Harmony Albin 25

[Liranda25]

We bought the Harmony, an Albin 25 hull #1138. It was built in 1972. I have liked these boats since the 70s. Our dream is to take this boat from Astoria, OR up the Columbia, to western Idaho. The trailer it over the Rockies, and go to the East Coast.

The boat is in pretty rough shape. It needs new windows, fuel tank, and galley. I want to add a swim platform.

We have lived in Eugene, OR all our lives. We enjoy salmon fishing off the Oregon coast.

[WillieC]

Welcome aboard Liranda! Great plan for the boat. If you haven't already, I suggest you read Hira Reids' blog about her journeys in Shatoosh and Pashmina, a portion of which includes the Idaho trip you describe.

Also, check out Desert Albin's posts. They have trailered from Arizona to Bangkok with their A25.

Lots of info on the forum, take your time and ask your questions.

[Mark Deeser]

Welcome aboard, sounds like a good to do list, if your boat is anything like ours every job you do will uncover your next task. The Albin is a nice platform to build on. Enjoy.

[kerrye]

When you say, trailer over the Rockies and go to the East Coast, do you mean by water once you get over the Rockies, like down the Missouri, then up the Mississippi, Great Lakes etc, like River Horse but in reverse?

[DesertAlbin736]

Welcome aboard! Always glad to see another A25 join the group. Nothing more satisfying than bringing a neglected example of the best classic trailerable "poor man's pocket trawler" back to life.

More than any other Albin, the 25 is a "Goldilocks" size boat that opens up so many possibilities in cruising varied venues for those willing and able to trailer long distances. I would suggest also considering trailering to Blaine, Washington, a one day drive of 400 miles from Eugene, to launch from there and explore the San Juans & Gulf Islands. The launch facilities at Blaine also include the option of free truck and trailer parking for up to 60 days.

My wife's sister & brother in law live up in Deer Island, OR, near St. Helen's & Scappoose on the Columbia above Portland. They have a 1990s Bayliner 2552 sedan cruiser they often take up to the San Juans when not boating on the river.

We hope to be up there ourselves next summer, the goal being "Desolation Sound Or Bust".

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[DesertAlbin736]

Also, check out Desert Albin's posts. They have trailered from Arizona to Bangkok with their A25.

Ha ha, WillieC exaggerates. We have not trailered to Bangkok. Timbuktu maybe, but not Bangkok.

But actually yes, we did trailer back East in 2015, in addition to cruising the Pacific NW in 2014 & 2016, and to Huntington Beach, CA for a run out to Catalina Island this past summer. Some or all of the Erie Canal would be fun, as would the Great Lakes, New England, and the Chesapeake Bay. But be warned, much of the East is muggy and buggy in mid summer.

In all our travels so far in my opinion nothing beats the San Juans, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, and the Inside Passage of BC, Canada.

For sheer rugged beauty, hardly anything I can think of, with the possible exception of Alaska, beats scenes like this...

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[WillieC]

Put in at Olympia and boat to the San Juans. Lots to see and do on the way.

[DesertAlbin736]

Put in at Olympia and boat to the San Juans. Lots to see and do on the way.

That would work too, especially if you had lots of time. Roughly 120 to 130 miles from Olympia to the San Juans. Four to five days each between Olympia and Friday Harbor at 30 miles per day, plus a week to explore the San Juans. Say a three week cruise? Add another two or three weeks to explore the Gulf Islands in BC and you've got a great six week summer cruise.

Your cruising range on a 20 gallon tank leaving 5 gallons in reserve (don't want to chance sucking air in the fuel line when rocking & rolling) would be about 180 miles, assuming running with and against tide currents averages out to 6.5 knot cruising speed. Even better if you time your routes to go with favorable tidal currents as much as possible. Even refueling at 1/2 tank, 8 or 9 gallons, can give you a 100 mile range.

Speaking of Olympia, and this is admittedly a bit off topic, one of our stops on last summer's RV road trip (including a visit with Sunsetrider in Ontario), was a stop in Philadelphia to tour the USS Olympia museum ship docked at Penn's Landing on the Delaware River. For those not familiar with Spanish American War history, the Olympia, classified as a "protected cruiser", was Admiral Dewey's flagship in the Battle of Manila, and later was used to return the remains of the WW1 "Unknown Soldier" to Washington DC for final interment at Arlington in 1921. Very interesting ship, old school coal fired steamer with reciprocating engines. A must see stop for anyone visiting Philadelphia.

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Tossing in a bit of nautical trivia, the term "scuttlebutt", Navy/nautical slang for rumors and gossip, came from the actual scuttlebutt, essentially a ship's water cooler/drinking fountain where sailors would gather and swap stories and gossip.

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[WillieC]

I just make the suggestion, DA will fill in all the details! Thanks, Steve!