This website posts advertisements & reports on Albin 25 & 27 cruisers & information on fitting out “Drifter” (A27SC86 - Sault Ste. Marie, 0n. Nissan LD28 - 78hp) for extended cruising – it’s our “summer cottage”. To get to a topic in the List of Posts, check the date of posting & click on the date in the Archives & scroll down the posting. Comment on a post by clicking the icon below the post - I get a copy by email. To get a reply include your email address. John
LIST OF POSTINGS I got caught up this summer in updating Drifter’s Log & also trying digital photography – so decided to post the results in the hope that you might find something of interest. Comments on the site or specific content would be appreciated. JB
Donna & I spend our summers, 2 to 3 months each year, on Drifter on the North Channel of Lake Huron. Some of the features we have added to our “summer cottage” are described below. We made an early decision to seek low tech “appropriate” solutions to our cruising needs (except for navigation & then we have low tech back up) & enjoy their relative reliability. One example is the solar “sun shower” laid flat on forward deck for heating & suspended on a tender spar over the swim platform for a shower. Donna often uses it as a source of hot water for washing dishes. Other examples are the use of a Colman catalytic heater & a propane barbecue grill (used placed on the flat sole of the tender).
The Albin 27 “Sports Cruisers” have a very large aft cockpit. Our full enclosure converts the open space to a multi-purpose “sun room”. The Sunbrella enclosure has doors port & starboard just aft of the pilot house. Two of the side windows & the aft window have screening to allow ventilation and also have plastic windows that Velcro & snap in place for inclement weather.
With folding table & chairs the sun room serves as a spacious dining area & indoor/outdoor carpets add comfort. (Note blue plastic milk cartons – which serve as portable book cases)
In keeping with the low tech philosophy a Colman “Xtreme” cooler gives us a 6 day cruising range before looking for ice. It does double duty as a convenient coffee table. Our family room easily accommodates 6 on folding chairs.
We have also found the side decks on the cockpit very convenient for storage of long equipment. With the addition of 2, ¾ “ marine plywood brackets under each deck they becomes convenient storage areas for such items as, dinghy sail rig, spars, oars, paddle, boat hook, mop etc. The space below the brackets is still available for loose or boxed storage.
We were very disappointed with the original sleeping accommodations & decided that luxury on a small boat would be a comfortable full sized bed. We created ours by permanently lowering the dining table and adding a firm 4” foam mattress (48” x 72”) and a 1 ½“ memory foam topper.
To provide privacy & keep an uncluttered look we made “eyelids” from plastic chopping boards (from dollar shop). They are cut to fit inside the ports but are ½’ taller so they stay in place due to spring tension. They store easily flat under a mattress.
Privacy and sun protection is provided in the pilot house by Textilene Sunshure snap on sun screens. They are semitransparent & allow a fair view out.
Also note the white tarp covering the canvas cockpit enclosure. We find that on hot sunny days blue canvas acts as a solar collector & heats up the interior. The white tarp keeps the interior at the same temperature as outside air.
We also added Rain Hoods to the aft ports, port & starboard to allow ventilation on rainy days.
Also note the solar “anchor” light – probably not up to standards but they are a very practical solution to being seen at night.
The GPS receiver for the laptop, an Altina G Mouse designed for car use, sits on a home made mount at the aft of the pilot house roof.