37 Palm Beach

[Longo]

Hello all - looking for information on the 37 palm beach model. Looking at a 1987 vintage and heard it possibly has a cored hull?? And wondering if is a good coastal cruiser - Long Island Sound/Block Island Sound guy - rough water handling in particular. I’ve always heard Albins are a good sturdy and well built boat so just wondering on same. I’m coming out of a 31 Tiara Open.

Thanks!!

[Ssousa]

Hello all - looking for information on the 37 palm beach model. Looking at a 1987 vintage and heard it possibly has a cored hull?? And wondering if is a good coastal cruiser - Long Island Sound/Block Island Sound guy - rough water handling in particular. I’ve always heard Albins are a good sturdy and well built boat so just wondering on same. I’m coming out of a 31 Tiara Open.

Thanks!!

I have an '86 palm beach, it does not have a cored hull. The deck is balsa but hull is solid glass

[Longo]

Thanks! Do you like the boat and is it a nice stable platform - good in rough waters?

Thanks again - John.

[Jhill]

Spent over 10 years with a 1984,1998-2011. I had TMAD40b’s,165hpVolvo. Cruised 10 1/2knts. The Cummins should get you to 13 but not very economically.
It took a real pounding on a several occasions very good Hull shape for all sea conditions. But albin built them very lightly on the bottom to try and keep weight down. All solid glass but not much off it. In fact , in the winter I required 6 sets of keel blocking to keep the hull bottom from deflecting. The fuel tank is built as part of the bilge in the engine room. I had the pleasure of having to rebuild the fiberglass tank along with beefing up the outboard stringers. Had a lot of hatch and window leaks typical of all albins. If you go on a sea trial do it with a little sea action. Get in the bilge and watch the hull flex. Other boats such as Ocean Yatchts had similar issues in the 80’s. Most of the expensive issues were engine or generator related throughout my ownership.

[Longo]

Thanks for the reply - boat i’m Looking at is an 85, had the date wrong. The original owner had aluminum tanks installed so no fiberglass down there. However you do have me worried about flexing hulls - last time I saw a hull flexing was in a Bayliner...so that may be a deal breaker, do not want a hull that flexes to the point where you can see it moving. I really love the boat but now am very nervous - should I be??

Thanks again -

[Jhill]

Hull flex is not abnormal but I thought mine was unusually excessive. All the boat hulls were built in the Far East by more than one yard could be mine was one they cut corners on. I would be interested in knowing why the fuel tank was moved or changed. Fiberglass tanks last a long time with diesel fuel. It could have fatigued from flexing. I would get a good suveyor and or yourself with a dead blow hammer and sound the bottom for delamination areas especially around the center line.