Interview with the Designer of the Albin 27

Originally Posted by MotorCity Boat Werks @2016 Based on Telephone Interview with Joe Puccia 4/16/16

In April 2016, I was able to make contact with Joe Puccia, the original designer and builder of the first Albin 27s. Sadly Joe recently passed away in 2021. I was later able to locate and interview Monica Peters the widow of Fred Peters, as well as their daughter Miranda Hassar. Fred Peters was the original owner of the boat company (Albin Marine USA) which sold the Albin 27, as well imported the Albin 25s from Sweden. In 1982, Fred Peters commissioned Joe Puccia to design the Albin 27 as an American alternative to the Albin 25. By the time I started researching the Albin 27, Fred was not longer with us. But I was able to locate Monica Peters, Fred’s widow to note some of her memories. When I talked to Joe Puccia in 2016 he was 85 years old and still going strong. He was generous enough with his time to spend about an hour on the phone with me while I interviewed him about his background and how the Albin 27 came to be. Joe was also gracious enough to give me a treasure trove of original Albin 27 documents, to include: an original A27 sales brochure, line drawings of interior/exterior of the A27, a never before seen magazine review used as advertising for the boat, and approximately 24 original photographs of the very first Albin 27s built and the hull layup. His interview as well as Monica Peters interview are posted below. Many thanks to Joe Puccia, Miranda Hussar and Monica Peters for allowing me to document their story.

Joe Puccia stated that he was the designer of the Albin 27 powerboat. He said he was a trained naval architect, having completed his education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Puccia who is 85, remembered the Albin 27 and chuckled when I described the strong owners association and almost cult like following. Puccia stated that he considered himself a boat builder more than a naval architect having designed only a few boats in his career. “Of the boats I designed, I guess the Albin 27 is the most famous.” He stated that his got his start in boat building around 1951 when he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He was assigned to Ft. Eustace, VA the home of the newly formed Army Transportation School. His job was to test newly designed 65’ patrol boats that the Army was considering putting into service.

By August 1953, Joe Puccia’ two year term of service was up and he returned to the northeast to finding work with Sea Beaver Marine in Greenwich, Connecticut. There
he worked on 26ft pursuit craft and 57ft mine sweepers being order by the military. Meanwhile, Sea Beaver was known for their 24ft recreational cruising vessels: the
Sea Beaver Station Wagon, and Sea Beaver First Sedan models. Sometime after the army, he also owned his own boat yard known on the banks of the Mianus River. He also ended up back working for the government in the Navy’s Bureau of Ships. The bureau’s responsibilities included supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the Navy; managing shipyards, repair facilities, laboratories, and shore stations;
developing specifications for fuels and lubricants; and conducting salvage operations.

By the late 1960’s Joe Puccia was in Annapolis building small dinghies for another outfit when he was approached by Alcort Boats. He became the Design Engineer of Alcort’s division of AMF1 and designed the Discoverer 18, a Day Sailer clone. He is also attributed with designing the Severn 20 sailboat. Joe Puccia was eventually let go from Alcort and went off to start his own shop building the Pirate 15, another dinghy sailer and it was during that time that he was approached by Fred Peters to create a larger version of the classic Swedish Albin 25. Peters was the President of Albin USA, having been selling the Swedish Albin 25 since 1965. Peters asked Joe Puccia to enlarge the Albin 25 and make a version for the American market.

In the 1970s and 1980’s, avid sailor and businessman Fred Peters was the U.S. distributor of the Albin 25 motorsailer. The Albin 25 was a hugely successful production boat in Sweden sold by Albin Motors, Sweden. Peter’s recognized the potential of the U.S. market for a mid-range family cruiser. By 1982 Peters had created Albin Marine, securing the exclusive U.S. rights to the Albin name and sales. Approximately 2,000 Albin 25’s were ever produced, with approximately 500 being imported into the
United States. Peters tapped Puccia to design and built the first Albin 27 Family Cruiser, first known as the “Albin Diesel Cruiser.” All told, Puccia estimated he built the first 10-15 boats out of his own shop from which he co-rented space with Lancer Boats. “I ran out of money for materials and went out of business…” Puccia described the end of his production run. Because Peters had commissioned Puccia to design the Albin 27, Albin Marine eventually assumed production of the boats making a few changes in quality and design that would be noted by future owners.

Owners of the earliest Albin 27’s note that there is pronounced flat spot or “shelf” near the stern of the boat and often wonder if it was intentional. “No, it was not intentional,” reported Puccia.” I don’t know what happened, perhaps the mold warped, but that was not intended…it never seemed to affect the performance so we just kind of left it. Puccia confirmed that all the early boats had the feature, as the mold was never changed over the production run he supervised. After the boats were made by Albin Marine, he can’t be so sure. Puccia pointed out that he intentionally designed the Albin 27 with as many rounded corners and curves as possible because he wanted no delamination or blisters in the lay up. He also stated that the first boats had a pilothouse constructed of an MDF type fiber board that they attached fabric to on the interior. The fabric turned out to be too expensive, so the construction later changed to fiberglass skins over balsa core.

Joe Puccia reported that the hull was hand laid fiberglass and had no coring below the deck. The hull is approximately ¼-3/8” thick at the sides and approximately ½” thick at the transom. The boat’s pan liner provides the structural rigidity as it has no stringers or beams. He described the boat as a coastal cruiser not intended for off shore cruising. He provided approximately two dozen original photos, interior and exterior line drawings, original Albin sales brochure and price list, as well as a 1983 Yachting Magazine Review.