As a new boat owner and a relatively new father and husband, (7 year member of the commitment club) I'm really satisfied with the Albin 25. After six days cruising, Litl Bit still has a full tank. We started out with big plans to make it to Ellamar which is about thirty miles out from Valdez. We anchored at Sawmill Bay for Lunch and turned off the motor. To be sure, I tried the key and nothing...no clicking sound, no lights, no rpms...nothing. I probably should have worried when the gauges started to flicker and the battery charging indicator light started to flicker as well. Both me and my brother stared at each other with the implied understanding that panicking would be unwise since my 7 year old son was on board. Luckily, once the motor cooled down a bit, it started. Needless to say, our new destination was back to Valdez Harbor where we would spend a couple hours looking at the motor and electrical system as if we knew what we were looking at. After we came to a mutual agreement that we didn't have a clue, we called Stu from Boat Works. ALL HAIL STU!...and every marine wizard who has saved a mariner's vacation. Anyhow, in 15 minutes, our little 3 cylinder Volvo diesel was purring like a...3 cylinder Volvo diesel. I think a part of my fascination with boats is the mystery and challenge of working out how things work. I also like to spend money and boats love those who spend money on them. For those who are wondering, this is NOT the reason people like to give female names to boats. Right?
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