My first experience with an Albemarle: Back when I was an editor at Boating Magazine we got a new boat every summer for a season-long extended test and review. This boat would be run for thousands of miles through seas both small and absurdly large, fished offshore dozens of times, and at the end of the season I’d tally up all the things that broke, failed, or fractured. This went on for 10 years. The “damage list” ranged from six items to 18, and included everything from gelcoat cracks to an entire galley cabinetry unit that ripped off a bulkhead. There was one boat, however, that was built so rugged that the end-of-season damage list included just one meager item: a snap had pulled out of a nylon strap. That was it. The boat was an Albemarle 268. Flash forward two decades and I find myself testing another Albemarle, their 30 Express.
As you saw, I slammed the hatches, kicked the doors, and yanked mercilessly on the pipework. And I was overjoyed to find that Albemarle builds their boats with the same rugged attitude today as they did back then. There is, however, one huge departure from the Albemarles of yesteryear. This is an outboard-powered fishing machine, carrying triple 300s on the transom. And while that 2004 vintage 268 had a tough time getting much north of 30 mph, the 2024 Albemarle 30 Express tops 60.
Performance is a serious highlight on this boat, and interestingly, speed matches up with rpm rather consistently through the powerband. Cruise at 3500 rpm, and you’ll be running along in the low- to mid-30s. Bump up to 4000 rpm and speed sits right at 40 mph. Take it to 4500 and you’ll run in the mid-40s. And at WOT we hit 60.2 mph. Also note that it leaps onto plane from a dead stop, which is rather amazing for a 13,000-pound boat.
Hard stop — a 13,000 pound 30-footer? Yup, that’s what happens when you build a boat this strong. That heft also means the 24-degree deep-V hull can mute the waves like no other, and as we blazed through a choppy Poquoson River it felt more like we were standing on the deck of an inboard battlewagon than on a 60-mph outboard boat. It wasn’t until days later when someone commented on YouTube that I realized another illuminating detail: not one drop of spray had hit the windshield. Not. One. Drop.
Albemarle has always built offshore-capable fishboats, so it won’t surprise anyone to learn that the 30 Express is fully equipped for all sorts of angling. The helmdeck houses tackle stations with five boxes and four drawers, the transom houses a 30-gallon livewell, there are 11 total rocket launchers lining the pipework, four flush-mounts in the gunwale, and there are 56-gallon fishboxes in the deck. In this case what really stood out to me, however, was that there are plenty of pipes to grab moving forward alongside the cabin until you get to the bowrail, and a good amount of flush deck with no tripping points. That means walking up front and casting from the bow is a breeze, and this boat will perform better than most expresses of its size and nature when you have the urge to do some light tackle casting in the Bay.
Though the fishing takes place abovedecks, the cabin on this boat merits some discussion as well. It boasts a galley with microwave, sink, refrigerator, and cabinets (that I’ll wager won’t rip free without the help of a chainsaw), a V-berth big enough for a couple of anglers to nap between bites on an overnighter, and a fully enclosed stand-up head. The head is the surprise here because Albemarle dedicated a lot of space to it, and it feels like the head on a significantly larger boat.
If you can’t stand the thought of flimsy parts, thin fiberglass, and swaying hard tops, jump aboard an Albemarle 30 Express. You’ll find that when it comes to construction quality they do build ‘em as good as they used to — just a whole lot faster.
Albemarle 30 Express Specifications
- LOA – 33’6”
- Beam – 10’6”
- Displacement – 13,000 lbs.
- Draft (min.) – 2’2”
- Transom Deadrise – 24 degrees
- Fuel Capacity – 320 gal.
- Max. Power – 900 hp
- Area Dealer – Legasea Marine, Yorktown, VA, (757) 898-3000.