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Albemarle 410 Convertible Review

I have to say this represents the best-running hull that Albemarle has ever built, even better than the 41 express - and that's really saying something!
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Until recently, the Harrell family owned Albemarle Boats. Now the Albemarle brand comes under the umbrella of the Brunswick Boat Group. The first time I ran an Albemarle factory boat many years ago, I stayed at the Harrells’ summer home, right on Hatteras Inlet. I mention this to help you understand how serious about fishing these people are. They have a building on the dock to house the tackle and rigging shop. Each Albemarle boat inherits that fishing focus, as well as the ability to get you safely out and back in Hatteras Inlet – one of the most dangerous pieces of water on the East Coast.

PERFORMANCE The 20-mph southeast wind on the back side of a Norther confronted the outgoing tide in Miami’s Government Cut, and the two just rubbed each other the wrong way. Once we slogged our way through the cut and out to “normal” water, we found the seas in the midst of shifting back to the southeast and running 4 to 6 feet at a period of three seconds. The twin C-12 Cats putting out 710 horses per side lifted the 410 onto plane in 10 seconds. Running beam-to it all, this 41-footer cruised very comfortably at 1,900 rpm running at 29 knots and burning 47 gph total. Back in sheltered waters, the tachs pinned at 2,250 as the GPS read 33.5 knots, and we used 75.4 gph.

I found this convertible to have better roll stability than some of its predecessors, probably because of its cored hull sides and attendant lower center of gravity. It exhibited a moderate roll moment with modest transitions. Coming back into the inlet (a real test in those seas), the 410 tracked beautifully. All in all, it runs equally superbly up-sea and down, thanks to a very sharp entry and a moderate deadrise.

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||| |—|—| | FISHING Every Albemarle strikes you as though the company has a list of obligatory fishing features around which it then builds a boat. In fact, that doesn’t stray far from the truth. The cockpit contains a freezer in the portside module with a storage box under it, a deep fish box in the transom to augment the deep lift-out box in the deck, and a baitwell in the starboard module with another storage box underneath. | |  |  The factory installs two rod holders in each gunwale, along with six more across the back of the flybridge rail and more rod storage under flybridge seats. The flybridge also has storage in the brow as well as under the port and starboard straight settees. | | And of course with the size of many of the fish off Hatteras, every boat has a transom door through which you can drag your big ‘un.Fighting and wiring that fish should be easier since the helm commands an unobstructed view of the back half of the cockpit and most of the portside gunwale once you take off the back of the helm seat.|

If you spend any time slow-trolling or drifting, you’ll particularly like the gentle motion of the 410’s hull. Despite its excellent head-sea ability, the 15-degree deadrise at the transom translates into a stable platform at rest. A 7.5-knot trolling speed produced a fair bit of turbulence near the transom, but it dissipates by about the second wave back with only surface foam remaining.

The gunwales hit my leg just above the knee, and my fingertips skimmed the water’s surface when I rested my chest on the covering board. I regret not having hooked a billfish to test this carefully thought-out freeboard height during an actual release.

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||| |—|—| | DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION | | | Engine-room access proved somewhat tight, but once inside the compartment, the step-down into the bilge trough between the engines provides a bit more headroom. Getting around to the outside of the engines could be rather difficult for anyone who isn’t very small. You’ll discover Diamond-plate flooring anywhere you would walk, with painted fiberglass elsewhere. Albemarle has done an exceptional job of insulating the bulkheads, overhead and entryway against noise. The salon consists of an L-shaped settee to starboard and a J-shaped settee to port. You’ll find Corian counters standard throughout. The interior joinerwork on the hull we ran was a very light cherry.| ****SPECIFICATIONSLOA 43 ft. 6 in. BEAM 15 ft. 9 in. DRAFT 4 ft. WEIGHT 36,000 lb. (dry) DEADRISE 15 deg. POWER (2) 715-hp Cat C-12 diesels FUEL 550 gal. WATER 100 gal. BASE PRICE $712,995 Albemarle Boats Edenton, North Carolina 252-482-7600 www.albemarleboats.com| | The 410 features a step-down to the starboard-side galley with the entertainment center opposite to port. An innovation here that I haven’t seen before: Albemarle has matched the cooktop surface to the Corian counter surface. I’ve seen refrigerated drawers in the galley in so many boats now that I really wish I had them in my home. | Caterpillar 715-hp C-12 Diesels ** **TYPE 6 In-line DISPL. 732 cid MAX RPM 2,550 HP/LB RATIO 0.28 GEAR RATIO 1.5-3:1 WEIGHT 5,420 lb. ALT. OUTPUT 105 amps MSRP Price on request| | Tall people will want to mind their noggin when heading to the cabins as the steep angle on the cabin front going down the stairs can pose a minor obstacle. Access to a midship pump room through the stairs to the cabin area also reveals significant pantry storage. Finally, I found an over/underberth cabin immediately at the bottom of the stairs to port and a head with a nice curved-door shower stall opposite.| Notable Standard Features ? Dripless shaft seals ? Electronic single-lever controls ? Hydraulic steering and tabs ? Fresh- and rawwater washdowns ? Molded-in boarding steps ? 9-kW diesel generator| | Go forward to the main cabin with its island berth double, shelving, access to anchor locker and numerous cabinets, as well as storage under the bed.Overall, I have to say this represents the | Impressions The Albemarle 410 Convertible has all the superb features that the company has built its reputation on, and they’ve all been improved dramatically.| | best-running hull that Albemarle has ever built, even better than the 41 express – and that’s really saying something! |

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