T&T: About Albins (Was: Single vs twins)

[Albin43SDtr]

'Lo All,

I sent this earlier to someone else privately, but there seems to be 
more general interest in these boats than I thought. I made a few 
changes to add clarity:

The Celestial, our boat, is an Albin 43 Sundeck with twin Cummins 
6BT5.9M engines. As any boat, it is a compromise in features. It is 
galley-down, which gives a more stable ride for the cook at work, but 
my wife would have preferred a galley-up so she could see out. There 
are portlights in the galley and dining area, but they are not much 
good for watching the scenery slide by from the galley. The sundeck 
is really nice, but don't try to land a fish while on it - go to the 
side which is much lower (I lost a 4'+ King Mackerel because my gaff 
hook was not long enough). :( .

I am glad the Celestial has twin Cummins engines. She is a dream to 
dock. They are quite economical and easy to work on. Parts are 
readily available. On a 30 day trip shortly after we purchased her, 
we averaged, as I recall, about 2.5 gal/nm, including several days on 
the hook, using the 8 kW generator which provided air conditioning. :)

The Albin 43 is a fair boat in a seaway - I've seen better, and a lot 
worse. We have been in 5-6' seas and were not too concerned with them 
(don't want to be broadside to them). The flared bow definitely makes 
for a dry ride (but don't bury the bow in a wave). As with any boat 
without stabilizers, she has a natural roll period, so one must 
accommodate that (by varying speed and the angle of wave entry) in 
order to have a comfortable ride when the seas are up over, say 3'. 
We have never had to slow down due to seas, but then, we only run at 
8-9 kts anyway.

I have been told that many Albin and MT hulls came from the same 
moulds. The following is what I have been told by folks that should 
know: The method of construction of the Albin boats is what 
differentiates them from the Marine Traders (MT). MT boats were 
usually made by a family actually moving into the hull and building 
the boat while living in it. If the family was talented, a good boat 
was made, but if not....    The Albins were all made in a more 
conventional manner in a boatyard. The interior parts were made in a 
cabinetry shop, as evidenced by each drawer and cabinet having the 
hull number written inside to assure it went to the right boat.

The aft stateroom is what really sold my wife on the boat. The 
centerline queen bed and the tub/shower in the head. We have never 
had all the closets and cabinets full. There is a LOT of storage 
space. The emergency tiller is stored under the bed and is made to 
extend up through the sundeck so the one steering can see where he is 
going - not so in many boats. The bed is one of the most comfortable 
ones I have ever slept on.

The sundeck construction really surprised me. It is like a box beam. 
I have never seen a boat built that way. The fiberglass (FG) deck is 
moulded with athwartship teak strips on the outside. All teak decking 
is then screwed into these strips. This means that there are none of 
the usual hundreds of screw holes penetrating the decks. After the 
main FG deck is laid up, stringers are glassed in that run 
athwartship and longitudinally, forming a grid. These are glassed in, 
but the glass does not extend around the teak stringers, leaving what 
will be the bottom side bare. All of the stringers and teak strips 
appear to be trapezoidally shaped, which would physically lock the 
wood to the FG. All electrical wiring is then installed. Quarter inch 
plywood with sound suppressing foam and vinyl covering is then glued 
to the stringers and screwed to hold it in place. I found all this 
out when I installed a security system with deck stress sensors. The 
plywood was hard to remove!!!! I once had 13 people (I think it was) 
on the sundeck for a funeral at sea ceremony. I was concerned and 
watched the deck carefully for any sign of over stressing. None. I 
was/am impressed.

The lower helm on most boats with dual helms is very sparsely 
equipped. We equipped the Celestial fully for operation from the 
lower helm. In the summer, we have to run her from the lower helm so 
as to be in an air conditioned environment.

We really like the Celestial. After looking at lots of boats, I 
believe that our Albin is as good as any Ocean Alexander (OA) of the 
same vintage - and was priced at about one half of a comparable OA.

As with airplanes, boat values are generally a composite of three 
things: Hull, engine(s) and electronics. Judge each individually, 
then add up the values. I love our Cummins engines. The hull was in 
good shape, but had blisters (which was part of the 
evaluation/price). Electronics were sparse and antiquated. We added 
each value up and made an offer, which, while significantly less than 
the asking price, was accepted after we explained how we came up with 
the amount.

Good luck on your search.

Take care and be safe.

Wayne
M/V Celestial
Albin43 Sundeck