Want To Say Hello

[ghaffy]

After reading this board for a little while (since Dec 2008) and benefiting a lot I think it is only fair to say hello, finally.
We bought our A25 "Dido" in Dec 2008, shortly after she had been re-powered with a new Solé 42 hp (Mitsubishi). After minor refurbishments over the winter we started to cruise with her in spring 2009. Since then we are most happy.

We are a family of five (Andreas - thats me -, my wife Hilde, plus three kids from 2-8 ys.), located in Vienna, Austria, Europe.
Dido is berthed at the River Danube, the summer, however, we use to spend at the Adriatic Sea.
Below you see a pic taken this summer in Croatia.

So valuable information here!

Regards
Andreas
A25 "Dido" HID #1178
Vienna, Austria
http://www.albin25.eu

[DougSea]

Nice to see you here Andreas! Hope that's not your boat pretending to be a submarine on your blog! Thanks for sharing a bit of your story and the great picture.

[ghaffy]

Thank you, Doug,
Thanks God the submarine Albin is not ours. Just found the pic recently in the www.

[zinbaad]

Always Nice to hear form Albinee's from the other side of the Pond

[leprof31]

Hi Gaffy! Nice Albin! Nice albin site too. Could you tell us about the speed of your boat with your new engine? I figure that boats with Volvo MD17C and MD3B run aroud 8 knots... with 37 HP... your brand new 42 HP should get more knots.

[ghaffy]

Hi LeProf,

I am not quite sure whether Dido is easy to compare in terms of speed. Our Albin is originally a motorsailer version with a triple keel. I do not know how much speed they cost, but definitely they do.

Anyway, top "speed" is close to 9 knots WOT@3000 revs with a 16x13 3blade prop (gear ratio 2:1) . However, fuel consumption goes up close 9 liter per hour (2.37 GPH).
Our cruising speed is 5.5 kn at 1800 revs and 1.8 lph (0.47 GPH). On the river we need some 2500 revs to get along against the current reasonably, then she needs 5 lph (1.32 GPH). When there is no current this equals bit more than 6.5 knots. (All speeds refer to GPS measurements).

When talking to other owners here in Europe with similar engines, the triple keels obviously might cost about 0.5 kn in the cruising range and about 1 kn top speed. (However, considering the effect on the rolling of the boat, they are a gift. Additionally the boat sits upright in tidal areas when falling dry. So, I am glad that they are there. Apparently they were simply "glued" onto the hull afterwards.)

Sorry, I tend to get pretty long winded.

Regards
Andreas
A25 #1178 "Dido"
www.albin25.eu

[Brian]

Hi Andreas,

That's a great site you have.
I read with interest the couple (was that you?) that bought an Albin 25 on the med and brought it back home via canals.
How are you set up in regards to a heater and or holding tank? We are considering these improvements.
I like the watermaker idea!
We have a hard top for our 25 and like it as we too can store our kids' stuff up there along with our fishing rods, folding chairs and prawn&crab traps (we look like the Clampitts!).
Our boat has been fitted with bilge keels as well. Inside I can see where they are bolted through I suppose then "glassed over".
We have a Volvo md2030 (30hp) and get 6knts @ 2400 rpm.

[ghaffy]

Hi Brian,

Thank you.
Regarding the bilge keels: It is exactly as you say here, too.

Regarding the couple with the canal journey: Not us, but Laurence & Patrick. They posted there story (meanwhile: stories) on our site as well. They did also a remarkable re-fit job, pics on the site, too. The boat is named Albina and located in the Camargue region in South France.

Holding tank: we have none. The laws here do not require one when the boat has a certain age.

Heating: future project. The Eberspacher was removed long before we bought her. The ducts (right word for the "pipes" and "hoses" for the warm air?) are still there, so we shall simply replace it with a new one. I like that Eberspacher heaters, I had one in our LandRover. They are so reliable.

Hardtop: Exactly the reason why we want one: All the kids' stuff now is "somewhere aft". And when you need to go there for mooring lines or so it is a mess. Someone mentioned this summer that Dido looks like a 1968 Volkswagen Bus of some hippies with all the colorful stuff aft, somehow he was right

So I'd really like to see some pics of your hardtop, as this is the first thing I am going to do when Dido is on her trailer and in the garden.
Maybe you might provide some photos occasionally?

Regards
Andreas
A25 #1178 "Dido"
www.albin25.eu

[Brian]

Hi Andreas,

No holding tank, so you have a portable unit then?
Are the Eberspacher heaters diesel?
Attached is a photo showing our hardtop...
Brian

[DougSea]

Wow Brian! You make use of all of your space!! And that's quite the enclosure you have.

And yes Andreas, "ducts" are the pipes and hoses for moving air around.

Your boats are very different from mine, it's interesting seeing these classic Albins and hearing about the trips they've made. I'm looking forward to the pictures and stories of Andreas' refit and the voyages you all take.

[ghaffy]

Thank you, Brian and Doug,

And, yes, Brian, your hardtop looks exactly what we intent to have, too.
It really looks as if it was part of the boat ever since. Maybe you find some time to show the details.
Particularly I'd be interested in the connection between hardtop an this arch/bow of the doghouse.
It looks as if it was one piece from the windscreen to aft. (We are looking for a way to keep the "sunroof".)
Is it fiber glass/sandwich? And it reaches forward over the windscreen, doesn't it?

We are not in a hurry, but if you found some time to take more photos, it would help us a lot.

No holding tank means: We pump everything over board, as in the old days. (However, this is coming to an end anyway, as they are going to change the laws. Then also old boats will need to have holding tanks).

Here you may find an interesting solution (the text is all Dutch, the pictures, however, are pretty self-explaining I guess)
http://albin-25.nl/Ingezonden/Joop%20en ... ovatie.htm

Below some pics of a different solution (within the "Albin 25 Galleries" http://www.albin25.eu/mega-picture-gallery on our web site you may find even a few more examples for holding tank installations).
http://albin-25.nl/Technische%20info/Vu ... ns%201.jpg
http://albin-25.nl/Technische%20info/Vu ... nk%201.jpg

The Eberspacher is a diesel heater. http://eberspacher.com/products/air-hea ... ic-d2.html (I guess they are called Espar overseas? http://www.esparparts.com/heaters-espar ... 0_915.html)
There is no "cheap" reliable boat heating anyway, and the Eberspacher are maybe even more expensive than others (at least here the main unit - without ductwork - is about 1100 USD without installation etc.), but I like the idea of having something where you turn the switch and it does its job plus no need of an additional type of fuel, like petroleum or so.
A very similar type of heating but fired by propane is also very common here http://www.truma.com/int/en/heating/trumatic-e-2400.php
I think they don't sell Truma in the US or CDN, however, I am very sure there is a similar thing overthere, too.
In our situation, we prefer the diesel-heating, as diesel is easier and more convenient to bunker and to get (at the gas station you won't get propane here).

The space on the starboard side just above the battery compartment was actually designed by Albin for Eberspacher heatings (at least the A25 brochure says so).

Regards
Andreas

[Brian]

Hi Andreas,

Our top is a one piece version built by someone in Sidney, BC from a mold.
It has a 1/2" plywood core glassed over both sides (top is smooth gel coat, bottom is paint over lay-up).
It does cover the original sunroof opening but I'm sure one could frame up a "curb" and snap canvas to it to have a sunroof again.
We have a small glass hatch right above the helm seat.(I'd really like to have sliding side windows port & starboard though)
Thanks for all the info on holding tanks. I'm sure others here will study it as well!