Game Show

Albin 35: The price is right

Albin has seen you at boat shows - those of you with eyes that bulge bigger than your wallets - and offers a remarkable solution: well-built boats at affordable prices. What a concept! Take its 35 Tournament Express, a single-diesel-powered sportfisherman for under $200,000. And that's with solid engineering, a practical layout, and a seaworthy hull design that won't leave you guessing about whether you'll make it back when the wind gods get feisty.

Our test boat was rigged with twin 335-hp Cummins diesels and managed to top 34 mph. As such, it still listed for only $232,300*. The well-equipped, ruggedly built, equally powered Henriques 35 Express goes for $254,500*. The Henriques, however, comes with a/c, a 5kW genset, a fiberglass fuel tank, and a larger, well-outfitted 100-square foot cockpit. Another option is the Carolina Classic 35 Express, a canyon runner that can keep running when the going gets tough. It comes with twin 450-bph Cummins, a 5kW genset, a/c, a transom door, and shorepower, and runs around $285,000. By comparison, the Albin 35TE will be keeping the price of seafood way down.

THE HIGHS:   Lots of boat for the bucks. Bowrails and coamings high enough to keep Big Bird comfy. A practical deck layout and distictive looks. A practical deck layout and distintive looks. THE LOWS:   Runs bow high in a following sea. Lower helm not for the vertically challanged. Keep an eye out for corrosion with this fuel tank installation.

WHERE THE FISH ARE. An often forgotten tenet of bluewater fishboat design is that the boat has to get you out and back in the least abusive way possible so you have the energy to actually fish. The 35TE does just that. In a mild Long Island Sound nor'easter we ran through two to four-foot seas while leaving a flat wake and the spray well astern, where it belongs. In these sloppy conditions, we selected a comfortable 18-mph speed, running up-sea with tabs fully depressed. Running down-sea, which has always been an Albin forte, the boat tracked well with the tabs up, although the visibility was occasionally hampered by its 7- to 8-degree angle to the water. When a boat rides bow-high, trim tabs can help, but, ideally, you shouldn't have to resort to them. When we turned beam to the seas at slow, fish-landing speeds, the 35TE's hard chines, low center of gravity, and generous beam made it a stable and comfortable working platform.

Out here you can feel this boat's sea-keeping roots and appreciate its North Sea heritage. Albin's resident designer, Terry Compton, is a transplanted Brit who clearly values practicality over mindless aesthetics. Just check out the huge windshield and equally massive pantograph wipers, which offer an unobstructed view and excellent protection. There are acres of flat glass all around, with opening side and aft windows, and a windshield vent to let in the breeze. I'm 6'3", and I could see through the windows without slouching or standing on my toes. The helmsman's seat is perched well off the deck so you'll enjoy pretty much the same view seated or standing.

The instrument panel pops up for service access to the gauge's innards and wiring, and an electronics flat above the gauges will hold the basics: fishfinder, radar, autopilot, and radio. Since the panel is up high, it may interfere with the view forward if you're vertically challenged. If you want to avoid putting lifts on your topsiders, or need room for more electronics, then use the mounting space built into the overhead.

Since this is a sportsfisherman, keeping track of what's going on in the cockpit from the helm is fairly relevant, and the sliding door and aft windows earn gold stars in that regard. Also winning kudos is the 35TE's maneuverability in close quarters, with perfectly positioned controls practically guaranteeing that you'll look good whether backing on a fish or shoe-horning into a tight slip.

Accommodations are comfortable for two with a Zues-size, 6'5" island berth forward, lots of lockers and drawers, a fiberglass hull liner to minimize rattles and strengthen the hull, and private access to the head. The head has a separate shower with a molded seat and a full liner to make cleanup and drainage simple and direct. The galley-down arrangement opens things up even more, making the pilothouse seem bigger than it really is. Situated as it is under the windshield, you'll hear no complaints about the galley being in a dark cave, and the chef remains part of the action while staying at arm's length from the skipper.

BLUEWATER BEEF. Back in the business end, the 35TE could serve as a textbook example of how to design a boat for human occupancy offshore. The 8'-by-10' cockpit has bolstered coamings that are a reassuring 2'4" high, and the liner is set back enough to form a toe space for good grip and balance when leaning over to gaff that bull dolphin. Molded steps lead to the 1'1"-wide sidedecks, broader than you'll see on most 50-footers. And the stainless steel bowrails are an impressive 2'10" high forward. I'd like to see the stanchions spaced a foot or so closer together (they average about 4 feet apart) to stiffen things up; also pull the railing inboard a bit so it won't hit the pilings before the rubrails. The anchor lockers is handy, but its floor needs to be pitched so water doesn't puddle away from the drainhole. In all, though, the 35TE has a sensible and user-friendly deck layout.

Although the Albin 35TE is a lot of boat for the money, some of the savings inevitably come at a price. The rudder posts are unsupported at their tops, so adding a rudder board to increase damage resistance might be a wise after-purchase improvement. The three 3/16"-thick aluminum fuel tanks sit directly on a neoprene-lined shelf and are butted tight against each other, leaving little room for corrosion-inhibiting air to circulate. Building on a budget also necessitates hose-clamped fuel lines instead of high-pressure fuel lines and compression fittings. Hose clamps work fine but don't have the security or chafe resistance of the more expensive fuel fittings.

Albins starts with a premium gel coat and a vinylester resin-skin coat in the hull and decks to prevent blistering, then cores the hull's bottom and decks with Divinycell foam for improved impact resistance, greater strength, and less weight than solid glass. Another benefit of the high-density foam core is noise reduction and elimination of condensation. As on any well-engineered boat, the hull is solid fiberglass (no coring) around the through-hulls to prevent water intrusion into the core and to resist bolt compression. Large, well-sealed limberholes provide good drainage to the bilge.

Reprinted Boating Magazine January 2000

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