New Albemarle 28 Goes Outboard!

According to Ted Haigler, Director
of Albemarle Sales and Marketing, for years their prospective customers had been
saying, “If you build an outboard express fishboat, we’ll buy it.” Well, last year
Albemarle started building the 288OBXF and anglers are buying them, just as promised.
In the process Albemarle, which heretofore had only built inboard boats, discovered
a huge new group of anglers who would only buy an outboard-powered boat. Builders
like Pursuit, Contender and Grady-White had long known that and now they have some
serious competition from a North Carolina builder which is as fishy as they come.
Last year, Albemarle left the “Hatteras Collection” (Hatteras, Cabo and Albemarle
– all Brunswick companies) and is now on its own once again which means that its
management can be more nimble and not have to worry about knocking on Cabo’s door.
Finally, the 288 is one of the few boats we can think of that has virtually everything
included in one standard price!

This boat has all options except two included in the standard price! You need only choose the color and the brand of power – Yamaha F-250s or Mercury 300-hp Verados.

This is the first outboard boat that Albemarle has ever built. The North Carolina
builder took its proven 24-degree deadrise hull with a 9’6” beam that has worked
out well over the years, then redesigned and re-tooled virtually everything else
about the boat.

Note the mez seating. The transom seat folds down while fishing. Below there is a shower in the head.

Because there is no engine under the bridge deck, Albemarle was able to utilize
the engine room as an oversized, multi-function storage compartment below – providing enough space for two large tackle boxes, two coolers, 6 trolling
rods, safety equipment, scuba equipment, and much more.



The other thing the builder did was take a page from its big brothers – the offshore
battlewagons – and provide “Mezzanine Style” rear facing seating on the bridge deck
so anglers can sit comfortably while trolling and guests can watch the fishing action,
as well as provide a comfortable seating for cruising.

All galley appliances are standard along with A/C and hot water.

An Experiment with Options



Second, the company decided with this new model it would try a bold experiment –
it would take all of the boat’s options, except two, and make them standard! In
the conservative boat business, this was a gutsy move. This means that for the MSRP
of $213k with the Yamaha F-250s, you get things like AC, the hardtop, water heater,
underwater lights, teak and holly cabin sole, anchor windlass, Lee outriggers, spare
SS props, galley appliances, TV and much more in one simple price. The only options
are the engines and the hull gelcoat color.


Yamaha or Mercury?



When Albemarle was owned by Brunswick (which also owns Mercury) you could get any
outboard you wanted so long as it was black. Now, with Albemarle’s independence,
you can get both the 300-hp Mercury Verado ($217K MSRP) or the F-250 4-stroke from
Yamaha. The other option doesn’t cost you a nickel extra – choose the hull color
that jingles your chimes: white, soft yellow, ice blue, or aquamarine green. These
are all light pastel colors that are attractive, don’t absorb as much heat as do
darker colors and are also easier to match in a repair.


Improved Performance



The folks at Albemarle tell us that with outboard power the boat has a higher cruise
speed, increased fuel economy and greater range than with inboard gas power. Years
ago we tested the 28 Albemarle with twin 200-hp diesels and its best cruise speed
was 24.8 mph getting 2.4 mpg. Albemarle recently told us that with the twin F-250
Yamaha outboards the boat’s best cruise is 31 mph, getting 1.55 mpg. Certainly when
it comes to fuel economy, diesels are hard to beat, but when it comes to speed, initial
cost and interior storage space outboards have the edge.

This is where the engine room used to be – right under the bridge deck. Now that space can be used for scuba gear, coolers, a life raft, large tackle boxes or most anything else.

The Competition



It is no secret that Albemarle and Carolina Classic, which is located just down
the street in Edenton, NC, have been head-to-head competitors for years. Now, that
Albemarle has an outboard-powered boat in the 28-foot range it will be interesting
to see whether Albemarle can draw anglers from the other brand. On the other side
of the coin, Albemarle has just jumped into a type of boat with a lot of veteran
competition such as Grady-White, Contender, Pursuit and others who have specialized
in outboard-powered fishing boats for years.



Our guess is that Albemarle will muscle its way into that competitive market with
nimble decision-making based on what its owners and customers want…and with management’s
out-of-the-box thinking.



As always, it is the consumer who comes out on top when competition heats up.


To see
the new Albemarle 288 with outboard power…