Albin Fuel Burn

[Conrad]

The Albin 25 is an amazing boat. We had the same model, 1976 Albin Deluxe, and had many adventures on her, selling only because of relocation as well.
Later we picked up another Albin 25, a 1972 model, and enjoyed it until we realized that our now much larger family didn't fit as well anymore. But what a beautifully designed and engineered vessel; things like passive air flow that keeps the boat cool - a real feat of engineering.
It will be the perfect boat for someone; most recent examples I'm aware of have been repowered. Our last one had a 27 hp Yanmar that moved her at 6-7 knots; our first one had 36 hp and I would recommend that hp range as she could easily hit 8 knots although we rarely went above 7. But it was nice to have it when you wanted it.

 

[Art]

The Albin 25 is an amazing boat. We had the same model, 1976 Albin Deluxe, and had many adventures on her, selling only because of relocation as well.
Later we picked up another Albin 25, a 1972 model, and enjoyed it until we realized that our now much larger family didn't fit as well anymore. But what a beautifully designed and engineered vessel; things like passive air flow that keeps the boat cool - a real feat of engineering.
It will be the perfect boat for someone; most recent examples I'm aware of have been repowered. Our last one had a 27 hp Yanmar that moved her at 6-7 knots; our first one had 36 hp and I would recommend that hp range as she could easily hit 8 knots although we rarely went above 7. But it was nice to have it when you wanted it.

What mileage [hourly fuel usage] you experience with the 36 and then the 27 hp engines?... must have been outstanding!

 

[Conrad]

What mileage [hourly fuel usage] you experience with the 36 and then the 27 hp engines?... must have been outstanding!

The hourly burn rate was so outstanding that it was a non issue and I can't remember what it was! I'm sure the 27 HP Yanmar was more efficient than the much older 36 HP Volvo, but filling the 20 gallon tank was a rare event.

 

[Nomad Willy]

My first trawler was an Albin 25.
It had a HM35F Yanmar .. 34.5hp. Lightly loaded we could almost hit 11 knots. With very limited visibility fwd. I cruised her at 8.5 knots for the first year and 7.35 knots there after. Took her to Juneau and back in 03. The only problem was what everybody in the Albineers Club called a “snap roll” .. nasty bit of motion. Wish I had another A25.

Oh don’t remember our burn rate but I think my frequent boating buddy w the 27hp Yanmar was about 1/2gph. My bigger engine burned about 3 qts hr. Think it burned 3 qts at 7.35 knots and close to one gallon at 8.5knots.

 

[Art]

My first trawler was an Albin 25.
It had a HM35F Yanmar .. 34.5hp. Lightly loaded we could almost hit 11 knots. With very limited visibility fwd. I cruised her at 8.5 knots for the first year and 7.35 knots there after. Took her to Juneau and back in 03. The only problem was what everybody in the Albineers Club called a “snap roll” .. nasty bit of motion. Wish I had another A25.

Oh don’t remember our burn rate but I think my frequent boating buddy w the 27hp Yanmar was about 1/2gph. My bigger engine burned about 3 qts hr. Think it burned 3 qts at 7.35 knots and close to one gallon at 8.5knots.

Heck Eric... At one gph doing 8.5 knots... your Albin 25 got better mileage than my 1985 Ford F250 truck used to get driving in town with it's 460 cid engine! Could get all the way up to 11 mpg at a steady 60 mph on the hwy! LOL

Our Tolly twins get 2 nmpg at 6.5 to 7 knots. If I run on a single at 4.5 to 5 knots can eek out near 3 nmpg. With a medium sized cruiser boat that has lots of room and creature comforts.

 

[Conrad]

My first trawler was an Albin 25.
It had a HM35F Yanmar .. 34.5hp. Lightly loaded we could almost hit 11 knots. With very limited visibility fwd. I cruised her at 8.5 knots for the first year and 7.35 knots there after. Took her to Juneau and back in 03. The only problem was what everybody in the Albineers Club called a “snap roll” .. nasty bit of motion. Wish I had another A25.

Oh don’t remember our burn rate but I think my frequent boating buddy w the 27hp Yanmar was about 1/2gph. My bigger engine burned about 3 qts hr. Think it burned 3 qts at 7.35 knots and close to one gallon at 8.5knots.

I misspoke in that our 36 HP Volvo could reach 11 knots as well but as Eric says, your view was limited.

 

[Goodness]

Albin 25 Hull Shape

I have just bought a 1970 Albin the plaque says its a Series 2 Hull 274 or so. Were there two hull designs? There are hard chines on the hole with a single deep keel. Is this the displacement or semi-displacement?

 

[DesertAlbin736]

I have just bought a 1970 Albin the plaque says its a Series 2 Hull 274 or so. Were there two hull designs? There are hard chines on the hole with a single deep keel. Is this the displacement or semi-displacement?

There were two hull designs. Your 1970 is the original "standard" version, as is my 1971 hull number 736. Those were strictly a rounded displacement hull, originally powered by a 2 cyl Albin built AD21 diesel of about 21 HP. Many surviving examples of those have been repowered with various other engines, mine being a late 1980s vintage 3 cyl Yanmar 3GM30F. That's 24 HP continuous, 27 HP limited max. Waterline length is about 21 ft. Theoretical hull speed in knots is 1.34 X sq root of waterline length in feet. That works out to about 6.14 knots. We can push ours to about 6.5 knots in calm water at 2,350 RPM with our 24 HP Yanmar. At that speed we burn about 1/2 gallon per hour. Overall average is about 0.4 GPH.

Starting somewhere around the 1972 to 1973 model year and later they went to the "DeLuxe" variant, making some minor changes to the hull & power train. The aft part of the bottom was "flared" downward a few inches from 3 feet or so forward of the transom & back to the stern to make it "semi displacement". The AD21 engine was replaced by 36 HP Volvo MD3B and later MD17C versions. The Volvo engines have exhaust manifolds on starboard side compared to AD21 exhaust on port side. So the exhaust outlet was changed from port to starboard. The engine box was changed to accommodate the Volvo from a "stepped" design to a fully rectangular box. In the early models the engine box extended about 4 inches into the main cabin and the cabin bulkhead had a hinged section that swung inward to allow the engine box to be tilted upward after removing the driver bench seat to access the engine. In the later models the engine box was moved aft those few inches to allow for a fixed cabin bulkhead. The new engine box had a hinged section at the aft end so one could access the engine enough to check oil etc without having remove the driver's bench seat. Those changes allowed top speed to increase to around 10 or 11 knots, with most cruising in the 7 to 8 knot range. Otherwise those are the only noticeable changes other that the stern rail being changed from one that goes all the way a cross to a split rail allowing easier access to a swim platform & boarding ladder.

From what I've seen the newer DeLuxe versions are noisier with more vibration than the early models, but that's subjective from comparing my boat which has a possibly quieter Yanmar with "AquaDrive" thrust bearing/CV joint coupling installed to another stock Volvo MD17C powered later model that I got a ride in once.