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How I Chose the Albin 27
The search for a pocket trawler for extended coastal cruising took more than a year. In reality I had spent several years thinking and planning for my eventual decision. I knew my cruising grounds would cover North America and possibly into Mexico and the Carribean. I expected whatever boat I selected to be a long term project. Short on money, I planned to do most of the fitting out work myself over a multi-year time period. I started with a criteria list of ten items that I had begun to formulate years prior as a I owned a variety if different boats (usually sailboats). In its simplest terms the 10 criteria looked something like this:
1. Trailerable Boat |
A trailerable boat allows for cheap storage during the off season, less expensive transportation/relocation, and an inexpensive solution to yard fees during routine maintenance. A trailerable boat can be hauled out DIY, so you also avoid the cost of lift fees. I owned an Alberg 30, a beautiful classic 30ft sailboat, for a number years when I was younger. The boat weighed in at approximately 10,000 pounds and had no trailer. The weight and size of the boat affected every component of ownership. It was a tough lesson. Owning a heavy boat is expensive. To me a trailerable boat meant something no more than 30ft, and under 10,000 pounds in dry weight.
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2. Aft Cabin Sleeping Accommodations
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Experience taught me, sleeping in a v-berth sucks, compared to an aft cabin sleeping arrangement. In a v-berth the ceiling is low, and you have to crawl in and out coffin/torpedo tube- like into your sleeping position. The bed and cushions are not normal in size. In rough weather, on a mooring, or even at the dock, sleeping in the v-berth can be a sort of rollercoaster ride. All this might be tolerable if you’re an adventurous solo boater, but add a warm companion and for a variety of reasons this gets old fast. The solution is an aft cabin sleeping accommodation, which closely resembles a walk around queen size bed.
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3. Dedicated Sleeping Cabin |
It’s no fun turning your kitchen table into a queen size bed. Or converting your galley seatee into a bunk. Its not easy and its disruptive to boat living. The solution is a dedicated sleeping cabin, preferably at the aft end of the boat. This way you can go to sleep, wake up, and leave your sleeping area undisturbed until the next time you’re ready to use it. You don’t have to make your bed, and you don’t have to worry about cooking over where you sleep, or eating in your sheets. An dedicated sleeping cabin also lends itself to separate and isolated clothes storage.
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4. Dedicated Shower Stall & Head Space
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I don’t know about you, but after I take a crap the last thing I want to do is take a shower on top of or around the toilet. Boat manufactures give us tiny bathrooms with showers on or around the toilet. No thanks. My boat bathroom doesn’t have to be big, but it does need a dedicated shower, separate from the toilet (head), even if by a few feet. The water from the shower needs to drain separate of the toilet and main bathroom area. This turned out to be the single most difficult request to fulfill in my boat search.
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5. Covered Helm
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You spend "x" amount time sleeping in your bunk, eating in your galley, cleaning up in your head, working on the engine in the engine room---makes sense that you need a dedicated room to steer the boat. That means a covered helm position like a pilothouse. It doesn't necessarily have to be all season, but it should come close.
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6. Displacement Hull |
A displacement hull is like a sailboat hull. There is a keel sticking out the bottom of the boat. Sometimes its individually weighted, sometimes its just the low center of gravity of the engine placement and tankage that act as ballast. The trick is to have a keel that's substantial enough to help the motion of the boat, but not so deep that its draft limits where you can take the boat due to the amount of water you need. A displacement hull limits the boats hull speed. They're not fast but they're usually fuel efficient.
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7. Motorsailer Potential |
I guess I'm a sailor at heart. I miss my classic sailboat. But I'm too fat and old to sail a boat like that any more. It sure would be fun to roll out a headsail and maybe drift along while the engine turns over. Faux sailing. I don't care. It doesn't have to go to weather and it doesn't need to be too complicated.
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8.Fuel Efficiency |
I want an engine that uses approximately 1 gallon or less gas/diesel an hour. But I hate inboard engines. I'd rather have a small modern four stroke outboard (under 40hp). They sip gas and they're very reliable. When they die, you can replace it cheaply and easily. Since the boat will have a displacement hull, I just need a small engine to motor along at 6 knots. But finding a small displacement hull trawler under 30ft powered by an outboard is unlikely. A small inboard diesel might have to be an option.
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9. Live-eaboard Ability |
My boat needs to have limited live-aboard ability. To me that means I need to be able to live aboard the boat for 30-60 days, and of those days probably no more than 3 days on the hook or away from a full service marina. I lived aboard a 30ft sailboat for almost a year (150 sq ft), and then on a 45 houseboat for more than four years (220 sq ft). A boat with live-aboard qualities would have a dedicated galley, a dedicated aft sleeping cabin, a dedicated head and separate shower. It can't be smaller than 25ft and no bigger than 30ft. It shouldn't be too narrow. In addition the boat should have standing headroom for six feet. It needs electrical and plumbing systems capable supporting my live aboard requirements
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10. Price Point |
Now here's the kicker. Let's face it, there's a budget. There's always a budget. There's only so much cash to go around. I'm not a millionaire. I don't want a monthly boat payment. Owning my boat is important to me because it allows for self-insurance and it fits with the general way I live my life. I don't finance my toys, and I don't finance my boats. The budget will be somewhere between $10-40k. I'm not opposed to buying an older boat that needs a refit, because I have very specific ideas about the value and necessity of refitting the boat its use for long term extended cruising. No matter what the cost of the boat, if it's older, it's going to need a substantial refit to make it cruise ready. That means the cost of the boat AND the refit need to be part of the budget. A tall order, but that's reality.
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The Search
There are not a lot of offerings in the realm of "pocket trawlers". Especially with a list of 10 criteria than can be somewhat restrictive. Below is a short list of boats I ran across in my search. I hesitate to mention some of them, or even compare apples to oranges. To be fair you can't really compare a blue water trawler to a coastal trailerable trawler. But fair has nothing to do with it. The list of available pocket trawlers is so small you have to consider them all just to choices.
Clearly you get what you pay for. But it serves to illustrate the give and take thought process that weighed on my ultimate decision. Chosing the right "pocket cruiser" is a lesson in compromise. What did the Stones say? "You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need."
Clearly you get what you pay for. But it serves to illustrate the give and take thought process that weighed on my ultimate decision. Chosing the right "pocket cruiser" is a lesson in compromise. What did the Stones say? "You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need."
A List of Potential Candidates:
Vashon Pocket Trawler
C-dory variations
Rosbourough 25
Albin 25
Rqnger Tug Variations
Nordic Tug 26
Albin 27 FC
Nimble Wander
Cape Dory 300MS
Fisher 30
Willard 30
Monterrey Clipper 31
Nobel Gibbons 320
Legacy MkII
C-Dory Variations
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Minimalist done right. The C-dory has several variations, 22-25ft, some of which are promising like the Tomahawk or the C-hawk 25. There's a tiny dedicated head in most cases, but you can forget a dedicated shower and sleeping cabin. They're fast and efficient without a displacement hull, and have a cultish following. You will need $30-50k to join the group.
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Albin 25
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Weirdly Swedish. It looks like something from the 1970s version of the cold parts of the North Sea. There's a tiny aft cabin, where most other boats can't even comprehend the idea. No room for a separate shower stall, but the boat is very fuel efficient and weighs in at 5-6,000 pounds. Some were rigged as motorsailers. Unfortunately, the headroom in the cockpit it creeping close to sub 6'. This is an old well built boat. That's why they cost $10-20k.
Ranger Tug VariationsRanger makes cool trailerable tug boats that have it all from 25-29 feet. They look good, are outfitted well, and performe nicely. Unfortunately, the Ranger 25SC costs $130,000. Right, pass.
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Albin 27 Family Cruiser |
The Albin 27 Family Cruiser is twenty-seven feet long, almost 9’ wide, and weighs in at 6,500-7,000 pounds. Its the big sister of the Albin 25, made almost a decade later in the USA to exacting American standards. (Don't laugh, I know that's a ridiculous sarcastic statement.) On its triple axle trailer it sits right at 13’ tall. It came with a 70hp-150hp inboard diesel variations and while it could cruise at 6 knots using very little fuel it could also reportedly go 10-14 knots wide open depending on the engine. Although it has similar lines to a Albin 25, there was never a motorsailer version. The aft cabin idea is better formed here with more space. Headroom is better throughout. The head has no separate shower but the forward cabin accomplishes a lot. Just not very well. A very dedicated following keeps these boats valued at $20-30k.
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Nimble Wanderer |
This boat has it all in approximately 32 feet at 9,000 pounds. Shoal draft keel. Run by a tiny diesel inboard or a small four stroke outboard, so it sips fuel. Displacement hull, and can be rigged as a motorsailer which is always a plus. It has a separate shower stall in a dedicated head. Relatively narrow; It looks and it is tight. And it costs about $50-80k if you can find one.
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Willard 30
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Who doesn't love a Willard? When I see this boat I dream of running guns and rum off the beach of some third world mosquito coast. They're build like tanks, command a dedicated following, and hold their resale value. It comes in three different versions from trawler to motorsailer. But the Willard weighs 10,000+ pounds and is not about to be hauled around easily. It will cost you $30-60k
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Monterrey Clipper 31 |
Based on a classic San Francisco workboat design, the Montery Clipper makes me think of the opium dens of old San Fran. Heavy boats at 10,000+ pounds. It only draws 2 feet and the interior can be lacking in headroom. But it's cool. You pay for the cool factor and the rarity $20,000-$35,000
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Noble Gibbons 32
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Uber Salty. You can argue who has more grains of salt: the Gibbons, the Monterey Clipper, or any of the Willards--but my mind changes every day. The Willard is probably a close comparison. This is a heavy boat at 10,000+ pounds. They are old and hard to find. Because they're so big and heavy, a trailer is unlikely. If you can find one expect to start bidding at $25K for a basket case.
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Legacy Mk II 32 |
This thing is so cool I might quit my job and pose as a Norwegian sea captain. There's a lot going on here squeezed into 32 feet, and it all seems to be done right. But the boat is too big for the budget and still there's no separate shower stall. This boat weighs in right at 10,000 pounds, so its not to be taken lightely. Rare to find, they sell for $50-80k.
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Results of the Searching
It's not surprising I went with the Albin 27FC. The price was right. It was a weekend runner and it came with a triple axle trailer. With a few ambitious modifications I reckoned I could meet all my criteria in one boat. Read below to understand why I chose the Albin 27 over the Albin 25.