I am buying the Albin43

Hello.I am a Japanese.

I think I buy the Albin 43 made in Taiwan with twin Cat3208NA engines next month.
Engine hour is 1300. The model year is 1993.

The Albin 43 called INFINI-43TR in Japan.
Because the Japanese importer named Taiwanboat INFINI.


I have no information about Albin43 in Japan.

Please dose anyone give me an advice.

Dose it good trawler?
Dose Cat3208Na usually have trouble?
How speed ? curising and top.
Tell me the engine's best rpm ,please.


Thank you.

HIRO

Hiro, the Albin's are solid, sea worthy, time proven designs from a company that has been building boats for over 100 years. Most designs had long production runs and they cost quite a bit more than others of similar design but they also hold their value extremely well "if properly maintained". Unfortunately, despite their reputation they are plagued by all the same problems found on just about every make of trawler out there, that being leaky windows, rotted fuel tanks and hull blisters. They addressed some of these issues on later models from about the late 1980's and up by eliminating the teak decks, encasing tanks in fiberglass and using high quality aluminum framed windows but many of the newer ones still have blisters. (Incidentally I have the new windows and they still leak during very heavy rainfalls). Also like many others, Albin's quality control ran from one extreme to the other and resulted in no two boats being exactly the same..... regardless if it was built in the USA or Taiwan.

That said, get a good surveyor that you pick yourself, "not the seller or the broker". Pay special attention to leaks. The albin 43 is a beautiful boat and a proven design but the make and model are less important than how it has been maintained over the years. Fuel tanks can be replaced and blisters can be repaired if they bother you but leaky, poorly maintained windows, fittings and decks "destroy boats".

PS: Window/door leaks on the Europa models are much less of an issue due to the covered side decks.

Up to 1988 I would definitely say every boat is potentially a disaster waiting to buy....only the previous owners could have stopped the insanely poor design and construction methods from making the boat a "project" boat if it had been neglected for a bit of time.

Once they changed the construction methods...if they ever did in all aspects...but things like aluminum windows show at least a minimal effort to build a quality boat.

Not that wooden windows are bad...they just need a few design details to keep them from being nightmares from owner neglect.

Things like random pieces of teak encased in polyester resin for a flybridge deck just shows me a builder that is out of touch with the people building it or just a bad builder....even in 1988 that construction method of building a deck is inexcusable.

While overall I like my boat...calling it quality would be untrue....if it's better than the others out there...that doesn't make it a quality build...just the other's must really be hurting after a little neglect.

Things like random pieces of teak encased in polyester resin for a flybridge deck just shows me a builder that is out of touch with the people building it or just a bad builder....even in 1988 that construction method of building a deck is inexcusable.

Psneeld, I think we are pretty much on the same page but in my opinion I wouldn't say that their designs were bad, quite the opposite. I think the long history across the various models has proven the actual designs were very sound, but I totally agree the construction methods and quality of workmanship were seriously lacking on some/many/all ?

Referencing your comment about the teak pieces, I also had a heart attack when I first saw this on a friends Marine Trader. I'm pretty sure you will also find your side decks / gunwales are also made this way under your teak decks. I know both Marine Trader and Grand Banks also used this technique (for lack of a better word) and I imagine there were many others. Odd thing is I'm not certain this is actually better or worse than the marine ply/fiberglass construction which Albin started using in the late eighties. Awhile back I saw a core sample from a 1984 Marine Trader side deck, it was nearly 1 1/2 inches thick, the teak pieces/scraps alone appeared to be about 1 inch thick. Of course on top of this they also had a traditional teak deck. That is a lot of material. What is hard to say is did they do this because it was a good way to use up the teak scraps or did it actually result in a better deck ???? It would certainly have taken a ton of expensive epoxy versus glassed plywood.

Despite yours and my bitching about our Albins, I didn't buy mine because it was cheap and I didn't know what I was buying, I'm quite certain neither did you. Experience and owning multiple boats inevitably produces a wish list and I'll bet what we were after in a boat is remarkably similar. The fact that two cranky (read opinionated) long-time (read old) veteran boaters each bought one speaks for itself : )

I only hope we didn't scare poor Hiro away.

Thank you for your advice.

I am buying http://www.ntp.co.jp/marina/takahama/contents/03salse/infini-43tr/index.html

Alminium flamed windows and FRP Fly deck.
But fuel tank's material is unknow.

I will buy it next Monday.

Hiro

Hello Hiro, very nice, that is a beautiful Albin. Congratulations!

It appears to be well kept and extremely well equipped with high end electronics. I love the electronic single lever engine control with wireless remote. The price is certainly a bargain if the overall condition is really as good as it looks in the pictures. With a clean survey it would sell for much more in North America.

Although I like to complain about some of the quality of workmanship on my Albin, the wife and I love ours and wouldn't trade it for any other boat. I'm certain you will be delighted with your choice.

Also, if you have not visited the Albin Owners Association web site, you might want to drop in and say hello. Welcome to Albin Owners Group

PS: I'm curious what fuel tanks Albin used in the 1993 models, when you find out, please let us know. Mine are steel, encased in fiberglass which are then offset well inboard from the sides and away from the fill caps to supposedly prevent any possibility of salt water leaks from ever reaching them. The downside in doing this is there is almost no room on the outboard side of my engines for servicing and I can not dip my tanks to check the fuel level but all in all I think it is a fair compromise.

Hello Capt Kangeroo . Thank you for your response.
Now The Albin is in Nagoya Japan.

I live in Osaka Japan.
Next Monday ,I will go to Nagoya to buy it .
I will set out on maiden voyage to take a boat from Nagoya to Osaka.
The distance between Nagoya and Osaka is 210 miles.
I am very looking forward to be a owner.

When I will be owner ,I think I will be menber of Alibin Owners Group.

Ps: OK. I will check the fuel tank's material.

Hello.

I bought the Albin43.
I am very happy to buy it.

Cat3208NA engine is so good .
Cruising speed is 10.5N /2200rpm.
Top speed is 13.0N/2800rpm.

The fuel tank's material is steel.
But, it is no problem.

The Albin43 is my favorite.

Greetings,
Congratulations Mr. Hiro san. I'm sure you will enjoy many hours on the water. NOW the fun and learning begin...

Hiro

Please send pictures and congratulations

HIRO said:

Hello.

I bought the Albin43.
I am very happy to buy it.

Cat3208NA engine is so good .
Cruising speed is 10.5N /2200rpm.
Top speed is 13.0N/2800rpm.

The fuel tank's material is steel.
But, it is no problem.

The Albin43 is my favorite.

Click to expand...

Congratulations, Hiro. Beautiful cruising area there, and I envy you. (I attended school at Eta Jima a long, long time ago, and used to spend all my time on the water -- I was a boat guy even back then.

John

Thank you very much for replys.

This picture is my lovely Albin43.
I will make it more beautiful.

Thank you for replys.
This picture is my lovely Albin43.
I will make it more beautiful.



This Cat3208Na engine is very good condition!
On the cruise, we did some island-hopping .
I cruised 200 mile by this Albin.
When I cruised it ,it was typhoon in Nagoya Japan.
It was very bad weather.

But Albin is solid comfort .

I think I enjoy my life with this Albin.

Thank you for Replys

Thank you very much for replays
This photo is my Albin43

From now on ,I will make it more beautiful.

This albin engine is very good condition!
I cruised 200 miles from Nagoya to Osaka.
It was very bad weather.
It was tyhpoon in Nagoya Japan

But Albin is solid comfort .

I will enjoy my life with this boat.

Hiro

This photo is my Albin43

From now on ,I will make it more beautiful.

This albin engine is very good condition!
I cruised 200 miles from Nagoya to Osaka.
It was very bad weather.
It was tyhpoon in Nagoya Japan

But Albin is solid comfort .

I will enjoy my life with this boat.

Hiro

This link is my Albin43's photo.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/members/6786-albums153.html

From now on ,I will make it more beautiful.

This albin engine is very good condition!
I cruised 200 miles from Nagoya to Osaka.
It was very bad weather.
It was tyhpoon in Nagoya Japan

But Albin is solid comfort .

I will enjoy my life with this boat.

Hiro

Hiro, congratulations! Enjoy.

Capt Kangeroo said:

Hiro, the Albin's are solid, sea worthy, time proven designs from a company that has been building boats for over 100 years. Most designs had long production runs and they cost quite a bit more than others of similar design but they also hold their value extremely well "if properly maintained". Unfortunately, despite their reputation they are plagued by all the same problems found on just about every make of trawler out there, that being leaky windows, rotted fuel tanks and hull blisters. They addressed some of these issues on later models from about the late 1980's and up by eliminating the teak decks, encasing tanks in fiberglass and using high quality aluminum framed windows but many of the newer ones still have blisters. (Incidentally I have the new windows and they still leak during very heavy rainfalls). Also like many others, Albin's quality control ran from one extreme to the other and resulted in no two boats being exactly the same..... regardless if it was built in the USA or Taiwan.

That said, get a good surveyor that you pick yourself, "not the seller or the broker". Pay special attention to leaks. The albin 43 is a beautiful boat and a proven design but the make and model are less important than how it has been maintained over the years. Fuel tanks can be replaced and blisters can be repaired if they bother you but leaky, poorly maintained windows, fittings and decks "destroy boats".

Click to expand...

I was just going to ask a question about an Albin vessel with teak decks, and what to look out for. I knew I had seen a number of references to these older trawlers with teak decks.