Design and Construction
Albin Marin AB built the 82 MS in fiberglass, with the hull executed as a sprayed single laminate of glass-fiber-reinforced polyester and the deck as a sandwich construction. The fin keel carries an iron ballast of 1,984 pounds against a total displacement of 7,496 pounds, a 34 percent ballast ratio that places her firmly in the stable end of the spectrum for a boat of this length. The length-to-beam ratio of 2.89 and a displacement-length ratio of 215 describe a hull with moderate beam (9.32 feet) and a load-carrying, comfort-oriented section rather than a featherweight racer. Her wetted surface of roughly 247 square feet and an immersion rate of 811 pounds per inch tell the practical story: she sits heavily and changes trim slowly under stores and crew, a trait consistent with the Motion Comfort Ratio of 23.0 to 23.2 recorded for the class.
Rig and Handling
The 82 MS is built with a masthead rig, and the sail plan is generously proportioned for a 27-footer — she carries more rig than 90 percent of all similar sailboats, with a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.3 on the ISO reference sail and 17.0 with a 135 percent genoa. That overdriven rig sits atop a hull whose theoretical displacement speed is 6.7 knots, yet period specification lists a cruise speed of 7.0 knots, reflecting the motorsailer brief where the Volvo Penta diesel and shaft drive do real work. The capsize screening value of 1.90 indicates that this boat could, by that formula alone, be accepted to participate in ocean races, and the spade rudder with fin keel gives her the directional manners one expects from a Brohäll coastal design.
Accommodations
Below, the 82 MS is laid out with one cabin and six berths, a galley, and a toilet facility. The single-cabin arrangement on a 26.9-foot hull means the interior is given over to functional cruising space rather than partitioned staterooms, and the 17.2-gallon water capacity paired with 33 gallons of diesel frames her as a weekend and short-coast cruiser rather than a long-range liveaboard. The motorsailer character shapes the volume: the deckhouse and cockpit arrangement favors sheltered helm and galley access over open-plan racing accommodation.
Known Issues and Production Variants
A portion of the 82 MS fleet was sold to be home-completed, meaning some hulls reached owners as unfinished shells rather than factory-finished boats. This matters for any survey because the consistency of interior joinery, electrical routing, and through-hull installation on those examples depends on the individual builder rather than Albin Marin AB's production line. The solid fiberglass hull laminate and sandwich deck are straightforward to assess for moisture, but a home-completed unit demands the same scrutiny one would give an amateur refit.
The Verdict
The Albin 82 MS is a small Swedish motorsailer with a disproportionately serious rig and a stable, comfort-weighted hull. Brohäll's mid-seventies design gives a 220-boat class a genuine ocean-race screening figure and a six-berth cabin in under 27 feet, while the home-completed subset is the one wrinkle a buyer must weigh.
Pros
- Fin-keel, spade-rudder hull with a 34 percent iron-ballast ratio and comfort ratio near 23
- Masthead rig exceeds 90 percent of similar sailboats in sail area relative to displacement
- Capsize screening value of 1.90 meets the ocean-race acceptance formula
- Six berths and galley-toilet layout in a compact motorsailer package
Cons
- Some hulls were sold home-completed, with finish quality outside factory control
- Modest 17.2-gallon water capacity limits extended cruising range
- Heavy immersion rate (811 lbs/inch) means trim shifts noticeably with load
