The Best Boats You Never Knew About

 

I have written quite a few articles over the years about vessel construction quality, vessel function and vessel form. While I gravitate towards high quality boats, I also tend to prefer beautiful lines and simplicity. It is rare that all of these attributes come together in one vessel.

 

Albury Brothers boats are, as the name implies, a family of boat builders and, to be more specific, a Bahamian family from the northeastern islands known as the Abacos. The Albury family originally designed wood skiffs to navigate the choppy and hazardous waters of the sea of Abaco. The Sea of Abaco is home to particularly choppy sea states with extremely short wave periods. The wave faces are extremely steep and can come from multiple directions at once. The Abacos are also home to a little known phenomenon known as a Rage. The simplified explanation is when water flowing through narrow inlets causes tall steep waves to build in the inlet and their speed nearly matches the flow of the water. The waves appear stationary and can in the right circumstances twist a vessel sideways and in the best scenario give you the scare of your life. In the worst, roll a vessel over or send it into the rocks. Over a hundred years of navigating these treacherous waters along with over a hundred years of boat design and building have led to the Albury family’s unique hull design.

 

So, what makes an Albury different from other similar sized vessels? Albury hull designs use the same unique characteristics across their entire product line, from the 18.5 to the 33. They start with an extremely sharp and deep forefoot. This attribute cuts the water and minimizes bow rise. Above the deep forefoot, Albury uses a full bow section to ensure buoyancy, which keeps the bow above the waves. As you move aft of the deep V forefoot, the hull transitions to a rounded more moderate stern. Add in soft rounded chines for lift without wave slap and then Alburys use a long shallow keel for great low speed tracking and high-speed maneuverability. Lastly, Albury designs their fore and aft center of gravity further forward so as to use the entire hull, including the deep forefoot when riding in the choppy stuff. This makes the boat run with less bow rise and makes for a more comfortable and stable ride at speed. The forward center of gravity also makes the boat easier to handle in following sea states and keeps those following waves out of the cockpit when fishing and trolling.

 

I fell in love with Albury Brothers boats about 15 years ago and have personally owned both a 20 and 23 Albury in that time period. Alburys are some of the best riding and best handling boats for our choppy Gulf conditions. They not only ride great, but their quality is some of the best in the industry and their lines are classically beautiful.