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Could someone who has had the opportunity to be out in both the 268 alby and the 280 alby tell me if the 268 is a respectable sea boat. Or is the 28 heads and shoulders above it. thanks, considering one or the other.
My brother has a 268 that I have been in a number of times. I can say it is a great sea boat! I have not been in a 280 so I can not compare the two. In looking at the layouts I would say the comparison would be unfair. If the 280 works out financially I'd go for it.
He had the gas 6.6 (454 ci) I believe and had to have it rebuilt last year. He took that opportunity to have it improved (bored or ported or something I can't remember exactly) and upped the horsepower by about 50 and it made a BIG difference. It is a much better running machine now.
I worked at an albemarle dealership during the summers in college and my first offshore boat I bought when I was able to was an albemarle and I have fished every model they have made except the 41. My personal opinion is that there is a lot of difference in the two boats. The 26 and the 28 are both great in a head sea, but where the 26 bothers me is a rest or trolling speed. The 26 is a foot narrower than the 28 and rocks and rolls quite a bit more. Also when you are on plane and you start to go into a turn the 26 feels like it is going to flip over because it is so deep and the beam is so narrow. I just think the one foot difference in the beam makes a world of difference in the performance. One thing you can be sure of is that both boats are built like a tank. I personally saw one hit the pavement from about 10 feet up on a fork lift that a rookie forklift driver tried to pick up with a small forklift, it bounced 3 times after the initial impact and the dealership had the boat checked out and it was perfectly fine! I also was on board a 28 when another owner' s son had taken daddy's 28 out for a spin with his buddies and was not experienced with the two shifter set up and thought he was shifting from reverse to forward real quickly and actually he had grabbed the throttles and floored it and hit the boat I was in so hard it knocked me across the cockpit headfirst and gave me a concussion and the only damage was the idiot bent the swim platform on daddy's boat. The boat I was in was fine. They are incredible boats, good luck with your decision!
albeman, welcome to THT! Great first post, what took ya so long? I see you have been lurking for a while. Head up to the introductions and tell us a little about yourself.
albeman, are you talking about the 265 or 268? I've been on the old 27 w/volvo inboards and it is a great boat but a pig on gas and not quick (22kts cruise). Are you planning on trailering at all cuz that is out of the question w/the 28. I've not been on the 268 but it looks like a sweet boat, much like the 25 CC. Wish I had either!!!!
My friends got a 280 and I've got the 26 cc albemarle which is basically the same thing as the 268. I'd agree w/ the earlier post about rocking a little at trolling speeds. Once you're up on plane it's a good ride. Mine's a little trim sensitive also. An inboard instead of the outboards would probably eliminate alot of that however. But both boats are tough and good while running. I've fished off of both boats alot. My friends 28 has a tower on it that is bigger than most that are on the 32's. So it kills the boats performance and it gets rocking in seas that are not that bad. But like I said it is because it is so top heavy.
I've been on both...(28 express and 26 express). 28 is a twin 350 MPI gasser (inboard) and the 26 is a single 385 (496 I believe?) with duoprop.
No question, I'd go with the 28. More beam, more stability and overall more beam and displacement are always going to win.
The 26 is a great head sea boat as is the 28 but the 26 is VERY tender. I drove my buddies home in a quartering following sea that was large. Wind was blowing 30 steady gusting to 35 confirmed on a buoy. Seas were breaking higher than the hardtop...I know because I was driving and we had 25-30 miles of this crap. 6-8 footers easy. Boat was bow-steering and laying over VERY hard. Powering out was the only option because if you slowed up, the waves had their way with you and you were then beam-to...not good. We shipped water over the gunwales a couple of times and it was nasty. The boat felt very solid but the bow-steer was enough to tell me that I would not own that model. I've seen this tendancy on this boat even when it was not as rough as that day...it's just hard to handle in a following sea. My 24 tracks straight but again, I'm giving up sheer size and weight so I don't know if the 24 would have been better or worse. I know that we would have been like a submarine in those big seas. I'd say 4-6 is the biggest I have seen in my 24. The 28 appears to track much straighter...and is a better overall sea boat than the 26.
Again just my opinion...not trying to offend anyone.
My friends got a 280 and I've got the 26 cc albemarle which is basically the same thing as the 268.
I think the 26 CC was based on the old hull (265 EXP). The new 268 EXP has a re-designed hull with less deadrise that supposedly reduces the rock-and-roll without sacrificing too much head-sea ride.
Again, when someone shares their experience on the 26 Albe, it would help us if you clarified whether you're referring to the old or new hull.
thanks for all comments. very helpful. have been dangerously close to making a deal on a boat, and have always trailered in past. would like to get away from that and spend more time on the water. sounds like the 28 is the way to go. I have even read that the 28 is considered tender to some boats, like the carolina classic 28. but overall the 28 is suppose to be a solid performer. I live in NE and fish around islands that produce heavy shoaling, and a lot of current with frequent 4-5 foot chop. have been doing this in 23 wa for years but would like to venture a little farther, just need a little more boat under me. thanks to all. matt
Hey carolina classic owner, what can you tell me about those boats. I have heard good things. Do you know anyone that has a 28 ??? would like to find out more info.
solarexp,
Unfortunately I did not own mine long enough to give you many handling details. Mine suffered major engine destruction due to water ingestion at 8 hours. The boat was the 26' express, but as I understand it, the water ingestion problem was not exclusive to only the 26, the 28 gas models also have had problems.
While this happened to me in 2001, I have heard that there were continuing problems in later models. I know that the problem has been addessed by many manufactures and may have been corrected, would be worth a question to your dealer though........Jim
Bought a '95 28' Classic in '01. Liked the boat alot, but it had "sloppy" steering. We, the marina and I thought that the problem was air in the lines. After each bleed the steering was better but gradually worsened. This was repeated for almost a year. Replaced almost the entire system, including the hoses. The boat had a tower, so it had 2 helms. After all this expense (mostly paid by me with some breaks by the marina) the steering seemed to be what you would call normal. From conversations I had with other owners I think this problem was somewhat common in older boats. Everything else about the boar was great.
albemarle boats 
