rough around the edges Albin 25

[ssrig]

Thanks for the picture of the nuts, nice grouping!

Looking back now I see the Albin Motors fellow said “brass” also...
Must be a different composition of brass with less zinc in the mix?

I also see some washers there and on your mock up on your thread you have one on the shaft. Do you need that? What happens without it?

[hetek]

Yes, I used one washer. It is actually a 1/8" thick bronze thrust washer. When all was assembled, my cotter pin hole was too far away from the castle nut to be useful. Adding the washer puts the hole inside the castle slots where it should be.

[DesertAlbin736]

Looking back now I see the Albin Motors fellow said “brass” also...
Must be a different composition of brass with less zinc in the mix?

Yes there is.

Aluminium makes brass stronger and more corrosion-resistant. Aluminium also causes a highly beneficial hard layer of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) to be formed on the surface that is thin, transparent and self-healing. Tin has a similar effect and finds its use especially in seawater applications (naval brasses). Combinations of iron, aluminium, silicon and manganese make brass wear and tear resistant

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass

Brass is predominately copper + zinc. Bronze is copper + tin. Brass is weakened & turns pink when the zinc is leached out through galvanic corrosion, aka "de-zincification". Think of sacrificial zincs as "less noble" then other metals, so if zinc corrodes away before the copper & tin in bronze then won't it also corrode & leach out of plain brass?

[ssrig]

One of the primary reasons for choosing the Albin 25 was its trailer-ability, not for towing it far and wide like DA but most importantly for us to be able to keep it at home for free during non use. We spend our winters south and having a boat in the water is something that I would worry about while away.
We also live on the side of a mountain and our land is sloped so having a large enough level spot is difficult along with a steep driveway to negotiate, but I did find a spot that is close to our cul de sac with a pretty straight run from there for backing up.



As usual there is always a fight getting things done, like a flat on the backhoe!

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Fits in there perfectly and we are stoked that it all worked out!
Still need to run power for some lights and set up a tarp over the whole thing.
Some of the tarp supports sitting on the left, a 30' long fir cut from where the boat sits, one I planted here 25 years ago!

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Also in this pic is the starboard rub rail damage when the PO had trees fall on it, still looking for a little chunk of rubrail to splice in.

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Before backing the boat in I also dug a hole under the rudder in case I need to drop it.

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So I have been busy in respects to the boat just not directly working on it although I have still been staining and poly coating the cockpit table and finishing the vee berth insert and accumulating some plumbing stuff.

[hetek]

I feel your pain. I have sold boats solely on the costs associated with winter storage. With two kids college age (one in and one soon) paying $700 just to park a boat for the winter is no longer being smart.

Even my A25 that I'm working on now was in paid yard storage last year, but won't be any more. The yard insisted that I get shrink wrap or else no deal. Final cost? Back to the $700 mark for the season.

My A25 Will now spend her winters next to my garage. Storage costs? $0.

[hetek]

Just to add... Another mantra for me is trailer-only. I no longer want to rely on a yard to launch/haul.

"Superstorm" Sandy taught me that lesson. My A27FC "Bunkie" was hauled ONLY 4 HOURS prior to the storm hitting. The yard said they were caught off-guard by the severity of the storm.

Never again. Piece of mind is priceless.

[ssrig]

It would be $700 a month here!
If you manage to get past the waiting list for one of the main marinas here you may get kicked out in the summer months still! The Marinas in Ganges make their money during the summer months with lots of itinerant traffic coming and going so they dont want you around all year, pay high moorage in the winter then get out for summer or pay even higher moorage fees.
It only took my wife and I less than an hour to get the boat out of the water and home, at the time the Government docks were $27 a day. = $837!

[ssrig]

Used a tree I had originally planted 25 years ago for the main support for my tarp, also brought back my internal mast support and re mounted it temporarily and did a mid span beam support on top of it.

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Dark green tarp sure camouflages it in the trees!

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Then the rains came and some inside projects were started.

I will re build/renew this, its not too bad. Some kind of plug together system makes sense here, hated having the mast bungee corded down above the windshield and a bit on the canvas top when it was down for travelling on the trailer. It was awkward with the chunky aluminum light bracket on there too.

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I think I can rebuild the one on the left.

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Started to make new plywood shelves and lids etc, many are rotten and some missing, there are so many fishing devices screwed into the decks that they leak so that will be an on going thing with decent weather being the requirement to get whatever we don't use off the deck and sealed up.

[ssrig]

Took the mast apart and sanded it up, oak.... it was cracked, bent and checking so some epoxy and clamps to get it back to shape.

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I am sure there is a valid reason for having this in two halves, most likely to disconnect the wires and put away for trailering I guess, but for me it will be in one piece and Ill have some waterproof disconnects on there. Here it is together forever.

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I think it will come out OK.

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There is/was lots of plywood shelves and bed supports that are rotten and no good, making new ones and getting them sealed up is an ongoing project, but the worst of them are done, longest part of it is painting and letting them dry, I am slopping on that poly to try to protect the wood, its better than nothing at all on there like all the wood was!
Note old pieces leaning up next to new ones.

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Finally getting to the broken studs holding the fuel pump/filter bracket that broke.
Here is a birds eye view of the space to work in, not too bad really.

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Easy Out the old one, it came out very easily.

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Unfortunately the bolts I bought as replacement were too long but I put them on anyway with some extra washers until I get some shorter bolts.

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The aft cabin is covered in carpet, its a plasticky carpet and doesn't seem to rot but it extended down onto the shelf/ ledge where the plywood sits, as a result if any water flowed down the wall it would collect on the shelf and the carpet would never dry. So for now the carpet will stay but I trimmed it so the ply does not sit on it and hopefully give it a chance to dry.

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And lastly, this is the hole connecting the aft bilge area with the front that goes under the engine pan in case anyone was wanting to see it.

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[WillieC]

Looking good! My plywood shelves looked similar to yours. I cleaned them up, reglued them as needed and varnished the heck out of them. I wasn't terribly worried about looks, but I wanted them to shed water, or at least slow it from soaking it up.
Your mast looks similar to mine. Same exercise. The plan, if I get one of DA's round tuits, is to make mine foldable. AND epoxy coat it before varnish. It will last a season or two without the epoxy, but then the varnish starts peeling. All this is tied up in getting enough motivation to seriously deal with the hardtop issues. Think I'll pour another beer and ponder these things.

[DesertAlbin736]

The mast looks very much OEM as far as shape & construction. Mine is like that too but made from teak or maybe mahogany, not oak. I imagine the split construction was the easy way to make a channel for the wires going to the steaming light. Ours has bullet plugs to disconnect for mast removal, and by removing one of the two bracket mounting screws it can be folded back. I would suggest doing varnish over epoxy resin for the finish to hold up better. I do remove the stub mast during long term storage. Heat & UV exposure is the big enemy here in the desert, so I keep all the brightwork on the boat protected with Sunbrella covers. This photo was taken three years ago when I did my hardtop project and at the same time did the hatch covers, grab rails, and stub mast with varnish over West System epoxy, and they're in as good condition today as when I first did them.

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https://epoxyworks.com/index.php/varnish-over-epoxy/

[Sunsetrider]

Nice to see that channel between bilges - I hope I never get to see it in real life though.

[ssrig]

Yeah I am not going for looks at all right now, more like stop the deterioration and seal things up. I have slopped on the polyurethane just like you say WillieC, "I wasn't terribly worried about looks, but I wanted them to shed water, or at least slow it from soaking it up."

This boat will never be remotely close to a show boat, it will be a utilitarian camper/ cruiser for summers but will see its fair share of rain.
So all that fishing stuff that is mounted all over the aft deck leak, no sealant there and the cleats also are leaking, getting all that deck mounted hardware removed and sealed up will be a fairly long task so in the meantime if water does get in ( it will ) it will leak down into the bilge and on the way not do too much damage and can be dried out.

That mast picture is after the second coat of epoxy, one more and then some good varnish which as of now I have two coats on it.
I have decided that the mast will be removable, so many low hanging trees and branches on my way for launch and to bring it home that I am afraid it will get snagged.

I think I have found all of the drain holes along the bilge including the rudder tub.

WillieC, What is up with your hardtop?

[WillieC]

The hardtop is close but no cigar. To rebed the grabrails, you have to raise the top enough to pull the hidden screws above the original roof frame. Depending on how well you have sealed it so blue water doesn't come blowing in on those Georgia Strait crossings, that is problematic.
Any work on the wiring interface between the two tops, original and BCTop, also requires top removal.
The mast wiring and mast attachment is prone to leaking, all over the chart table/dash. In winter one doesn't notice it until the fiberglass starts to bubble under any items you left there intending for them to stay dry, like books, charts, and travel guides. Fortunately it lays down in the summer heat.
The inside of the top is rough/cracking/peeling and generally messes with the feng shui I have attempted to cultivate..
The rain drain system collects concentrated seagull piss that eats right through paint, filler and fiberglass. I should bottle it and market it as ecological bottom paint removal. (There is no drainage system. It collects in the low mid point and festers there until I come out and reach for the grabrail and immediately contract avian bird flu.)
When I bought the boat, the top was so badly eroded, full of gulleys and crevasses, leaking black ooze through the grabrail screws. The PO used it as a selling point. Hey, it keeps most of the weather out and what do you prefer? Going out on the boat or spending all your time fixing it up? Did I mention this was our first boat? I rehabbed the outer surface a couple years ago using Brightsides and about forty gallons of the high dollar marine bondo. Then, when it bubbled when it had standing water on it, I learned why it was called Bright SIDES! Dudn't work on top. Ah, grasshopper!
And since I want to rework the mast so I have half a chance of getting a 25' boat in my 24' shop, I want to pull the whole top off and make it happy, serviceable, nice looking, and leak free. Imagine that. I may also deal with the insides by making it look more boaty with some kind of wood veneer and hidden wiring channels for lighting, maybe outlets. While I am at it, gull wing hatches for easier side entry would be cool, but there are limits. All this needs to be done before I even think about re-doing the canvas sides.

Other than that, the top is perfect! And, truly, it IS functional. It may stay as is longer yet.

[DesertAlbin736]

WillieC's hard top really is nice, but all the above is why I was thinking K.I.S.S., "keep it simple, stupid" when I designed mine. Was enough of a project as it was making something to cover just the roof opening. It's a simple curved fiberglass panel with raised sill frames for the hatches, so water drains straight off it with nowhere to puddle and the hatches are watertight. It's through bolted on 8 inch centers & sealed with 4200 removable caulk/adhesive, not permanent 5200 in case the day should ever come when it would need to be removed, for instance to pull the engine.