the GPS and hours. I plan for 1.5 NM per gallon as a rule of thumb but with lots of trolling got better than 2. I have the Yanmar and cruise at 14-16 knots because it is comfortable. My top speed is 21 knots but why...

[DesertAlbin736]

Just curious, where in CT? During one phase of our above mentioned 2015 East coast trailer sailing road trip we docked our boat for a week at Norwest Marine Marine Center on the Pawcatuck River in Pawcatuck, CT on the RI border. By chance we met some new owners of a 28TE on that same dock. They were newbies to handling a single screw fixed prop & wanted to turn their boat around and back in to the slip, so they asked me to drive it for them. That would be too funny if it's were the same boat you're buying, or another one currently docked at the same or a nearby marina. Part of the reason we were there was that some friends from our sailing club were from Westerly & owned a beach house in Weekapaug and invited us and several other to come out and spend a week there. So we decided to bring our boat and do sort of a mini grand cruise.

So do I have this right? You're bringing the boat home to Cape May by water? That would be a fun trip, down Long Island Sound to the East River & NY Harbor, around Sandy Hook to Manasquan Inlet & the rest of the way down the ICW.

Pawcatuck to Cape May is what, just short of 300 miles? Heck, we could do that on less than 30 gallons.

[RobS]

Being a fisherman I'm pretty sure he'd be taking the offshore route rather than the sound and the city waterways..

[Jeremyvmd]

In good weather the offshore route could be done in 2-3 days depending on how long and fast you ran. I would go the outside route too...

[taggteam]

I actually started looking at a plan for this today using some mapping software. Looks like the total trip from the Sound in CT to AC is over 180 miles. The first leg is around 20 miles or so to Montauk....which would be a good stop to fuel, go over any issues, and either celebrate the purchase and smooth run with a few cocktails and a nice dinner....or resolve any issues found. It'll be a good time to get to know the boat a little and run her where I plan to for the rest of the route.....to get a true feeling for fuel consumption and range. I may then, based on what we find, plan an additional stop along the way.

If doing the run from Montauk to AC in one leg, and I average 18-20 kts, which is expected, the rest should take 9 hours or so. Not a bad run if all goes well. I'll hug the shoreline most of the way...which will make the run a little longer. I wouldn't do that run on anything other than a nice, relatively calm day. We'll bring extra filters, belts, etc. This ain't my first rodeo...

Does anyone know of; or can recommend some decent planning software? I used the free Garmin stuff today at lunch time....and it's just... well...ok. I was told to download "OpenCPN"....so I'll play with that tonight.

[Jeremyvmd]

I would try and break that second leg up into two legs just to be safe. But that's my opinion.

[taggteam]

We may try to do that.....but likely will make the 2nd leg in a long day. I'll get a feel for the boat and actual fuel burn...and determine that along with the consideration of sea conditions "on the fly" . We may duck in on the northern coast of NJ to spend the night.

[Jeremyvmd]

if you need it I have a slip that is unused in barnegate bay - lines are even already preset for an A28...lol