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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Albin 43 Double Cabin
The published record on this model and what owners report, with the
questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page covers the model.
Every boat still needs its own homework.
A shoal-draft sundeck trawler on a solid glass hull with a full keel, 8 to 9 knots on Lehmans. Owners flag rusted black-iron fuel tanks and leaks at decks and windows.
The Albin 43 Sundeck, also sold as the 43 Double Cabin, was built from 1981 to 1994 on the hull of the Albin 43 Trawler, with a full-width aft deck in place of the trunk cabin and a slightly larger aft stateroom. HMY's powerboat guide gives her 42'6" overall, a 14'6" beam, 4'1" of draft and about 30,000 pounds, on a solid fiberglass semi-displacement hull whose full-length keel protects the running gear. Twin 135hp Lehmans cruise at 8 to 9 knots, and later boats came standard with twin 210hp Cummins that cruise at 12 to 13, but power varies widely across the surviving boats, so identify what this hull carries. The salon has no door to the aft deck. Owners' recurring concerns are rusted black-iron fuel tanks and leaks at decks and windows. Formal boat tests are scarce, so most of the detail below comes from owner forums and should be checked on the specific hull.
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How to read the tags on this page.
PATTERNtwo independent sources agree; confirm it on the boat you're looking at
CLAIMstated by one source, not yet confirmed
QUESTIONopen, and settled by looking at the boat itself
CONTEXTbackground on how this model is built or used
Sources are linked where published.
Air draft
CLAIM
No published air draft: measure this boat with everything up
HMY's guide lists no clearance for the 43 Sundeck. One Sundeck owner measured 17 feet to the radar arch with the VHF antenna lowered, and a 1985 Albin 43 Trawler listing gave 16'10" with the mast down. Those are single boats with their own gear. Find out what folds down on this one and measure with everything up.
src:
Trawler Forum ('Bridge clearance', 2023); Curtis Stokes listing (1985 43 Trawler)
Your move: Measure the air draft yourself and identify exactly what can be lowered (mast, arch, antennas) before counting on any clearance.
Draft
CLAIM
Shoal hull: 4'1" published draft
HMY's guide lists 4'1" of draft on a hull of about 30,000 pounds, which is shoal for a 43-footer and a real strength in the Loop's thin water. A loaded boat sits deeper.
src:
HMY Yachts powerboat guide
Your move: Confirm the loaded draft on the specific hull with full fuel, water and cruising gear aboard.
Systems
PATTERN
Rusted black-iron fuel tanks are a known problem
Owners of 43 Sundecks report leaking tanks and rusted tank tops, one with holes rusted through where deck leaks at the fill pipe sat on the tank. Replacing the tanks can mean pulling the engines, so it is a major job and a real budget item.
src:
Albin Owners Group (2009-10 threads)
Your move: Have the tanks inspected during survey (including underneath and at the baffles/sender) and budget for possible replacement.
QUESTION
What is the actual fuel tankage and tank condition on this hull?
HMY's guide and a 1987 Sundeck listing give 500 gallons. One owner's replacement tanks total 280, and a 1988 43 Trawler listing claims 600. The published range of 650 to 700 miles (PowerBoat Guide, for the 43 Trawler) depends entirely on the real tankage.
src:
HMY Yachts powerboat guide; Albin Owners Group; yachtr and YachtWorld listings
Your move: Measure or document the real tank capacity on this boat and confirm tank material and condition at survey.
CONTEXT
Expect degraded fuel on boats that have sat
An Albin 40 owner advises that fuel in a boat that has sat for a couple of years likely needs cleaning up, and suggests 10- or 30-micron Racor primaries instead of 2-micron while you do it, to avoid constant clogging.
src:
Albin Owners Group (2009)
PATTERN
Leaks at decks and windows, and teak decks that let water in
A 43 owner tore up his teak decks, and a buyer looking at a 43 found leaking windows and a spongy teak deck. Owners of the sister 33, 36 and 40 describe water getting into the core through teak-deck fasteners and replacing teak with non-skid, and at least one 1985 43 had its teak replaced the same way.
src:
Albin Owners Group; Trawler Forum (43 buyer thread, 2017); Curtis Stokes listing (1985)
Your move: At survey, moisture-map the decks and cabin sides and inspect around windows and any remaining teak-deck fasteners for core intrusion.
QUESTION
Is the autopilot pump sized for the boat in a following sea?
One owner found his Raymarine autopilot struggled to hold course in a following sea because the recommended hydraulic pump was too small for the boat. He fitted the electronics himself, so this is about his install, and it's worth asking about on any boat.
src:
Trawler Forum ('Albin 40 vs 43', 2019)
Your move: Ask what autopilot and drive pump are fitted and whether the owner has found it adequate offshore and in following seas.
Reading the boat
CONTEXT
Same hull as the 43 Trawler, different deck
HMY says the Sundeck was built on the hull of the Albin 43 Trawler, which arrived two years earlier, with a full-width aft deck in place of the trunk cabin and a slightly larger aft cabin. The Albin 49 Cockpit is the same boat with a cockpit extension. Owner reports about the hull, tanks and engines on either boat mostly carry over; air draft, deck access and layout don't.
src:
HMY Yachts powerboat guide
CLAIM
No salon door to the aft deck
HMY's guide and the BoatUS notes both flag it: unlike most sundeck designs, the Albin 43's salon has no door onto the aft deck, and entry is by side doors port and starboard. Walk the route from salon to aft deck to swim platform before you buy, especially if a dog or stiff knees will make that trip every day.
src:
HMY Yachts powerboat guide; BoatUS notes; Rightboat listing (1986)
Your move: Walk from the salon to the aft deck and down to the swim platform the way you'll do it every day.
CLAIM
An owner reports doing the Loop in one
An owner on a public boating forum describes completing the Loop in a 43 Sundeck, without bow thrusters or a generator.
src:
Trawler Forum ('Input question', 2024)
Engines
The engines research is part of the full profile inside the
product. It covers factory options, tested performance and the engine-specific
questions in our members' dossiers, and it travels with every dossier and survey brief
built on this model.
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